Poems and Translations from the Ancient Celtic Bards

THE DESERTED VALLEY.

O yes ! the charmer The "charmer" here refers to Hope or Memory, which enticed the speaker back home with pleasant thoughts. lent her guile, guile: a deceptive or cunning sort of charm
      And promised me of joy, no less
Than meet again affection’s smile,
      And friendship’s gentle hand to press.

In vain, alas ! A mournful change
      Decayed thy beauties ; time’s career
Had faded thy fair fertile range,
      And banish’d all I held so dear !

The woodland boughs were spreading still,
      The crag-topp’d banks were green as ever ;
The torrent torrent: a fast-moving, rushing stream of water leaped adown the hill,
      A silv’ry tribute to the river :

But lonely now appeared the wood,
      As hollow breezes swept its deepness ;
Fled from the banks the bleating brood A poetic reference to flocks of sheep that used to graze on the hillsides.
      That skipped before across their steepness.

And on the hill, beside the font— font: a natural spring or source of water
      Nor through the brook—nor by the river,
Mused,—sported,—or waysped waysped: an archaic term for traveling or going along one's way as wont,
      The learned, the artless, In this context, "artless" refers to simple, sincere, or natural people, likely the local country folk. or the lover.

The poet concludes this section by noting the absence of all social classes—the scholars, the common people, and the young lovers—who once brought life to the valley.