On the discovery of an Echo at Edgbaston

William Shenstone

By — —

HA! what art thon, whose voice unknown
Pours on these plains its tender moan?
Art thou the nymph in Shenstone's dale,
Who dost with plaintive note bewail
That he forsakes th' Aonian maids,
To court inconstant rills and shades?
Mourn not, sweet Nymph!—Alas! in vain
Do they invite and thou complain—

Yet while he woo'd the gentle throng,
With liquid lay and melting song,
The list'ning herd around him stray'd,
In wanton frisk the lambkins play'd,
And every Naïad ceas'd to lave
Her azure limbs amid the wave:
The Graces danc'd; the rosy band
Of Smiles and Loves went hand in hand,
And purple Pleasures strew'd the way
With sweetest flow'rs; and every ray
Of each fond Muse with rapture fir'd,
To glowing thoughts his breast inspir'd;
The hills rejoic'd, the vallies rung,
All Nature smil'd while Shenstone sung.
So charm'd his lay; but now no more—
Ah! why dost thou repeat—"No more?"
Ev'n now he hies to deck the grove,
To deck the scene the Muses love,
And soon again will own their sway,
And thou resound the peerless lay,
And with immortal numbers fill
Each rocky cave and vocal hill.

Shenstone was one of the first landscape gardeners and created beautiful gardens in the area, such as the gardens of his nearby farm at The Leasowes.

Poetry Atlas has many other poems about Birmingham.