Part 11

"Is this," the grey-haired Wanderer mildly said, "The voice, which we so lately overheard, 226 To that same child, addressing tenderly The consolations of a hopeful mind? '_His body is at rest, his soul in heaven._' These were your words; and, verily, methinks 230 Wisdom is oft-times nearer when we stoop Than when we soar."-- The Other, not displeased, Promptly replied--"My notion is the same. And I, without reluctance, could decline All act of inquisition whence we rise, 235 And what, when breath hath ceased, we may become. Here are we, in a bright and breathing world. Our origin, what matters it? In lack Of worthier explanation, say at once With the American (a thought which suits 240 The place where now we stand) that certain men Leapt out together from a rocky cave;[CZ] And these were the first parents of mankind: Or, if a different image be recalled By the warm sunshine, and the jocund voice 245 Of insects chirping out their careless lives On these soft beds of thyme-besprinkled turf, Choose, with the gay Athenian, a conceit As sound--blithe race! whose mantles were bedecked With golden grasshoppers,[DA] in sign that they 250 Had sprung, like those bright creatures, from the soil Whereon their endless generations dwelt.[232] But stop!--these theoretic fancies jar On serious minds: then, as the Hindoos draw[233] Their holy Ganges from a skiey fount,[DB] 255 Even so deduce the stream of human life From seats of power divine; and hope, or trust, That our existence winds her[234] stately course Beneath the sun, like Ganges, to make part Of a living ocean; or, to sink engulfed,[235] 260 Like Niger, in impenetrable sands And utter darkness:[DC] thought which may be faced, Though comfortless!-- "Not of myself I speak; Such acquiescence neither doth imply, In me, a meekly-bending spirit soothed 265 By natural piety; nor a lofty mind, By philosophic discipline prepared For calm subjection to acknowledged law; Pleased to have been, contented not to be. Such palms I boast not;--no! to me, who find, 270 Reviewing my past way, much to condemn, Little to praise, and nothing to regret, (Save some remembrances of dream-like joys That scarcely seem to have belonged to me) If I must take my choice between the pair 275 That rule alternately the weary hours, Night is than day more acceptable; sleep Doth, in my estimate of good, appear A better state than waking; death than sleep: Feelingly sweet is stillness after storm, 280 Though under covert of the wormy ground!

"Yet be it said, in justice to myself, That in more genial times, when I was free To explore the destiny of human kind (Not as an intellectual game pursued 285 With curious subtilty, from wish[236] to cheat Irksome sensations; but by love of truth Urged on, or haply by intense delight In feeding thought, wherever thought could feed) I did not rank with those (too dull or nice, 290 For to my judgment such they then appeared, Or too aspiring, thankless at the best) Who, in this frame of human life, perceive An object whereunto their souls are tied In discontented wedlock; nor did e'er, 295 From me, those dark impervious shades, that hang Upon the region whither we are bound, Exclude a power to enjoy the vital beams Of present sunshine.--Deities that float On wings, angelic Spirits! I could muse 300 O'er what from eldest time we have been told Of your bright forms and glorious faculties, And with the imagination rest[237] content, Not wishing more; repining not to tread The little sinuous path of earthly care, 305 By flowers embellished, and by springs refreshed.[238] --'Blow winds of autumn!--let your chilling breath Take the live herbage from the mead, and strip The shady forest of its green attire,-- And let the bursting clouds to fury rouse 310 The gentle brooks!--Your desolating sway, Sheds,' I exclaimed, 'no sadness upon me,[239] And no disorder in your rage I find. What dignity, what beauty, in this change From mild to angry, and from sad to gay, 315 Alternate and revolving! How benign, How rich in animation and delight, How bountiful these elements--compared With aught, as more desirable and fair, Devised by fancy for the golden age; 320 Or the perpetual warbling that prevails In Arcady,[DE] beneath unaltered skies, Through the long year in constant quiet bound, Night hushed as night, and day serene as day!' --But why this tedious record?--Age, we know, 325 Is garrulous; and solitude is apt To anticipate the privilege of Age. From far ye come; and surely with a hope Of better entertainment:--let us hence!"

Loth to forsake the spot, and still more loth 330 To be diverted from our present theme, I said, "My thoughts, agreeing, Sir, with yours, Would push this censure farther;--for, if smiles Of scornful pity be the just reward Of Poesy thus courteously employed 335 In framing models to improve the scheme Of Man's existence, and recast the world, Why should not grave Philosophy be styled, Herself, a dreamer of a kindred stock, A dreamer yet more spiritless and dull? 340 Yes, shall the fine immunities she boasts[240] Establish sounder titles of esteem For her, who (all too timid and reserved For onset, for resistance too inert, Too weak for suffering, and for hope too tame) 345 Placed, among[241] flowery gardens curtained round With world-excluding groves, the brotherhood Of soft Epicureans,[DF] taught--if they The ends of being would secure, and win The crown of wisdom--to yield up their souls 350 To a voluptuous unconcern, preferring Tranquillity to all things. Or is she," I cried, "more worthy of regard, the Power, Who, for the sake of sterner quiet, closed The Stoic's[DG] heart against the vain approach 355 Of admiration, and all sense of joy?"

His countenance gave notice that my zeal Accorded little with his present mind; I ceased, and he resumed.--"Ah! gentle Sir, Slight, if you will, the _means_; but spare to slight 360 The _end_ of those, who did, by system, rank, As the prime object of a wise man's aim, Security from shock of accident, Release from fear; and cherished peaceful days For their own sakes, as mortal life's chief good, 365 And only reasonable felicity. What motive drew, what impulse, I would ask, Through a long course of later ages, drove The hermit to his cell in forest wide; Or what detained him, till his closing eyes 370 Took their last farewell of the sun and stars, Fast anchored in the desert?--Not alone Dread of the persecuting sword, remorse, Wrongs unredressed, or insults unavenged And unavengeable, defeated pride, 375 Prosperity subverted, maddening want, Friendship betrayed, affection unreturned, Love with despair, or grief in agony;-- Not always from intolerable pangs 379 He fled; but, compassed round by pleasure, sighed For independent happiness; craving peace, The central feeling of all happiness, Not as a refuge from distress or pain, A breathing-time, vacation, or a truce, But for its absolute self; a life of peace, 385 Stability without regret or fear; That hath been, is, and shall be evermore!-- Such the reward he sought; and wore out life, There, where on few external things his heart Was set, and those his own; or, if not his, 390 Subsisting under nature's stedfast law.

"What other yearning was the master tie Of the monastic brotherhood, upon rock Aërial, or in green secluded vale, One after one, collected from afar, 395 An undissolving fellowship?--What but this, The universal instinct of repose, The longing for confirmed tranquillity, Inward and outward; humble, yet sublime: The life where hope and memory are as one; 400 Where earth is quiet and her face unchanged Save by the simplest toil of human hands Or seasons' difference; the immortal Soul[242] Consistent in self-rule; and heaven revealed To meditation in that quietness!-- 405 Such was their scheme: and though the wished for end By multitudes was missed, perhaps attained By none, they for the attempt, and pains employed,[243] Do, in my present censure, stand redeemed From the unqualified disdain, that once 410 Would have been cast upon them by my voice Delivering her[244] decisions from the seat Of forward youth--that scruples not to solve Doubts, and determine questions, by the rules Of inexperienced judgment, ever prone 415 To overweening faith; and is inflamed, By courage, to demand from real life The test of act and suffering, to provoke Hostility--how dreadful when it comes, Whether affliction be the foe, or guilt! 420

"A child of earth, I rested, in that stage Of my past course to which these thoughts advert, Upon earth's native energies; forgetting That mine was a condition which required Nor energy, nor fortitude--a calm 425 Without vicissitude; which, if the like Had been presented to my view elsewhere, I might have even been tempted to despise. But no--for the serene[245] was also bright; Enlivened happiness with joy o'erflowing, 430 With joy, and--oh! that memory should survive To speak the word--with rapture! Nature's boon, Life's genuine inspiration, happiness Above what rules can teach, or fancy feign; Abused, as all possessions _are_[246] abused 435 That are not prized according to their worth. And yet, what worth? what good is given to men, More solid than the gilded clouds of heaven? What joy more lasting than a vernal flower? None! 'tis the general plaint of human kind 440 In solitude: and mutually addressed From each to all, for wisdom's sake:--This truth The priest announces from his holy seat: And, crowned with garlands in the summer grove, The poet fits it to his pensive lyre. 445 Yet, ere that final resting-place be gained, Sharp contradictions may arise, by doom Of this same life, compelling us to grieve[247] That the prosperities of love and joy Should be permitted, oft-times, to endure 450 So long, and be at once cast down for ever. Oh! tremble, ye, to whom hath been assigned A course of days composing happy months, And they as happy years; the present still So like the past, and both so firm a pledge 455 Of a congenial future, that the wheels Of pleasure move without the aid of hope: For Mutability is Nature's bane; And slighted Hope _will_[248] be avenged; and, when Ye need her favours, ye shall find her not; 460 But in her stead--fear--doubt--and agony!"

This was the bitter language of the heart: But, while he spake, look, gesture, tone of voice, Though discomposed and vehement, were such As skill and graceful nature might suggest 465 To a proficient of the tragic scene Standing before the multitude, beset With dark events. Desirous to divert[249] Or stem the current of the speaker's thoughts, We signified a wish to leave that place 470 Of stillness and close privacy, a nook That seemed for self-examination made;[250] Or, for confession, in the sinner's need, Hidden from all men's view.[DH] To our attempt He yielded not; but, pointing to a slope 475 Of mossy turf defended from the sun, And on that couch inviting us to rest, Full on[251] that tender-hearted Man he turned A serious eye, and his speech thus[252] renewed.

"You never saw, your eyes did never look 480 On the bright form of Her whom once I loved:-- Her silver voice was heard upon the earth, A sound unknown to you; else, honoured Friend! Your heart had borne a pitiable share Of what I suffered, when I wept that loss, 485 And suffer now, not seldom, from the thought That I remember, and can weep no more.-- Stripped as I am of all the golden fruit Of self-esteem; and by the cutting blasts Of self-reproach familiarly assailed; 490 Yet would I not be[253] of such wintry bareness But that some leaf of your regard should hang Upon my naked branches:--lively thoughts Give birth, full often, to unguarded words; I grieve that, in your presence, from my tongue 495 Too much of frailty hath already dropped; But that too much demands still more. "You know, Revered Compatriot--and to you, kind Sir, (Not to be deemed a stranger, as you come Following the guidance of these welcome feet 500 To our secluded vale) it may be told-- That my demerits did not sue in vain To One on whose mild radiance many gazed With hope, and all with pleasure. This fair Bride-- In the devotedness of youthful love, 505 Preferring me to parents, and the choir Of gay companions, to the natal roof, And all known places and familiar sights (Resigned with sadness gently weighing down Her trembling expectations, but no more 510 Than did to her due honour, and to me Yielded, that day, a confidence sublime In what I had to build upon)--this Bride, Young, modest, meek, and beautiful, I led To a low cottage in a sunny bay, 515 Where the salt sea innocuously breaks, And the sea breeze as innocently breathes, On Devon's leafy shores;[DI]--a sheltered hold, In a soft clime encouraging the soil To a luxuriant bounty!--As our steps 520 Approach the embowered abode--our chosen seat-- See, rooted in the earth, her[254] kindly bed, The unendangered myrtle, decked with flowers, Before the threshold stands to welcome us! While, in the flowering myrtle's neighbourhood, 525 Not overlooked but courting no regard, Those native plants, the holly and the yew, Gave modest intimation to the mind How willingly their aid[255] they would unite With the green myrtle, to endear the hours 530 Of winter, and protect that pleasant place. --Wild were the walks upon those lonely Downs,[DJ] Track leading into track; how marked, how worn Into bright verdure, between fern and gorse, Winding away its never ending line 535 On their smooth surface, evidence was none: But, there, lay open to our daily haunt A range of unappropriated earth, Where youth's ambitious feet might move at large; Whence, unmolested wanderers, we beheld 540 The shining giver of the day diffuse His brightness o'er a tract of sea and land Gay as our spirits, free as our desires; As our enjoyments, boundless.--From those heights We dropped, at pleasure, into sylvan combs;[DJ] 545 Where arbours of impenetrable shade, And mossy seats, detained us side by side, With hearts at ease, and knowledge in our hearts 'That all the grove and all the day was ours.'

"O happy time! still happier was at hand; 550 For Nature called my Partner to resign Her share in the pure freedom of that life,[256] Enjoyed by us in common.--To my hope, To my heart's wish, my tender Mate became The thankful captive of maternal bonds; 555 And those wild paths were left to me alone. There could I meditate on follies past; And, like a weary voyager escaped From risk and hardship, inwardly retrace A course of vain delights and thoughtless guilt, 560 And self-indulgence--without shame pursued. There, undisturbed, could think of and could thank Her whose submissive spirit was to me Rule and restraint--my guardian--shall I say That earthly Providence, whose guiding love 565 Within a port of rest had lodged me safe; Safe from temptation, and from danger far? Strains followed of acknowledgment addressed To an Authority enthroned above 569 The reach of sight; from whom, as from their source, Proceed all visible ministers of good That walk the earth--Father of heaven and earth, Father, and king, and judge, adored and feared! These acts of mind, and memory, and heart, And spirit--interrupted and relieved 575 By observations transient as the glance Of flying sunbeams, or to the outward form Cleaving with power inherent and intense, As the mute insect fixed upon the plant 579 On whose soft leaves it hangs, and from whose cup It draws its nourishment imperceptibly--[257] Endeared my wanderings; and the mother's kiss And infant's smile awaited my return.

"In privacy we dwelt, a wedded pair, Companions daily, often all day long; 585 Not placed by fortune within easy reach Of various intercourse, nor wishing aught Beyond the allowance of our own fire-side, The twain within our happy cottage born, Inmates, and heirs of our united love; 590 Graced mutually by difference of sex, And with[258] no wider interval of time Between their several births than served for one To establish something of a leader's sway; Yet left them joined by sympathy in age; 595 Equals in pleasure, fellows in pursuit. On these two pillars rested as in air Our solitude. "It soothes me to perceive, Your courtesy withholds not from my words Attentive audience. But, oh! gentle Friends, 600 As times of quiet and unbroken peace, Though, for a nation, times of blessedness, Give back faint echoes from the historian's page; So, in the imperfect sounds of this discourse, Depressed I hear, how faithless is the voice 605 Which those most blissful days reverberate. What special record can, or need, be given To rules and habits, whereby much was done, But all within the sphere of little things; Of humble, though, to us, important cares, 610 And precious interests? Smoothly did our life Advance, swerving not[259] from the path prescribed; Her annual, her diurnal, round alike Maintained with faithful care. And you divine The worst effects that[260] our condition saw 615 If you imagine changes slowly wrought, And in their progress[261] unperceivable;[262] Not wished for; sometimes noticed with a sigh, (Whate'er of good or lovely they might bring) Sighs of regret, for the familiar good 620 And loveliness endeared which they removed.

"Seven years of occupation undisturbed Established seemingly a right to hold That happiness; and use and habit gave To what an alien spirit had acquired 625 A patrimonial sanctity. And thus, With thoughts and wishes bounded to this world, I lived and breathed; most grateful--if to enjoy Without repining or desire for more, For different lot, or change to higher sphere, 630 (Only except some impulses of pride With no determined object, though upheld By theories with suitable support)-- Most grateful, if in such wise to enjoy Be proof of gratitude for what we have; 635 Else, I allow, most thankless.--But, at once, From some dark seat of fatal power was urged A claim that shattered all.--Our blooming girl, Caught in the gripe of death, with such brief time To struggle in as scarcely would allow 640 Her cheek to change its colour, was conveyed From us to inaccessible worlds, to regions[263] Where height, or depth, admits not the approach Of living man, though longing to pursue. --With even as brief a warning--and how soon, 645 With what short interval of time between, I tremble yet to think of--our last prop, Our happy life's only remaining stay-- The brother followed; and was seen no more![DK]

"Calm as a frozen lake when ruthless winds 650 Blow fiercely, agitating earth and sky, The Mother now remained; as if in her, Who, to the lowest region of the soul, Had been erewhile unsettled and disturbed, This second visitation had no power 655 To shake; but only to bind up and seal; And to establish thankfulness of heart In Heaven's determinations, ever just. The eminence whereon[264] her spirit stood, Mine was unable to attain. Immense 660 The space that severed us! But, as the sight Communicates with heaven's ethereal orbs Incalculably distant; so, I felt That consolation may descend from far (And that is intercourse, and union, too,) 665 While, overcome with speechless gratitude, And, with a holier love inspired, I looked On her--at once superior to my woes And partner of my loss.--O heavy change! Dimness o'er this clear luminary crept 670 Insensibly;--the immortal and divine Yielded to mortal reflux; her pure glory, As from the pinnacle of worldly state Wretched ambition drops astounded, fell Into a gulf obscure of silent grief, 675 And keen heart-anguish--of itself ashamed, Yet obstinately cherishing itself: And, so consumed, she melted from my arms; And left me, on this earth, disconsolate!