[Queen Elizabeth is said to have been seated beneath the shade of 

 Hatfield Oak when she received intelligence of the death of her 

 sister Mary.] 



How dim and indistinct the silent scene ! 



O'er groves and valleys sleeping mists are spread, 

 Like a soft silvery mantle ; while the stream, 



Scarce heard to flow, steals on its pebbly bed ; 

 Nor e'en a ripple wakes the silence round, 

 As if it flowed, perchance, through some enchanted 

 ground. 



But O, the gorgeous tint, the dazzling glow 

 In the clear west ; for scarce the sun is gone ! 



That glowing tint doth yet a radiance throw 

 On the hill-top, while, aye, each old grey stone 



Glitters like diamonds 'mid the mountain heath, 



While fades, in deep'ning gloom, the sleeping vale 

 beneath. 



