TO THE LADY E. B. AND THE HON. MISS P.
Composed in the Grounds of Plass Newidd, near Llangollen, 1824.
In this Vale of Meditation my friend Jones resided, having been
allowed by his diocesan to fix himself there without resigning his
Living in Oxfordshire. He was with my wife and daughter and me
when we visited these celebrated ladies who had retired, as one
may say, into notice in this vale. Their cottage lay directly in
the road between London and Dublin, and they were of course
visited by their Irish friends as well as innumerable strangers.
They took much delight in passing jokes on our friend Jones's
plumpness, ruddy cheeks, and smiling countenance, as little suited
to a hermit living in the Vale of Meditation. We all thought there
was ample room for retort on his part, so curious was the
appearance of these ladies, so elaborately sentimental about
themselves and their 'Caro Albergo', as they named it in an
inscription on a tree that stood opposite, the endearing epithet
being preceded by the word ECCO! calling upon the saunterer to
look about him. So oddly was one of these ladies attired that we
took her, at a little distance, for a Roman Catholic priest, with
a crucifix and relics hung at his neck. They were without caps,
their hair bushy and white as snow, which contributed to the
mistake.
A STREAM, to mingle with your favourite Dee,
Along the VALE OF MEDITATION flows;
So styled by those fierce Britons, pleased to see
In Nature's face the expression of repose;
Or haply there some pious hermit chose
To live and die, the peace of heaven his aim;
To whom the wild sequestered region owes
At this late day, its sanctifying name.
GLYN CAFAILLGAROCH, in the Cambrian tongue,
In ours, the VALE OF FRIENDSHIP, let 'this' spot
Be named; where, faithful to a low-roofed Cot,
On Deva's banks, ye have abode so long;
Sisters in love, a love allowed to climb,
Even on this earth, above the reach of Time!
NOTE
2 Glyn Myrvr.
