_The Contrast of Yesterday_, _and To-day_; _supposed to be written on the
Summit of_ SNOWDON.
HOW gay was yesterday!—no storm was heard
To mutter round thy steep! yon sun arose
With golden splendour, and in still repose
Nature majestic thro’ her works appear’d.
To-day, how chang’d!—loud howls the hollow blast!
The thin mists undulate! thy tow’ring height
Is veil’d in tempest, and eternal night!
So ’tis with man! contrasting prospects past
With dreams of future happiness—to-day
In gallant trim his little bark may glide,
On the smooth current of the tranquil tide:
To-morrow comes!—the gathering storms display
A sad vicissitude—the whirlwind’s sweep,
Grasps at his prey, and whelms it in the deep.