The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth — Volume 7 (of 8)
PART III
FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE PRESENT TIMES
[When I came to this part of the series I had the dream described in this Sonnet.[241] The figure was that of my daughter, and the whole passed exactly as here represented. The Sonnet was composed on the middle road leading from Grasmere to Ambleside: it was begun as I left the last house of the vale, and finished, word for word as it now stands, before I came in view of Rydal. I wish I could say the same of the five or six hundred I have written: most of them were frequently retouched in the course of composition, and, not a few, laboriously.
I have only further to observe that the intended Church which prompted these Sonnets was erected on Coleorton Moor towards the centre of a very populous parish between three and four miles from Ashby-de-la-Zouch, on the road to Loughborough, and has proved, I believe, a great benefit to the neighbourhood.--I.F.]
FOOTNOTES:
[241] The first of Part III. p. 74.--ED.
I
"I SAW THE FIGURE OF A LOVELY MAID"
I saw the figure of a lovely Maid Seated alone beneath a darksome tree, Whose fondly-overhanging canopy Set off her brightness with a pleasing shade. No Spirit was she; _that_[242] my heart betrayed, 5 For she was one I loved exceedingly; But while I gazed in tender reverie (Or was it sleep that with my Fancy played?) The bright corporeal presence--form and face-- Remaining still distinct grew thin and rare, 10 Like sunny mist;--at length the golden hair, Shape, limbs, and heavenly features, keeping pace Each with the other in a lingering race Of dissolution, melted into air.
FOOTNOTES:
[242] 1837.
Substance she seem'd (and _that_ ... 1822.
II
PATRIOTIC SYMPATHIES
Last night, without a voice, that Vision spake Fear to my Soul, and sadness which might seem[243] Wholly[244] dissevered from our present theme; Yet, my belovèd Country! I partake[245] Of kindred agitations for thy sake; 5 Thou, too, dost visit oft[246] my midnight dream; Thy[247] glory meets me with the earliest beam Of light, which tells that Morning is awake. If aught impair thy[248] beauty or destroy, Or but forebode destruction, I deplore 10 With filial love the sad vicissitude; If thou hast[249] fallen, and righteous Heaven restore The prostrate, then my spring-time is renewed, And sorrow bartered for exceeding joy.
FOOTNOTES:
[243] 1845.
... this Vision spake Fear to my Spirit--passion that might seem 1822.
... this Vision spake Fear to my Soul, and sadness that might seem 1837.
[244] 1827.
To lie ... 1822.
[245] 1832.
Yet do I love my Country--and partake 1822.
[246] 1832.
... for her sake; She visits oftentimes ... 1822.
[247] 1832.
Her ... 1822.
[248] 1832.
... her ... 1822.
[249] 1832.
If she hath ... 1822.
III
CHARLES THE SECOND
Who comes--with rapture greeted, and caress'd With frantic love--his kingdom to regain?[250] Him Virtue's Nurse, Adversity, in vain Received, and fostered in her iron breast: For all she taught of hardiest and of best, 5 Or would have taught, by discipline of pain And long privation, now dissolves amain, Or is remembered only to give zest To wantonness--Away, Circean revels![251] But for what gain? if England soon must sink 10 Into a gulf which all distinction levels-- That bigotry may swallow the good name,[252][253] And, with that draught, the life-blood: misery, shame, By Poets loathed; from which Historians shrink!
FOOTNOTES:
[250] "No event ever marked a deeper or a more lasting change in the temper of the English people, than the entry of Charles the Second into Whitehall. With it modern England begins." (Green's _Short History of the English People_, chap. ix. sec. 1.)--ED.
[251] "The Restoration brought Charles to Whitehall; and in an instant the whole face of England was changed. All that was noblest and best in Puritanism was whirled away." (Green, chap. ix. sec. I.) The excesses of every kind that came in with the Restoration were notorious.--ED.
[252] 1837.
Already stands our Country on the brink Of bigot rage, that all distinction levels Of truth and falsehood, swallowing the good name, 1822.
[253] In 1672 the Duke of York was publicly received into the Church of Rome.--ED.
IV
LATITUDINARIANISM
Yet Truth is keenly sought for, and the wind Charged with rich words poured out in thought's defence; Whether the Church inspire that eloquence,[254] Or a Platonic Piety confined To the sole temple of the inward mind;[255] 5 And One there is who builds immortal lays, Though doomed to tread in solitary ways,[256] Darkness before and danger's voice behind; Yet not alone, nor helpless to repel Sad thoughts; for from above the starry sphere 10 Come secrets, whispered nightly to his ear; And the pure spirit of celestial light Shines through his soul--"that he may see and tell Of things invisible to mortal sight."[257]
FOOTNOTES:
[254] As in the case of John Hales of Eton, William Chillingworth, who wrote _The Religion of Protestants_, and Jeremy Taylor, author of _The_ _Liberty of Prophesying_.--ED.
[255] The Cambridge Platonists, Ralph Cudworth, John Smith, and Henry More, are referred to.--ED.
[256] Milton.--ED.
[257] Compare _Paradise Lost_, book iii. ll. 54, 55.--ED.
V
WALTON'S BOOK OF LIVES[258]
There are no colours in the fairest sky So fair as these. The feather, whence the pen Was shaped that traced the lives of these good men, Dropped from an Angel's wing.[259] With moistened eye We read of faith and purest charity 5 In Statesman, Priest, and humble Citizen: O could we copy their mild virtues, then What joy to live, what blessedness to die! Methinks their very names shine still and bright; Apart--like glow-worms on a summer night; 10 Or lonely tapers when from far they fling A guiding ray;[260] or seen--like stars on high, Satellites burning in a lucid ring Around meek Walton's heavenly memory.
FOOTNOTES:
[258] Izaak Walton, author of _The Complete Angler_, wrote also _The Lives of_ John Donne, Sir Henry Wotton, Richard Hooker, George Herbert, and Robert Sanderson.--ED.
[259] With those lines of Wordsworth compare the following: a Sonnet addressed "to the King of Scots," in Henry Constable's _Diana_, published in 1594--
The pen wherewith thou dost so heavenly singe, Made of a quill pluck't from an Angell's winge.
A sonnet by Dorothy Berry, prefixed to Diana Primrose's _Chain of Pearl, a memorial of the peerless graces, etc., of Queen Elizabeth_, London, 1639--
Whose noble praise Deserves a quill pluck't from an angel's wing.
Also John Evelyn, in his _Life of Mrs. Godolphin_, "It would become the pen of an angel's wing to describe the life of a saint," etc.--ED.
[260] 1827.
... glow-worms in the woods of spring, Or lonely tapers shooting far a light That guides and cheers,-- ... 1822.
VI
CLERICAL INTEGRITY
Nor shall the eternal roll of praise reject Those Unconforming; whom one rigorous day Drives from their Cures, a voluntary prey To poverty, and grief, and disrespect,[261] And some to want--as if by tempests wrecked[262] 5 On a wild coast; how destitute! did They Feel not that Conscience never can betray, That peace of mind is Virtue's sure effect. Their altars they forego, their homes they quit, Fields which they love, and paths they daily trod, 10 And cast the future upon Providence; As men the dictate of whose inward sense Outweighs the world; whom self-deceiving wit Lures not from what they deem the cause of God.
FOOTNOTES:
[261] By the Act of Uniformity (1662), nearly 2000 Presbyterian and Independent Ministers, who had been admitted to benefices in the Church of England during the Puritan Ascendency, were ejected from their livings.--ED.
[262] 1827.
... tempest wreck'd 1822.
VII
PERSECUTION OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANTERS
Published 1827
When Alpine Vales threw forth a suppliant cry, The majesty of England interposed[263] And the sword stopped; the bleeding wounds were closed; And Faith preserved her ancient purity. How little boots that precedent of good, 5 Scorned or forgotten, Thou canst testify, For England's shame, O Sister Realm! from wood, Mountain, and moor, and crowded street, where lie[264] The headless martyrs of the Covenant, Slain by Compatriot-protestants that draw 10 From councils senseless as intolerant Their warrant. Bodies fall by wild sword-law; But who would force the Soul, tilts with a straw Against a Champion cased in adamant.
FOOTNOTES:
[263] See Milton's Sonnet XVIII., _On the late Massacre in Piedmont_, beginning--
Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints, ...
This was in 1655. In the following year Cromwell, to whom the persecuted Vaudois subjects of the Duke of Savoy had appealed, interposed in their behalf. Nearly £40,000 were collected in England for their relief.--ED.
[264] Compare _The Excursion_, book i. 11. 175, 176.--ED.
VIII
ACQUITTAL OF THE BISHOPS[265]
A voice, from long-expecting[266] thousands sent, Shatters the air, and troubles tower and spire; For Justice hath absolved the innocent, And Tyranny is balked of her desire: Up, down, the busy Thames--rapid as fire 5 Coursing a train of gunpowder--it went, And transport finds in every street a vent, Till the whole City rings like one vast quire. The Fathers urge the People to be still, 9 With outstretched hands and earnest speech[267]--in vain! Yea, many, haply wont to entertain Small reverence for the mitre's offices, And to Religion's self no friendly will, A Prelate's blessing ask on bended knees.
FOOTNOTES:
[265] The Bishops who protested against James II.'s Declaration of Indulgence and refused to read it. He ordered the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, to deprive them of their Sees, and the Bishops were sent to the Tower. "They passed to their prison amidst the shouts of a great multitude, the sentinels knelt for their blessing as they entered the gates, and the soldiers of the garrison drank their healths.... The Bishops appeared as criminals at the bar of the King's Bench. The jury had been packed, the judges were mere tools of the Crown, but judges and jury were alike overawed by the indignation of the people at large. No sooner had the foreman of the jury uttered the words 'Not guilty,' than a roar of applause burst from the crowd, and horsemen spurred along every road to carry over the country the news of the acquittal." (Green.) See Wordsworth's note to the eleventh sonnet in Part I. (p. 12.)--ED.
[266] 1827.
... long-expectant ... 1822.
[267] 1827.
... voice ... 1822.
IX
WILLIAM THE THIRD
Calm as an under-current, strong to draw Millions of waves into itself, and run, From sea to sea, impervious to the sun And ploughing storm, the spirit of Nassau[268] (Swerves not, how blest if by religious awe[269] 5 Swayed, and thereby enabled to contend With the wide world's commotions) from its end Swerves not--diverted by a casual law. Had mortal action e'er a nobler scope? The Hero comes to liberate, not defy; 10 And, while he marches on with stedfast hope,[270] Conqueror beloved! expected anxiously! The vacillating Bondman of the Pope[271] Shrinks from the verdict of his stedfast eye.
FOOTNOTES:
[268] William III. of Nassau, Prince of Orange, was invited over to England by the nobles and commons who were disaffected towards James II., and landed at Torbay in November 1688.--ED.
[269] 1845.
(By constant impulse of religious awe ... 1822.
[270] 1845.
... righteous hope, 1822.
[271] King James II., who fled to France in December 1688.--ED.
X
OBLIGATIONS OF CIVIL TO RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Ungrateful Country, if thou e'er forget The sons who for thy civil rights have bled! How, like a Roman, Sidney bowed his head,[272] And Russell's milder blood the scaffold wet;[273] But these had fallen for profitless regret 5 Had not thy holy Church her champions bred, And claims from other worlds inspirited The star of Liberty to rise. Nor yet (Grave this within thy heart!) if spiritual things Be lost, through apathy, or scorn, or fear, 10 Shalt thou thy humbler franchises support, However hardly won or justly dear: What came from heaven to heaven by nature clings, And, if dissevered thence, its course is short.
FOOTNOTES:
[272] Algernon Sidney, second son of the Earl of Leicester, equally opposed to the tyranny of Charles and of Cromwell, was implicated in the Rye House Plot, arraigned before the chief-justice Jeffries, condemned illegally, and executed at Tower Hill in December 1683.--ED.
[273] Lord William Russell, third son of the Duke of Bedford, member of the House of Commons like Sidney, and like him implicated in the Rye House Plot, condemned at the Old Bailey, and beheaded at Lincoln's-Inn-Fields in July 1683.--ED.
XI
SACHEVEREL[274]
Published 1827
A sudden conflict rises from the swell Of a proud slavery met by tenets strained In Liberty's behalf. Fears, true or feigned, Spread through all ranks; and lo! the Sentinel Who loudest rang his pulpit 'larum bell 5 Stands at the Bar, absolved by female eyes Mingling their glances with grave flatteries[275] Lavished on _Him_--that England may rebel Against her ancient virtue. HIGH and LOW, Watch-words of Party, on all tongues are rife; 10 As if a Church, though sprung from heaven, must owe To opposites and fierce extremes her life,-- Not to the golden mean, and quiet flow Of truths that soften hatred, temper strife.
FOOTNOTES:
[274] Henry Sacheverel, a high-church clergyman, preached two sermons in 1709, one at Derby, and the other in St. Paul's, London, in which he attacked the principles of the Revolution Settlement, taught the doctrine of non-resistance, and decried the Act of Toleration. He was impeached by the Commons, and tried before the House of Lords in 1710, was found guilty, and suspended from office for three years. This made him for the time the most popular man in England; and the general election which followed was fatal to the Government which condemned him. He was a weak and a vain man, who attained to notoriety without fame.--ED.
[275] 1832.
... Light with graver flatteries, 1827.
XII[276]
"DOWN A SWIFT STREAM, THUS FAR, A BOLD DESIGN"
Published 1827
Down a swift Stream, thus far, a bold design Have we pursued, with livelier stir of heart Than his who sees, borne forward by the Rhine, The living landscapes greet him, and depart; Sees spires fast sinking--up again to start! 5 And strives the towers to number, that recline O'er the dark steeps, or on the horizon line Striding with shattered crests his[277] eye athwart. So have we hurried on with troubled pleasure: Henceforth, as on the bosom of a stream 10 That slackens, and spreads wide a watery gleam, We, nothing loth a lingering course to measure, May gather up our thoughts, and mark at leisure How widely spread the interests of our theme.[278]
FOOTNOTES:
[276] Compare the extracts from Mary and Dorothy Wordsworth's Journals in the "Memorials of a Tour on the Continent" (vol. vi. p. 300).--ED.
[277] 1845.
... the ... 1827.
[278] 1845.
Features that else had vanished like a dream. 1827.
... sound at leisure The depths, and mark the compass of our theme. C.
XIII
ASPECTS OF CHRISTIANITY IN AMERICA[279]
I. THE PILGRIM FATHERS[280]
Published 1845
Well worthy to be magnified are they Who, with sad hearts, of friends and country took A last farewell, their loved abodes forsook, And hallowed ground in which their fathers lay; Then to the new-found World explored their way, 5 That so a Church, unforced, uncalled to brook Ritual restraints, within some sheltering nook Her Lord might worship and his word obey In freedom. Men they were who could not bend; Blest Pilgrims, surely, as they took for guide 10 A will by sovereign Conscience sanctified; Blest while their Spirits from the woods ascend Along a Galaxy that knows no end, But in His glory who for Sinners died.
FOOTNOTES:
[279] In a letter to Professor Henry Reed, dated March 1, 1842, Wordsworth wrote:--"I have sent you three sonnets upon certain 'Aspects of Christianity in America,' having, as you will see, a reference to the subject upon which you wished me to write. I wish they had been more worthy of the subject: I hope, however, you will not disapprove of the connection which I have thought myself warranted in tracing between the Puritan fugitives and Episcopacy."--ED.
[280] American episcopacy, in union with the church in England, strictly belongs to the general subject; and I here make my acknowledgments to my American friends, Bishop Doane, and Mr. Henry Reed of Philadelphia, for having suggested to me the propriety of adverting to it, and pointed out the virtues and intellectual qualities of Bishop White, which so eminently fitted him for the great work he undertook. Bishop White was consecrated at Lambeth, Feb. 4, 1787, by Archbishop Moore; and before his long life was closed, twenty-six bishops had been consecrated in America, by himself. For his character and opinions, see his own numerous Works, and a "Sermon in commemoration of him, by George Washington Doane, Bishop of New Jersey."--W. W. 1845.
XIV
II. CONTINUED
Published 1845
From Rite and Ordinance abused they fled To Wilds where both were utterly unknown; But not to them had Providence foreshown What benefits are missed, what evils bred, In worship neither raised nor limited 5 Save by Self-will. Lo! from that distant shore, For Rite and Ordinance, Piety is led Back to the Land those Pilgrims left of yore, Led by her own free choice.[281] So Truth and Love By Conscience governed do their steps retrace.-- 10 Fathers! your Virtues, such the power of grace, Their spirit, in your Children, thus approve. Transcendent over time, unbound by place, Concord and Charity in circles move.
FOOTNOTES:
[281] The Book of Common Prayer of the American Episcopal Church was avowedly derived from that of England, and substantially agrees with it.--ED.
XV
III. CONCLUDED.--AMERICAN EPISCOPACY
Published 1845
Patriots informed with Apostolic light Were they, who, when their Country had been freed, Bowing with reverence to the ancient creed, Fixed on the frame of England's Church their sight,[282] And strove in filial love to reunite 5 What force had severed. Thence they fetched the seed Of Christian unity, and won a meed Of praise from Heaven. To Thee, O saintly WHITE,[283] Patriarch of a wide-spreading family, Remotest lands and unborn times shall turn, 10 Whether they would restore or build--to Thee, As one who rightly taught how zeal should burn, As one who drew from out Faith's holiest urn The purest stream of patient Energy.
FOOTNOTES:
[282] "I hope you will not disapprove of the connection which I have thought myself warranted in tracing between the Puritan fugitives and Episcopacy." (Wordsworth to Henry Reed, March 1, 1842.)--ED.
[283] Dr. Seabury was consecrated Bishop of Connecticut by Scottish Bishops at Aberdeen, in November 1784. Dr. White was consecrated Bishop of Pennsylvania, and Dr. Provoost, Bishop of New York, at Lambeth, in February 1787. It was Wordsworth's intention, in 1841, to add a sonnet to his "Ecclesiastical Series" "On the union of the two Episcopal Churches of England and America."--ED.
XVI
"BISHOPS AND PRIESTS, BLESSÈD ARE YE, IF DEEP"
Published 1845
Bishops and Priests, blessèd are ye, if deep (As yours above all offices is high) Deep in your hearts the sense of duty lie; Charged as ye are by Christ to feed and keep From wolves your portion of his chosen sheep: Labouring as ever in your Master's sight, Making your hardest task your best delight, What perfect glory ye in Heaven shall reap!-- But, in the solemn Office which ye sought And undertook premonished, if unsound 10 Your practice prove, faithless though but in thought, Bishops and Priests, think what a gulf profound Awaits you then, if they were rightly taught Who framed the Ordinance by your lives disowned!
XVII
PLACES OF WORSHIP
As star that shines dependent upon star Is to the sky while we look up in love; As to the deep fair ships which though they move Seem fixed, to eyes that watch them from afar; As to the sandy desert fountains are, 5 With palm-groves shaded at wide intervals, Whose fruit around the sun-burnt Native falls Of roving tired or desultory war-- Such to this British Isle her christian Fanes, Each linked to each for kindred services; 10 Her Spires, her Steeple-towers with glittering vanes[284] Far-kenned, her Chapels lurking among trees, Where a few villagers on bended knees Find solace which a busy world disdains.
FOOTNOTES:
[284] Compare _The Excursion_, book vi. ll. 17-29 (vol. v. p. 236).--ED.
XVIII
PASTORAL CHARACTER
A GENIAL hearth, a hospitable board, And a refined rusticity, belong[285] To the neat mansion, where, his flock among, The learned Pastor dwells, their watchful Lord.[286] Though meek and patient as a sheathèd sword; 5 Though pride's least lurking thought appear a wrong To human kind; though peace be on his tongue, Gentleness in his heart--can earth afford Such genuine state, pre-eminence so free, As when, arrayed in Christ's authority, 10 He from the pulpit lifts his awful hand; Conjures, implores, and labours all he can For re-subjecting to divine command The stubborn spirit of rebellious man?
FOOTNOTES:
[285] Among the benefits arising, as Mr. Coleridge has well observed, from a Church establishment of endowments corresponding with the wealth of the country to which it belongs, may be reckoned as eminently important, the examples of civility and refinement which the Clergy stationed at intervals, afford to the whole people. The established clergy in many parts of England have long been, as they continue to be, the principal bulwark against barbarism, and the link which unites the sequestered peasantry with the intellectual advancement of the age. Nor is it below the dignity of the subject to observe, that their taste, as acting upon rural residences and scenery, often furnishes models which country gentlemen, who are more at liberty to follow the caprices of fashion, might profit by. The precincts of an old residence must be treated by ecclesiastics with respect, both from prudence and necessity. I remember being much pleased, some years ago, at Rose Castle, the rural seat of the See of Carlisle, with a style of garden and architecture which, if the place had belonged to a wealthy layman, would no doubt have been swept away. A parsonage-house generally stands not far from the church; this proximity imposes favourable restraints, and sometimes suggests an affecting union of the accommodations and elegancies of life with the outward signs of piety and mortality. With pleasure I recall to mind a happy instance of this in the residence of an old and much-valued Friend in Oxfordshire. The house and church stand parallel to each other, at a small distance; a circular lawn or rather grass-plot, spreads between them; shrubs and trees curve from each side of the dwelling, veiling, but not hiding, the church. From the front of this dwelling, no part of the burial-ground is seen; but as you wind by the side of the shrubs towards the steeple-end of the church, the eye catches a single, small, low, monumental headstone, moss-grown, sinking into, and gently inclining towards the earth. Advance, and the churchyard, populous and gay with glittering tombstones, opens upon the view. This humble, and beautiful parsonage called forth a tribute which will not be out of its place here.--W. W. 1822.
He then quotes the seventh of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets," Part III. (see vol. vi. p. 217).--ED.
[286] Compare the sonnet, _On the sight of a Manse in the South of Scotland_, belonging to the Tour in the year 1831.--ED.
XIX
THE LITURGY
Yes, if the intensities of hope and fear Attract us still, and passionate exercise Of lofty thoughts, the way before us lies Distinct with signs, through which in set career,[287] As through a zodiac, moves the ritual year[288] 5 Of England's Church; stupendous mysteries! Which whoso travels in her bosom eyes, As he approaches them, with solemn cheer. Upon that circle traced from sacred story We only dare to cast a transient glance, 10 Trusting in hope that Others may advance With mind intent upon the King of Glory,[289] From his mild advent till his countenance Shall dissipate the seas and mountains hoary.[290]
FOOTNOTES:
[287] 1837
... fixed career, 1822.
[288] Compare _The Christian Year_, by Keble, _passim_.--ED.
[289] 1845.
Enough for us to cast a transient glance The circle through; relinquishing its story For those whom Heaven hath fitted to advance And, harp in hand, rehearse the King of Glory-- 1822.
Enough for us to cast no careless glance Upon that circle, leaving Christian story To those ... has ... C.
(Or)
Here let us cast a more than Transient glance, And harp in hand endeavour to advance, With mind intent ... C.
[290] See _The Revelation of St. John_, chapter xx. v. II.--ED.
XX
BAPTISM
Published 1827
Dear[291] be the Church, that, watching o'er the needs Of Infancy, provides a timely shower Whose virtue changes to a Christian Flower A Growth from sinful Nature's bed of weeds!--[292] Fitliest beneath the sacred roof proceeds 5 The ministration; while parental Love Looks on, and Grace descendeth from above As the high service pledges now, now pleads. There, should vain thoughts outspread their wings and fly To meet the coming hours of festal mirth, 10 The tombs--which hear and answer that brief cry, The Infant's notice of his second birth-- Recal the wandering Soul to sympathy With what man hopes from Heaven, yet fears from Earth.
FOOTNOTES:
[291] 1845.
Blest ... 1827.
[292] 1832.
The sinful product of a bed of Weeds! 1827.
XXI
SPONSORS
Published 1832
Father! to God himself we cannot give A holier name! then lightly do not bear Both names conjoined, but of thy spiritual care Be duly mindful: still more sensitive Do Thou, in truth a second Mother, strive[293] 5 Against disheartening custom, that by Thee Watched, and with love and pious industry[294] Tended at need, the adopted Plant may thrive For everlasting bloom. Benign and pure[295] This Ordinance, whether loss it would supply, 10 Prevent omission, help deficiency, Or seek to make assurance doubly sure.[296][297] Shame if the consecrated Vow be found An idle form, the Word an empty sound![298][299]
FOOTNOTES:
[293] 1832.
... yet more sensitive, More faithful, thou, a second Mother, MS.
W. W., Dec. 7, 1827.
[294] 1832.
Watched at all seasons, and with industry MS.
W. W., Dec. 7, 1827.
[295] 1832.
... Benign must be. MS.
W. W., Dec. 7, 1827.
[296] Compare _Macbeth_, act IV. scene i. l. 83.--ED.
[297] 1832.
... "Assurance doubly sure." MS.
W. W., Dec. 7, 1827.
[298] 1832.
... the Name an empty sound. MS.
W. W., Dec. 7, 1827.
[299] This Sonnet was sent by Wordsworth in holograph MS. to Orton Hall in the form indicated in the footnotes, dated Dec. 7, 1827.--ED.
XXII
CATECHISING
From Little down to Least, in due degree, Around the Pastor, each in new-wrought vest, Each with a vernal posy at his breast, We stood, a trembling, earnest Company! With low soft murmur, like a distant bee, 5 Some spake, by thought-perplexing fears betrayed; And some a bold unerring answer made: How fluttered then thy anxious heart for me, Belovèd Mother! Thou whose happy hand Had bound the flowers I wore, with faithful tie:[300] 10 Sweet flowers! at whose inaudible command Her countenance, phantom-like, doth re-appear: O lost too early for the frequent tear, And ill requited by this heartfelt sigh!
FOOTNOTES:
[300] See Wordsworth's reference to his Mother in his _Autobiographical Memoranda_.--ED.
XXIII
CONFIRMATION
Published 1827
The Young-ones gathered in from hill and dale, With holiday delight on every brow: 'Tis passed away; far other thoughts prevail; For they are taking the baptismal Vow Upon their conscious selves; their own lips speak 5 The solemn promise. Strongest sinews fail, And many a blooming, many a lovely, cheek Under the holy fear of God turns pale; While on each head his lawn-robed servant lays An apostolic hand, and with prayer seals 10 The Covenant. The Omnipotent will raise Their feeble Souls; and bear with _his_ regrets, Who, looking round the fair assemblage, feels That ere the Sun goes down their childhood sets.
XXIV
CONFIRMATION CONTINUED
I saw a Mother's eye intensely bent Upon a Maiden trembling as she knelt; In and for whom the pious Mother felt Things that we judge of by a light too faint: Tell, if ye may, some star-crowned Muse, or Saint! 5 Tell what rushed in, from what she was relieved-- Then, when her Child the hallowing touch received, And such vibration through[301] the Mother went That tears burst forth amain. Did gleams appear? Opened a vision of that blissful place 10 Where dwells a Sister-child? And was power given Part of her lost One's glory back to trace Even to this Rite? For thus _She_ knelt, and, ere The summer-leaf had faded, passed to Heaven.[302]
FOOTNOTES:
[301] 1837.
... to ... 1827.
[302] Compare the tribute to a Daughter, who died within the year after her confirmation, in _A Presbyterian Clergyman looking for the Church_, by the Rev. Flavel S. Mines, p. 95.--ED.
XXV
SACRAMENT
Published 1827
By chain yet stronger must the Soul be tied: One duty more, last stage of[303] this ascent, Brings to thy food, mysterious[304] Sacrament! The Offspring, haply at the Parent's side; But not till They, with all that do abide 5 In Heaven, have lifted up their hearts to laud And magnify the glorious name of God, Fountain of Grace, whose Son for sinners died. Ye, who have duly weighed the summons, pause No longer; ye,[305] whom to the saving rite 10 The Altar calls; come early under laws That can secure for you a path of light Through gloomiest shade; put on (nor dread its weight) Armour divine, and conquer in your cause!
FOOTNOTES:
[303] 1827.
... to ... Coleorton MS.
[304] 1845.
... memorial ... 1827.
[305] 1845.
Here must my Song in timid reverence pause: But shrink not ye ... 1827.
XXVI
THE MARRIAGE CEREMONY[306]
Composed 1842.--Published 1845
The Vested Priest before the Altar stands; Approach, come gladly, ye prepared, in sight Of God and chosen friends, your troth to plight With the symbolic ring, and willing hands[307] Solemnly joined. Now sanctify the bands, 5 O Father!--to the Espoused thy blessing give, That mutually assisted they may live Obedient, as here taught, to thy commands. So prays the Church, to consecrate a Vow "The which would endless matrimony make";[308] 10 Union that shadows forth and doth partake A mystery potent human love to endow With heavenly, each more prized for the other's sake; Weep not, meek Bride! uplift thy timid brow.
FOOTNOTES:
[306] In a letter to Professor Henry Reed, dated "Rydal Mount, Sept. 4, 1842," Wordsworth says: "A few days ago, after a very long interval, I returned to poetical composition; and my first employment was to write a couple of Sonnets upon subjects recommended by you to take place in the Ecclesiastical Series. They are upon the Marriage Ceremony and the Funeral Service. I have, about the same time, added two others, both upon subjects taken from the Services of our Liturgy."--ED.
[307] 1842.
Together they kneel down who come in sight Of God and chosen friends their troth to plight. This have they done, by words, and prayers, and hands c.
XXVII
THANKSGIVING AFTER CHILDBIRTH
Composed 1842.--Published 1845
Woman! the Power who left his throne on high, And deigned to wear the robe of flesh we wear, The Power that thro' the straits of Infancy Did pass dependent on maternal care, His own humanity with Thee will share, 5 Pleased with the thanks that in his People's eye Thou offerest up for safe Delivery From Childbirth's perilous throes. And should the Heir Of thy fond hopes hereafter walk inclined To courses fit to make a mother rue 10 That ever he was born, a glance of mind Cast upon this observance may renew A better will; and, in the imagined view Of thee thus kneeling, safety he may find.
FOOTNOTES:
[308] Compare Spenser's _Epithalamion_, stanza xl. ll. 216, 217--
The sacred ceremonies these partake, The which do endlesse matrimony make;
Also, Southey's _All for Love, or a sinner well saved_, Part IV. stanza 46--
While they the sacred rites partake Which endless matrimony make.--ED.
XXVIII
VISITATION OF THE SICK
Composed 1842.--Published 1845
The Sabbath bells renew the inviting peal; Glad music! yet there be that, worn with pain And sickness, listen where they long have lain, In sadness listen. With maternal zeal Inspired, the Church sends ministers to kneel 5 Beside the afflicted; to sustain with prayer, And soothe the heart confession hath laid bare-- That pardon, from God's throne, may set its seal On a true Penitent. When breath departs From one disburthened so, so comforted, 10 His Spirit Angels greet; and ours be hope That, if the Sufferer rise from his sick-bed, Hence he will gain a firmer mind, to cope With a bad world, and foil the Tempter's arts.
XXIX
THE COMMINATION SERVICE
Published 1845
Shun not this rite, neglected, yea abhorred, By some of unreflecting mind, as calling Man to curse man, (thought monstrous and appalling.) Go thou and hear the threatenings of the _Lord_;[309] Listening within his Temple see his sword 5 Unsheathed in wrath to strike the offender's head, Thy own, if sorrow for thy sin be dead, Guilt unrepented, pardon unimplored. Two aspects bears Truth needful for salvation; Who knows not _that_?--yet would this delicate age 10 Look only on the Gospel's brighter page: Let light and dark duly our thoughts employ; So shall the fearful words of Commination Yield timely fruit of peace and love and joy.
FOOTNOTES:
[309] 1845.
... as dealing With human curses, banish the false feeling. Go thou ... terrors ... C.
XXX
FORMS OF PRAYER AT SEA
Published 1845
To kneeling Worshippers no earthly floor Gives holier invitation than the deck Of a storm-shattered Vessel saved from Wreck (When all that Man could do avail'd no more) By him who raised the Tempest and restrains: 5 Happy the crew who this have felt, and pour Forth for his mercy, as the Church ordains, Solemn thanksgiving. Nor will _they_ implore In vain who, for a rightful cause, give breath To words the Church prescribes aiding the lip 10 For the heart's sake, ere ship with hostile ship Encounters, armed for work of pain and death. Suppliants! the God to whom your cause ye trust Will listen, and ye know that He is just.
XXXI
FUNERAL SERVICE
Composed 1842.--Published 1845
From the Baptismal hour, thro' weal and woe, The Church extends her care to thought and deed; Nor quits the Body when the Soul is freed, The mortal weight cast off to be laid low. Blest Rite for him who hears in faith, "I know 5 That my Redeemer liveth,"--hears each word That follows--striking on some kindred chord Deep in the thankful heart;--yet tears will flow. Man is as grass that springeth up at morn, Grows green, and is cut down and withereth 10 Ere nightfall--truth that well may claim a sigh, Its natural echo; but hope comes reborn At JESU'S bidding. We rejoice: "O Death Where is thy Sting?--O Grave where is thy Victory?"
XXXII
RURAL CEREMONY[310]
Closing the sacred Book[311] which long has fed Our meditations,[312] give we to a day Of annual[313] joy one tributary lay; This[314] day, when, forth by rustic music led, The village Children, while the sky is red 5 With evening lights, advance in long array Through the still church-yard, each with garland gay, That, carried sceptre-like, o'ertops the head Of the proud Bearer. To the wide church-door, Charged with these offerings which their fathers bore 10 For decoration in the Papal time, The innocent Procession softly moves:-- The spirit of Laud is pleased in heaven's pure clime, And Hooker's voice the spectacle approves!
FOOTNOTES:
[310] This is still continued in many churches in Westmoreland. It takes place in the month of July, when the floor of the stalls is strewn with fresh rushes; and hence it is called the "Rush-bearing."--W. W. 1822.
[311] 1822.
... precious Book ... C.
[312] 1845.
With smiles each happy face was overspread, That trial ended ... 1822.
Content with calmer scenes around us spread And humbler objects, ... 1827.
[313] 1827.
Of festal ... 1822.
[314] 1827.
That ... 1822.
XXXIII
REGRETS
Would that our scrupulous Sires had dared to leave Less scanty measure of those graceful rites And usages, whose due return invites A stir of mind too natural to deceive; Giving to[315] Memory help when she would weave 5 A crown for Hope!--I dread the boasted lights That all too often are but fiery blights, Killing the bud o'er which in vain we grieve. Go, seek, when Christmas snows discomfort bring, The counter Spirit found in some gay church 10 Green with fresh holly, every pew a perch In which the linnet or the thrush might sing, Merry and loud and safe from prying search, Strains offered only to the genial Spring.
FOOTNOTES:
[315] 1845.
Giving the ... 1822.
XXXIV
MUTABILITY
From low to high doth dissolution climb, And sink[316] from high to low, along a scale Of awful notes, whose concord shall not fail; A musical but melancholy chime, Which they can hear who meddle not with crime, 5 Nor avarice, nor over-anxious care. Truth fails not; but her outward forms that bear The longest date do melt like frosty rime, That in the morning whitened hill and plain And is no more; drop like the tower sublime 10 Of yesterday, which royally did wear His[317] crown of weeds, but could not even sustain Some casual shout that broke the silent air, Or the unimaginable touch of Time.
FOOTNOTES:
[316] 1840.
And sinks ... 1822.
[317] 1837.
Its ... 1822.
XXXV
OLD ABBEYS
Monastic Domes! following my downward way, Untouched by due regret I marked your fall! Now, ruin, beauty, ancient stillness, all Dispose to judgments temperate as we lay On our past selves in life's declining day: 5 For as, by discipline of Time made wise, We learn to tolerate the infirmities And faults of others--gently as he may,[318] So with[319] our own the mild Instructor deals Teaching us to forget them or forgive.[320] 10 Perversely curious, then, for hidden ill Why should we break Time's charitable seals? Once ye were holy, ye are holy still; Your spirit freely let me drink, and live!
FOOTNOTES:
[318] 1822.
...--so, where'er he may 1837.
The edition of 1845 returns to the text of 1822.
[319] 1837.
Towards ... 1822.
[320] This is borrowed from an affecting passage in Mr. George Dyer's History of Cambridge.--W. W. 1822.
XXXVI
EMIGRANT FRENCH CLERGY
Published 1827
Even while I speak, the sacred roofs of France Are shattered into dust; and self-exiled From altars threatened, levelled, or defiled, Wander the Ministers of God, as chance Opens a way for life, or consonance 5 Of faith invites. More welcome to no land The fugitives than to the British strand, Where priest and layman with the vigilance Of true compassion greet them. Creed and test Vanish before the unreserved embrace 10 Of catholic humanity:--distrest They came,--and, while the moral tempest roars Throughout the Country they have left, our shores Give to their Faith a fearless[321] resting-place.
FOOTNOTES:
[321] 1837.
... dreadless ... 1827.
XXXVII
CONGRATULATION
Thus all things lead to Charity, secured By THEM who blessed the soft and happy gale That landward urged the great Deliverer's sail,[322] Till in the sunny bay his fleet was moored! Propitious hour! had we, like them, endured 5 Sore stress of apprehension,[323] with a mind Sickened by injuries, dreading worse designed, From month to month trembling and unassured, How had we then rejoiced! But we have felt, As a loved substance, their futurity: 10 Good, which they dared not hope for, we have seen; A State whose generous will through earth is dealt; A State--which, balancing herself between Licence and slavish order, dares be free.
FOOTNOTES:
[322] The Statesmen of the Revolution, who hailed the arrival of William of Orange from Holland.--ED.
[323] See Burnet, who is unusually animated on this subject; the east wind, so anxiously expected and prayed for, was called the "Protestant wind."--W. W. 1822.
XXXVIII
NEW CHURCHES
But liberty, and triumphs on the Main, And laurelled armies, not to be withstood-- What serve they? if, on transitory good Intent, and sedulous of abject gain, The State (ah, surely not preserved in vain!) 5 Forbear to shape due channels which the Flood Of sacred truth may enter--till it brood O'er the wide realm, as o'er the Egyptian plain The all-sustaining Nile. No more--the time Is conscious of her want; through England's bounds, In rival haste, the wished-for Temples rise![324] 11 I hear their sabbath bells' harmonious chime Float on the breeze--the heavenliest of all sounds That vale or hill[325] prolongs or multiplies!
FOOTNOTES:
[324] In 1818, under the ministry of Lord Liverpool, £1,000,000 was voted by Parliament to build new churches in England.--ED.
[325] 1837.
That hill or vale ... 1822.
XXXIX
CHURCH TO BE ERECTED[326]
Be this the chosen site; the virgin sod, Moistened from age to age by dewy eve, Shall disappear, and grateful earth receive The corner-stone from hands that build to God. Yon reverend hawthorns, hardened to the rod 5 Of winter storms, yet budding cheerfully; Those forest oaks of Druid memory, Shall long survive, to shelter the Abode Of genuine Faith. Where, haply, 'mid this band Of daisies, shepherds sate of yore and wove 10 May-garlands, there let[327] the holy altar stand For kneeling adoration;--while--above, Broods, visibly portrayed, the mystic Dove, That shall protect from blasphemy the Land.
FOOTNOTES:
[326] This, and the two following sonnets, were probably the first composed of these "Ecclesiastical Sketches." The "church to be erected" was a new one built on Coleorton Moor by Sir George Beaumont. (See Prefatory note to the series, p. 1.)--ED.
[327] 1840.
May-garlands, let ... 1822.
XL
CONTINUED
Mine ear has rung, my spirit[328] sunk subdued, Sharing the strong emotion of the crowd, When each pale brow to dread hosannas bowed While clouds of incense mounting veiled the rood, That glimmered like a pine-tree dimly viewed 5 Through Alpine vapours. Such appalling rite Our Church prepares not, trusting to the might Of simple truth with grace divine imbued; Yet will we not conceal the precious Cross, Like men ashamed:[329] the Sun with his first smile Shall greet that symbol crowning the low Pile: 11 And the fresh air of incense-breathing morn[330] Shall wooingly embrace it; and green moss Creep round its arms through centuries unborn.
FOOTNOTES:
[328] 1827.
... spirits ... 1822.
[329] The Lutherans have retained the Cross within their churches: it is to be regretted that we have not done the same.--W. W. 1822.
It has always been retained _without_, and is now scarcely less common _within_ the churches of England. Did the poet confound the Cross with the Crucifix?--ED.
[330] Compare Gray's _Elegy_, stanza v.--
The breezy call of incense-breathing morn.--ED.
XLI
NEW CHURCH-YARD
The encircling ground, in native turf arrayed, Is now by solemn consecration given To social interests, and to favouring Heaven, And where the rugged colts their gambols played, And wild deer bounded through the forest glade, 5 Unchecked as when by merry Outlaw driven, Shall hymns of praise resound at morn and even; And soon, full soon, the lonely Sexton's spade Shall wound the tender sod. Encincture small, But infinite its grasp of weal and woe![331] 10 Hopes, fears, in never-ending ebb and flow;-- The spousal trembling, and the "dust to dust," The prayers, the contrite struggle, and the trust That to the Almighty Father looks through all.
FOOTNOTES:
[331] 1837.
... its grasp of joy and woe! 1822. ... in grasp of weal and woe! 1832.
XLII
CATHEDRALS, ETC.
Open your gates, ye everlasting Piles! Types of the spiritual Church which God hath reared; Not loth we quit the newly-hallowed sward And humble altar, 'mid your sumptuous aisles To kneel, or thrid your intricate defiles, 5 Or down the nave to pace in motion slow; Watching, with upward eye,[332] the tall tower grow And mount, at every step, with living wiles Instinct--to rouse the heart and lead the will By a bright ladder to the world above. 10 Open your gates, ye Monuments of love Divine! thou Lincoln, on thy sovereign hill! Thou, stately York! and Ye, whose splendours cheer Isis and Cam, to patient Science dear![333]
FOOTNOTES:
[332] 1827.
... eyes, ... 1822.
[333] This Sonnet was published in _Time's Telescope_, September 1823, p. 260.--ED.
XLIII
INSIDE OF KING'S COLLEGE CHAPEL, CAMBRIDGE
Tax not the royal Saint[334] with vain expense, With ill-matched aims the Architect who planned-- Albeit labouring for a scanty band Of white-robed Scholars only--this immense And glorious Work of fine intelligence! 5 Give all thou canst; high Heaven rejects the lore Of nicely-calculated less or more; So deemed the man who fashioned for the sense These lofty pillars, spread that branching roof Self-poised, and scooped into ten thousand cells, 10 Where light and shade repose, where music dwells Lingering--and wandering on as loth to die; Like thoughts whose very sweetness yieldeth proof That they were born for immortality.
FOOTNOTES:
[334] King Henry VI., who founded King's College, Cambridge.--ED.
XLIV
THE SAME
What awful pérspective! while from our sight With gradual stealth the lateral windows hide Their Portraitures, their stone-work glimmers, dyed In[335] the soft chequerings of a sleepy light. Martyr, or King, or sainted Eremite, 5 Whoe'er ye be, that thus, yourselves unseen, Imbue your prison-bars with solemn sheen, Shine on, until ye fade with coming Night!-- But, from the arms of silence--list! O list! The music bursteth into second life; 5 The notes luxuriate, every stone is kissed By sound, or ghost of sound, in mazy strife; Heart-thrilling strains, that cast, before the eye Of the devout, a veil of ecstasy!
FOOTNOTES:
[335] 1827.
Their portraiture the lateral windows hide, Glimmers their corresponding stone-work, dyed With ... 1822.
XLV
CONTINUED
They dreamt not of a perishable home Who thus could build.[336] Be mine, in hours of fear Or grovelling thought, to seek a refuge here; Or through the aisles of Westminster to roam; Where bubbles burst, and folly's dancing foam 5 Melts, if it cross the threshold; where the wreath Of awe-struck wisdom droops: or let my path Lead to that younger Pile, whose sky-like dome[337] Hath typified by reach of daring art Infinity's embrace; whose guardian crest, 10 The silent Cross, among the stars shall spread As now, when She hath also seen her breast Filled with mementos, satiate with its part Of grateful England's overflowing Dead.
FOOTNOTES:
[336] Compare _The Excursion_, book v. l. 145--
Not raised in nice proportions was the pile; But large and massy; for duration built.
[337] St. Paul's Cathedral, designed by Sir Christopher Wren (1675-1710).--ED.
XLVI
EJACULATION
Glory to God! and to the Power who came In filial duty, clothed with love divine, That made his human tabernacle shine Like Ocean burning with purpureal flame; Or like the Alpine Mount, that takes its name 5 From roseate hues,[338] far kenned at morn and even, In hours of peace, or when the storm is driven Along the nether region's rugged frame! Earth prompts--Heaven urges; let us seek the light, Studious of that pure intercourse begun 10 When first our infant brows their lustre won; So, like the Mountain, may we grow more bright From unimpeded commerce with the Sun, At the approach of all-involving night.
FOOTNOTES:
[338] Some say that Monte Rosa takes its name from a belt of rock at its summit--a very unpoetical and scarcely a probable supposition.--W. W. 1822.
XLVII
CONCLUSION
Why sleeps the future, as a snake enrolled, Coil within coil, at noon-tide? For the WORD Yields, if with unpresumptuous faith explored, Power at whose touch the sluggard shall unfold His drowsy rings. Look forth!--that Stream behold, THAT STREAM upon whose bosom we have passed 6 Floating at ease while nations have effaced Nations, and Death has gathered to his fold Long lines of mighty Kings--look forth, my Soul! (Nor in this[339] vision be thou slow to trust) 10 The living Waters, less and less by guilt Stained and polluted, brighten as they roll, Till they have reached the eternal City--built For the perfected Spirits of the just!
FOOTNOTES:
[339] 1827.
... that ... 1822.
TO THE LADY FLEMING,[340]
ON SEEING THE FOUNDATION PREPARING FOR THE ERECTION OF RYDAL CHAPEL,[341] WESTMORELAND
Composed 1822.--Published 1827
[After thanking Lady Fleming in prose for the service she had done to her neighbourhood by erecting this Chapel, I have nothing to say beyond the expression of regret that the architect did not furnish an elevation better suited to the site in a narrow mountain-pass, and, what is of more consequence, better constructed in the interior for the purposes of worship. It has no chancel; the altar is unbecomingly confined; the pews are so narrow as to preclude the possibility of kneeling with comfort; there is no vestry; and what ought to have been first mentioned, the font, instead of standing at its proper place at the entrance, is thrust into the farther end of a pew. When these defects shall be pointed out to the munificent Patroness, they will, it is hoped, be corrected.--I. F.[342]]
One of the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection," from the edition of 1827 to that of 1843; but transferred, in 1845, to the "Miscellaneous Poems." From 1827 to 1836 the title was "To the Lady ----, on seeing the foundation preparing for the erection of ---- Chapel, Westmoreland."--ED.
I
Blest is this Isle--our native Land; Where battlement and moated gate Are objects only for the hand Of hoary Time to decorate; Where shady hamlet, town that breathes 5 Its busy smoke in social wreaths, No rampart's stern defence require, Nought but the heaven-directed spire, And[343] steeple tower (with pealing bells Far-heard)--our only citadels. 10
II
O Lady! from a noble line Of chieftains sprung,[344] who stoutly bore The spear, yet gave to works divine A bounteous help in days of yore, (As records mouldering in the Dell 15 Of Nightshade[345] haply yet may tell;) Thee kindred aspirations moved To build, within a vale beloved, For Him upon whose high behests All peace depends, all safety rests. 20
III[346]
How fondly will the woods embrace This daughter of thy pious care, Lifting her[347] front with modest grace To make a fair recess more fair; And to exalt the passing hour; 25 Or soothe it with a healing power Drawn from the Sacrifice fulfilled, Before this rugged soil was tilled, Or human habitation rose To interrupt the deep repose![348] 30
IV
Well may the villagers rejoice! Nor heat, nor cold, nor weary ways, Will be[349] a hindrance to the voice That would unite in prayer and praise; More duly shall wild wandering Youth 35 Receive the curb of sacred truth, Shall tottering Age, bent earthward, hear The Promise, with uplifted ear;[350] And all shall welcome the new ray Imparted to their sabbath-day. 40
V
Nor deem the Poet's hope misplaced, His fancy cheated--that can see A shade upon the future cast, Of time's pathetic sanctity; Can hear the monitory clock 45 Sound o'er the lake with gentle shock[351] At evening,[352] when the ground beneath Is ruffled o'er with cells of death; Where happy generations lie, Here tutored for eternity. 50
VI
Lives there a man whose sole delights Are trivial pomp and city noise, Hardening a heart that loathes or slights What every natural heart enjoys? Who never caught a noon-tide dream 55 From murmur of a running stream; Could strip, for aught the prospect yields To him, their verdure from the fields; And take the radiance from the clouds In which the sun his setting shrouds.[353] 60
VII
A soul so pitiably forlorn, If such do on this earth abide, May season apathy with scorn, May turn indifference to pride; And still be not unblest--compared 65 With him who grovels, self-debarred[354] From all that lies within the scope Of holy faith and christian hope; Or, shipwreck'd, kindles on the coast False fires, that others may be lost.[355] 70
VIII
Alas! that such perverted zeal Should spread on Britain's favoured ground![356] That public order, private weal, Should e'er have felt or feared a wound From champions of the desperate law 75 Which from their own blind hearts they draw;[357] Who tempt their reason to deny God, whom their passions dare defy,[358] And boast that they alone are free Who reach this dire extremity! 80
IX
But turn we from these "bold bad" men;[359] The way, mild Lady! that hath led Down to their "dark opprobrious den,"[360] Is all too rough for Thee to tread. Softly as morning vapours glide 85 Down Rydal-cove from Fairfield's side,[361] Should move the tenor of _his_ song Who means to charity no wrong; Whose offering gladly would accord With this day's work, in thought and word. 90
X
Heaven prosper it! may peace, and love, And hope, and consolation, fall, Through its meek influence, from above, And penetrate the hearts of all; All who, around the hallowed Fane, 95 Shall sojourn in this fair domain; Grateful to Thee, while service pure, And ancient ordinance, shall endure, For opportunity bestowed To kneel together, and adore their God![362] 100
FOOTNOTES:
[340] 1840.
To the Lady ---- ... 1827.
[341] 1840.
Of ---- Chapel ... 1827.
[342] Rydal Chapel remained in the state mentioned in the Fenwick note till the year 1884.--ED.
[343] 1827.
Or ... MS. sent to Lady Beaumont.
[344] The Fleming family is descended from Sir Michael le Fleming, a relative of Baldwin, Earl of Flanders, brother-in-law to William the Conqueror. This Sir Michael le Fleming, who came over with the Conqueror, was sent into Cumberland against the Scots, and was rewarded for his services by the gift of several manors in _Copeland_, Cumberland.--ED.
[345] Bekangs Ghyll--or the dell of Nightshade--in which stands St. Mary's Abbey in Low Furness.--W. W. 1827.
[346] In the edition of 1827, stanzas iii. and iv. are numbered iv. and iii. respectively.--ED.
[347] 1832.
Even Strangers, slackening here their pace, Shall hail this work of pious care, Lifting its ... 1827.
[348] Compare _Glen-Almain_ (vol. ii. p. 394)--
A convent, even a hermit's cell, Would break the silence of this Dell.--ED.
[349] 1827.
Nor storms henceforth, nor weary ways, Shall be ...
MS. sent to Lord Lonsdale.
[350] 1827.
The Aged shall be free to hear The Promise, caught with steadfast ear.
MS. sent to Lord Lonsdale.
[351] 1832.
Not yet the corner stone is laid With solemn rite; but Fancy sees The tower time-stricken, and in shade Embosomed of coeval trees; Hears, o'er the lake, the warning clock As it shall sound with gentle shock 1827.
[352] Compare the last stanza of _The Wishing Gate_.--ED.
[353] Compare the _Ode, Intimations of Immortality_, stanza xi.--ED.
[354] 1827.
With one who fosters disregard
MS. sent to Lady Beaumont.
[355] 1827.
Yea, strives for others to bedim The glorious Light too pure for him. 1832.
The text of 1845 returns to that of 1827.
[356] 1827.
... happy ground.
MS. to Lady Beaumont.
[357] 1827.
From Scoffers leagued in desperate plot To make their own the general lot;
MS. to Lady Beaumont.
[358] 1827.
... do defy,
MS. to Lady Beaumont.
[359] See _The Faërie Queene_, book I. canto i. stanza 37. Also Shakespeare's _Henry VIII._, act II. scene ii. l. 44.--ED.
[360] See _Paradise Lost_, book ii. l. 58.--ED.
[361] 1832.
Through Rydal Cove from Fairfield's side,
MS. to Lady Beaumont.
Through Mosedale-Cove from Carrock's side, 1827.
[362] Dorothy Wordsworth wrote to Henry Crabb Robinson (December 21, 1822), "William has just written a poem upon the Foundation of a Church, which Lady Fleming is about to erect at Rydal. It is about 80 lines. I like it much." This letter was obviously written before the poem reached its final form.--ED.
ON THE SAME OCCASION
Composed 1822.--Published 1827
One of the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection" from the edition of 1827 to that of 1843. In 1835 transferred to the "Miscellaneous Poems."--ED.
Oh! gather whencesoe'er ye safely may The help which slackening Piety requires; Nor deem that he perforce must go astray Who treads upon the footmarks of his sires.
Our churches, invariably perhaps, stand east and west, but _why_ is by few persons _exactly_ known; nor, that the degree of deviation from _due_ east often noticeable in the ancient ones was determined, in each particular case, by the point in the horizon, at which the sun rose upon the day of the saint to whom the church was dedicated.[363] These observances of our ancestors, and the causes of them, are the subject of the following stanzas.
When in the antique age of bow and spear And feudal rapine clothed with iron mail, Came ministers of peace, intent to rear The Mother Church in yon sequestered vale;[364]
Then, to her Patron Saint a previous rite 5 Resounded with deep swell and solemn close, Through unremitting vigils of the night, Till from his couch the wished-for Sun uprose.
He rose, and straight--as by divine command, They, who had waited for that sign to trace 10 Their work's foundation, gave with careful hand To the high altar its determined place;
Mindful of Him who in the Orient born There lived, and on the cross his life resigned, And who, from out the regions of the morn, 15 Issuing in pomp, shall come to judge mankind.
So taught _their_ creed;--nor failed the eastern sky, 'Mid these more awful feelings, to infuse The sweet and natural hopes that shall not die, Long as the sun his gladsome course renews. 20
For us hath such prelusive vigil ceased; Yet still we plant, like men of elder days, Our christian altar faithful to the east, Whence the tall window drinks the morning rays;
That obvious emblem giving to the eye 25 Of meek devotion, which erewhile it gave, That symbol of the day-spring from on high, Triumphant o'er the darkness of the grave.[365]
FOOTNOTES:
[363] St. Oswald's Day is the 8th of August in the Calendar.--ED.
[364] Doubtless Grasmere Church (itself originally a chapelry under Kendal), the advowson of which was sold in 1573 to the Le Flemings of Rydal. The date of the foundation is prehistoric. There is a thirteenth century window in it, but the tower is older. The church is dedicated to St. Oswald, King of Northumbria.--ED.
[365] Compare _Ode, Intimations of Immortality_, l. 117--
In darkness lost, the darkness of the grave.--ED.
1823
Only one poem and two sonnets were written in 1823.--ED.
MEMORY
Composed 1823.--Published 1827
One of the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection." See the Fenwick note to the lines _Written in a Blank Leaf of Macpherson's Ossian_ (p. 373 of this volume), where Wordsworth says that the poem was "suggested from apprehensions of the fate of his friend, H. C." (Hartley Coleridge).--ED.
A pen--to register; a key-- That winds through secret wards; Are well assigned to Memory By allegoric Bards.
As aptly, also, might be given 5 A Pencil to her hand; That, softening objects, sometimes even Outstrips the heart's demand;
That smooths foregone distress, the lines Of lingering care subdues, 10 Long-vanished happiness refines, And clothes in brighter hues;
Yet, like a tool of Fancy, works Those Spectres to dilate That startle Conscience, as she lurks 15 Within her lonely seat.
O! that our lives, which flee so fast, In purity were such, That not an image of the past Should fear that pencil's touch! 20
Retirement then might hourly look Upon a soothing scene, Age steal to his allotted nook Contented and serene;
With heart as calm as lakes that sleep, 25 In frosty moonlight glistening; Or mountain rivers, where they creep Along a channel smooth and deep, To their own far-off murmurs listening.
"NOT LOVE, NOT WAR, NOR THE TUMULTUOUS SWELL"
Composed 1823.--Published 1827
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
Not Love, not[366] War, nor the tumultuous swell Of civil conflict, nor the wrecks of change, Nor[367] Duty struggling with afflictions strange-- Not these _alone_ inspire the tuneful shell; But where untroubled peace and concord dwell, 5 There also is the Muse not loth to range, Watching the twilight smoke of cot or grange,[368] Skyward ascending from a woody dell.[369][370] Meek aspirations please her, lone endeavour, And sage content, and placid melancholy; 10 She loves to gaze upon a crystal river-- Diaphanous because it travels slowly;[371] Soft is the music that would charm for ever;[372] The flower of sweetest smell is shy and lowly.
FOOTNOTES:
[366] 1832.
... nor ... 1823.
[367] 1827.
And ... 1823.[373]
[368] 1837.
Watching the blue smoke of the elmy grange, 1823.
[369] 1837.
... from the twilight dell, 1823.
[370] Compare _Tintern Abbey_, II. 17, 18.--ED.
[371] _e. g._ The Rothay, or the Duddon.--ED.
[372] 1827.
... please for ever, 1823.
[373] See the same reading in _The Poetical Album_, 1829, vol. i. p. 43, edited by Alaric Watts.--ED.
"A VOLANT TRIBE OF BARDS ON EARTH ARE FOUND"
Composed 1823.--Published 1827
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
A volant Tribe of Bards on earth are found, Who, while the flattering Zephyrs round them play, On "coignes of vantage"[374] hang their nests of clay; How quickly from that aery hold unbound, Dust for oblivion! To the solid ground 5 Of nature trusts the Mind that builds for aye; Convinced that there, there only, she can lay Secure foundations. As the year runs round, Apart she toils within the chosen ring; While the stars shine,[375] or while day's purple eye 10 Is gently closing with the flowers of spring; Where even the motion of an Angel's wing Would interrupt the intense tranquillity Of silent hills, and more than silent sky.[376]
FOOTNOTES:
[374] _Macbeth_, act I. scene vi. l. 7.--ED.
[375] 1827.
... nests of clay, Work cunningly devised, and seeming sound; But quickly from its airy hold unbound By its own weight, or washed, or blown away With silent imperceptible decay. If man must build, admit him to thy ground, O Truth! to work within the eternal ring, Where the stars shine, ... 1823.
[376] Compare Alexander Hume's _Day's Estival_ (1599). This and the preceding sonnet were first published in 1823 in _A Collection of Poems, chiefly manuscript, and from living authors, edited for the benefit of a Friend_, by Joanna Baillie. The collection includes Sir Walter Scott's _Macduff's Cross_, and Southey's _The Cataract of Lodore_.--ED.
1824
The poems written in 1824 were few. They include two addressed to Mrs. Wordsworth, two or three composed at Coleorton, and a couple of memorial sonnets suggested during a tour in North Wales.--ED.
TO ----
Composed 1824.--Published 1827
[Written at Rydal Mount. On Mrs. Wordsworth.--I.F.]
One of the "Poems founded on the Affections."--ED.
Let other bards of angels sing, Bright suns without a spot; But thou art no such perfect thing: Rejoice that thou art not! [377]
Heed not tho' none should call thee fair;[378] 5 So, Mary, let it be If nought in loveliness compare With what thou art to me.
True beauty dwells in deep retreats, Whose veil is unremoved 10 Till heart with heart in concord beats, And the lover is beloved.
FOOTNOTES:
[377]
Such if thou wert in all men's view, A universal show, What would my Fancy have to do, My Feelings to bestow?
A second (additional) stanza in the editions of 1827-43.
[378] 1832.
The world denies that Thou art fair; 1827.
TO ----
Composed 1824.--Published 1827
[Written at Rydal Mount. To Mrs. W.--I. F.]
One of the "Poems founded on the Affections."--ED.
O dearer far than light and life are dear, Full oft our human foresight I deplore; Trembling, through my unworthiness, with fear That friends, by death disjoined, may meet no more!
Misgivings, hard to vanquish or control, 5 Mix with the day, and cross the hour of rest; While all the future, for thy purer soul, With "sober certainties" of love is blest.[379]
That sigh of thine,[380] not meant for human ear, Tells[381] that these words thy humbleness offend; 10 Yet bear me up[382]--else faltering in the rear Of a steep march: support[383] me to the end.
Peace settles where the intellect is meek, And Love is dutiful in thought and deed; Through Thee communion with that Love I seek: 15 The faith Heaven strengthens where _he_ moulds the Creed.
FOOTNOTES:
[379] See _Comus_, l. 263.--ED.
[380] 1836.
If a faint sigh, ... 1827.
[381] 1836.
Tell ... 1827.
[382] 1836.
Cherish me still-- ... 1827.
[383] 1836.
... uphold ... 1827.
"HOW RICH THAT FOREHEAD'S CALM EXPANSE!"
Composed 1824.--Published 1827
[Written at Rydal Mount. Mrs. Wordsworth's impression is that the Poem was written at Coleorton: it was certainly suggested by a Print at Coleorton Hall.--I. F.]
One of the "Poems founded on the Affections."--ED.
How rich that forehead's calm expanse! How bright that heaven-directed glance! --Waft her to glory, wingèd Powers, Ere sorrow be renewed, And intercourse with mortal hours 5 Bring back a humbler mood! So looked Cecilia when she drew An Angel from his station;[384] So looked; not ceasing to pursue Her tuneful adoration! 10
But hand and voice alike are still; No sound _here_ sweeps away the will That gave it birth: in service meek One upright arm sustains the cheek, And one across the bosom lies-- 15 That rose, and now forgets to rise, Subdued by breathless harmonies Of meditative feeling; Mute strains from worlds beyond the skies, Through the pure light of female eyes, 20 Their sanctity revealing!
FOOTNOTES:
[384] Compare Dryden's _Alexander's Feast_, an Ode in honour of St. Cecilia's Day--
_Timotheus._ He raised a mortal to the skies.
_Cecilia._ She drew an angel down.--ED.
TO ----
Composed 1824.--Published 1827
[Written at Rydal Mount. Prompted by the undue importance attached to personal beauty by some dear friends of mine.--I. F.]
One of the "Poems founded on the Affections."--ED.
Look at the fate of summer flowers, Which blow at daybreak, droop ere even-song;[385] And, grieved for their brief date, confess that ours, Measured by what we are and ought to be, Measured by all that, trembling, we foresee, 5 Is not so long!
If human Life do pass away, Perishing yet more swiftly than the flower, If we are creatures of a _winter's_ day;[386] What space hath Virgin's beauty to disclose 10 Her sweets, and triumph o'er the breathing rose? Not even an hour!
The deepest grove whose foliage hid The happiest lovers Arcady might boast Could not the entrance of this thought forbid: 15 O be thou wise as they, soul-gifted Maid! Nor rate too high what must so quickly fade, So soon be lost.
Then shall love teach some virtuous Youth "To draw, out of the object of his eyes,"[387] 20 The while[388] on thee they gaze in simple truth, Hues more exalted, "a refinèd Form," That dreads not age, nor suffers from the worm, And never dies.
FOOTNOTES:
[385] Compare Robert Herrick's poem _To Daffodils_--
Fair daffodils, we weep to see You haste away so soon; As yet the early rising sun Has not attain'd his noon. Stay, stay, Until the hasting day Has run But to the even-song, etc.
See also his poem _To Blossoms_.--ED.
[386] 1836.
Whose frail existence is but of a day; 1827.
[387] Compare Lyly's _Endymion_, v. 3--
To have him in the object of mine eyes.--ED.
[388] 1836.
The whilst ... 1827.
A FLOWER GARDEN,
AT COLEORTON HALL, LEICESTERSHIRE[389]
Composed 1824.--Published 1827
[Planned by my friend, Lady Beaumont, in connection with the garden at Coleorton.--I. F.]
One of the "Poems of the Fancy."--ED.
Tell me, ye Zephyrs! that unfold, While fluttering o'er this gay Recess,[390] Pinions that fanned the teeming mould Of Eden's blissful wilderness, Did only softly-stealing hours 5 There close the peaceful lives of flowers?
Say, when the _moving_ creatures saw All kinds commingled without fear, Prevailed a like indulgent law For the still growths that prosper here? 10 Did wanton fawn and kid forbear The half-blown rose, the lily spare?
Or peeped they often from their beds And prematurely disappeared, Devoured like pleasure ere it spreads 15 A bosom to the sun endeared? If such their harsh untimely doom, It falls not _here_ on bud or bloom.
All summer-long the happy Eve Of this fair Spot her flowers may bind, 20 Nor e'er, with ruffled fancy, grieve, From the next glance she casts, to find That love for little things by Fate Is rendered vain as love for great.
Yet, where the guardian fence is wound, 25 So subtly are our eyes beguiled We see not nor suspect a bound,[391] No more than in some forest wild; The sight is free as air--or crost[392] Only by art in nature lost. 30
And, though[393] the jealous turf refuse By random footsteps to be prest, And feed[394] on never-sullied dews, _Ye_, gentle breezes from the west, With all the ministers of hope 35 Are tempted to this sunny slope!
And hither throngs of birds resort; Some, inmates lodged in shady nests, Some, perched on stems of stately port That nod to welcome transient guests; 40 While hare and leveret, seen at play, _Appear_ not more shut out than they.
Apt emblem (for reproof of pride) This delicate Enclosure shows Of modest kindness, that would hide 45 The firm protection she bestows; Of manners, like its viewless fence, Ensuring peace to innocence.
Thus spake the moral Muse--her wing Abruptly spreading to depart, 50 She left that[395] farewell offering, Memento for some docile heart; That may respect the good old age When Fancy was Truth's willing Page; And Truth would skim the flowery glade, 55 Though entering but as Fancy's Shade.
In a letter from Mrs. Wordsworth to Lady Beaumont, dated "Rydal Mount, Feb. 28" (1824), the following occurs:--
"This garden is made out of Lady Caroline Price's, and your own, combining the recommendations of both. Like you, I enjoy the beauty of flowers, but do not carry my admiration so far as my sister, not to feel how very troublesome they are. I have more pleasure in clearing away thickets, and making such arrangements as produced the Winter Garden, and those sweet glades behind Coleorton Church."--ED.
FOOTNOTES:
[389] 1836.
A FLOWER GARDEN. 1827.
[390] The flower garden was constructed below the terrace to the east of the Hall.--ED.
[391] 1836.
So subtly is the eye beguiled It sees not nor suspects a Bound, 1827.
MS. sent by Mrs. Wordsworth to Lady Beaumont.
[392] 1836.
Free as the light in semblance--crost. 1827.
MS. sent by Mrs. Wordsworth to Lady Beaumont.
[393] 1827.
What though ...
MS. sent by Mrs. Wordsworth to Lady Beaumont.
[394] 1836.
And feeds ... 1827.
[395] 1827.
... this ...
MS. sent by Mrs. Wordsworth to Lady Beaumont.
TO THE LADY E. B. AND THE HON. MISS P.
Composed in the Grounds of Plass Newidd,[396] near Llangollen, 1824.
Composed 1824.--Published 1827
[In this Vale of Meditation my friend Jones resided, having been allowed by his diocesan to fix himself there without resigning his Living in Oxfordshire. He was with my wife and daughter and me when we visited these celebrated ladies who had retired, as one may say, into notice in this vale. Their cottage lay directly in the road between London and Dublin, and they were of course visited by their Irish friends as well as innumerable strangers. They took much delight in passing jokes on our friend Jones's plumpness, ruddy cheeks and smiling countenance, as little suited to a hermit living in the Vale of Meditation. We all thought there was ample room for retort on his part, so curious was the appearance of these ladies, so elaborately sentimental about themselves and their _Caro Albergo_ as they named it in an inscription on a tree that stood opposite, the endearing epithet being preceded by the word Ecco! calling upon the saunterer to look about him. So oddly was one of these ladies attired that we took her, at a little distance, for a Roman Catholic priest, with a crucifix and relics hung at his neck. They were without caps, their hair bushy and white as snow, which contributed to the mistake.--I. F.]
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
A STREAM, to mingle with your favourite Dee, Along the VALE OF MEDITATION[397] flows; So styled by those fierce Britons, pleased to see In Nature's face the expression of repose; Or haply there some pious hermit chose 5 To live and die, the peace of heaven his aim; To whom the wild sequestered region owes, At this late day, its sanctifying name. GLYN CAFAILLGAROCH, in the Cambrian tongue, In ours, the VALE OF FRIENDSHIP, let _this_ spot 10 Be named; where, faithful to a low-roofed Cot, On Deva's banks, ye have abode so long; Sisters in love, a love allowed to climb, Even on this earth, above the reach of Time!
FOOTNOTES:
[396] Plass Newidd is close to Llangollen, a small cottage a quarter of a mile to the south of the town. The ladies referred to in the Fenwick note, Lady Eleanor Butler and the Hon. Miss Ponsonby, formed a romantic attachment; and, having an extreme love of independence, they withdrew from society, and settled in this remote and secluded cottage. Lady Butler died in 1829, aged ninety, and Miss Ponsonby in 1831, aged seventy-six, their faithful servant, Mary Caroll, having predeceased them. The three are buried in the same grave in Llangollen Churchyard, and an inscription to the memory of each is carved on a triangular pillar beside their tomb.
In a letter to Sir George Beaumont from Hindwell, Radnorshire, Wordsworth gives an account of this tour in North Wales.... "We turned from the high-road three or four miles to visit the 'Valley of Meditation' (Glyn Myvyr), where Mr. Jones has, at present, a curacy with a comfortable parsonage. We slept at Corwen, and went down the Dee to Llangollen, which you and dear Lady B. know well. Called upon the celebrated Recluses, who hoped that you and Lady B. had not forgotten them.... Next day I sent them the following sonnet from Ruthin, which was conceived, and in a great measure composed, in their grounds." Compare Sir Walter Scott's account of his visit to these Ladies in 1825 (Lockhart's _Life of Scott_, vol. viii. pp. 48, 49).--ED.
[397] Glyn Myvyr.--W. W. The word is misspelt in most of the editions.--ED.
TO THE TORRENT AT THE DEVIL'S BRIDGE,[398] NORTH WALES, 1824
Composed 1824.--Published 1827
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
How art thou named? In search of what strange land, From what huge height, descending? Can such force Of waters issue from a British source,[399] Or hath not Pindus fed thee,[400] where the band Of Patriots scoop their freedom out, with hand 5 Desperate as thine? Or come the incessant shocks From that young Stream,[401] that smites the throbbing rocks Of Viamala? There I seem to stand, As in life's morn; permitted to behold, From the dread chasm, woods climbing above woods, 10 In pomp that fades not; everlasting snows; And skies that ne'er relinquish their repose; Such power possess the family of floods Over the minds of Poets, young or old!
FOOTNOTES:
[398] The Devil's Bridge in North Wales is at Hafod, near Aberystwyth, in Cardiganshire. Like the Teufelsbrücke, on the road from Göschenen to Airola, over the St. Gotthard in Switzerland, which spans the Reuss, the Devil's Bridge in Wales is double; _i.e._ an upper and an under bridge span the river Mynach. This _Pont-y-Mynach_ was built either by the monks of Strata Florida, or by the Knights Hospitallers.
In the letter to Sir George Beaumont, referred to in a previous note, Wordsworth writes: "We went up the Rhydiol to the Devil's Bridge, where we passed the following day in exploring these two rivers, and Hafod in the neighbourhood. I had seen these things long ago, but either my memory or my powers of observation had not done them justice. It rained heavily in the night, and we saw the waterfalls in perfection. While Dora was attempting to make a sketch from the chasm in the rain, I composed by her side the following address to the torrent,
How art thou named? etc."--ED.
[399] There are several consecutive falls on the river Mynach, at the Devil's Bridge, the longest being one of 114 feet, and the whole taken together amounting to 314 feet.--ED.
[400] The lofty ridge of mountains in northern Greece between Thessaly and Epirus, which, like the Apennines in Italy, form the back-bone of the country.--ED.
[401] The Rhine. The Via Mala is the gorge between Thusis and Zillis, near the source of the Rhine. Compare _Descriptive Sketches_ (vol. i. p. 46)--
Or, led where Via Mala's chasms confine The indignant waters of the infant Rhine.--ED.
COMPOSED AMONG THE RUINS OF A CASTLE IN NORTH WALES
Composed 1824.--Published 1827
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
Through shattered galleries, 'mid roofless halls, Wandering with timid footsteps[402] oft betrayed, The Stranger sighs, nor scruples to upbraid Old Time, though he, gentlest among the Thralls Of Destiny, upon these wounds hath laid 5 His lenient touches, soft as light that falls, From the wan Moon, upon the towers and walls, Light deepening the profoundest sleep of shade. Relic of Kings! Wreck of forgotten wars, To winds abandoned and the prying stars, 10 Time _loves_ Thee! at his call the Seasons twine Luxuriant wreaths around thy forehead hoar; And, though past pomp no changes can restore, A soothing recompense, his gift, is thine![403]
FOOTNOTES:
[402] 1837.
... footstep ... 1827.
[403] Compare _The White Doe of Rylstone_, canto i. ll. 118, 119 (vol. iv. p. 110)--
Nature, softening and concealing, And busy with a hand of healing.
This was doubtless Carnarvon Castle, which Wordsworth visited in September 1824, at the close of his three weeks' ramble in North Wales, of which he wrote to Sir George Beaumont, "We employed several hours in exploring the interior of the noble castle, and looking at it from different points of view in the neighbourhood."--ED.
ELEGIAC STANZAS
(ADDRESSED TO SIR G.H.B. UPON THE DEATH OF HIS SISTER-IN-LAW)
1824[404]
Composed 1824.--Published 1827
[On Mrs. Fermor. This lady had been a widow long before I knew her. Her husband was of the family of the lady celebrated in the _Rape of the Lock_, and was, I believe, a Roman Catholic. The sorrow which his death caused her was fearful in its character as described in this poem, but was subdued in course of time by the strength of her religious faith. I have been for many weeks at a time, an inmate with her at Coleorton Hall, as were also Mrs. Wordsworth and my sister. The truth in the sketch of her character here given was acknowledged with gratitude by her nearest relatives. She was eloquent in conversation, energetic upon public matters, open in respect to those, but slow to communicate her personal feelings; upon these she never touched in her intercourse with me, so that I could not regard myself as her confidential friend, and was accordingly surprised when I learnt she had left me a legacy of £100, as a token of her esteem. See in further illustration the second stanza inscribed upon her cenotaph in Coleorton church.--I.F.]
One of the "Epitaphs and Elegiac Pieces." In 1827 the title was simply, _Elegiac Stanzas, 1824_, and the title of the group was then, and in 1832, "Epitaphs and Elegiac Poems."--ED.
O for a dirge! But why complain? Ask rather a triumphal strain When FERMOR'S race is run; A garland of immortal boughs To twine[405] around the Christian's brows, 5 Whose glorious work is done.
We pay a high and holy debt; No tears of passionate regret Shall stain this votive lay; Ill-worthy, Beaumont! were the grief 10 That flings itself on wild relief When Saints have passed away.
Sad doom, at Sorrow's shrine to kneel, For ever covetous to feel, And impotent to bear! 15 Such once was hers--to think and think On severed love, and only sink From anguish to despair!
But nature to its inmost part Faith had[406] refined; and to her heart 20 A peaceful cradle given: Calm as the dew-drop's, free to rest Within a breeze-fanned rose's breast Till it exhales to Heaven.
Was ever Spirit that could bend: 25 So graciously?[407]--that could descend, Another's need to suit, So promptly from her lofty throne?-- In works of love, in these alone, How restless, how minute! 30
Pale was her hue; yet mortal cheek[408] Ne'er kindled with a livelier streak When aught had suffered wrong,-- When aught that breathes had felt a wound; Such look the Oppressor might confound, 35 However proud and strong.
But hushed be every thought that springs From out the bitterness of things; Her quiet is secure; No thorns can pierce her tender feet, 40 Whose life was, like the violet, sweet, As climbing jasmine, pure--
As snowdrop on an infant's grave, Or lily heaving with the wave That feeds it and defends; 45 As Vesper, ere the star hath kissed The mountain top, or breathed the mist That from the vale ascends.
Thou takest not away, O Death! Thou strikest[409]--absence perisheth, 50 Indifference is no more; The future brightens on our sight; For on the past hath fallen a light That tempts us to adore.
In a letter from Mrs. Wordsworth to Lady Beaumont, dated "Rydal Mount, Feb. 25, 1825," she says:--
"We are all much moved by the manner in which Miss Willes has received the verses,--particularly Wm., who feels himself more than rewarded for the _labour_ I cannot call it of the composition--for the tribute was poured forth with a deep stream of fervour that was something beyond labour, and it has required very little correction. In one instance a single word in the '_Address to Sir George_' is changed since we sent the copy, viz.: 'graciously' for 'courteously,' as being a word of more dignity."
The following inscription was "copied from the Churchyard of Claines, Sept. 14, 1826," by Dorothy Wordsworth, in a MS. book, containing numerous epitaphs on tombstones, and inscriptions on rural monuments in Cathedrals and Churches, in various parts of the country.
Sacred To the memory of Frances Fermor, Relict of Henry Fermor, Esqre., Of Fritwell, in the County of Oxford, And eldest Daughter of the late John Willes, Esqre., of Astrop, in the county _Of Northamptonshire_, who departed this life, Dec. 5th, 1824, aged 68 years. I am the way, the truth, and The life. Whoso cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.--ED.
FOOTNOTES:
[404] 1837.
ELEGIAC STANZAS, 1824. 1827.
[405] 1845.
To bind ... 1827.
[406] 1837.
Had Faith ... 1827.
[407] 1827.
So courteously ...
In a MS. copy sent to Coleorton.
[408] 1827.
Pale was her hue, but mortal cheek
In MS. from Mrs. Wordsworth to Lady Beaumont.
[409] 1840.
Thou strik'st--and ... 1827.
CENOTAPH
In affectionate remembrance of Frances Fermor, whose remains are deposited in the church of Claines, near Worcester, this stone is erected by her sister, Dame Margaret, wife of Sir George Beaumont, Bart., who, feeling not less than the love of a brother for the deceased, commends this memorial to the care of his heirs and successors in the possession of this place.
Composed 1824.--Published 1842
[See "Elegiac Stanzas. (Addressed to Sir G.H.B., upon the death of his sister-in-law.)"--I.F.]
One of the "Epitaphs and Elegiac Pieces."--ED.
By vain affections unenthralled, Though resolute when duty called To meet the world's broad eye, Pure as the holiest cloistered nun That ever feared the tempting sun, 5 Did Fermor live and die.
This Tablet, hallowed by her name,[410] One heart-relieving tear may claim; But if the pensive gloom Of fond regret be still thy choice, 10 Exalt thy spirit, hear the voice Of Jesus from her tomb!
"I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE."
In the letter to Lady Beaumont, referred to in the notes, the title of this poem is "Inscription in the Church of Coleorton," and a footnote is added, "Say, to the left of the vista, within the thicket, below the churchyard wall.--M. W."
Mrs. Wordsworth also says, "To fit the lines, intended for an urn, for a Monument, W. has altered the closing stanza, which (though they are not what he would have produced had he first cast them with a view to the Church) he hopes you will not disapprove."--ED.
FOOTNOTES:
[410] 1842.
This cenotaph that bears her name,
MS. Mrs. Wordsworth to Lady Beaumont.
This sacred stone that bears her name,
MS. Mrs. Wordsworth to Lady Beaumont.
1825
Three Poems were written in 1825, _The Pillar of Trajan_, _The Contrast: The Parrot and the Wren_, and the lines _To a Skylark_.--ED.
THE PILLAR OF TRAJAN
Composed 1825.--Published 1827
[These verses perhaps had better be transferred to the class of "Italian Poems." I had observed in the newspaper, that the Pillar of Trajan was given as a subject for a prize-poem in English verse. I had a wish perhaps that my son, who was then an undergraduate at Oxford, should try his fortune, and I told him so; but he, not having been accustomed to write verse, wisely declined to enter on the task; whereupon I showed him these lines as a proof of what might, without difficulty, be done on such a subject.--I.F.]
From 1827 to 1842 one of the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection"; in 1845 one of the "Memorials of a Tour in Italy."--ED.
Where towers are crushed, and unforbidden weeds O'er mutilated arches shed their seeds; And temples, doomed to milder change, unfold A new magnificence that vies with old; Firm in its pristine majesty hath stood 5 A votive Column, spared by fire and flood:-- And, though the passions of man's fretful race Have never ceased to eddy round its base, Not injured more by touch of meddling hands Than a lone obelisk, 'mid Nubian sands, 10 Or aught in Syrian deserts left to save From death the memory of the good and brave. Historic figures round the shaft embost Ascend, with lineaments in air not lost: Still as he turns, the charmed spectator sees 15 Group winding after group with dream-like ease; Triumphs in sunbright gratitude displayed,[411] Or softly stealing into modest shade. --So, pleased with purple clusters to entwine Some lofty elm-tree, mounts the daring vine; 20 The woodbine so, with spiral grace, and breathes Wide-spreading odours from her flowery wreaths.
Borne by the Muse from rills in shepherds' ears Murmuring but one smooth story for all years, I gladly commune with the mind and heart 25 Of him who thus survives by classic art, His actions witness, venerate his mien, And study Trajan as by Pliny seen; Behold how fought the Chief whose conquering sword Stretched far as earth might own a single lord; 30 In the delight of moral prudence schooled, How feelingly at home the Sovereign ruled; Best of the good--in pagan faith allied To more than Man, by virtue deified.
Memorial Pillar! 'mid the wrecks of Time 35 Preserve thy charge with confidence sublime-- The exultations, pomps, and cares of Rome, Whence half the breathing world received its doom; Things that recoil from language; that, if shown By apter pencil, from the light had flown. 40 A Pontiff, Trajan _here_ the Gods implores, _There_ greets an Embassy from Indian shores; Lo! he harangues his cohorts--_there_ the storm Of battle meets him in authentic form! Unharnessed, naked, troops of Moorish horse 45 Sweep to the charge;[412] more high, the Dacian force, To hoof and finger mailed;[413]--yet, high or low, None bleed, and none lie prostrate but the foe;[414] In every Roman, through all turns of fate, Is Roman dignity inviolate; 50 Spirit in him pre-eminent, who guides,[415] Supports, adorns, and over all presides; Distinguished only by inherent state From honoured Instruments that round him wait;[416] Rise as he may, his grandeur scorns the test 55 Of outward symbol, nor will deign to rest On aught by which another is deprest. --Alas! that One thus disciplined could toil To enslave whole nations on their native soil; So emulous of Macedonian fame, 60 That, when his age was measured with his aim, He drooped, 'mid else unclouded victories, And turned his eagles back with deep-drawn sighs. O weakness of the Great! O folly of the Wise!
Where now the haughty Empire that was spread 65 With such fond hope? her very speech is dead; Yet glorious Art the power of Time defies, And Trajan still, through various enterprise, Mounts, in this fine illusion, toward the skies: Still are we present with the imperial Chief, 70 Nor cease to gaze upon the bold Relief Till Rome, to silent marble unconfined, Becomes with all her years a vision of the Mind.
Trajan's Column was set up by the Senate and people of Rome, in honour of the Emperor, about A.D. 114. It is one of the most remarkable pillars in the world; and still stands, little injured by time, in the centre of the _Forum Trajanum_ (now a ruin); its height--132 feet--marking the height of the earth removed when the Forum was made. On the pedestal bas-reliefs were carved in series showing the arms and armour of the Romans; and round the shaft of the column similar reliefs, exhibiting pictorially the whole story of the Decian campaign of the Emperor. These are of great value as illustrating the history of the period, the costume of the Roman soldiers and the barbarians. A colossal statue of Trajan crowned the column; and, when it fell, Pope Sixtus V. replaced it by a figure of St. Peter. It is referred to by Pausanias (v. 12. 6), and by all the ancient topographers. See a minute account of it, with excellent illustrations, in Hertzberg's _Geschichte des Römischen Kaiserreiches_, pp. 330-345 (Berlin: 1880); also Müller's _Denkmäler der alten Kunst_, p. 51. The book, however, from which Wordsworth gained his information of this pillar was evidently Joseph Forsyth's _Remarks on Antiquities, Arts, and Letters, during an Excursion in Italy in 1802-3_ (London: 1813). It is thus that Dean Merivale speaks of it:--
"Amid this profusion of splendour" (_i.e._ in the _Forum Trajanum_) "the great object to which the eye was principally directed was the column, which rose majestically in the centre of the forum to the height of 126 feet, sculptured from the base of the shaft to the summit with the story of the Decian wars, shining in every volute and moulding, with gold and pigments, and crowned with the colossal effigy of the august conqueror.... The proportions of the Trajan column are peculiarly graceful; the compact masses of stone, nineteen in number, of which the whole shaft is composed, may lead us to admire the skill employed in its construction; but the most interesting feature of this historic monument is the spiral band of figures which throughout enriches it. To the subjects of Trajan himself, this record of his exploits in bold relief must have given a vivid and sufficient idea of the people, the places, and the actions indicated; even to us, after so many centuries, they furnish a correct type of the arms, the arts, and the costume both of the Romans and barbarians which we should vainly seek for elsewhere. The Trajan column forms a notable chapter in the pictorial history of Rome." (_History of the Romans under the Empire_, vol. viii. pp. 46, 47.)
In the Fenwick note, Wordsworth mentions that, what gave rise to this poem was, his observing in the newspapers that "the Pillar of Trajan" was prescribed as a subject for a prize poem at Oxford. This determines the date of composition. _The Pillar of Trajan_ was the Newdigate prize poem, won by W. W. Tireman, Wadham Coll., in 1826. We may therefore assume that the subject was proposed about the summer of 1825.--ED.
FOOTNOTES:
[411] As Wordsworth says, in his note of 1827, "See Forsyth," it may be interesting to add Forsyth's account of the Pillar, in footnotes. "Trajan's Column, considered as a long historical record to be read round and round a long convex surface, made perspective impossible. Every perspective has one fixed point of view, but here are ten thousand. The eye, like the relievos of the column, must describe a spiral round them, widening over the whole piazza. Hence, to be legible the figures must be lengthened as they rise. This licence is necessary here; but in architecture it may be contested against Vitruvius himself." (Forsyth's _Remarks on Antiquities, Arts, and Letters, during an Excursion in Italy in 1802-3_, pp. 250, 251.)--ED.
[412] "In detailing the two wars, this column sets each nation in contrast: here the Moorish horse, all naked and unharnessed" (Forsyth's _Remarks_, _etc._, p. 251.)--ED.
[413] See Forsyth.--W. W. 1827.
"There the Taranatians, in complete mail down to the fingers and the hoofs. It exhibits without embellishment all the tactics of that age, and forms grand commentary on Vegetius and Frontinus." (_Remarks_, _etc._, p. 252.)--ED.
[414] "How unlike the modern relievos, where dress appears in all its distinctions, and prostration in all its angles! none kneel here but priests and captives; no Roman appears in a fallen state: none are wounded or slain but the foe.
"No monument gives the complete and real costume of its kind so correctly as this column.... On this column we can see parts of the _subarmalia_; we can see real drawers falling down to the officers' legs; and some figures have _focalia_, like invalids, round the neck." (_Remarks_, _etc._, p. 251-2.)--ED.
[415] "This column is an immense field of antiquities, where the emperor appears in a hundred different points, as sovereign, as general, as priest." (_Remarks_, _etc._, p. 251.)--ED.
[416] "His dignity he derives from himself or his duties; not from the trappings of power, for he is dressed like any of his officers, not from the debasement of others, for the Romans stand bold and erect before him." (_Remarks_, _etc._, p. 251.)--ED.
THE CONTRAST
THE PARROT AND THE WREN[417]
Composed 1825.--Published 1827
[The Parrot belonged to Mrs. Luff while living at Fox-Ghyll. The Wren was one that haunted for many years the summerhouse between the two terraces at Rydal Mount.--I. F.]
One of the "Poems of the Fancy."--ED.
I
Within her gilded cage confined, I saw a dazzling Belle, A Parrot of that famous kind Whose name is NON-PAREIL.
Like beads of glossy jet her eyes; 5 And, smoothed by Nature's skill, With pearl or gleaming agate vies Her finely-curvèd bill.
Her plumy mantle's living hues In mass opposed to mass, 10 Outshine the splendour that imbues The robes of pictured glass.
And, sooth to say, an apter Mate Did never tempt the choice Of feathered Thing most delicate 15 In figure and in voice.
But, exiled from Australian bowers, And singleness her lot, She trills her song with tutored powers, Or mocks each casual note. 20
No more of pity for regrets With which she may have striven! Now but in wantonness she frets, Or spite, if cause be given;
Arch, volatile, a sportive bird 25 By social glee inspired; Ambitious to be seen or heard And pleased to be admired!
II
This Moss-Lined shed, green, soft, and dry, Harbours a self-contented Wren, 30 Not shunning man's abode, though shy, Almost as thought itself, of human ken.
Strange places, coverts unendeared, She never tried; the very nest In which this Child of Spring was reared, 35 Is warmed, thro' winter, by her feathery breast.
To the bleak winds she sometimes gives A slender unexpected strain; Proof that[418] the hermitess still lives, Though she appear not, and be sought in vain. 40
Say, Dora! tell me, by yon placid moon, If called to choose between the favoured pair, Which would you be,--the bird of the saloon, By lady-fingers tended with nice care, Caressed, applauded, upon dainties fed, 45 Or Nature's DARKLING of this mossy shed?
The "moss-lined shed, green, soft, and dry," still remains at Rydal Mount, as it was in the poet's time.--ED.
FOOTNOTES:
[417] 1832.
The Contrast. 1827.
[418] 1836.
That tells ... 1827.
TO A SKY-LARK
Composed 1825.--Published 1827
[Written at Rydal Mount, where there are no skylarks, but the Poet is everywhere.--I. F.]
One of the "Poems of the Imagination."--ED.
Ethereal minstrel! pilgrim of the sky! Dost thou despise the earth where cares abound? Or, while the[419] wings aspire, are heart and eye Both with thy nest upon the dewy ground? Thy nest which thou canst drop into at will, 5 Those quivering wings composed, that music still!
Leave to the nightingale her[421] shady wood; A privacy of glorious light is thine; Whence thou dost pour upon the world a flood Of harmony, with instinct[422] more divine; 10 Type of the wise who soar, but never roam; True to the kindred points of Heaven and Home!
Compare this with the earlier poem _To a Skylark_, written in 1805, and both poems with Shelley's still finer lyric to the same bird, written in 1820. See also the _Morning Exercise_ (1828), stanzas v.-x. The eighth stanza of that poem was, from 1827 to 1842, the second stanza of this one. The poem was published in the _Poetical Album_, for 1829, edited by Alaric Watts, vol. ii. p. 30.--ED.
FOOTNOTES:
[419] 1827.
... thy ...
_Poetical Album_, 1829.
[420] The following second stanza occurs only in the editions 1827-43--
To the last point of vision, and beyond, Mount, daring Warbler! that love-prompted strain, ('Twixt thee and thine a never-failing bond) Thrills not the less the bosom of the plain: Yet might'st thou seem, proud privilege! to sing All independent of the leafy spring.
[421] 1827.
... the ...
_Poetical Album_, 1829.
[422] 1832.
... rapture ... 1827.
1826
The poems composed in 1826 were six. They include two referring to the month of May, and two descriptive of places near Rydal Mount.--ED.
"ERE WITH COLD BEADS OF MIDNIGHT DEW"
Composed 1826.--Published 1827
[Written at Rydal Mount. Suggested by the condition of a friend.--I. F.]
One of the "Poems founded on the Affections."--ED.
Ere with cold beads of midnight dew Had mingled tears of thine, I grieved, fond Youth! that thou shouldst sue To haughty Geraldine.
Immoveable by generous sighs, 5 She glories in a train Who drag, beneath our native skies, An oriental chain.
Pine not like them with arms across, Forgetting in thy care 10 How the fast-rooted trees can toss Their branches in mid air.
The humblest rivulet will take Its own wild liberties; And, every day, the imprisoned lake 15 Is flowing in the breeze.
Then, crouch no more on suppliant knee, But scorn with scorn outbrave; A Briton, even in love, should be A subject, not a slave! 20
ODE
COMPOSED ON MAY MORNING
Composed 1826.--Published 1835
[This and the following poem originated in the lines, "How delicate the leafy veil," etc. My daughter and I left Rydal Mount upon a tour through our mountains, with Mr. and Mrs. Carr,[423] in the month of May, 1826, and as we were going up the Vale of Newlands I was struck with the appearance of the little chapel gleaming through the veil of half-opened leaves; and the feeling which was then conveyed to my mind was expressed in the stanza referred to above. As in the case of _Liberty_ and _Humanity_, my first intention was to write only one poem, but subsequently I broke it into two, making additions to each part so as to produce a consistent and appropriate whole.--I. F.]
In 1835, included in the Poems on _Yarrow Revisited_, etc. In 1837, one of the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection."--ED.
While from the purpling east departs The star that led the dawn, Blithe Flora from her couch upstarts, For May is on the lawn,[424] A quickening hope, a freshening glee, 5 Foreran the expected Power, Whose first-drawn breath, from bush and tree, Shakes off that pearly shower.
All Nature welcomes Her whose sway Tempers the year's extremes; 10 Who scattereth lustres o'er noon-day, Like morning's dewy gleams; While mellow warble, sprightly trill, The tremulous heart excite; And hums the balmy air to still 15 The balance of delight.
Time was, blest Power! when youths and maids At peep of dawn would rise, And wander forth in forest glades Thy birth to solemnize. 20 Though mute the song--to grace the rite Untouched the hawthorn bough, Thy Spirit triumphs o'er the slight; Man changes, but not Thou!
Thy feathered Lieges bill and wings 25 In love's disport employ; Warmed by thy influence, creeping things Awake to silent joy: Queen art thou still for each gay plant Where the slim wild deer roves; 30 And served in depths where fishes haunt Their own mysterious groves.
Cloud-piercing peak, and trackless heath, Instinctive homage pay; Nor wants the dim-lit cave a wreath 35 To honour thee, sweet May! Where cities fanned by thy brisk airs Behold a smokeless sky, Their puniest flower-pot-nursling dares To open a bright eye. 40
And if, on this thy natal morn, The pole, from which thy name Hath not departed, stands forlorn Of song and dance and game; Still from the village-green a vow 45 Aspires to thee addrest, Wherever peace is on the brow, Or love within the breast.
Yes! where Love nestles thou canst teach The soul to love the more; 50 Hearts also shall thy lessons reach That never loved before. Stript is the haughty one of pride, The bashful freed from fear, While rising, like the ocean-tide, 55 In flows the joyous year.
Hush, feeble lyre! weak words refuse The service to prolong! To yon exulting thrush the Muse Entrusts the imperfect song; 60 His voice shall chant, in accents clear, Throughout the live-long day, Till the first silver star appear, The sovereignty of May.
FOOTNOTES:
[423] Doubtless the Rev. Mr. Carr, of Bolton Abbey, and his wife.--ED.
[424] Compare _Thoughts on the Seasons_, written in 1829.--ED.
TO MAY[425]
Composed 1826-34.--Published 1835
One of the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection."--ED.
Though many suns have risen and set Since thou, blithe May, wert born, And Bards, who hailed thee, may forget Thy gifts, thy beauty scorn; There are who to a birthday strain 5 Confine not harp and voice, But evermore throughout thy reign Are grateful and rejoice!
Delicious odours! music sweet, Too sweet to pass away! 10 Oh for a deathless song to meet The soul's desire--a lay That, when a thousand years are told, Should praise thee, genial Power! Through summer heat, autumnal cold, 15 And winter's dreariest hour.
Earth, sea, thy presence feel--nor less, If yon ethereal blue With its soft smile the truth express, The heavens have felt it too. 20 The inmost heart of man if glad Partakes a livelier cheer; And eyes that cannot but be sad Let fall a brightened tear.
Since thy return, through days and weeks 25 Of hope that grew by stealth, How many wan and faded cheeks Have kindled into health! The Old, by thee revived, have said, "Another year is ours;" 30 And wayworn Wanderers, poorly fed, Have smiled upon thy flowers.
Who tripping lisps a merry song Amid his playful peers? The tender Infant who was long 35 A prisoner of fond fears; But now, when every sharp-edged blast Is quiet in its sheath, His Mother leaves him free to taste Earth's sweetness in thy breath. 40
Thy help is with the weed that creeps Along the humblest ground; No cliff so bare but on its steeps Thy favours may be found; But most on some peculiar nook 45 That our own hands have drest, Thou and thy train are proud to look, And seem to love it best.
And yet how pleased we wander forth When May is whispering, "Come! 50 "Choose from the bowers of virgin earth "The happiest for your home; "Heaven's bounteous love through me is spread "From sunshine, clouds, winds, waves, "Drops on the mouldering turret's head, 55 "And on your turf-clad graves!"
Such greeting heard, away with sighs For lilies that must fade, Or "the rathe primrose as it dies Forsaken"[426] in the shade! 60 Vernal fruitions and desires Are linked in endless chase; While, as one kindly growth retires, Another takes its place.
And what if thou, sweet May, hast known 65 Mishap by worm and blight; If expectations newly blown Have perished in thy sight; If loves and joys, while up they sprung, Were caught as in a snare; 70 Such is the lot of all the young, However bright and fair.
Lo! Streams that April could not check Are patient of thy rule; Gurgling in foamy water-break, 75 Loitering in glassy pool: By thee, thee only, could be sent Such gentle mists as glide, Curling with unconfirmed intent, On that green mountain's side. 80
How delicate the leafy veil Through which yon house of God Gleams 'mid the peace of this deep dale[427] By few but shepherds trod! And lowly huts, near beaten ways, 85 No sooner stand attired In thy fresh wreaths, than they for praise Peep forth, and are admired.
Season of fancy and of hope, Permit not for one hour, 90 A blossom from thy crown to drop, Nor add to it a flower! Keep, lovely May, as if by touch Of self-restraining art, This modest charm of not too much, 95 Part seen, imagined part!
FOOTNOTES:
[425] Some of the stanzas of this poem were composed in Nov. 1830, on the way from Rydal to Cambridge. See Wordsworth's letter to W. R. Hamilton, Nov. 26, 1830.--ED.
[426] Compare _Lycidas_, l. 142.--ED.
[427] Newlands. See the Fenwick note, p. 146.--ED.
"ONCE I COULD HAIL (HOWE'ER SERENE THE SKY)"
Composed 1826.--Published 1827
"Late, late yestreen I saw the new moone Wi' the auld moone in hir arme."
_Ballad of Sir Patrick Spence_, _Percy's Reliques_.--W. W.
["No faculty yet given me to espy The dusky Shape within her arms imbound."
Afterwards, when I could not avoid seeing it, I wondered at this, and the more so because, like most children, I had been in the habit of watching the moon through all her changes, and had often continued to gaze at it when at the full till half blinded.--I. F.]
From 1827 to 1842, one of the "Epitaphs and Elegiac Poems." In 1845 transferred to the "Miscellaneous Poems."--ED.
Once I could hail (howe'er serene the sky) The Moon re-entering her monthly round, No faculty yet given me to espy The dusky Shape within her arms imbound, That thin memento of effulgence lost 5 Which some have named her Predecessor's ghost.
Young, like the Crescent that above me shone, Nought I perceived within it dull or dim; All that appeared was suitable to One Whose fancy had a thousand fields to skim; 10 To expectations spreading with wild growth, And hope that kept with me her plighted troth.
I saw (ambition quickening at the view) A silver boat launched on a boundless flood; A pearly crest, like Dian's when it threw 15 Its brightest splendour round a leafy wood; But not a hint from under-ground, no sign Fit for the glimmering brow of Proserpine.[428]
Or was it Dian's self[428] that seemed to move Before me?--nothing blemished the fair sight; 20 On her I looked whom jocund Fairies love, Cynthia,[428] who puts the _little_ stars to flight, And by that thinning magnifies the great, For exaltation of her sovereign state.
And when I learned to mark the spectral Shape 25 As each new Moon obeyed the call of Time, If gloom fell on me, swift was my escape; Such happy privilege hath life's gay Prime, To see or not to see, as best may please A buoyant Spirit, and a heart at ease. 30
Now, dazzling Stranger! when thou meet'st my glance, Thy dark Associate ever I discern; Emblem of thoughts too eager to advance While I salute my joys, thoughts sad or stern; Shades of past bliss, or phantoms that, to gain 35 Their fill of promised lustre, wait in vain.
So changes mortal Life with fleeting years; A mournful change, should Reason fail to bring The timely insight that can temper fears, And from vicissitude remove its sting; 40 While Faith aspires to seats in that domain Where joys are perfect--neither wax nor wane.
FOOTNOTES:
[428]
Terret, lustrat, agit, Proserpina, Luna, Diana; Ima, suprema, feras, sceptro, fulgore, sagitta.--ED.
"THE MASSY WAYS, CARRIED ACROSS THESE HEIGHTS"
Composed 1826.--Published 1835[429]
[The walk is what we call the _Far-terrace_, beyond the summerhouse at Rydal Mount. The lines were written when we were afraid of being obliged to quit the place to which we were so much attached.--I.F.]
One of the "Inscriptions."--ED.
The massy Ways, carried across these heights[430] By Roman perseverance,[431] are destroyed, Or hidden under ground, like sleeping worms. How venture then to hope that Time will spare[432] This humble Walk? Yet on the mountain's side 5 A POET'S hand first shaped it; and the steps Of that same Bard--repeated to and fro At morn, at noon,[433] and under moonlight skies Through the vicissitudes of many a year-- Forbade the weeds to creep o'er its grey line. 10 No longer, scattering to the heedless winds The vocal raptures of fresh poesy, Shall he frequent these precincts; locked no more In earnest converse with beloved Friends, Here will he gather stores of ready bliss, 15 As from the beds and borders of a garden Choice flowers are gathered! But, if Power may spring Out of a farewell yearning--favoured more Than kindred wishes mated suitably With vain regrets--the Exile would consign 20 This Walk, his loved possession, to the care Of those pure Minds that reverence the Muse.[434]
FOOTNOTES:
[429] The title of these lines in the edition of 1835 was _Inscription_.--ED.
[430] 1835.
... once carried o'er these hills MS.
[431] Referring to the Roman Way, fragments of which are to be seen on High Street. Ambleside was a Roman station. "At the upper corner of Windermere lieth the dead carcase of an ancient city, with great ruins of walls, and many heaps of rubbish, one from another, remaining of building without the walls, yet to be seen. The fortress thereof was somewhat long, fenced with a ditch and rampire, took up in length 132 ells, and breadth 80. That it had been the Romans' work is evident by the British bricks, by the mortar tempered with little pieces of brick among it, by small earthen pots or pitchers, by small cruets or phials of glass, by pieces of Roman money oftentimes found, and by round stones as big as millstones or quernstones, of which laid and couched together they framed in old times their columns, and by the paved ways leading to it. Now the ancient name is gone, unless a man would guess at it, and think it were that Amboglana, whereof the book of notices maketh mention, seeing at this day it is called Ambleside."--See Camden's _Britannia_, 645 (edition 1590).--ED.
[432] 1835.
... to hope that private claims Will from the injuries of time protect MS.
[433] 1835.
... and the foot Of that same Bard, by pacing to and fro At morn, and noon, ... MS.
[434] 1835.
... its gray line. Murmuring his unambitious verse alone, Or in sweet converse with beloved Friends. No more must he frequent it. Yet might power Follow the yearnings of the spirit, he Reluctantly departing, would consign This walk, his heart's possession, to the care Of those pure Minds that reverence the Muse. MS.
FAREWELL LINES[435]
Composed 1826.--Published 1842
[These lines were designed as a farewell to Charles Lamb and his sister, who had retired from the throngs of London to comparative solitude in the village of Enfield--I.F.]
One of the "Poems founded on the Affections."--ED.
"High bliss is only for a higher state,"[436] But, surely, if severe afflictions borne With patience merit the reward of peace, Peace ye deserve; and may the solid good, Sought by a wise though late exchange, and here 5 With bounteous hand beneath a cottage-roof To you accorded, never be withdrawn, Nor for the world's best promises renounced. Most soothing was it for a welcome Friend, Fresh from the crowded city, to behold 10 That lonely union, privacy so deep, Such calm employments, such entire content. So when the rain is over, the storm laid, A pair of herons oft-times have I seen, Upon a rocky islet, side by side, 15 Drying their feathers in the sun, at ease; And so, when night with grateful gloom had fallen, Two glow-worms in such nearness that they shared, As seemed, their soft self-satisfying light, Each with the other, on the dewy ground, 20 Where He that made them blesses their repose.-- When wandering among lakes and hills I note, Once more, those creatures thus by nature paired, And guarded in their tranquil state of life, Even, as your happy presence to my mind 25 Their union brought, will they repay the debt, And send a thankful spirit back to you, With hope that we, dear Friends! shall meet again.
FOOTNOTES:
[435] As Charles Lamb retired to Enfield in 1826, these lines cannot have been composed much later than that year, although they were not published till 1842. Lamb wrote thus to Wordsworth on the 6th of April 1825: "I came home FOR EVER on Tuesday in last week. The incomprehensibleness of my condition overwhelmed me. It was like passing from life into eternity. ... I wandered about, thinking I was happy, but feeling I was not. But that tumultuousness is passing off, and I begin to understand the nature of the gift. Holidays, even the annual month, were always uneasy joys: their conscious fugitiveness; the craving after making the most of them. Now, when all is holiday, there are no holidays. I can sit at home, in rain or shine, without a restless impulse for walkings. I am daily steadying, and shall soon find it as natural to me to be my own master, as it has been irksome to have had a master. Mary wakes every morning with an obscure feeling that some good has happened to us."--ED.
[436] See Thomson's lines _To the Reverend Patrick Murdoch_, Rector of Stradishall, in Suffolk, 1738, l. 10.--ED.
1827
The poems composed in 1827 were for the most part sonnets. But several of those first published in 1827 evidently belong to an earlier year, the date of which it is impossible to discover.--ED.
ON SEEING A NEEDLECASE IN THE FORM OF A HARP
THE WORK OF E. M. S.[437]
Composed 1827.--Published 1827
One of the "Poems of the Fancy."--ED.
Frowns are on every Muse's face, Reproaches from their lips are sent, That mimicry should thus disgrace The noble Instrument.
A very Harp in all but size! 5 Needles for strings in apt gradation! Minerva's self would stigmatize The unclassic profanation.
Even her _own_ needle that subdued Arachne's rival spirit,[438] 10 Though wrought in Vulcan's happiest mood, Such honour[439] could not merit.
And this, too, from the Laureate's Child, A living lord of melody! How will her Sire be reconciled 15 To the refined indignity?
I spake, when whispered a low voice, "Bard! moderate your ire; Spirits of all degrees rejoice In presence of the lyre. 20
The Minstrels of Pygmean bands,[440] Dwarf Genii, moonlight-loving Fays, Have shells to fit their tiny hands And suit their slender lays.
Some, still more delicate of ear, 25 Have lutes (believe my words) Whose framework is of gossamer, While sunbeams are the chords.
Gay Sylphs[B] this miniature will court, Made vocal by their brushing wings, 30 And sullen Gnomes[441] will learn to sport Around its polished strings;
Whence strains to love-sick maiden dear, While in her lonely bower she tries To cheat the thought she cannot cheer, 35 By fanciful embroideries.
Trust, angry Bard! a knowing Sprite, Nor think the Harp her lot deplores; Though 'mid the stars the Lyre shine[442] bright, Love _stoops_ as fondly as he soars."[443] 40
FOOTNOTES:
[437] Edith May Southey.--ED.
[438] Arachne, daughter of a dyer of Colophon, skilful with her needle, challenged Minerva to a trial of skill. Minerva defeated her, and committing suicide, she was changed by the goddess into a spider.--ED.
[439] 1845.
Like station ... 1827.
[440] Pygmæi, the nation of Lilliputian dwarfs, fabled to dwell in India, or Ethiopia. (See Ovid, _Metamorphoses_, vi. 90; Aristotle, _De Anima_, viii. 12.)--ED.
[441] According to mediæval belief, the Sylphs were elemental spirits of the air; the Gnomes the elemental spirits of the earth. "The Gnomes or Dæmons of Earth delight in mischief; but the Sylphs, whose habitation is in the Air, are the best-condition'd creatures imaginable."--(See Pope, _Rape of the Lock_, Preface.)--ED.
[442] 1832.
... shines ... 1827.
[443] 1827.
... as she soars." MS.
MISCELLANEOUS SONNETS
DEDICATION
Composed 1827.--Published 1827
[In the cottage, Town-end, Grasmere, one afternoon in 1801, my Sister read to me the Sonnets of Milton. I had long been well acquainted with them, but I was particularly struck on that occasion by the dignified simplicity and majestic harmony that runs through most of them,--in character so totally different from the Italian, and still more so from Shakespeare's fine Sonnets. I took fire, if I may be allowed to say so, and produced three Sonnets the same afternoon, the first I ever wrote except an irregular one at school. Of these three, the only one I distinctly remember is "I grieved for Buonaparté." One was never written down: the third, which was, I believe, preserved, I cannot particularise.--I. F.]
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
TO ----[444]
Happy the feeling from the bosom thrown In perfect shape (whose beauty Time shall spare Though a breath made it) like a bubble blown For summer pastime into wanton air; Happy the thought best likened to a stone 5 Of the sea-beach, when, polished with nice care, Veins it discovers exquisite and rare, Which for the loss of that moist gleam atone That tempted first to gather it. That here, O chief of Friends![445] such feelings I present, 10 To thy regard, with thoughts so fortunate, Were a vain notion; but the hope is dear,[446] That thou, if not with partial joy elate, Wilt smile upon this gift with[447] more than mild content![448]
FOOTNOTES:
[444] This dedicatory sonnet may possibly have been inscribed to his sister, whose reading of Milton's sonnets in 1801 first led him (as the Fenwick note tells us) to write sonnets.--ED.
[445] See the note on the previous page.--ED.
[446] 1837.
... gather it. O chief Of Friends! such feelings if I here present, Such thoughts, with others mixed less fortunate; Then smile into my heart a fond belief That Thou, ... 1827.
[447] 1837.
Receiv'st the gift for ... 1827.
[448]
"_Something less than joy, but more than dull content._"
COUNTESS OF WINCHELSEA.--W. W. 1837.
"HER ONLY PILOT THE SOFT BREEZE, THE BOAT"
Composed 1827.--Published 1827
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
Her only pilot the soft breeze, the boat Lingers, but Fancy is well satisfied; With keen-eyed Hope, with Memory, at her side, And the glad Muse at liberty to note All that to each is precious, as we float 5 Gently along; regardless who shall chide If the heavens smile, and leave us free to glide, Happy Associates breathing air remote From trivial cares. But, Fancy and the Muse, Why have I crowded this small bark with you 10 And others of your kind, ideal crew! While here sits One whose brightness owes its hues To flesh and blood; no Goddess from above, No fleeting Spirit, but my own true Love?[449]
FOOTNOTES:
[449] The reminiscence of a day spent on Grasmere Lake with Mrs. Wordsworth.
Compare Robert Browning's lines--
No angel, but a dearer being All dipt in angel instincts.--ED.
"WHY, MINSTREL, THESE UNTUNEFUL MURMURINGS"
Composed 1827.--Published 1827
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
"Why, Minstrel, these untuneful murmurings-- Dull, flagging notes that with each other jar?" "Think, gentle Lady, of a Harp so far From its own country, and forgive the strings." A simple answer! but even so forth springs, 5 From the Castalian fountain of the heart,[450] The Poetry of Life, and all _that_ Art Divine of words quickening insensate things. From the submissive necks of guiltless men Stretched on the block, the glittering axe recoils; 10 Sun, moon, and stars, all struggle in the toils Of mortal sympathy; what wonder then That[451] the poor Harp distempered music yields To its sad Lord, far from his native fields?
FOOTNOTES:
[450] Castaly (Castalius fons), a fountain near Parnassus sacred to the Muses. See Virgil, _Georgics_, iii. 293.--ED.
[451] 1837.
If ... 1827.
TO S. H.[452]
Composed 1827.--Published 1827
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
Excuse is needless when with love sincere Of occupation, not by fashion led, Thou turn'st the Wheel that slept with dust o'erspread; _My_ nerves from no such murmur shrink,--tho' near, Soft as the Dorhawk's to a distant ear, 5 When twilight shades darken[453] the mountain's head.[454] Even She who toils to spin[455] our vital thread[456] Might smile on work, O Lady, once so dear[457] To household virtues. Venerable Art, Torn from the Poor![458] yet shall kind Heaven protect 10 Its own; though Rulers, with undue respect, Trusting to crowded factory and mart[459] And[460] proud discoveries of the intellect, Heed not[461] the pillage of man's ancient heart.
FOOTNOTES:
[452] Sarah Hutchinson, Mrs. Wordsworth's sister.--ED.
[453] 1837.
... bedim ... 1827.
[454] Either Wansfell, or Loughrigg.--ED.
[455] 1840.
She who was feigned to spin ... 1827.
She who even toils to spin ... C.
[456] Lachesis, the second of the three Parcæ, who was supposed to spin out the actions of our life.
Clotho colum retinet, Lachesis net, et Atropos occat.--ED.
[457] 1837.
Might smile, O Lady! on a task once dear 1827.
[458] Referring to the introduction of steam-looms, which displaced the hand-loom spinning of a previous generation.--ED.
[459] Compare _The Excursion_, book viii. ll. 165-185.--ED.
[460] 1837.
... yet will kind Heaven protect Its own, not left without a guiding chart, If Rulers, trusting with undue respect To ... 1827.
[461] 1837.
Sanction ... 1827.
DECAY OF PIETY
Composed 1827.--Published 1827
[Attendance at church on prayer-days, Wednesdays and Fridays and Holidays, received a shock at the Revolution. It is now, however, happily reviving. The ancient people described in this Sonnet were among the last of that pious class. May we hope that the practice, now in some degree renewed, will continue to spread.--I. F.]
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
Oft have I seen, ere Time had ploughed my cheek, Matrons and Sires--who, punctual to the call Of their loved Church, on fast or festival Through the long year the House of Prayer would seek: By Christmas snows, by visitation bleak 5 Of Easter winds, unscared, from hut or hall They came to lowly bench or sculptured stall, But with one fervour of devotion meek. I see the places where they once were known, And ask, surrounded even by kneeling crowds, 10 Is ancient Piety for ever flown? Alas! even then they seemed like fleecy clouds That, struggling through the western sky, have won Their pensive light from a departed sun!
"SCORN NOT THE SONNET; CRITIC, YOU HAVE FROWNED"
Composed 1827.--Published 1827
[Composed, almost extempore, in a short walk on the western side of Rydal Lake.--I. F.]
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
Scorn not the Sonnet; Critic, you have frowned, Mindless of its just honours; with this key Shakspeare unlocked his heart;[462] the melody Of this small lute gave ease to Petrarch's wound;[463] A thousand times this pipe did Tasso sound;[464] 5 With it Camöens soothed[465] an exile's grief;[466] The Sonnet glittered a gay myrtle leaf Amid the cypress with which Dante[467] crowned His visionary brow: a glow-worm lamp, It cheered mild Spenser, called from Faery-land 10 To struggle through dark ways;[468] and, when a damp Fell round the path of Milton, in his hand The Thing became a trumpet;[469] whence he blew Soul-animating strains--alas, too few![470]
FOOTNOTES:
[462] Shakespeare's sonnets are autobiographical: compare Nos. 24, 30, 39, 105, 116.--ED.
[463] Petrarch's were all inspired by his devotion to Laura.--ED.
[464] Tasso's works include two volumes of sonnets, first published in 1581 and 1592.--ED.
[465] 1837.
Camöens soothed with it ... 1827.
[466] For his satire _Disparates na India_, Camöens was banished to Macao in 1556, where he wrote the _Os Lusiadas_, also many sonnets and lyric poems.--ED.
[467] Compare the _Vita Nuova_, _passim_.--ED.
[468] Spenser wrote ninety-two sonnets. From the eightieth sonnet it would seem that the writing of them was a relaxation, after the labour spent upon the _Faërie Queene_. It is to this sonnet that Wordsworth alludes.
After so long a race as I have run Through Faery land, which these six books compile, Give leave to rest me, being half foredone, And gather to myself new breath awhile.--ED.
[469] Milton's twenty-three sonnets were written partly in English, partly in Italian. Compare Wordsworth's sonnet, addressed to him in 1802, beginning:--
Milton, thou should'st be living at this hour.--ED.
[470] Compare the sonnet beginning--
Nuns fret not at their convent's narrow room.--ED.
"FAIR PRIME OF LIFE! WERE IT ENOUGH TO GILD"
Composed 1827.--Published 1827
[Suggested by observation of the way in which a young friend, whom I do not choose to name, misspent his time and misapplied his talents. He took afterwards a better course, and became a useful member of society, respected, I believe, wherever he has been known.--I. F.]
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
Fair Prime of life! were it enough to gild With ready sunbeams every straggling shower; And, if an unexpected cloud should lower, Swiftly thereon a rainbow arch to build For Fancy's errands,--then, from fields half-tilled 5 Gathering green weeds to mix with poppy flower, Thee might thy Minions crown, and chant thy power, Unpitied by the wise, all censure stilled. Ah! show that worthier honours are thy due; Fair Prime of life! arouse the deeper heart; 10 Confirm the Spirit glorying to pursue Some path of steep ascent and lofty aim; And, if there be a joy that slights the claim Of grateful memory, bid that joy depart.
RETIREMENT
Composed 1827.--Published 1827
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
If the whole weight of what we think and feel, Save only far as thought and feeling blend With action, were as nothing, patriot Friend! From thy remonstrance would be no appeal; But to promote and fortify the weal 5 Of our own Being is her paramount end; A truth which they alone shall comprehend Who shun the mischief which they cannot heal. Peace in these feverish times is sovereign bliss: Here, with no thirst but what the stream can slake, 10 And startled only by the rustling brake, Cool air I breathe; while the unincumbered Mind, By some weak aims at services assigned To gentle Natures, thanks not Heaven amiss.
"_THERE IS A PLEASURE IN POETIC PAINS_"
Composed 1827.--Published 1827
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
_There is a pleasure in poetic pains_ _Which only Poets know_;[471]--'twas rightly said; Whom could the Muses else allure to tread Their smoothest paths, to wear their lightest chains? When happiest Fancy has inspired the strains, 5 How oft the malice of one luckless word Pursues the Enthusiast to the social board, Haunts him belated on the silent plains! Yet he repines not, if his thought stand clear, At last, of hindrance and obscurity, 10 Fresh as the star that crowns the brow of morn; Bright, speckless, as a softly-moulded tear The moment it has left the virgin's eye, Or rain-drop lingering on the pointed thorn.
FOOTNOTES:
[471] See Cowper's _Task_, book ii. l. 285.--ED.
RECOLLECTION OF THE PORTRAIT OF KING HENRY EIGHTH, TRINITY LODGE, CAMBRIDGE[472]
Composed 1827.--Published 1827
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
The imperial Stature, the colossal stride, Are yet before me; yet do I behold The broad full visage, chest of amplest mould, The vestments 'broidered with barbaric pride: And lo! a poniard, at the Monarch's side, 5 Hangs ready to be grasped in sympathy With the keen threatenings of that fulgent eye, Below the white-rimmed bonnet, far-descried. Who trembles now at thy capricious mood? 'Mid those surrounding Worthies, haughty King, 10 We rather think, with grateful mind sedate, How Providence educeth, from the spring Of lawless will, unlooked-for streams of good, Which neither force shall check nor time abate!
FOOTNOTES:
[472] Trinity College, Cambridge, was founded by King Henry VIII. in 1546, on the site of King's Hall, founded by Edward III. in 1337. Two of the gateways of the latter remain, as parts of the great court of Trinity. Over one of these--the King's or entrance gate way--the statue of Henry VIII. is erected. The portrait, described in the sonnet, is in the Hall of the College.--ED.
"WHEN PHILOCTETES IN THE LEMNIAN ISLE"
Composed 1827.--Published 1827
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
When Philoctetes in the Lemnian isle[473] Like a Form sculptured on a monument Lay couched; on him or his dread bow unbent[474] Some wild Bird oft might settle and beguile The rigid features of a transient smile, 5 Disperse the tear, or to the sigh give vent, Slackening the pains of ruthless banishment From his lov'd home, and from heroic toil. And trust[475] that spiritual Creatures round us move, Griefs to allay which[476] Reason cannot heal; 10 Yea, veriest[477] reptiles have sufficed to prove To fettered wretchedness, that no Bastile[478] Is deep enough to exclude the light of love, Though man for brother man has ceased to feel.
FOOTNOTES:
[473] The original title of this sonnet in MS. was _Suggested by the same Incident_ (referring to the previous sonnet); and its original form, with one line awanting, was as follows:--
When Philoctetes, in the Lemnian Isle Reclined with shaggy forehead earthward bent, Lay silent like a weed-grown Monument, Such Friend, for such brief moment as a smile Asks to be born and die in, might beguile The wounded Chief of pining discontent From home affections, and heroic toil. Seen, or unseen, beneath us, or above, Are Powers that soften anguish, if not heal; And toads and spiders have sufficed to prove To fettered wretchedness that no Bastile Is deep enough to exclude the light of Love, Though man for Brother man have ceased to feel.
Philoctetes, one of the Argonauts, received from the dying Hercules his arrows. Called by Menelaus to go with the Greeks to the Trojan war, he was sent to the island of Lemnos, owing to a wound in his foot. There he remained for ten years, till the oracle informed the Greeks that Troy could not be taken without the arrows of Hercules. The sonnet refers to the legend of his life in Lemnos.--ED.
[474] 1837.
... isle Lay couched; upon that breathless Monument, On him, or on his fearful bow unbent, 1827.
[475] 1837.
From home affections, and heroic toil. Nor doubt ... 1827.
[476] 1837.
... that ... 1827.
[477] 1837.
And very ... 1827.
[478] Compare the sonnet _To Toussaint l'Ouverture_ (vol. ii. p. 339).--ED.
"WHILE ANNA'S PEERS AND EARLY PLAYMATES TREAD"
Composed 1827.--Published 1827
[This is taken from the account given by Miss Jewsbury of the pleasure she derived, when long confined to her bed by sickness, from the inanimate object on which this sonnet turns.--I.F.]
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
While Anna's peers[479] and early playmates tread, In freedom, mountain-turf and river's marge;[480] Or float with music in the festal barge; Rein the proud steed, or through the dance are led; Her doom it is[481] to press a weary bed-- 5 Till oft her guardian Angel, to some charge More urgent called, will stretch his wings at large, And friends too rarely prop the languid head. Yet, helped by Genius--untired comforter,[482] The presence even of a stuffed Owl for her 10 Can cheat the time; sending her fancy out To ivied castles and to moonlight skies, Though he can neither stir a plume, nor shout; Nor veil, with restless film, his staring eyes.
FOOTNOTES:
[479] Anna Jewsbury, afterwards Mrs. William Fletcher. Compare _Liberty_, in this volume, stanza 1, and the note (p. 222).--ED.
[480] 1837.
While they, her Playmates once, light-hearted tread The mountain turf and river's flowery marge; 1827.
While they, who once were Anna's Playmates, tread The mountain turf and river's flowery marge; 1832.
[481] 1832.
Is Anna doomed ... 1827.
[482] 1837.
Yet Genius is no feeble comforter: 1827.
TO THE CUCKOO
Composed 1827.--Published 1827
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
Not the whole warbling grove in concert heard When sunshine follows shower, the breast can thrill Like the first summons, Cuckoo! of thy bill, With its twin notes inseparably paired.[483] The captive 'mid damp vaults unsunned, unaired, 5 Measuring the periods of his lonely doom, That cry can reach; and to the sick man's room Sends gladness, by no languid smile declared. The lordly eagle-race through hostile search May perish; time may come when never more 10 The wilderness shall hear the lion roar; But, long as cock shall crow from household perch To rouse the dawn, soft gales shall speed thy wing, And thy erratic voice[484] be faithful to the Spring!
FOOTNOTES:
[483] Compare _To the Cuckoo_--1802 (vol. ii. p. 290)--
Thy twofold shout I hear.
Also Robert Browning's _A Lovers' Quarrel_, stanza 18--
... that minor third There is none but the cuckoo knows.--ED.
[484] Compare (vol. ii. p. 289)--
O Cuckoo! shall I call thee Bird, Or but a wandering Voice?--ED.
THE INFANT M---- M----
Composed 1827.--Published 1827
[The infant was Mary Monkhouse,[485] the only daughter of my friend and cousin, Thomas Monkhouse.--I. F.]
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
Unquiet Childhood here by special grace Forgets her nature, opening like a flower That neither feeds nor wastes its vital power In painful struggles. Months each other chase, And nought untunes that Infant's voice; no trace[486] 5 Of fretful temper sullies her pure cheek;[487] Prompt, lively, self-sufficing, yet so meek That one enrapt with gazing on her face (Which even the placid innocence of death Could scarcely make more placid, heaven more bright) Might learn to picture, for the eye of faith, 11 The Virgin, as she shone with kindred light; A nursling couched upon her mother's knee, Beneath some shady palm of Galilee.
FOOTNOTES:
[485] Afterwards Mrs. Henry Dew of Whitney Rectory, Herefordshire.--ED.
[486] 1837.
... a trace 1827.
[487] 1837.
... sullies not her cheek; 1827.
TO ROTHA Q----
Composed 1827.--Published 1827
[Rotha, the daughter of my son-in-law, Mr. Quillinan.--I. F.]
Rotha, my Spiritual Child! this head was grey When at the sacred font for thee I stood; Pledged till thou reach the verge of womanhood, And shalt become thy own sufficient stay: Too late, I feel, sweet Orphan, was the day 5 For stedfast hope the contract to fulfil; Yet shall my blessing hover o'er thee still, Embodied in the music of this Lay, Breathed forth beside the peaceful mountain Stream[488] Whose murmur soothed thy languid Mother's ear 10 After her throes, this Stream of name more dear Since thou dost bear it,--a memorial theme[489] For others; for thy future self, a spell To summon fancies out of Time's dark cell.[490]
FOOTNOTES:
[488] The river Rotha, which flows into Windermere from the lakes of Grasmere and Rydal.--ED.
[489] 1827.
... whose name is thine to bear Hanging around thee a memorial theme MS.
[490] Compare the poem on the Borrowdale _Yew Trees_.--ED.
TO ----, IN HER SEVENTIETH YEAR[491]
Composed 1827.--Published 1827
[Lady Fitzgerald, as described to me by Lady Beaumont.--I.F.]
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
Such age how beautiful! O Lady bright, Whose mortal lineaments seem all refined By favouring Nature and a saintly Mind To something purer and more exquisite Than flesh and blood; whene'er thou meet'st my sight, When I behold thy blanched unwithered cheek, 6 Thy temples fringed with locks of gleaming white, And head that droops because the soul is meek, Thee with the welcome Snowdrop I compare; That child of winter, prompting thoughts that climb 10 From desolation toward[492] the genial prime; Or with the Moon conquering earth's misty air, And filling more and more with crystal light As pensive Evening deepens into night.[493]
FOOTNOTES:
[491] 1832.
To ----, 1827.
[492] 1832.
... tow'rds ... 1827.
[493] Another version of this sonnet is given in a letter from Mrs. Wordsworth to Lady Beaumont:--
Lady, what delicate graces may unite In age--so often comfortless and bleak! Though from thy unenfeebled eye-balls break Those saintly emanations of delight, A snow-drop let me name thee; pure, chaste, white, Too pure for flesh and blood; with smooth, blanch'd cheek, And head that droops because the soul is meek, And not that Time presses with weary weight. Hope, Love, and Joy are with thee fresh as fair; A Child of Winter prompting thoughts that climb From desolation towards the genial prime: Or, like the moon, conquering the misty air And filling more and more with chrystal light, As pensive evening deepens into night.--ED.
"IN MY MIND'S EYE A TEMPLE, LIKE A CLOUD"
Composed 1827.--Published 1827
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
In my mind's eye a Temple, like a cloud Slowly surmounting some invidious hill, Rose out of darkness: the bright Work stood still; And might of its own beauty have been proud, But it was fashioned and to God was vowed 5 By Virtues that diffused, in every part, Spirit divine through forms of human art: Faith had her arch--her arch, when winds blow loud, Into the consciousness of safety thrilled; And Love her towers of dread foundation laid 10 Under the grave of things; Hope had her spire Star-high, and pointing still to something higher; Trembling I gazed, but heard a voice--it said, "Hell-gates are powerless Phantoms when _we_ build."
"GO BACK TO ANTIQUE AGES, IF THINE EYES"
Composed 1827.--Published 1827
One of the "Poems dedicated to National Independence and Liberty."--ED.
Go back to antique ages, if thine eyes The genuine mien and character would trace Of the rash Spirit that still holds her place, Prompting the world's audacious vanities! Go back, and see[494] the Tower of Babel rise; 5 The pyramid extend its monstrous base, For some Aspirant of our short-lived race, Anxious an aery name to immortalize. There, too, ere wiles and politic dispute Gave specious colouring to aim and act, 10 See the first mighty Hunter leave the brute-- To chase mankind, with men in armies packed For his field-pastime high and absolute, While, to dislodge his game, cities are sacked!
FOOTNOTES:
[494] 1837.
See, at her call, ... 1827.
"IF THOU INDEED DERIVE THY LIGHT FROM HEAVEN"
Published 1827
[These verses were written some time after we had become residents at Rydal Mount, and I will take occasion from them to observe upon the beauty of that situation, as being backed and flanked by lofty fells, which bring the heavenly bodies to touch, as it were, the earth upon the mountain-tops, while the prospect in front lies open to a length of level valley, the extended lake, and a terminating ridge of low hills; so that it gives an opportunity to the inhabitants of the place of noticing the stars in both the positions here alluded to, namely, on the tops of the mountains, and as winter-lamps at a distance among the leafless trees.--I. F.]
If thou indeed derive thy light from Heaven, Then, to the measure of that heaven-born light, Shine, Poet![495] in thy place, and be content:-- The stars pre-eminent in magnitude, And they that from the zenith dart their beams,[496] 5 (Visible though they[497] be to half the earth, Though half a sphere be conscious of their brightness) Are[498] yet of no diviner origin, No purer essence, than the one that burns, Like an untended watch-fire, on the ridge 10 Of some dark mountain; or than those which seem Humbly to hang, like twinkling winter lamps, Among the branches of the leafless trees; All are the undying offspring of one Sire: Then, to the measure of the light vouchsafed, 15 Shine, Poet! in thy place, and be content.[499]
These lines, first published in 1827, found a place in the edition of that year, amongst the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection." In the edition of 1845 they appeared as a Preface to the entire volume of Poems.--ED.
FOOTNOTES:
[495] 1837.
... from Heaven, Shine, Poet, ... 1827.
[496] 1837.
The Star that from the zenith darts its beams, 1827.
[497] 1837.
... it ... 1827.
[498] 1837.
... its brightness, Is ... 1827.
[499] The last three lines were added in 1837.--ED.
IN THE WOODS OF RYDAL[500]
Composed 1827.--Published 1827
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
Wild Redbreast![501] hadst them at Jemima's lip[502] Pecked, as at mine, thus boldly, Love might say[503] A half-blown rose had tempted thee to sip Its glistening dews: but hallowed is the clay Which the Muse warms; and I, whose head is grey,[504] 5 Am not unworthy of thy fellowship; Nor could I let one thought--one motion--slip That might thy sylvan confidence betray. For are we not all His without whose care Vouchsafed no sparrow falleth to the ground?[505] 10 Who gives his Angels wings to speed through air, And rolls the planets through the blue profound; Then peck or perch, fond Flutterer! nor forbear To trust a Poet in still musings bound.[506]
FOOTNOTES:
[500] The original title (in MS.) was "To a Redbreast." _In the Woods of Rydal_ was added in 1836.--ED.
[501] This Sonnet, as Poetry, explains itself, yet the scene of the incident having been a wild wood, it may be doubted, as a point of natural history, whether the bird was aware that his attentions were bestowed upon a human, or even a living creature. But a Redbreast will perch upon the foot of a gardener at work, and alight on the handle of the spade when his hand is half upon it,--this I have seen. And under my own roof I have witnessed affecting instances of the creature's friendly visits to the chambers of sick persons, as described in the verses to the Redbreast. One of these welcome intruders used frequently to roost upon a nail in the wall, from which a picture had hung, and was ready, as morning came, to pipe his song in the hearing of the Invalid, who had been long confined to her room. These attachments to a particular person, when marked and continued, used to be reckoned ominous; but the superstition is passing away.--W. W. 1827.
[502] Jemima Quillinan.--ED.
[503] 1837.
Strange visitation! at _Jemima's_ lip Thus hadst thou pecked, wild Redbreast! Love might say, 1827.
[504] 1827.
That the Muse warms; and I, though old and grey, MS.
[505] Compare _The Ancient Mariner_, Part vii., stanza 23.--ED.
[506] 1837.
... vision bound. 1827.
CONCLUSION
TO ----[507]
Composed 1827.--Published 1827
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
If these brief Records, by the Muses' art Produced as lonely Nature or the strife That animates the scenes of public life[508] Inspired, may in thy leisure claim a part; And if these Transcripts of the private heart 5 Have gained a sanction from thy falling tears; Then I repent not. But my soul hath fears Breathed from eternity; for as a dart Cleaves the blank air, Life flies: now every day Is but a glimmering spoke in the swift wheel 10 Of the revolving week. Away, away, All fitful cares, all transitory zeal! So timely Grace the immortal wing may heal, And honour rest upon the senseless clay.
FOOTNOTES:
[507] I have been unable to discover to whom this _Conclusion_ was addressed. It may have been to his daughter.--ED.
[508] This line alludes to Sonnets which will be found in another Class.--W. W. 1837.
He refers to the sonnets on Liberty, etc.--ED.
1828
The poems belonging to 1828 include _A Morning Exercise_, _The Triad_, two on _The Wishing-Gate_, _The Gleaner_, a sonnet, two short pieces suggested during the fortnight which Wordsworth spent on the Rhine with his daughter and S. T. Coleridge in that year, and the ode on _The Power of Sound_.--ED.
A MORNING EXERCISE
Composed 1828.--Published 1832
[Written at Rydal Mount. I could wish the last five stanzas of this to be read with the poem addressed to the skylark.--I.F.]
One of the "Poems of the Fancy."--ED.
Fancy, who leads the pastimes of the glad, Full oft is pleased a wayward dart to throw; Sending sad shadows after things not sad, Peopling the harmless fields with signs of woe: Beneath her sway, a simple forest cry 5 Becomes an echo of man's misery.
Blithe ravens croak of death; and when the owl Tries his two voices for a favourite strain-- _Tu-whit--Tu-whoo!_ the unsuspecting fowl Forebodes mishap or seems but to complain; 10 Fancy, intent to harass and annoy, Can thus pervert the evidence of joy.
Through border wilds where naked Indians stray, Myriads of notes attest her subtle skill; A feathered task-master cries, "WORK AWAY!" 15 And, in thy iteration, "WHIP POOR WILL!"[509] Is heard the spirit of a toil-worn slave, Lashed out of life, not quiet in the grave.
What wonder? at her bidding, ancient lays Steeped in dire grief the voice of Philomel; 20 And that fleet messenger of summer days, The Swallow, twittered subject to like spell; But ne'er could Fancy bend the buoyant Lark To melancholy service--hark! O hark!
The daisy sleeps upon the dewy lawn, 25 Not lifting yet the head that evening bowed; But _He_ is risen, a later star of dawn, Glittering and twinkling near yon rosy cloud; Bright gem instinct with music, vocal spark; The happiest bird that sprang out of the Ark! 30
Hail, blest above all kinds!--Supremely skilled Restless with fixed to balance, high with low, Thou leav'st the halcyon free her hopes to build On such forbearance as the deep may show; Perpetual flight, unchecked by earthly ties, 35 Leav'st to the wandering bird of paradise.
Faithful, though swift as lightning, the meek dove; Yet more hath Nature reconciled in thee; So constant with thy downward eye of love, Yet, in aërial singleness, so free;[510] 40 So humble, yet so ready to rejoice In power of wing and never-wearied voice.[511]
To the last point of vision, and beyond, Mount, daring warbler!--that love-prompted strain, ('Twixt thee and thine a never-failing bond) 45 Thrills not the less the bosom of the plain: Yet might'st thou seem, proud privilege! to sing All independent of the leafy spring.[512]
How would it please old Ocean to partake, With sailors longing for a breeze in vain, 50 The harmony thy notes most gladly make[513] Where earth resembles most his own domain![514] Urania's self[515] might welcome with pleased ear These matins mounting towards her native sphere.
Chanter by heaven attracted, whom no bars 55 To daylight known deter from that pursuit, 'Tis well that some sage instinct, when the stars Come forth at evening, keeps Thee still and mute; For not an eyelid could to sleep incline Wert thou among them, singing as they shine![516] 60
FOOTNOTES:
[509] See Waterton's _Wanderings in South America_.--W. W. 1832.
Compare the reference to the "Melancholy Muccawiss" in _The Excursion_,