| Hunt and Lee, comps. The Book of the Sonnet. 1867. | | | | V. The Frozen Stream | | By Mrs. Mary Noel McDonald |
| | | CHAINED with strong fetters, fair and restless stream, | |
| Thine onward course, thou rover, harshly stayed, | |
| No more by mossy bank or sylvan glade | |
| Goest thou rejoicing; and the solar beam | |
| That erst threw glittering gems upon thy breast, | 5 |
| No longer owns a power to set thee free. | |
| Fain would the golden rays disturb thy rest, | |
| But, faint and trembling, fail to succor thee. | |
| A mighty arm forbids thy further flow, | |
| And seals with icy band each sparkling wave, | 10 |
| Lays bare the verdant bank thou lov’st to lave | |
| And stills thy babbling tongue; nor shalt thou know, | |
| Sweet captive, aught of liberty again, | |
| Till Spring with gentle hand unbinds the chilling chain. | | | | |
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