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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
ROWFANT LIBRARY, by ANDREW LANG Poet Analysis Poet's Biography
First Line: I mind me of the shepherd's saw
Subject(s): Books
First Line: I mind me of the shepherd's saw
Subject(s): Books
I MIND me of the Shepherd's saw,
For, when men spoke of Heaven, quoth he,
It's everything that ' s bright and braw,
But Bourhope's good enough for me. "
Among the green deep bosomed hills
That guard St. Mary's Loch it lies,
The silence of the pastures fills
That yeoman's homely paradise!
Enough for him his mountain lake,
His glen the burn goes singing through;
And Rowfant, when the thrushes wake,
Might well seem Paradise to you!
For all is old, and tried, and dear,
And all is fair, and all about
The brook that murmurs from the mere
Is dimpled with the rising trout.
And when the skies of shorter days
Are dark, and all the paths are mire,
How kindly o'er your Books the blaze
Sports from the cheerful study fire;
O'er Quartos, where our Fathers read
Entranced, the Book of Shakspere's play,
O'er all that Poe has dreamed of dread,
And all that Herrick sang of gay!
Rare First Editions, duly prized,
Among them dearest far I rate
The tome where Walton's hand revised
His magical receipts for bait.
Happy, who rich in toys like these
Forgets a weary nation's ills,
Who, from his study window sees
The circle of the Sussex hills!
But back to town my Muse must fly,
And taste the smoke, and list to them
Who cry the News, and seem to cry
(With each Gladstonian victory),
Woe, woe unto Jerusalem!
*NOTE: The Rowfant Books are a collection of rare and valuable books, primarily focused on
literature and fine printing. These books were gathered and assembled by Charles Freer Andrews
(1835-1918), an American businessman and collector. The collection is named after Rowfant, a
village in West Sussex, England, where Andrews had a country residence. The Rowfant Books are
highly sought after by bibliophiles and collectors due to their unique and often beautifully bound
editions.
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