Part 5

What way does the Wind come? What way does he go? He rides over the water, and over the snow, Through wood, and through vale; and, o'er rocky height Which the goat cannot climb, takes his sounding flight; He tosses about in every bare tree, 5 As, if you look up, you plainly may see; But how he will come, and whither he goes, There's never a scholar in England knows. He will suddenly stop in a cunning nook, And ring[1] a sharp 'larum;--but, if you should look, 10 There's nothing to see but a cushion of snow Round as a pillow, and whiter than milk, And softer than if it were covered with silk. Sometimes he'll hide in the cave of a rock, Then whistle as shrill as the buzzard cock; 15 --Yet seek him,--and what shall you find in the place? Nothing but silence and empty space; Save, in a corner, a heap of dry leaves, That he's left, for a bed, to[2] beggars or thieves! As soon as 'tis daylight to-morrow, with me 20 You shall go to the orchard, and then you will see That he has been there, and made a great rout, And cracked the branches, and strewn them about; Heaven grant that he spare but that one upright twig That looked up at the sky so proud and big 25 All last summer, as well you know, Studded with apples, a beautiful show! Hark! over the roof he makes a pause, And growls as if he would fix his claws Right in the slates, and with a huge rattle 30 Drive them down, like men in a battle: --But let him range round; he does us no harm, We build up the fire, we're snug and warm; Untouched by his breath see the candle shines bright, And burns with a clear and steady light; 35 Books have we to read,--but that half-stifled knell, Alas! tis the sound[3] of the eight o'clock bell. --Come now we'll to bed! and when we are there He may work his own will, and what shall we care? He may knock at the door,--we'll not let him in; 40 May drive at the windows,--we'll laugh at his din; Let him seek his own home wherever it be; Here's a _cozie_ warm house for Edward and me.

Wordsworth dated this poem 1806, and said to Miss Fenwick that it was written at Grasmere. If it was written "during a boisterous winter evening" in 1806, it could not have been written at Grasmere; because the Wordsworths spent most of that winter at Coleorton. I am inclined to believe that the date which the poet gave is wrong, and that the _Address_ really belongs to the year 1805; but, as it is just possible that--although referring to winter--it may have been written at Town-end in the summer of 1806, it is placed among the poems belonging to the latter year.

This _Address_ was translated into French by Mme. Amable Tastu, and published in a popular school-book series of extracts, but Wordsworth's name is not given along with the translation.

From 1815 to 1843 the authorship was veiled under the title, "by a female Friend of the Author." In 1845, it was disclosed, "by my Sister."

In 1815 Charles Lamb wrote to Wordsworth, "We were glad to see the poems 'by a female friend.' The one of the Wind is masterly, but not new to us. Being only three, perhaps you might have clapt a D. at the corner, and let it have past as a printer's mark to the uninitiated, as a delightful hint to the better instructed. As it is, expect a formal criticism on the poems of your female friend, and she must expect it." (_The Letters of Charles Lamb_, edited by Alfred Ainger, vol. i. p. 285.)--ED.

VARIANTS:

[1] 1845.

... rings ... 1815.

[2] 1827.

... for ... 1815.

[3] 1827.

... --hush! that half-stifled knell, Methinks 'tis the sound ... 1815.

"BROOK! WHOSE SOCIETY THE POET SEEKS"

Composed 1806?--Published 1815

One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.

Brook! whose society the Poet seeks, Intent his wasted spirits to renew; And whom the curious Painter doth pursue Through rocky passes, among flowery creeks, And tracks thee dancing down thy water-breaks; 5 If wish were mine some type of thee to view,[1] Thee, and not thee thyself, I would not do Like Grecian Artists, give thee human cheeks, Channels for tears; no Naiad should'st thou be,-- Have neither limbs, feet, feathers, joints nor hairs: 10 It seems the Eternal Soul is clothed in thee With purer robes than those of flesh and blood, And hath bestowed on thee a safer good;[2] Unwearied joy, and life without its cares.

VARIANTS:

[1] 1827.

If I some type of thee did wish to view, 1815.

[2] 1845.

... a better good; 1815.

"THERE IS A LITTLE UNPRETENDING RILL"

Composed 1806?--Published 1820

[This Rill trickles down the hill-side into Windermere, near Low-wood. My sister and I, on our first visit together to this part of the country, walked from Kendal, and we rested to refresh ourselves by the side of the lake where the streamlet falls into it. This sonnet was written some years after in recollection of that happy ramble, that most happy day and hour.--I. F.]

One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.

There is a little unpretending Rill Of limpid water, humbler far than aught[1] That ever among Men or Naiads sought Notice or name!--It quivers down the hill, Furrowing its shallow way with dubious will; 5 Yet to my mind this scanty Stream is brought[2] Oftener than Ganges or the Nile; a thought Of private recollection sweet and still![3] Months perish with their moons; year treads on year; But, faithful Emma! thou with me canst say 10 That, while ten thousand pleasures disappear, And flies their memory fast almost as they,[4] The immortal Spirit of one happy day Lingers beside that Rill,[5] in vision clear.[6]

One of the MS. readings of the ninth line of this sonnet gives the date of the incident as "now seven years gone"; but I leave the date of composition undetermined. If we could know accurately the date of the "first visit" to the district with his sister (referred to in the Fenwick note), and if we could implicitly trust this MS. reading, it might be possible to fix it; but we can do neither. Wordsworth visited the Lake District with his sister as early as 1794, and in December 1799 he took up his abode with her at Dove Cottage. I have no doubt that the sonnet belongs to the year 1806, or was composed at an earlier date. As to the locality of the rill, the late Rev. R. Perceval Graves, of Dublin, wrote to me:--

"It was in 1843, when quitting the parsonage at Bowness, I went to reside at Dovenest, that, calling one day at Rydal Mount, I was told by both Mr. and Mrs. Wordsworth, as a fact in which I should take a special interest, that the 'little unpretending rill' associated by the poet with 'the immortal spirit of one happy day,' was the rill which, rising near High Skelgill at the back of Wansfell, descends steeply down the hill-side, passes behind the house at Dovenest, and crossing beneath the road, enters the lake near the gate of the drive which leads up to Dovenest.

"The authority on which I give this information is decisive of the question. I have often traced upwards the course of the rill; and the secluded hollow, which by its source is beautified with fresh herbage and wild straggling bushes, was a favourite haunt of mine."--ED.

VARIANTS:

[1] 1820.

There is a tiny water, neither rill, Motionless well, nor running brook, nor aught MS.

There is a noiseless water, neither rill, Nor spring enclosed in sculptured stone, nor aught MS.

There is a trickling water, neither rill, Fountain inclosed, or rivulet, nor aught MS. 1806.

[2] 1820.

... It trickles down the hill, So feebly, just for love of power and will, Yet to my mind the nameless thing is brought MS.

... It totters down the hill, So feebly, quite forlorn of power and will; Yet nameless Thing it to my mind is brought MS.

[3] 1827.

Oftener than mightiest Floods, whose path is wrought Through wastes of sand, and forests dark and chill. 1820.

[4] 1827.

Do thou, even thou, O faithful Anna! say Why this small Streamlet is to me so dear; Thou know'st, that while enjoyments disappear And sweet remembrances like flowers decay, 1820.

[5] 1827.

Lingers upon its marge, ... 1820.

[6] 1820.

For on that day, now seven years gone, when first Two glad foot-travellers, through sun and shower My Love and I came hither, while thanks burst Out of our hearts ... We from that blessed water slaked our thirst. MS.

... seven years back, ...

... hearts to God for that good hour, Eating a traveller's meal in shady bower, We ... MS.

1807

In few instances is it more evident that the dates which Wordsworth affixed to his poems, in the editions of 1815, 1820, 1836, and 1845,--and those assigned in the Fenwick notes--cannot be absolutely relied upon, than in the case of the poems referring to Coleorton. Trusting to these dates, in the absence of contrary evidence, one would naturally assign the majority of the Coleorton poems to the year 1808. But it is clear that, while the sonnet _To Lady Beaumont_ may have been written in 1806, the "Inscription" _For a Seat in the Groves of Coleorton_, beginning--

Beneath yon eastern ridge, the craggy bound,

was written, not in 1808 (as stated by Wordsworth himself), but in 1811; and that the other "Inscription" designed for a Niche in the Winter-garden at Coleorton, belongs (I think) to the same year; a year in which he also wrote the sonnet on Sir George Beaumont's picture of Bredon Hill and Cloud Hill, beginning--

Praised be the Art whose subtle power could stay.

When the dates are so difficult to determine, there is a natural fitness in bringing all the poems referring to Coleorton together, so far as this can be done without seriously interfering with chronological order. The two "Inscriptions" intended for the Coleorton grounds, which were written at Grasmere in 1811, are therefore printed along with the poems of 1807; the precise date of each being given--so far as it can be ascertained--underneath its title.

Several political sonnets, and others, were written in 1807; also the _Song at the Feast of Brougham Castle_, and the first and larger part of _The White Doe of Rylstone_, with a few minor fragments. But, for reasons stated in the notes to _The White Doe of Rylstone_ (see p. 191), I have assigned that poem to the year 1808. The _Song at the Feast of Brougham Castle_ forms as natural a preface to _The White Doe_, as _The Force of Prayer, a Tradition of Bolton Abbey_, is its natural appendix. The latter was written, however, before _The White Doe of Rylstone_ was finished.

It would be easier to fix the date of some of the poems written between the years 1806 and 1808, if we knew the exact month in which the two volumes of 1807 were published; but this, I fear, it is impossible to discover now.

On November 10th, 1806, Wordsworth wrote to Sir George Beaumont from Coleorton, "In a day or two I mean to send a sheet or two of my intended volume to the press" (evidently referring to the "Poems" of 1807). On the following day--11th November 1806--Dorothy Wordsworth wrote to Lady Beaumont, "William has written two other poems, which you will see when they are printed. He composes frequently in the grove.... We have not yet received a sheet from the printer." On the 15th November 1806 she again wrote to Lady Beaumont (from Coleorton), "My brother works very hard at his poems, preparing them for the press. Miss Hutchinson is the transcriber." In a subsequent letter from Coleorton, undated, but bearing the post-mark February 18, 1807, she is speaking of her brother's poetical labour, and says, "He must go on, when he begins: and any interruptions (such as attending to the progress of the workmen and planning the garden) are of the greatest use to him; for, after a certain time, the progress is by no means proportioned to the labour in composition; and if he is called from it by other thoughts, he returns to it with ten times the pleasure, and the work goes on proportionately the more rapidly." From this we may infer that the years 1806-7 were productive ones, but it is disappointing that the dates of the composition of the poems are so difficult to determine.--ED.

TO LADY BEAUMONT

Composed 1807.--Published 1807

[The winter garden of Coleorton, fashioned out of an old quarry, under the superintendence and direction of Mrs. Wordsworth and my sister Dorothy, during the winter and spring we resided there.--I. F.]

One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.

Lady! the songs of Spring were in the grove While I was shaping beds for[1] winter flowers; While I was planting green unfading bowers, And shrubs--to hang upon the warm alcove, And sheltering wall; and still, as Fancy wove 5 The dream, to time and nature's blended powers I gave this paradise for winter hours, A labyrinth, Lady! which your feet shall rove. Yes! when the sun of life more feebly shines, Becoming thoughts, I trust, of solemn gloom 10 Or of high gladness you shall hither bring; And these perennial bowers and murmuring pines Be gracious as the music and the bloom And all the mighty ravishment of spring.

The title, _To Lady Beaumont_, was first given in 1845. In 1807 it was _To the ----_; in 1815, _To the Lady ----_; and from 1820 to 1843, _To the Lady Beaumont_.

This winter garden, fashioned by the Wordsworths out of the old quarry at Coleorton, during Sir George and Lady Beaumont's absence in 1807, exists very much as it was at the beginning of the century. The "perennial bowers and murmuring pines" may still be seen, little altered since 1807. The late Sir George Beaumont (whose grandfather was first-cousin to the artist Sir George, Wordsworth's friend), with strong reverence for the past, and for the traditions of literary men which have made the district famous since the days of his ancestor Beaumont the dramatist, and especially for the memorials of Wordsworth's ten months' residence at Coleorton,--took a pleasure in preserving these memorials, very much as they were when he entered in possession of the estates of his ancestors. Such a reverence for the past is not only consistent with the "improvement" of an estate, and its belongings; it is a part of it. Wordsworth, and his wife and sister, were adepts in the laying out of grounds. (See the reference to the poet's joint labour with Wilkinson at Yanwath, p. 2.) It was the Wordsworths also, I believe, who designed the grounds of Fox How--Dr. Arnold's residence, near Ambleside. Similar memorials of the poet survive at Hallsteads, Ullswater. The following is an extract from the letter of Dorothy Wordsworth to Lady Beaumont above referred to, and having the post-mark of February 18, 1807. "For more than a week we have had the most delightful weather. If William had but waited a few days, it would have been no anticipation when he said to you, 'the songs of Spring were in the grove;' for all this week the birds have chanted from morn till evening, larks, blackbirds, thrushes, and far more than I can name, and the busy rooks have joined their happy voices."

Wordsworth, writing to Sir George Beaumont, November 16, 1811, says, "I remember, Mr. Bowles, the poet, objected to the word 'ravishment' at the end of the sonnet to the winter-garden; yet it has the authority of all the first-rate poets, for instance, Milton:

'In whose sight all things joy, _with ravishment_, Attracted by thy beauty still to gaze'...." ED.

VARIANTS:

[1] 1837.

... framing beds of ... 1807.

... for ... 1815.

A PROPHECY. FEBRUARY, 1807

Composed 1807.--Published 1807

Included among the "Sonnets dedicated to Liberty," re-named in 1845, "Poems dedicated to National Independence and Liberty."--ED.

High deeds, O Germans, are to come from you! Thus in your books the record shall be found, "A watchword was pronounced, a potent sound-- ARMINIUS![A]--all the people quaked like dew Stirred by the breeze; they rose, a Nation, true, 5 True to herself[1]--the mighty Germany, She of the Danube and the Northern Sea, She rose, and off at once the yoke she threw. All power was given her in the dreadful trance; Those new-born Kings she withered like a flame."[B] 10 --Woe to them all! but heaviest woe and shame To that Bavarian who could[2] first advance His banner in accursed league with France,[C] First open traitor to the German name![3]

VARIANTS:

[1] 1820.

... itself ... 1807.

[2] 1837.

... did ... 1807.

[3] 1837.

... to her sacred name! 1807.

... to a ... 1820.

FOOTNOTES:

[A] Arminius, or Hermann, the liberator of Germany from the Roman power, A.D. 9-17. Tacitus says of him, "He was without doubt the deliverer of Germany; and, unlike other kings and generals, he attacked the Roman people, not at the commencement, but in the fullness of their power: in battles he was not always successful, but he was invincible in war. He still lives in the songs of the barbarians."--ED.

[B] The "new-born Kings" were the lesser German potentates, united in the Confederation of the Rhine. By a treaty signed at Paris (July 12th, 1806), by Talleyrand, and the ministers of twelve sovereign houses of the Empire, these princes declared themselves perpetually severed from Germany, and united together as the Confederate States of the Rhine, of which the Emperor of the French was declared Protector.--ED.

[C] On December 11, 1806, Napoleon concluded a treaty with Frederick Augustus, the Elector of Saxony--who had been secretly on the side of France for some time--to whom he gave additional territories, and the title of King, admitting him into "the Confederation of the Rhine." He had fallen, as one of the Prussian statesmen put it, into "that lowest of degradations, to steal at another man's bidding."--ED.

THOUGHT OF A BRITON ON THE SUBJUGATION OF SWITZERLAND

Composed 1807.--Published 1807

[This was composed while pacing to and fro between the Hall of Coleorton, then rebuilding, and the principal Farmhouse of the Estate, in which we lived for nine or ten months. I will here mention that the _Song on the Restoration of Lord Clifford_, as well as that on the _Feast of Brougham Castle_, were produced on the same ground.--I. F.]

This sonnet was classed among those "dedicated to Liberty," re-named in 1845, "Poems dedicated to National Independence and Liberty."--ED.

Two Voices are there; one is of the sea, One of the mountains; each a mighty Voice: In both from age to age thou didst rejoice, They were thy chosen music, Liberty! There came a Tyrant, and with holy glee 5 Thou fought'st against him; but hast vainly striven: Thou from thy Alpine holds at length art driven, Where not a torrent murmurs heard by thee. Of one deep bliss thine ear hath been bereft: Then cleave, O cleave to that which still is left; 10 For, high-souled Maid, what sorrow would it be That Mountain floods should thunder as before, And Ocean bellow from his rocky shore, And neither awful Voice be heard by thee!

In 1807 the whole of the Continent of Europe was prostrate under the power of Napoleon. It is impossible to say to what special incident, if to any in particular, Wordsworth refers in the phrase, "with holy glee thou fought'st against him;" but, as the sonnet was composed at Coleorton in 1807--after the battles of Austerlitz and Jena, and Napoleon's practical mastery of Europe--our knowing the particular event or events in Swiss history to which he refers, would not add much to our understanding of the poem.

In the Fenwick note Wordsworth incorrectly separates his _Song on the Restoration of Lord Clifford_ from the _Feast of Brougham Castle_. They are the same song.--ED.

TO THOMAS CLARKSON, ON THE FINAL PASSING OF THE BILL FOR THE ABOLITION OF THE SLAVE TRADE, MARCH, 1807

Composed 1807.--Published 1807

One of the "Poems dedicated to National Independence and Liberty."--ED.

Clarkson! it was an obstinate hill to climb: How toilsome--nay, how dire--it was, by thee Is known; by none, perhaps, so feelingly: But thou, who, starting in thy fervent prime, Didst first lead forth that enterprise[1] sublime, 5 Hast heard the constant Voice its charge repeat, Which, out of thy young heart's oracular seat, First roused thee.--O true yoke-fellow of Time, Duty's intrepid liegeman, see,[2] the palm Is won, and by all Nations shall be worn! 10 The blood-stained Writing is for ever torn; And thou henceforth wilt have[3] a good man's calm, A great man's happiness; thy zeal shall find Repose at length, firm friend of human kind!

On the 25th of March 1807, the Royal assent was given to the Bill for the Abolition of the Slave Trade. The movement for its abolition was begun by Wilberforce, and carried on by Clarkson. Its abolition was voted by the House of Lords on the motion of Lord Grenville, and by the Commons on the motion of Charles James Fox, on the 10th of June 1806. The bill was read a second time in the Lords on the 5th of February, and became law on the 25th of March 1807.

VARIANTS:

[1] 1837.

... this pilgrimage ... 1807.

[2] 1837.

With unabating effort, see, ... 1807.

[3] 1837.

The bloody Writing is for ever torn, And Thou henceforth shalt have ... 1807.

THE MOTHER'S RETURN

BY MY SISTER

Composed 1807.--Published 1815

[Written at Town-end, Grasmere.--I. F.]

One of the "Poems referring to the Period of Childhood."--ED.

A month, sweet Little-ones, is past Since your dear Mother went away,-- And she to-morrow will return; To-morrow is the happy day.

O blessed tidings! thought of joy! 5 The eldest heard with steady glee; Silent he stood; then laughed amain,-- And shouted, "Mother, come to me!"

Louder and louder did he shout, With witless hope to bring her near; 10 "Nay, patience! patience, little boy! Your tender mother cannot hear."

I told of hills, and far-off towns, And long, long vales to travel through;-- He listens, puzzled, sore perplexed, 15 But he submits; what can he do?

No strife disturbs his sister's breast; She wars not with the mystery Of time and distance, night and day; The bonds of our humanity. 20

Her joy is like an instinct, joy Of kitten, bird, or summer fly; She dances, runs without an aim, She chatters in her ecstasy.

Her brother now takes up the note, 25 And echoes back his sister's glee; They hug the infant in my arms, As if to force his sympathy.

Then, settling into fond discourse, We rested in the garden bower; 30 While sweetly shone the evening sun In his departing hour.