Or watch'd his lazy boat still less'ning more and more. 1800.]


[Variant 7:

1842.

My father was a good and pious man,
An honest man by honest parents bred, 1798.]


[Variant 8: Stanzas XXIV. and XXV. were omitted from the editions of
1802 and 1805. They were restored in 1820.]


[Variant 9:

1842.

Can I forget what charms did once adorn
My garden, stored with pease, and mint, and thyme,
And rose and lilly for the sabbath morn?
The sabbath bells, and their delightful chime;
The gambols and wild freaks at shearing time;
My hen's rich nest through long grass scarce espied;
The cowslip-gathering at May's dewy prime;
The swans, that, when I sought the water-side,
From far to meet me came, spreading their snowy pride. 1798.

Can I forget our croft and plot of corn;