In the Harbour: at La Chaudeau
from The French Of Charles Coran
In the Harbour: at La Chaudeau - meaning Summary
Returning to a Remembered Place
The speaker returns to La Chaudeau as an old man and contrasts his youthful happiness with present age. Memory and friendship preserve his spirit, easing sorrow and resisting the full weight of time. He imagines that a settled life there might have kept him forever youthful, yet he accepts his wandering fate. His final address asks friends to live well and sometimes remember him by the evening fire at the old chateau.
Read Complete AnalysesAt La Chaudeau,--'tis long since then: I was young,--my years twice ten; All things smiled on the happy boy, Dreams of love and songs of joy, Azure of heaven and wave below, At La Chaudeau. At La Chaudeau I come back old: My head is gray, my blood is cold; Seeking along the meadow ooze, Seeking beside the river Seymouse, The days of my spring-time of long ago At La Chaudeau. At La Chaudeau nor heart nor brain Ever grows old with grief and pain; A sweet remembrance keeps off age; A tender friendship doth still assuage The burden of sorrow that one may know At La Chaudeau. At La Chaudeau, had fate decreed To limit the wandering life I lead, Peradventure I still, forsooth, Should have preserved my fresh green youth, Under the shadows the hill-tops throw At La Chaudeau. At La Chaudeau, live on, my friends, Happy to be where God intends; And sometimes, by the evening fire, Think of him whose sole desire Is again to sit in the old chateau At La Chaudeau.
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