“ THE BOY OF WINANDKR.” 
149 
“ The Boy of Winander.” 
Six pieces of statuary in the Congressional Library rep¬ 
resent as many boys, the subjects having been taken from 
poetical descriptions. One of these stands in the attitude 
of listening, and the “gentle shock of mild surprise,” 
that “ carried far into his heart the voice of mountain tor¬ 
rents, ’ ’ mutely informs the reader of Wordsworth that here 
is the “ Boy of Winander,” the boy that, “ ere he was full 
twelve years old, was taken from his mates and died,” but 
who, in his short life, drank deep of Nature’s spirit, and 
was known so well by the cliffs and islands that he loved. 
Many an over-grown boy whose hair was changing, and 
many a proudly reserved woman who was still at heart a 
girl, has been moved to greater patience and gentleness 
with the little ones by the poet’s picture of this Boy, who 
at evening stood “ beneath the trees or by the glimmering 
lake ” and “ blew mimic hootings to the silent owls.” 
There was a Boy ; ye knew him well, ye cliffs 
And Islands of Winander !—M my a time 
At evening, when the earliest stars began 
To move along the edges of the hills, 
Rising or setting, would he stand alone 
Beneath the trees or by the glimmering lake, 
And there, wiih fingers interwoven, both hands 
Pressed closely palm to palm, and to his mouth 
Uplifted, he, as through an instrument, 
Blew mimic hootings to the silent owls, 
That they might answer him; and they would shout 
Across the watery vale, and shout again, 
Responsive to his call, with quivering peals, 
And long halloos and screams, and echoes loud, 
Redoubled and redoubled, concourse wild 
Of jocund din; and, when a lengthened pause 
Of silence came and baffled his best skill, 
Then som -times, in that silence while he hung 
Listening, a gentle shock of mild surprise 
Has carried far into his heart the voice 
Of mountain torrents; or the visible scene 
Would enter unawares into his mind, 
With all its solemn imagery, its rocks, 
Its woods, and that uncertain heaven,received 
Into the bosom of the steady lake. 
