Part 22

"That prayer were not superfluous," said the Priest, "Amid the noblest relics, proudest dust, That Westminster, for Britain's glory, holds Within the bosom of her awful pile, 265 Ambitiously collected. Yet the sigh, Which wafts that prayer to heaven, is due to all, Wherever laid, who living fell below Their virtue's humbler mark; a sigh of _pain_ If to the opposite extreme they sank. 270 How would you pity her who yonder rests; Him, farther off; the pair, who here are laid; But, above all, that mixture of earth's mould[HH] Whom sight of this green hillock to my mind Recals! "_He_ lived not till his locks were nipped 275 By seasonable frost of age; nor died Before his temples, prematurely forced To mix the manly brown with silver grey, Gave obvious instance of the sad effect Produced, when thoughtless Folly hath usurped 280 The natural crown that[536] sage Experience wears. Gay, volatile, ingenious, quick to learn, And prompt to exhibit all that he possessed Or could perform; a zealous actor, hired Into the troop of mirth, a soldier, sworn 285 Into the lists of giddy enterprise-- Such was he;[HI] yet, as if within his frame Two several souls alternately had lodged, Two sets of manners could the Youth put on; And, fraught with antics as the Indian bird 290 That writhes and chatters in her wiry cage, Was graceful, when it pleased him, smooth and still As the mute swan that floats adown the stream, Or, on the waters of the unruffled lake, Anchors her placid beauty. Not a leaf, 295 That flutters on the bough, lighter than he;[537] And not a flower, that droops in the green shade, More winningly reserved! If ye enquire How such consummate elegance was bred Amid these wilds, this answer may suffice; 300 'Twas Nature's will;[538] who sometimes undertakes, For the reproof of human vanity, Art to outstrip in her peculiar walk. Hence, for this Favourite--lavishly endowed With personal gifts, and bright instinctive wit, 305 While both, embellishing each other, stood Yet farther recommended by the charm Of fine demeanour, and by dance and song, And skill in letters--every fancy shaped Fair expectations; nor, when to the world's 310 Capacious field forth went the Adventurer, there Were he and his attainments overlooked, Or scantily rewarded; but all hopes, Cherished for him, he suffered to depart, Like blighted buds; or clouds that mimicked land 315 Before the sailor's eye; or diamond drops That sparkling decked the morning grass; or aught That _was_ attractive, and hath ceased to be!

"Yet, when this Prodigal returned, the rites Of joyful greeting were on him bestowed, 320 Who, by humiliation undeterred, Sought for his weariness a place of rest Within his Father's gates.--Whence came he?--clothed In tattered garb, from hovels where abides Necessity, the stationary host 325 Of vagrant poverty; from rifted barns Where no one dwells but the wide-staring owl And the owl's prey; from these bare haunts, to which[539] He had descended from the proud saloon, He came, the ghost of beauty and of health, 330 The wreck of gaiety! But soon revived In strength, in power refitted, he renewed His suit to Fortune; and she smiled again Upon a fickle Ingrate. Thrice he rose, Thrice sank[540] as willingly. For he--whose nerves 335 Were used to thrill with pleasure, while his voice Softly accompanied the tuneful harp, By the nice finger of fair ladies touched In glittering halls--was able to derive No[541] less enjoyment from an abject choice. 340 Who happier for the moment--who more blithe Than this fallen Spirit? in those dreary holds His talents lending to exalt the freaks Of merry-making beggars,--now, provoked To laughter multiplied in louder peals 345 By his malicious wit; then, all enchained With mute astonishment, themselves to see In their own arts outdone, their fame eclipsed, As by the very presence of the Fiend Who dictates and inspires illusive feats, 350 For knavish purposes! The city, too, (With shame I speak it) to her guilty bowers Allured him, sunk so low in self-respect As there to linger, there to eat his bread, Hired minstrel of voluptuous blandishment; 355 Charming the air with skill of hand or voice, Listen who would, be wrought upon who might, Sincerely wretched hearts, or falsely gay. --Such the too frequent tenour of his boast[542] In ears that relished the report;--but all 360 Was from his Parents happily concealed; Who saw enough for blame and pitying love. They also were permitted to receive His last, repentant breath; and closed his eyes, No more to open on that irksome world 365 Where he had long existed in the state Of a young fowl beneath one mother hatched, Though from another sprung, different in kind:[543] Where he had lived, and could not cease to live, Distracted in propensity; content 370 With neither element of good or ill; And yet in both rejoicing; man unblest; Of contradictions infinite the slave, Till his deliverance, when Mercy made him One with himself, and one with them that sleep."[544] 375

"'Tis strange," observed the Solitary, "strange It seems, and scarcely less than pitiful, That in a land where charity provides For all that[545] can no longer feed themselves, A man like this should choose to bring his shame 380 To the parental door; and with his sighs Infect the air which he had freely breathed In happy infancy. He could not pine, Through lack of converse;[546] no--he must have found Abundant exercise for thought and speech, 385 In his dividual being, self-reviewed, Self-catechised, self-punished.--Some there are Who, drawing near their final home, and much And daily longing that the same were reached, Would rather shun than seek the fellowship 390 Of kindred mould.--Such haply here are laid?"

"Yes," said the Priest, "the Genius of our hills-- Who seems, by these stupendous barriers cast Round his domain, desirous not alone To keep his own, but also to exclude 395 All other progeny--doth sometimes lure, Even by his[547] studied depth of privacy, The unhappy alien hoping to obtain Concealment, or seduced by wish to find, In place from outward molestation free, 400 Helps to internal ease. Of many such Could I discourse; but as their stay was brief, So their departure only left behind Fancies, and loose conjectures. Other trace Survives, for worthy mention, of a pair 405 Who, from the pressure of their several fates, Meeting as strangers, in a petty town[HJ] Whose blue roofs ornament a distant reach Of this far-winding vale,[HJ] remained as friends 409 True to their choice; and gave their bones in trust To this loved cemetery, here to lodge With unescutcheoned privacy interred Far from the family vault.--A Chieftain one[HK] By right of birth; within whose spotless breast The fire of ancient Caledonia burned: 415 He, with the foremost whose impatience hailed The Stuart, landing to resume, by force Of arms, the crown which bigotry had lost, Aroused his clan; and, fighting at their head, With his brave sword endeavoured to prevent 420 Culloden's fatal overthrow. Escaped From that disastrous rout, to foreign shores He fled; and when the lenient hand of time Those troubles had appeased, he sought and gained, For his obscured condition, an obscure 425 Retreat, within this nook of English ground.

"The other, born in Britain's southern tract, Had fixed his milder loyalty, and placed His gentler sentiments of love and hate, There, where _they_ placed them who in conscience prized The new succession, as a line of kings 431 Whose oath had virtue to protect the land Against the dire assaults of papacy And arbitrary rule. But launch thy bark On the distempered flood of public life, 435 And cause for most rare triumph will be thine If, spite of keenest eye and steadiest hand, The stream, that bears thee forward, prove not, soon Or late, a perilous master. He--who oft, Beneath[548] the battlements and stately trees 440 That round his mansion cast a sober gloom, Had moralised on this, and other truths Of kindred import, pleased and satisfied-- Was forced to vent his wisdom with a sigh Heaved from the heart in fortune's bitterness, 445 When he had crushed a plentiful estate By ruinous contest, to obtain a seat In Britain's senate. Fruitless was the attempt: And while the uproar of that desperate strife Continued yet to vibrate on his ear, 450 The vanquished Whig,[HL] under a borrowed name,[549] (For the mere sound and echo of his own Haunted him with sensations of disgust That[550] he was glad to lose) slunk from the world To the deep shade of those[551] untravelled Wilds; 455 In which the Scottish Laird had long possessed An undisturbed abode. Here, then, they met, Two doughty champions; flaming Jacobite And sullen Hanoverian! You might think That losses and vexations, less severe 460 Than those which they had severally sustained, Would have inclined each to abate his zeal For his ungrateful cause; no,--I have heard My reverend Father tell that, 'mid the calm Of that small town encountering thus, they filled, 465 Daily, its bowling-green with harmless strife; Plagued with uncharitable thoughts the church; And vexed the market-place. But in the breasts Of these opponents gradually was wrought, With little change of general sentiment, 470 Such leaning towards[552] each other, that their days By choice were spent in constant fellowship; And if, at times, they fretted with the yoke, Those very bickerings made them love it more. 474

"A favourite boundary to their lengthened walks This Church-yard was. And, whether they had come Treading their path in sympathy and linked In social converse, or by some short space Discreetly parted to preserve the peace, One spirit seldom failed to extend its sway 480 Over both minds, when they awhile had marked The visible quiet of this holy ground, And breathed its soothing air;--the spirit of hope And saintly magnanimity; that--spurning The field of selfish difference and dispute, 485 And every care which transitory things, Earth and the kingdoms of the earth, create-- Doth, by a rapture of forgetfulness, Preclude forgiveness, from the praise debarred, Which else the Christian virtue might have claimed. 490

"There live who yet remember here to have seen Their courtly figures, seated on the stump Of an old yew, their favourite resting-place. But as the remnant of the long-lived tree Was disappearing by a swift decay, 495 They, with joint care, determined to erect, Upon its site, a dial,[HM] that might stand For public use preserved, and thus survive[553] As their own private monument: for this Was the particular spot, in which they wished 500 (And Heaven was pleased to accomplish the desire) That, undivided, their remains should lie. So, where the mouldered tree had stood, was raised Yon structure, framing, with the ascent of steps That to the decorated pillar[HN] lead, 505 A work of art more sumptuous than might seem To suit this place;[554] yet built in no proud scorn Of rustic homeliness; they only aimed To ensure for it respectful guardianship. Around the margin of the plate, whereon 510 The shadow falls to note the stealthy hours, Winds an inscriptive legend."--At these words Thither we turned; and gathered, as we read, The appropriate sense, in Latin numbers couched: '_Time flies; it is his melancholy task 515 To bring, and bear away, delusive hopes, And re-produce the troubles he destroys. But, while his blindness thus is occupied, Discerning Mortal! do thou serve the will Of Time's eternal Master, and that peace, 520 Which the world wants, shall be for thee confirmed!_'[555]

"Smooth verse, inspired by no unlettered Muse," Exclaimed the Sceptic, "and the strain of thought Accords with nature's language;--the soft voice Of yon white torrent falling down the rocks[HO] 525 Speaks, less distinctly, to the same effect. If, then, their blended influence be not lost Upon our hearts, not wholly lost, I grant, Even upon mine, the more are we required To feel for those among our fellow-men, 530 Who, offering no obeisance to the world, Are yet made desperate by 'too quick a sense Of constant infelicity,'[HP] cut off From peace like exiles on some barren rock, Their life's appointed prison; not more free 535 Than sentinels, between two armies, set, With nothing better, in the chill night air, Than their own thoughts to comfort them. Say why That ancient story of Prometheus[HQ] chained To the bare rock, on frozen Caucasus; 540 The vulture,[556] the inexhaustible repast Drawn from his vitals? Say what meant the woes By Tantalus[HR] entailed upon his race, And the dark sorrows of the line of Thebes?[HS] Fictions in form, but in their substance truths, 545 Tremendous truths! familiar to the men Of long-past times, nor obsolete in ours. Exchange the shepherd's frock of native grey For robes with regal purple tinged; convert The crook into a sceptre; give the pomp 550 Of circumstance; and here the tragic Muse Shall find apt subjects for her highest art. Amid the groves, under the shadowy hills,[557] The generations are prepared; the pangs, The internal pangs, are ready; the dread strife 555 Of poor humanity's afflicted will Struggling in vain with ruthless destiny."

"Though," said the Priest in answer, "these be terms Which a divine philosophy rejects, We, whose established and unfailing trust 560 Is in controlling Providence, admit That, through all stations, human life abounds With mysteries;--for, if Faith were left untried, How could the might, that lurks within her, then Be shown? her glorious excellence--that ranks 565 Among the first of Powers and Virtues--proved? Our system is not fashioned to preclude That sympathy which you for others ask; And I could tell, not travelling for my theme Beyond these humble graves, of grievous crimes 570 And strange disasters;[558] but I pass them by, Loth to disturb what Heaven hath hushed in peace. --Still less, far less, am I inclined to treat Of Man degraded in his Maker's sight By the deformities of brutish vice: 575 For, in such portraits, though a vulgar face[559] And a coarse outside of repulsive life And unaffecting manners might at once[560] Be recognised by all--" "Ah! do not think," The Wanderer somewhat eagerly exclaimed, 580 "Wish could be ours that you, for such poor gain, (Gain shall I call it?--gain of what?--for whom?) Should breathe a word tending to violate Your own pure spirit. Not a step we look for In slight of that forbearance and reserve 585 Which common human-heartedness inspires, And mortal ignorance and frailty claim, Upon this sacred ground, if nowhere else."

"True," said the Solitary, "be it far From us to infringe the laws of charity. 590 Let judgment here in mercy be pronounced; This, self-respecting Nature prompts, and this Wisdom enjoins; but if the thing we seek Be genuine knowledge, bear we then in mind How, from his lofty throne, the sun can fling 595 Colours as bright on exhalations bred By weedy pool or pestilential swamp, As by the rivulet sparkling where it runs, Or the pellucid lake." "Small risk," said I, "Of such illusion do we here incur; 600 Temptation here is none to exceed the truth; No evidence appears that they who rest Within this ground, were covetous of praise, Or of remembrance even, deserved or not. Green is the Church-yard, beautiful and green, 605 Ridge rising gently by the side of ridge, A heaving surface, almost wholly free From interruption of sepulchral stones, And mantled o'er with aboriginal turf And everlasting flowers.[HT] These Dalesmen trust 610 The lingering gleam of their departed lives To oral record,[561] and the silent heart; Depositories[562] faithful and more kind Than fondest epitaph: for, if those fail,[563] What boots the sculptured tomb? And who can blame, Who rather would not envy, men that feel 616 This mutual confidence; if, from such source, The practice flow,--if thence, or from a deep And general humility in death? Nor should I much condemn it, if it spring 620 From disregard of time's destructive power, As only capable to prey on things Of earth, and human nature's mortal part.

"Yet--in less simple districts, where we see Stone lift its forehead emulous of stone[HU] 625 In courting notice; and the ground all paved With commendations of departed worth; Reading, where'er we turn, of innocent lives, Of each domestic charity fulfilled, And sufferings meekly borne--I, for my part, 630 Though with the silence pleased that[564] here prevails, Among those fair recitals also range, Soothed by the natural spirit which they breathe. And, in the centre of a world whose soil Is rank with all unkindness, compassed round 635 With such memorials, I have sometimes felt, It was[565] no momentary happiness To have _one_ Enclosure where the voice that speaks In envy or detraction is not heard; Which malice may not enter; where the traces 640 Of evil inclinations are unknown; Where love and pity tenderly unite With resignation; and no jarring tone Intrudes, the peaceful concert to disturb Of amity and gratitude." "Thus sanctioned," 645 The Pastor said, "I willingly confine My narratives to subjects that excite Feelings with these accordant; love, esteem, And admiration; lifting up a veil, A sunbeam introducing among hearts 650 Retired and covert; so that ye shall have Clear images before your gladdened eyes Of nature's unambitious underwood, And flowers that prosper in the shade. And when I speak of such among my flock as swerved 655 Or fell, those only shall be singled out[566] Upon whose lapse, or error, something more Than brotherly forgiveness may attend; To such will we restrict our notice, else Better my tongue were mute. "And yet there are, 660 I feel, good reasons why we should not leave Wholly untraced a more forbidding way. For, strength to persevere and to support, And energy to conquer and repel-- These elements of virtue, that declare 665 The native grandeur of the human soul-- Are oft-times not unprofitably shown In the perverseness of a selfish course: Truth every day exemplified, no less In the grey cottage by the murmuring stream 670 Than in[567] fantastic conqueror's roving camp, Or 'mid[568] the factious senate unappalled Whoe'er may sink, or rise--to sink again,[569] As[570] merciless proscription ebbs and flows.

"There," said the Vicar, pointing as he spake, 675 "A woman rests in peace; surpassed by few In power of mind, and eloquent discourse. Tall was her stature; her complexion dark And saturnine;[HV] her head not raised to hold[571] 679 Converse with heaven, nor yet deprest towards earth, But in projection carried, as she walked For ever musing. Sunken were her eyes; Wrinkled and furrowed with habitual thought Was her broad forehead; like the brow of one Whose visual nerve shrinks from a painful glare 685 Of overpowering light.--While yet a child, She, 'mid the humble flowerets of the vale, Towered like the imperial thistle, not unfurnished With its appropriate grace, yet rather seeking[572] To be admired, than coveted and loved. 690 Even at that age she ruled, a sovereign queen, Over her comrades;[573] else their simple sports, Wanting all relish for her strenuous mind, Had crossed her only to be shunned with scorn.[574] --Oh! pang of sorrowful regret for those[575] 695 Whom, in their youth, sweet study has enthralled, That they have lived for harsher servitude, Whether in soul, in body, or estate! Such doom was hers; yet nothing could subdue Her keen desire of knowledge, nor efface[576] 700 Those brighter images by books imprest Upon her memory, faithfully as stars That occupy their places, and, though oft Hidden by clouds, and oft bedimmed by haze, Are not to be extinguished, nor impaired.[577] 705