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Poem
December 14, 1832
Delaware Gazette And American Watchman
Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware
What is this article about?
Elegy for Charles Lee, the 74-year-old King of the Gipsies, who died in a tent near Lewis on August 16, 1832, and was buried in St. Ann's Churchyard before a thousand spectators. The poem celebrates his free, nature-attuned life as a wanderer.
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POETRY.
"Fair Ruler of the Visionary Hour,
Sweet Idol of the Passionate and Wild,
Enchantress of the Soul!"
THE GIPSEY KING.
Elegy for the King of the Gipsies, Charles Lee,
Who died in a tent near Lewis August 16, 1832
aged 74. He was buried in St. Ann's Churchyard
in presence of a thousand spectators.
Hurrah!-hurrah!-pile up the mound:
The Sun will gild its sod:-
The Sun, for threescore years and ten
The Gipsy's idol God!
O'er field and fen,-by waste and wild,
He watch'd its glorious rise,
To worship at that gorgeous shrine
The spirit of the skies.
No brick-built dwelling caged him in;
No lordly roof of stone;
High o'er his couch the vault of Heaven
In star-bright splendour shone!
The rustling leaves still murmur'd there:
The rambling woodbine flower
-Its twilight breath, exhaled to cheer
The outcast's desert bower!
To him the forest's pathless depths
The mossiest caves reveal'd;
To him, fair Nature's hand bequeath'd
Her fruits of flood and field;
The flower.-the root,-the beast,-the bird-
All living things, design'd
To feed the craving, or delight
The gaze of human kind!
The pencil'd wood-flower, fair and frail,
The squirrel's cunning nest,-
The granite throne, with lichens wild,
In broidered vesture drest:--
Sweet violets bedded in their leaves,
The first soft pledge of spring;-
Such were the gifts by Heaven's own hand
Shed on the Gipsy King!
The snow-drop glistening in the wood,
The crowsfoot on the lea,
Their gold and silver coin pour'd forth
To store his treasury;
The springy moss, by fairies spread,
His velvet footcloth made;
His canopy shot up amid
The lime-tree's emerald shade.
Buck,-pheasant,-hare,-some lordly park
Still yielded to his feast;
And firing for his winter warmth,
And forage for his beast.
Happier than herald-blazon'd Kings,
The monarch of the moor;
He levied taxes from the rich.-
They wring them from the poor!
With glow-worm lamp, and incense cull'd
Fresh from the beanfield's breath;
And matin lark,-and vesper thrush,
And honey-hoarded heath;
A throne beneath the forest boughs,
Fann'd by the wild bird's wing;
Of all the potentates on earth,
Hail to the Gipsy KING!
Tait's Mag.
"Fair Ruler of the Visionary Hour,
Sweet Idol of the Passionate and Wild,
Enchantress of the Soul!"
THE GIPSEY KING.
Elegy for the King of the Gipsies, Charles Lee,
Who died in a tent near Lewis August 16, 1832
aged 74. He was buried in St. Ann's Churchyard
in presence of a thousand spectators.
Hurrah!-hurrah!-pile up the mound:
The Sun will gild its sod:-
The Sun, for threescore years and ten
The Gipsy's idol God!
O'er field and fen,-by waste and wild,
He watch'd its glorious rise,
To worship at that gorgeous shrine
The spirit of the skies.
No brick-built dwelling caged him in;
No lordly roof of stone;
High o'er his couch the vault of Heaven
In star-bright splendour shone!
The rustling leaves still murmur'd there:
The rambling woodbine flower
-Its twilight breath, exhaled to cheer
The outcast's desert bower!
To him the forest's pathless depths
The mossiest caves reveal'd;
To him, fair Nature's hand bequeath'd
Her fruits of flood and field;
The flower.-the root,-the beast,-the bird-
All living things, design'd
To feed the craving, or delight
The gaze of human kind!
The pencil'd wood-flower, fair and frail,
The squirrel's cunning nest,-
The granite throne, with lichens wild,
In broidered vesture drest:--
Sweet violets bedded in their leaves,
The first soft pledge of spring;-
Such were the gifts by Heaven's own hand
Shed on the Gipsy King!
The snow-drop glistening in the wood,
The crowsfoot on the lea,
Their gold and silver coin pour'd forth
To store his treasury;
The springy moss, by fairies spread,
His velvet footcloth made;
His canopy shot up amid
The lime-tree's emerald shade.
Buck,-pheasant,-hare,-some lordly park
Still yielded to his feast;
And firing for his winter warmth,
And forage for his beast.
Happier than herald-blazon'd Kings,
The monarch of the moor;
He levied taxes from the rich.-
They wring them from the poor!
With glow-worm lamp, and incense cull'd
Fresh from the beanfield's breath;
And matin lark,-and vesper thrush,
And honey-hoarded heath;
A throne beneath the forest boughs,
Fann'd by the wild bird's wing;
Of all the potentates on earth,
Hail to the Gipsy KING!
Tait's Mag.
What sub-type of article is it?
Elegy
Pastoral
What themes does it cover?
Death Mourning
Nature Seasons
What keywords are associated?
Gypsy King
Charles Lee
Elegy
Gipsy Life
Nature Worship
Lewis
1832
Death Burial
Poem Details
Title
The Gipsey King
Subject
Elegy For The King Of The Gipsies, Charles Lee, Who Died In A Tent Near Lewis August 16, 1832 Aged 74
Key Lines
Hurrah! Hurrah! Pile Up The Mound:
The Sun Will Gild Its Sod:
The Sun, For Threescore Years And Ten
The Gipsy's Idol God!
Of All The Potentates On Earth,
Hail To The Gipsy King!