Chapter VII: Appendix (6)

This was first published in "The River Duddon," etc., in 1820, but was omitted from the four-volume edition of the "Poems" of 1820. In 1827 it was placed among the "Poems founded on the Affections."--ED.

I

Smile of the Moon!--for so I name
That silent greeting from above;
A gentle flash of light that came
From her whom drooping captives love;
Or art thou of still higher birth? 5
Thou that didst part the clouds of earth,
My torpor to reprove!

II

Bright boon of pitying Heaven!--alas,
I may not trust thy placid cheer!
Pondering that Time to-night will pass 10
The threshold of another year;
For years to me are sad and dull;
My very moments are too full
Of hopelessness and fear.

III

And yet, the soul-awakening gleam, 15
That struck perchance the farthest cone
Of Scotland's rocky wilds, did seem
To visit me, and me alone;
Me, unapproached by any friend,
Save[290] those who to my sorrows lend 20
Tears due unto their own.
[291]

IV

To-night the church-tower bells will ring
Through these wide[292] realms a festive peal;
To the new year a welcoming;
A tuneful offering[293] for the weal 25
Of happy millions lulled in sleep;
While I am forced to watch and weep,[294]
By wounds that may not heal.

V

Born all too high, by wedlock raised
Still higher--to be cast thus low! 30
Would that mine eyes had never gazed
On aught of more ambitious show
Than the sweet flowerets of the fields!
--It is my royal state that yields
This bitterness of woe. 35

VI

Yet how?--for I, if there be truth
In the world's voice, was passing fair;
And beauty, for confiding youth,
Those shocks of passion can prepare
That kill the bloom before its time; 40
And blanch, without the owner's crime,
The most resplendent hair.[295]

VII

Unblest distinction! showered on me
To bind a lingering life in chains:
All that could quit my grasp, or flee,[296] 45
Is gone;--but not the subtle stains
Fixed in the spirit; for even here
Can I be proud that jealous fear
Of what I was remains.[297]

VIII

A woman rules my prison's key; 50
A sister Queen,[298] against the bent
Of law and holiest sympathy,
Detains me, doubtful of the event;
Great God, who feel'st for my distress,[299]
My thoughts are all that I possess, 55
O keep them innocent!

IX

Farewell desire of[300] human aid,
Which abject mortals vainly[301] court!
By friends deceived, by foes betrayed,
Of fears the prey, of hopes the sport; 60
Nought but the world-redeeming Cross
Is able to supply my loss,
My burthen to support.

X

Hark! the death-note of the year
Sounded by the castle-clock! 65
From her sunk eyes a stagnant tear
Stole forth, unsettled by the shock;
But oft the woods renewed their green,
Ere the tired head of Scotland's Queen
Reposed upon the block! 70

Compare the sonnet entitled _Captivity, Mary Queen of Scots_, composed and published in 1819 (p. 191); also the sonnet, composed in 1833, entitled _Mary Queen of Scots (Landing at the mouth of the Derwent, Workington)_.--ED.

VARIANTS:

[Footnote 289: 1820.

Who comes not hither can he know
How beautiful the Vale below?
Companion of the Brook that leaps
And twines adown the rocky steeps,
As if impatient for the plain.
I utter a repentant strain,
And this the burden--cares enthral
And troubles crush--but spite of all
The weak are tempted to, the wicked dare,
Our lot is good, our portion fair. MS.
]

[Footnote 290: 1820.

But ... MS.
]

[Footnote 291: 1820.

Meek effluence--that, while I trod
With downcast eye in narrow space,
Did'st vivify the wintry sod,
As if an Angel filled the place
With softened light--thou wert a touch
Even to my heart of hearts--and such
Is every gift of grace.
{Oh }
{Yet} wherefore did it leave the sky,
And wherefore did it seem to speak
Of something bordering all too nigh
{On what I seldom dare }
{Of what full oft I deign} to seek,
A happier order for my doom,
A favoured era when the gloom
At length will cleave and break. MS.
]

[Footnote 292: 1820.

... wild ... MS.
]

[Footnote 293: 1820.

... opening ... MS.
]

[Footnote 294: 1820.

... forced lone watch to keep, MS.
]

[Footnote 295: 1820.

Yet how--for I--if there be truth
In the world's voice was passing fair,
And beauty might have led my youth
To sorrow, such as can impair
The loveliest cheek before its time,
And blanch in any state or clime
The most resplendent hair.

Man's foolish envy is a stream
Where wisdom's eye reflected sees
The fuel of a painful dream,
The incitements of a dire disease.
{A pageantry}
{ Ah what } is life but Powers let loose
And revelling in their own abuse. MS.
]

[Footnote 296: 1820.

All that could crumble into dust or flee MS.
]

[Footnote 297: 1820.

Unblest distinctions--that were mine
Early to lock in hapless chains
A lingering life that may consign
My memory to opprobrious stains
{Yet doth it make me proud--even here}
{Chained as I am that jealous fear }
{Yet faded, fallen, and crushed--even here}
{I can be proud that jealous fear }
With lurking pride that jealous fear
Of what I was, remains-- MS.
]

[Footnote 298: 1820.

A sister Sovereign ... MS.
]

[Footnote 299: 1820.

... pities my distress, MS.
]

[Footnote 300: 1827.

Farewell for ever ... MS. and 1820.
]

[Footnote 301: 1820.

... blindly ... MS.
]

1818

Still fewer than those of 1817 are the poems composed in 1818. They comprise _The Pilgrim's Dream_, The five _Inscriptions, supposed to be found in and near a Hermit's Cell_, and the stanzas _Composed upon an Evening of extraordinary Splendour and Beauty, etc._ They were all written at or near Rydal Mount; and their local allusions are all Rydalian.

THE PILGRIM'S DREAM;

OR, THE STAR AND THE GLOW-WORM

Composed 1818.--Published 1820

[I distinctly recollect the evening when these verses were suggested in 1818. It was on the road between Rydal and Grasmere, where Glow-worms abound.[DB] A Star was shining above the ridge of Loughrigg Fell, just opposite. I remember a critic, in some review or other, crying out against this piece. "What so monstrous," said he, "as to make a star talk to a glow-worm!" Poor fellow! we know from this sage observation what the "primrose on the river's brim" was to him.--I. F.]

One of the "Poems of the Fancy."--ED.

A pilgrim, when the summer day
Had closed upon his weary way,
A lodging begged beneath a castle's roof;
But him the haughty Warder spurned;
And from the gate the Pilgrim turned,[302] 5
To seek such covert as the field
Or heath-besprinkled copse might yield,
Or lofty[303] wood, shower-proof.

He paced along; and, pensively,
Halting beneath a shady tree, 10
Whose moss-grown root might serve for couch or seat,
Fixed on a Star his upward eye;
Then, from the tenant of the sky
He turned, and watched with kindred look,
A Glow-worm, in a dusky nook, 15
Apparent at his feet.

The murmur of a neighbouring stream
Induced a soft and slumbrous dream,
A pregnant dream, within whose shadowy bounds
He recognised the earth-born Star, 20
And _That_ which glittered from afar;[304]
And (strange to witness!) from the frame
Of the ethereal Orb, there came
Intelligible sounds.

Much did it taunt the humble Light[305] 25
That now, when day was fled, and night
Hushed the dark earth, fast closing weary eyes,[306]
A very reptile could presume
To show her taper in the gloom,
As if in rivalship with One 30
Who sate a ruler on his throne
Erected in the skies.

"Exalted Star!" the Worm replied,
"Abate this unbecoming pride,
Or with a less uneasy lustre shine; 35
Thou shrink'st as momently thy rays
Are mastered by the breathing haze;
While neither mist, nor thickest cloud
That shapes in heaven its murky shroud,
Hath power to injure mine. 40

But[307] not for this do I aspire
To match the spark of local fire,
That at my will burns on the dewy lawn,
With thy acknowledged glories;--No!
Yet, thus upbraided, I may show[308] 45
What favours do attend me here,
Till, like thyself, I disappear
Before the purple dawn."

When this in modest guise was said,
Across the welkin seemed to spread 50
A boding sound--for aught but sleep unfit!
Hills quaked, the rivers backward ran;
That Star, so proud of late, looked wan;
And reeled with visionary stir
In the blue depth, like Lucifer 55
Cast headlong to the pit!

Fire raged: and, when the spangled floor
Of ancient ether was no more,
New heavens succeeded, by the dream brought forth:
And all the happy Souls that rode 60
Transfigured through that fresh[309] abode
Had heretofore, in humble trust,
Shone meekly 'mid their native dust,
The Glow-worms of the earth!

This knowledge, from an Angel's voice 65
Proceeding, made the heart rejoice
Of Him who slept upon the open lea:
Waking at morn he murmured not;
And, till life's journey closed, the spot
Was to the Pilgrim's soul endeared, 70
Where by that[310] dream he had been cheered
Beneath the shady tree.

VARIANTS:

[Footnote 302: 1820.

... Convent's roof;
But him the haughty Abbot spurned,
And from the sumptuous gate he turned MS.

]

[Footnote 303: 1820.

The heath or rocky holt might yield,
Or leafy ... MS.
]

[Footnote 304: 1827.

And _That_ whose radiance gleamed from far; 1820.
... streamed ... MS.
]

[Footnote 305: 1845.

... the humbler Light 1820.
]

[Footnote 306: 1820.

That now, while sleep to solemn Night
Was offering gifts of duteous sacrifice, MS.
]

[Footnote 307: 1827.

Yet ... MS. and 1820.
]

[Footnote 308: 1827.

But it behoves that thou shouldst know MS. and 1820.
]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote DB: Compare _The Primrose of the Rock_ composed in 1831. The rock which the Wordsworth family were in the habit of calling "Glow-worm Rock" is on the right hand side of the road, as you ascend from Rydal, by the middle path, over White Moss Common to Grasmere.--ED.]

INSCRIPTIONS SUPPOSED TO BE FOUND IN AND NEAR A HERMIT'S CELL

1818

Composed 1818.--Published 1820

The five poems which follow were placed among the "Inscriptions," from 1820 onwards.--ED.

I

"HOPES, WHAT ARE THEY?--BEADS OF MORNING"

Hopes, what are they?--Beads of morning
Strung on slender[311] blades of grass;
Or a spider's web adorning
In a strait and treacherous pass.[312]

What are fears but voices airy? 5
Whispering harm[313] where harm is not;
And deluding the unwary[314]
Till the fatal bolt is shot!

What is glory?--in the socket
See how dying tapers fare! 10
What is pride?--a whizzing rocket
That would emulate a star.

What is friendship?--do not trust her,
Nor the vows which she has made;
Diamonds dart their brightest lustre 15
From a palsy-shaken head.

What is truth?--a staff rejected;[315]
Duty?--an unwelcome clog;
Joy?--a moon by fits reflected[316]
In a swamp or watery bog;[317] 20

Bright, as if through ether steering,[318]
To the Traveller's eye it shone:
He hath hailed it re-appearing--
And as quickly it is gone;

Such is Joy--as quickly hidden,[319] 25
Or mis-shapen to the sight,
And by sullen weeds forbidden
To resume its native light.[320]

What is youth?--a dancing billow,
(Winds behind, and rocks before!)[321] 30
Age?--a drooping, tottering willow
On a flat and lazy shore.[322]

What is peace?--when pain is over,
And love ceases to rebel,
Let the last faint sigh discover 35
That precedes the passing knell!

Compare Carlyle's _Cui Bono_--

What is Hope? A smiling rainbow
Children follow through the wet;
'Tis not here, still yonder, yonder:
Never urchin found it yet.

What is Life? A thawing iceboard
On a sea with sunny shore;--
Gay we sail; it melts beneath us;
We are sunk, and seen no more.

What is Man? A foolish baby,
Vainly strives, and fights, and frets;
Demanding all, deserving nothing;--
One small grave is what he gets.

See his _Miscellaneous Essays_, vol. i. p. 352 (edition 1857).--ED.

II

INSCRIBED UPON A ROCK

[The monument of ice here spoken of I observed while ascending the middle road of the three ways that lead from Rydal to Grasmere.[DC] It was on my right hand, and my eyes were upon it when it fell, as told in these lines.--I. F.]

Pause, Traveller! whosoe'er thou be
Whom chance may lead to this retreat,
Where silence yields reluctantly
Even to the fleecy straggler's bleat;

Give voice to what my hand shall trace, 5
And fear not lest an idle sound
Of words unsuited to the place
Disturb its solitude profound.

I saw this Rock, while vernal air
Blew softly o'er the russet heath, 10
Uphold a Monument as fair
As church or abbey furnisheth.

Unsullied did it meet the day,
Like marble, white, like ether, pure;
As if, beneath, some hero lay, 15
Honoured with costliest sepulture.

My fancy kindled as I gazed;
And, ever as the sun shone forth,
The flattered structure glistened, blazed,
And seemed the proudest thing on earth. 20

But frost had reared the gorgeous Pile
Unsound as those which Fortune builds--
To undermine with secret guile,
Sapped by the very beam that gilds.

And, while I gazed, with sudden shock 25
Fell the whole Fabric to the ground;
And naked left this dripping Rock,
With shapeless ruin spread around!

III

"HAST THOU SEEN, WITH FLASH INCESSANT"

[Where the second quarry now is, as you pass from Rydal to Grasmere, there was formerly a length of smooth rock that sloped towards the road on the right hand. I used to call it Tadpole Slope, from having frequently observed there the water-bubbles gliding under the ice, exactly in the shape of that creature.--I. F.]

Hast thou seen, with flash incessant,[323]
Bubbles gliding under ice,
Bodied forth and evanescent,
No one knows by what device?

Such are thoughts!--a wind-swept meadow[324] 5
Mimicking a troubled sea,
Such is life; and death a shadow
From the rock eternity![325]

IV

NEAR THE SPRING OF THE HERMITAGE

Troubled long with warring notions
Long impatient of thy rod,
I resign my soul's emotions
Unto Thee, mysterious God!

What avails the kindly shelter 5
Yielded by this craggy rent,
If my spirit toss and welter
On the waves of discontent?

Parching Summer hath no warrant
To consume this crystal Well; 10
Rains, that make each rill a torrent,
Neither sully it nor swell.

Thus, dishonouring not her station,
Would my Life present to Thee,
Gracious God, the pure oblation 15
Of divine tranquillity!

It is impossible to say where the "spring of the Hermitage" was, or was supposed by Wordsworth to be. It may refer to some Rydalian retreat. There is no spring or "crystal well" on St. Herbert's Island, Derwentwater; but Inscription XIII. in the edition of 1820 is entitled "For the Spot where the Hermitage stood on St. Herbert's Island, Derwentwater."--ED.

V

"NOT SELDOM, CLAD IN RADIANT VEST"

Not seldom, clad in radiant vest,
Deceitfully goes forth the Morn;
Not seldom Evening in the west
Sinks smilingly forsworn.

The smoothest seas will sometimes prove, 5
To the confiding Bark, untrue;
And, if she trust the stars above,
They can be treacherous too.

The umbrageous Oak, in pomp outspread,
Full oft, when storms the welkin rend, 10
Draws lightning down upon the head
It promised to defend.

But Thou art true, incarnate Lord,
Who didst vouchsafe for man to die;
Thy smile is sure, thy plighted word 15
No change can falsify!

I bent before thy gracious throne,
And asked for peace on suppliant knee;[326]
And peace was given,--nor peace alone,
But faith sublimed to ecstasy![327] 20

VARIANTS:

[Footnote 309: 1820.

... fair abode MS.
]

[Footnote 310: 1820.

... this ... MS.
]

[Footnote 311: 1820.

... tender ... MS.
]

[Footnote 312: 1820.

In some strait and dangerous pass. MS.
]

[Footnote 313: 1820.

Haunting Man ... MS.
]

[Footnote 314: 1820.

But when danger meets the unwary MS.
]

[Footnote 315: 1820.

... a pearl rejected; MS.
]

[Footnote 316: 1827.

Joy?--a dazzling moon reflected 1820.
]

[Footnote 317: 1820.

... plashing bog; MS.
]

[Footnote 318: 1820.

Bright, and in a moment hidden, C.
]

[Footnote 319: 1837.

Gone, as if for ever hidden, 1820.
]

[Footnote 320: 1820.

Bright, as if through ether steering,
Not a moment past it shone;
Can we trust its re-appearing?
No, 'tis dim, mis-shapen, gone. MS.

... its dazzling light. C.
]

[Footnote 321: 1820.

... a sparkling billow
Shaped and instantly no more; MS.
]

[Footnote 322: 1820.

On a melancholy shore. MS.
]

[Footnote 323: 1820.

4 vol. edition.

... with train incessant, 1820.

1 vol. edition.
]

[Footnote 324: 1820.

See yon undulating meadow MS.
]

[Footnote 325: In a MS. this stanza follows the second last one in the Inscription beginning, "Hopes, what are they?"]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote DC: And therefore not far from the _Glow-worm Rock_, if not upon it. See the note to _The Pilgrim's Dream_, p. 167.--ED.]

COMPOSED UPON AN EVENING OF EXTRAORDINARY SPLENDOUR AND BEAUTY[DD]

Composed 1818.--Published 1820

[Felt, and in a great measure composed, upon the little mount in front of our abode at Rydal. In concluding my notices of this class of poems, it may be as well to observe that among the "Miscellaneous Sonnets" are a few alluding to morning impressions, which might be read with mutual benefit, in connection with these "Evening Voluntaries." See, for example, that one on Westminster Bridge, that composed on a May Morning, the one on the Song of the Thrush, and that beginning--"While beams of orient light shoot wide and high."--I. F.]

In 1820 this was one of the "Poems of the Imagination." In 1837 it was transferred to the "Evening Voluntaries."--ED.

I

Had this effulgence disappeared
With flying haste, I might have sent,
Among the speechless clouds, a look
Of blank astonishment;
But 'tis endued with power to stay, 5
And sanctify[328] one closing day,
That frail Mortality may see--
What is?--ah no, but what _can_ be!
Time was when field and watery cove
With modulated echoes rang, 10
While choirs of fervent Angels sang
Their vespers in the grove;[329]
Or, crowning, star-like, each some sovereign height,[330]
Warbled, for heaven above and earth below,
Strains, suitable to both.--Such holy rite, 15
Methinks, if audibly repeated now
From hill or valley, could not move[331]
Sublimer transport, purer[332] love,
Than doth this silent spectacle--the gleam--
The shadow--and the peace supreme! 20

II

No sound is uttered,--but a deep[333]
And solemn harmony pervades
The hollow vale from steep to steep,
And penetrates the glades.
Far-distant images draw nigh, 25
Called forth by wondrous potency
Of beamy radiance, that imbues
Whate'er it strikes, with gem-like hues!
In vision exquisitely clear,
Herds range[334] along the mountain side; 30
And glistening antlers are descried;[DE]
And gilded flocks appear.
Thine is the tranquil hour, purpureal Eve!
But long as god-like wish, or hope divine,
Informs my spirit, ne'er can I believe 35
That this magnificence is wholly thine!
--From worlds not quickened[335] by the sun[DF]
A portion of the gift is won;
An intermingling of Heaven's pomp is spread
On ground which British shepherds tread! 40

III

And, if there be whom broken ties[336]
Afflict, or injuries assail,
Yon hazy ridges to their eyes
Present a glorious scale,[DG]
Climbing suffused with sunny air, 45
To stop--no record hath told where!
And tempting Fancy to ascend,
And with immortal Spirits blend![337]
--Wings at my shoulders[338] seem to play;[DH]
But, rooted here, I stand and gaze 50
On those bright steps that heaven-ward raise[339]
Their practicable way.
Come forth, ye drooping[340] old men, look abroad,
And see to what fair countries ye are bound!
And if some traveller, weary of his road, 55
Hath slept since noontide on the grassy ground,
Ye Genii! to his covert speed;[341]
And wake him with such gentle heed[342]
As may attune his soul to meet the dower
Bestowed on this transcendent hour! 60

IV

Such hues from their celestial Urn
Were wont to stream before mine eye,[343]
Where'er it[344] wandered in the morn
Of blissful infancy.[DI]
This glimpse of glory, why renewed? 65
Nay, rather speak with[345] gratitude;
For, if a vestige of those gleams
Survived, 'twas only in my dreams.
Dread Power! whom peace and calmness serve
No less than Nature's threatening voice,[346] 70
If aught unworthy be my choice,
From THEE if I would swerve;
Oh, let thy grace remind me of the light
Full early lost, and fruitlessly deplored;
Which, at this moment, on my waking sight 75
Appears to shine, by miracle restored;
My soul, though yet confined to earth,
Rejoices in a second birth!
--'Tis past, the visionary splendour fades;
And night approaches with her shades. 80

VARIANTS:

[Footnote 326: 1827.

... with suppliant knee; 1820.
]

[Footnote 327: 1827.

But faith, and hope, and extacy! 1820.
]

[Footnote 328: 1820.

And solemnize ... MS.
]

[Footnote 329: 1820.

... rang
Of harp and voice while angels sang
Amid the umbrageous grove, MS.
]

[Footnote 330: 1832.

Or, ranged like stars along some sovereign height, MS. and 1820.
]

[Footnote 331: 1820.

... both.--Ye sons of Light
If such communion were repeated now
Nor harp nor seraph's voice could move MS.
]

[Footnote 332: 1820.

... holier ... MS.
]

[Footnote 333: 1820.

What though no sound be heard--a deep MS.
]

[Footnote 334: 1820.

Herds graze ... MS.
]

[Footnote 335: 1820.

From worlds unquicken'd ... MS.
]

[Footnote 336: 1820.

And if they wish for smooth escape, etc. MS.
]

[Footnote 337: 1820.

Yon hazy ridges take the shape
Of stars, a glorious scale
{Climbing }
{That climb} suffused with sunny air
To stop, no record hath told where,
Tempting my fancy to ascend
And with immortal spirits blend. MS.

And if they wish for smooth escape
From grief and this terrestrial vale,
Yon rocks and clouds present the shape
Of stairs, a gradual scale
By which the fancy might ascend,
And with those happy spirits blend,
Whose motions ...
By night the dreaming Patriarch saw. MS.

And if those whom broken ties
Afflict, or injuries assail,
Yon hazy ridges to their eyes
Present a {climbing} scale,
{glorious}
Suffused in misty sunny air.
It climbs no records have told where.
It {sailed} on ether's glowing waves,
{stole }
And occupied heaven's shining caves,
Tempting the fancy to ascend
And with immortal spirits blend. MS.
]

[Footnote 338: 1837.

--Wings at my shoulder ... 1820.
]

[Footnote 339: 1820.

... upward raise MS.
]

[Footnote 340: 1820.

Come from your Doors, ye ... MS.
]

[Footnote 341: 1820.

... couch repair MS.
]

[Footnote 342: 1820.

... care MS.
]

[Footnote 343: 1837.

... my eye, 1820.
]

[Footnote 344: 1820.

Whence but from some celestial urn
{spread before}
These colours--{wont to meet } my eye MS.
Where'er I ...
]

[Footnote 345: 1820.

... in ... MS.
]

[Footnote 346: 1820.

Dread Power! whom clouds and darkness serve,
The thunder, or the still small voice, MS.
]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote DD: The title, in the first edition of 1820, was "Ode, composed upon an evening of extraordinary splendor and beauty." In the four-volume edition of that year it was "Evening Ode, composed upon an evening of extraordinary Splendor and Beauty." In a MS. copy I have found the following, "Composed during a sunset of transcendent Beauty, in the summer of 1817."--ED.]

[Footnote DE: There used to be fallow deer in the park at Rydal Hall. Compare _The Triad_ (where the local allusions all refer to the Rydal district)--

Pass onward (even the glancing deer
Till we depart intrude not here;)

and _The Excursion_, book ix. l. 563 (vol. v. p. 373).--ED.]

[Footnote DF: Compare Gray's _Progress of Poesy_, ll. 119, 120--

Such forms, as glitter in the Muse's ray,
With orient hues, unborrow'd of the Sun.

ED.
]

[Footnote DG: The multiplication of mountain-ridges, described at the commencement of the third Stanza of this Ode, as a kind of Jacob's Ladder, leading to Heaven, is produced either by watery vapours, or sunny haze;--in the present instance by the latter cause. Allusions to the Ode, entitled _Intimations of Immortality_, pervade the last Stanza of the foregoing Poem.--W. W. 1820.

The "hazy ridges" referred to in the text are probably those to the west, behind Silver How.--ED.]

[Footnote DH: In the lines "Wings at my shoulders seem to play," etc., I am under obligation to the exquisite picture by Mr. Alstone, now in America. It is pleasant to make this public acknowledgment to men of genius, whom I have the honour to rank among my friends.--W. W. 1820.

The phrase "men of genius" includes Haydon. The first part of this note of 1820, being one on _Peter Bell_, referring to Haydon's Bible picture of Christ's Entry into Jerusalem. (See note to _Peter Bell_, l. 979.)

The American painter was Mr. Washington Allston. Wordsworth sent him a MS. copy of the poem, transcribed "in gratitude for the pleasure he had received from the sight of Mr. Allston's pictures, in particular 'Jacob's Dream,'" and at the end of the MS. of his poem, Wordsworth wrote, "The Author does not know how far he was indebted to Mr. Allston for part of the 3rd stanza. The multiplication of ridges in a mountainous country, as Mr. A. has probably observed, arises from two causes, sunny or watery vapour--the former is here meant. When does Mr. A. return to England?" In a letter on "Wordsworth and Allston," in _The Athenæum_, Mr. J. Dykes Campbell refers to "something in the picture having given definite form to observations of natural phenomena the significance of which the poet had not immediately noted." "Wordsworth," he adds, "was a close and untiring rather than a quick or keen observer, and his mind was at all times stored with a wealth of notes which sometimes had to wait long before they could either be worked out or worked in. Sometimes--as in this instance, perhaps--they were revivified by the suggestions of some kindred observer who happened to anticipate the poet in giving them form."--See _The Athenæum_, August 7, 1894.--ED.]

[Footnote DI: Compare the reference in the _Ode, Intimations of Immortality_, ll. 178, 179, to--

Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower.

ED.
]

1819

With the exception of _The Haunted Tree_, and the lines entitled _September 1819_, all the poems composed during the year 1819 were sonnets. Four of the latter were published along with _Peter Bell_, in the first edition of that poem; and other twelve, along with _The Waggoner_, which was first published in the same year. One of the twelve refers to the Old Hall of Donnerdale, and belongs to the series of _Sonnets on the River Duddon_, where it will be found (No. XXVII.) It was first published, along with those referring to Rydal, in the volume of 1819, and probably detached from the rest of the series, because originally it had no particular reference to the Old Hall in the Duddon Valley; but was (as Wordsworth indicates in the third of the Fenwick notes to the Duddon) "taken from a tradition belonging to Rydal Hall, which once stood, as is believed, upon a rocky and woody hill on the right hand as you go from Rydal to Ambleside, and was deserted from the superstitious fear here described, and the present site fortunately chosen instead."--ED.

THIS, AND THE TWO FOLLOWING, WERE SUGGESTED[347] BY MR. W. WESTALL'S VIEWS OF THE CAVES,[DJ] ETC., IN YORKSHIRE

This, and the two following sonnets, were first published in _Blackwood's Magazine_, vol. iv., January 1819, p. 471. They were reprinted in _The Poetical Album_, edited by Alaric Watts, in 1829 (Second Series, vol. i. pp. 332, 333) under the title,

"The Caves of Yorkshire." The same volume of the _Album_ contains (p. 43) the sonnet beginning--

Not Love, not War, nor the tumultuous swell.

In the 1819 edition of _Peter Bell_, p. 84, a note, prefatory to the four following sonnets, occurs to this effect: "The following Sonnets having lately appeared in Periodical Publications are here reprinted."--ED.

Composed 1819.--Published 1819

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

Pure element of waters! wheresoe'er
Thou dost forsake thy subterranean haunts,
Green herbs, bright flowers, and berry-bearing plants,
Rise[348] into life and in thy train appear:
And, through the sunny portion of the year, 5
Swift insects shine, thy hovering pursuivants:
And, if thy bounty fail, the forest pants;
And hart and hind and hunter with his spear,
Languish and droop together. Nor unfelt
In man's perturbèd soul thy sway benign; 10
And, haply, far within the marble belt
Of central earth, where tortured Spirits pine
For grace and goodness lost, thy murmurs melt
Their anguish,--and they blend sweet songs with thine.[DK]

VARIANTS:

[Footnote 347: 1820.

Sonnets, suggested ... 1819.
]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote DJ: Wordsworth visited these caves with Edward Quillinan in 1821.--ED.]

MALHAM COVE

Composed 1819.--Published 1819

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

Was the aim frustrated by force or guile,
When giants scooped from out the rocky ground,
Tier under tier, this semicirque profound?
(Giants--the same who built in Erin's isle
That Causeway with incomparable toil!)-- 5
O, had this vast theatric structure wound[349][DL]
With finished sweep into a perfect round,
No mightier work had gained the plausive smile
Of all-beholding Phoebus! But, alas,
Vain earth! false world! Foundations must be laid 10
In Heaven; for, 'mid the wreck of IS and WAS,
Things incomplete and purposes betrayed
Make sadder transits o'er thought's optic glass[350]
Than noblest objects utterly decayed.[DM]

Malham Cove is a noble amphitheatre of perpendicular limestone rock, lying in regular strata, the height being 300 feet in the centre. The Aire issues from the rock at the base of the cliff, a considerable stream. Possibly Westall's picture of Malham Cove suggested to Wordsworth the Giant's Causeway in Ireland, and its legend. They have the same columnar appearance; although the former is limestone, and the latter basalt.--ED.

VARIANTS:

[Footnote 348: 1820.

Start ...

_Blackwood's Magazine_, January 1819.
]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote DK: Waters (as Mr. Westall informs us in the letterpress prefixed to his admirable views) are invariably found to flow through these caverns.--W. W. 1819.]

GORDALE

Composed 1819.--Published 1819

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

At early dawn, or rather when the air[351]
Glimmers with fading light, and shadowy Eve
Is busiest to confer and to bereave;
Then, pensive Votary! let thy feet repair[352]
To Gordale-chasm, terrific as the lair 5
Where the young lions couch; for so,[353] by leave
Of the propitious hour, thou may'st perceive
The local Deity, with oozy hair
And mineral crown, beside his jagged urn, 9
Recumbent: Him thou may'st behold, who hides
His lineaments by day,[354] yet[355] there presides,
Teaching the docile waters how to turn,
Or (if need be) impediment to spurn,
And force their passage to[356] the salt-sea tides!

There are many legendary stories connected with the Yorkshire caves, particularly in the Giggleswick district; but I have been unable to trace any legend about the "local Deity" of Gordale. There is nothing in the letterpress of Westall's views, or in the "addenda" to West's _Guide to the Lakes in Cumberland_, about these legends. The chasm is a very remarkable cleft in the limestone rock, near Malham. Gray's description of Gordale, in his _Journal_ (1796), may be referred to.--ED.

VARIANTS:

[Footnote 349: 1820.

Oh! had the Crescent stretched its horns, and wound

_Blackwood's Magazine_, January 1819.
]

[Footnote 350: 1837.

... o'er truth's mystic glass, 1819.
]

[Footnote 351: 1819.

... or when the warmer air,

_Blackwood's Magazine_, January 1819.
]

[Footnote 352: 1819.

At either moment let thy feet repair

_Blackwood's Magazine_, January 1819.
]

[Footnote 353: 1819.

... for then ...

_Blackwood's Magazine_, January 1819.
]

[Footnote 354: 1819.

... from day, ...

_Blackwood's Magazine_, January 1819.
]

[Footnote 355: 1827.

... and ... 1819.
]

[Footnote 356: 1819.

... toward ...

_Blackwood's Magazine_, January 1819.
]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote DL: Compare the Fenwick note to _The Excursion_.--ED.]

[Footnote DM: Compare the Fenwick note to _The Excursion_.--ED.]

COMPOSED DURING A STORM[357]

Composed 1819.--Published 1819

[Written in Rydal Woods, by the side of a torrent.--I. F.]

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

One who was suffering tumult in his soul
Yet failed to seek the sure relief of prayer,
Went forth--his course surrendering to the care
Of the fierce wind, while mid-day lightnings prowl
Insidiously, untimely thunders growl; 5
While trees, dim-seen, in frenzied numbers, tear
The lingering remnant of their yellow hair,
And shivering wolves, surprised with darkness, howl
As if the sun were not. He raised his eye
Soul-smitten; for, that instant, did appear[358] 10
Large space ('mid dreadful clouds) of purest sky,
An azure disc[359]--shield of Tranquillity;
Invisible, unlooked-for, minister
Of providential goodness ever nigh!

VARIANTS:

[Footnote 357: 1827.

Composed during one of the most awful of
the late storms, February 1819. 1819.

Composed during a severe storm. 1820.
]

"AERIAL ROCK--WHOSE SOLITARY BROW"

Composed 1819.--Published 1819

[A projecting point of Loughrigg, nearly in front of Rydal Mount. Thence looking at it, you are struck with the boldness of its aspect; but walking under it, you admire the beauty of its details. It is vulgarly called Holme-scar, probably from the insulated pasture by the waterside below it.--I. F.]

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

Aerial Rock--whose solitary brow
From this low threshold daily meets my sight;
When I step[360] forth to hail the morning light;
Or quit the stars with a lingering farewell--how[361]
Shall Fancy pay to thee a grateful vow? 5
How, with the Muse's aid, her love attest?
--By planting on thy naked head the crest[362]
Of an imperial Castle, which the plough
Of ruin shall not touch. Innocent scheme!
That doth presume no more than to supply 10
A grace the sinuous vale and roaring stream
Want, through neglect of hoar Antiquity.
Rise, then, ye votive Towers! and catch a gleam
Of golden sunset, ere it fade and die.

Compare the sonnet No. XXVII. of the Duddon Series, beginning "Fallen, and diffused into a shapeless heap," as it was evidently written with reference to the old (traditional) Hall of Rydal. If an

... embattled House, whose massy Keep
Flung from yon cliff a shadow large and cold,

stood in "the sinuous vale" of Rydal, there was no "neglect of hoar Antiquity."--ED.

VARIANTS:

[Footnote 358: 1827.

As if the sun were not;--he lifted high
His head--and in a moment did appear 1819.
]

[Footnote 359: 1840.

... orb ... 1819.
]

[Footnote 360: 1827.

... look ... 1819.
]

[Footnote 361: 1837.

... with lingering farewell--how 1819.
]

[Footnote 362: 1827.

Shall I discharge to thee a grateful vow?--
By planting on thy head (in verse, at least,
As I have often done in thought) the crest 1819.
]

THE WILD DUCK'S NEST

Composed 1819.--Published 1819

[I observed this beautiful nest on the largest island of Rydal Water.--I. F.]

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

The imperial[363] Consort of the Fairy-king
Owns not a sylvan bower; or gorgeous cell[364]
With emerald floored, and with purpureal shell
Ceilinged and roofed; that is so fair a thing[365]
As this low structure, for the tasks of Spring, 5
Prepared by one who loves the buoyant swell
Of the brisk waves, yet here consents to dwell;
And spreads[366] in steadfast peace her brooding wing.
Words cannot paint the o'ershadowing yew-tree bough,
And dimly-gleaming Nest,--a hollow crown 10
Of golden leaves inlaid with silver down,
Fine as the mother's softest plumes allow:[367]
I gazed--and, self-accused while gazing, sighed
For human-kind, weak slaves of cumbrous pride![368]

VARIANTS:

[Footnote 363: 1819.

Imperial ... MS.
]

[Footnote 364: 1819.

Thy favourite home (albeit a bright cell MS.
]

[Footnote 365: 1819.

... is not so fair a thing MS.
]

[Footnote 366: 1819.

And spread ... MS.
]

[Footnote 367: 1819.

The Nest a hollow diadem composed
Of russet leaves and down where lie enclosed
The tenderest cares that earthly laws allow: MS.
]

[Footnote 368: 1837.

I gaze--and almost wish to lay aside
Humanity, weak slave of cumbrous pride! MS. and 1819.
]

WRITTEN UPON A BLANK LEAF IN "THE COMPLETE ANGLER"

Composed 1819.--Published 1819

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

While flowing rivers yield a blameless sport,
Shall live the name of Walton: Sage benign!
Whose pen, the mysteries of the rod and line
Unfolding, did not fruitlessly exhort
To reverend watching of each still report 5
That Nature utters from her rural shrine.
Meek, nobly versed in simple discipline--
He found the longest summer day too short,
To his[369] loved pastime given by sedgy Lee,
Or down the tempting maze of Shawford brook-- 10
Fairer than life itself, in this[370] sweet Book,
The cowslip-bank[371] and shady willow-tree;
And the fresh meads--where flowed, from every nook
Of his[372] full bosom, gladsome Piety!

VARIANTS:

[Footnote 369: 1827.

O nobly versed in simple discipline,
Meek, thankful soul, the vernal day how short
To thy ... 1819.

O, nobly versed in simple discipline--
Who found'st the longest summer day too short,
To thy ... 1837.

1845 returns to 1827.
]

[Footnote 370: 1827.

... thy ... 1819.
]

[Footnote 371: 1819.

Are cowslip-bank ... 1837.

1845 returns to 1819.
]

[Footnote 372: 1827.

Of thy ... 1819.

1837 returns to 1819.

1845 returns to 1827.
]

CAPTIVITY--MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS[373]

Composed 1819.--Published 1819

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

"As the cold aspect of a sunless way
Strikes through the Traveller's frame with deadlier chill,
Oft as appears a grove, or obvious hill,
Glistening with unparticipated ray,
Or shining slope where he must never stray; 5
So joys, remembered without wish or will,
Sharpen the keenest edge of present ill,--
On the crushed heart a heavier burthen lay.
Just Heaven, contract the compass of my mind
To fit proportion with my altered state! 10
Quench those felicities whose light I find
Reflected in[374] my bosom all too late!--
O be my spirit, like my thraldom, strait;
And, like mine eyes that stream with sorrow, blind!"

Compare the _Lament of Mary Queen of Scots_, p. 162.

Why this sonnet was printed, from 1819 (in which year it appeared in _The Waggoner, a Poem, to which are added Sonnets_,) to the last edition of 1849, within inverted commas, I have never been able to discover.--ED.

TO A SNOW-DROP[375]

Composed 1819.--Published 1819

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

Lone Flower, hemmed in with snows and white as they
But hardier far, once more I see thee bend
Thy forehead, as if fearful to offend,
Like an unbidden guest. Though day by day,[376]
Storms, sallying from the mountain-tops, way-lay 5
The rising sun, and on the plains descend;
Yet art thou welcome, welcome as a friend[377]
Whose zeal outruns his promise! Blue-eyed May
Shall soon behold this border thickly set
With bright jonquils, their odours lavishing 10
On the soft west-wind and his frolic peers;
Nor will I then thy modest grace forget,[378]
Chaste Snow-drop, venturous harbinger of Spring,
And pensive monitor of fleeting years!

VARIANTS:

[Footnote 373: 1837.

CAPTIVITY. 1819.
]

[Footnote 374: 1827.

Burning within ... 1819.
]

[Footnote 375: 1827.

To a snow-drop, appearing very early in the season. 1819.
]

"WHEN HAUGHTY EXPECTATIONS PROSTRATE LIE"

Composed 1819.--Published 1820

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

When haughty expectations prostrate lie,[DN]
And grandeur crouches like a guilty thing,
Oft shall the lowly weak, till nature bring
Mature release, in fair society
Survive, and Fortune's utmost anger try; 5
Like these frail snow-drops that together cling,
And nod their helmets, smitten by the wing
Of many a furious whirl-blast sweeping by.
Observe the faithful flowers![DO] if small to great
May lead the thoughts, thus struggling used to stand
The Emathian phalanx,[DP] nobly obstinate; 11
And so the bright immortal Theban band,[DQ]
Whom onset, fiercely urged at Jove's command,
Might overwhelm, but could not separate!

VARIANTS:

[Footnote 376: 1827.

But hardier far, though modestly thou bend
Thy front--as if _such_ presence could offend!
Who guards thy slender stalk while, day by day, 1819.
]

[Footnote 377: 1827.

Accept the greeting that befits a friend 1819.
]

[Footnote 378: 1827.

Yet will I not thy gentle grace forget, 1819.
]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote DN: In the edition of 1820 this sonnet was entitled,

_On seeing a tuft of Snow-drops in a Storm;_

and, in the edition of 1827, the title was,

_Composed a few days after the foregoing;_

the "foregoing" sonnet being that addressed _To a Snow-drop_.--ED.]

TO THE RIVER DERWENT

Composed 1819.--Published 1819

This sonnet was first published along with _The Waggoner_. In the editions from 1820 to 1832 it was placed among the "Miscellaneous Sonnets." In 1835 it was included in the series of "Poems, composed or suggested during a tour, in the summer of 1833."--ED.

Among the mountains were we nursed, loved Stream!
Thou near the eagle's nest--within brief sail,
I, of his bold wing floating on the gale,
Where thy deep voice could lull me! Faint the beam
Of human life when first allowed to gleam 5
On mortal notice.--Glory of the vale,
Such thy meek outset, with a crown, though frail,
Kept in perpetual verdure by the steam
Of thy soft breath!--Less vivid wreath[379] entwined
Nemæan victor's brow; less bright was worn, 10
Meed of some Roman chief--in triumph borne
With captives chained; and shedding from his car
The sunset splendours of a finished war
Upon the proud enslavers of mankind!

The Derwent has its source on the slopes of Glaramara; and an _Eagle Crag_ rises above one of its affluents (the Langstrath beck, separating the Langstrath from the Greenup Valley). Doubtless there were eagles there in the last century when Wordsworth was born, and they would soar over Skiddaw and the Grasmere group of mountains towards Cockermouth, his birth-place.--ED.

VARIANTS:

[Footnote 379: 1827.

... wreaths ... 1819.
]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote DO: Compare in _The Primrose of the Rock_--

The flowers, still faithful to the stems,
Their fellowship renew;
The stems are faithful to the root,
That worketh out of view;
And to the rock the root adheres
In every fibre true.

ED.
]

[Footnote DP: Macedonian; the district of Emathia being the original seat of the Macedonian monarchy.--ED.]

[Footnote DQ: An allusion to the so-called Sacred Band, whose successes under Pelopidas had so large a share in sustaining the Theban ascendency after the Battle of Leuctra (B.C. 371-366).--ED.]

COMPOSED IN ONE OF THE VALLEYS OF WESTMORELAND, ON EASTER SUNDAY[380]

Composed 1819.--Published 1819

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

With each recurrence of this glorious morn
That saw the Saviour in his human frame
Rise from the dead, erewhile the Cottage-dame
Put on fresh raiment--till that hour unworn:
Domestic[381] hands the home-bred wool had shorn, 5
And she who span it culled[382] the daintiest fleece,
In thoughtful reverence to the Prince of Peace,
Whose temples bled beneath the platted thorn.
A blest estate when piety sublime
These humble props disdained not! O green dales!
Sad may _I_ be who heard your sabbath chime 11
When Art's abused inventions were unknown;
Kind Nature's various wealth was all your own;
And benefits were weighed in Reason's scales!

VARIANTS:

[Footnote 380: 1819.

Written on Easter Sunday. MS.
]

[Footnote 381: 1819.

Her Husband's ... MS.
]

[Footnote 382: 1819.

Which she had spun--culling ... MS.
]

The following (incomplete) version of this Easter Sunday sonnet exists in MS.:--

COMPOSED ON EASTER SUNDAY

Erewhile to celebrate this glorious morn
That saw the unvanquished Saviour of mankind
Rise from the grave, the Ruler and the Hind
Put on fresh raiment, till that hour unworn,
Fair cloth of home-bred wool which he had shorn,
Her hands had spun, culling her daintiest fleece,
Such reverence paid they to the Prince of Peace.
O blest estate, when Piety sublime
These humble props disdained not! Are thy flowers
Banished for aye, from Britain's hills and vales
Extinct, or lingering in a happier clime,
Where our abused inventions are unknown
And benefits are weighed in Reason's scales?

ED.

"GRIEF, THOU HAST LOST AN EVER READY FRIEND"

Composed 1819.--Published 1819

[I could write a treatise of lamentation upon the changes brought about among the cottages of Westmoreland by the silence of the spinning-wheel.[DR] During long winter nights and wet days, the wheel upon which wool was spun gave employment to a great part of a family. The old man, however infirm, was able to card the wool, as he sate in a corner by the fire-side; and often, when a boy, have I admired the cylinders of carded wool which were softly laid upon each other by his side. Two wheels were often at work on the same floor; and others of the family, chiefly little children, were occupied in teasing and cleaning the wool to fit it for the hand of the carder. So that all, except the smallest infants, were contributing to mutual support. Such was the employment that prevailed in the pastoral vales. Where wool was not at hand, in the small rural towns, the wheel for spinning flax was almost in as constant use, if knitting was not preferred; which latter occupation has the advantage (in some cases disadvantage) that, not being of necessity stationary, it allowed of gossiping about from house to house, which good housewives reckoned an idle thing.--I. F.]

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

Grief, thou hast lost an ever ready friend
Now that the cottage Spinning-wheel is mute;
And Care--a comforter that best could suit
Her froward mood, and softliest reprehend;
And Love--a charmer's voice, that used to lend, 5
More efficaciously than aught that flows
From harp or lute, kind influence to compose
The throbbing pulse--else troubled without end:
Even Joy could tell,[383] Joy craving truce and rest
From her own overflow, what power sedate 10
On those revolving motions did await
Assiduously--to soothe her aching breast;
And, to a point of just relief, abate
The mantling triumphs of a day too blest.

The following version of the last seven lines of this sonnet is from a MS. copy of it:--

The panting breast else troubled without end:
And fancy prized the murmuring spinning-wheel
In sympathies inexplicably fine,
Instilled a confidence how sweet to feel!
That ever, in the night calm, when the sheep
Upon their grassy beds lay couched in sleep,
The quickening spindle drew a trustier line.

ED.

VARIANTS:

[Footnote 383: 1819.

And Joy can tell, ... MS.
]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote DR: Compare similar regrets in _The Excursion_.--ED.]

"I WATCH, AND LONG HAVE WATCHED, WITH CALM REGRET"

Composed 1819.--Published 1819[DS]

[Suggested in front of Rydal Mount, the rocky parapet being the summit of Loughrigg Fell opposite. Not once only, but a hundred times, have the feelings of this sonnet been awakened by the same objects seen from the same place.--I. F.]

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

I watch, and long have watched, with calm regret
Yon slowly-sinking star--immortal Sire
(So might he seem) of all the glittering quire!
Blue ether still surrounds him--yet--and yet;
But now the horizon's rocky parapet 5
Is reached, where, forfeiting his bright attire,
He burns--transmuted to a dusky fire--
Then pays submissively the appointed debt
To the flying moments, and is seen no more.[384]
Angels and gods! We struggle with our fate, 10
While health, power, glory, from their height decline,[385]
Depressed; and then extinguished: and our state,
In this, how different, lost Star, from thine,
That no to-morrow shall our beams restore![DT]

VARIANTS:

[Footnote 384: 1837.

... to a sullen fire,
That droops and dwindles; and, the appointed debt
To the flying moments paid, is seen no more. 1819.
]

[Footnote 385: 1837.

... glory, pitiably decline, 1819.
]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote DS: This sonnet was omitted in the edition of 1827.--ED.]

[Footnote DT: Compare Beattie's _Hermit_ (stanza iii. l. 5)--

Roll on then, fair orb, and with gladness pursue
The path that conducts thee to splendour again;
But man's faded glory no change shall renew;
Ah, fool! to exult in a glory so vain.

ED.
]

I HEARD (ALAS! 'TWAS ONLY IN A DREAM)

Composed 1819.--Published 1819

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

I heard (alas! 'twas only in a dream)
Strains--which, as sage Antiquity believed,
By waking[386] ears have sometimes been received
Wafted adown the wind from lake or stream;
A most melodious requiem, a supreme 5
And perfect harmony of notes, achieved
By a fair Swan on drowsy billows heaved,
O'er which her pinions shed a silver gleam.
For is she not the votary of Apollo?
And knows she not, singing as he inspires,[387] 10
That bliss awaits her which the ungenial Hollow[DU]
Of the dull earth partakes not, nor desires?
Mount, tuneful Bird, and join the immortal quires!
She soared--and I awoke, struggling in vain to follow.

Socrates to Simmias.--"Will you not allow that I have as much of the spirit of prophecy in me as the swans? For they, when they perceive that they must die, having sung all their life long, do then sing more than ever, rejoicing in the thought that they are about to go away to the God, whose ministers they are. But men, because they are themselves afraid of death, slanderously affirm of the swans, that they sing a lament at the last, not considering that no bird sings when cold, or hungry, or in pain, not even the nightingale, nor the swallow, nor yet the hoopoe, which are said indeed to tune a lay of sorrow, although I do not believe this to be true of them any more than of the swans. But because they are sacred to Apollo, they have the gift of prophecy, and anticipate the good things of another world; wherefore they sing and rejoice in that day more than ever they did before. And I too, believing myself to be the consecrated servant of the same God, and the fellow-servant of the swans, and thinking that I have received from my master gifts of prophecy which are not inferior to theirs, would not go out of life less merrily than the swans." _Phædo_, 85 (Jowett's translation, vol. i. p. 462).--ED.

VARIANTS:

[Footnote 386: 1819.

By living ... MS.
]

[Footnote 387: 1819.

... inspired, MS.
]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote DU: See the _Phædon_ of Plato, by which this Sonnet was suggested.--W. W. 1819.]

THE HAUNTED TREE[DV]

To ----

Composed 1819.--Published 1820

[This tree grew in the park of Rydal, and I have often listened to its creaking as described.--I. F.]

One of the "Poems of the Imagination."--ED.

Those silver clouds collected round the sun
His mid-day warmth abate not, seeming less
To overshade than multiply his beams
By soft reflection--grateful to the sky, 4
To rocks, fields, woods. Nor doth our human sense
Ask, for its pleasure, screen or canopy
More ample than the[388] time-dismantled Oak
Spreads o'er this tuft of heath, which now, attired
In the whole fulness of its bloom, affords
Couch beautiful as e'er for earthly use[389] 10
Was fashioned; whether by the hand of Art,
That eastern Sultan, amid flowers enwrought
On silken tissue, might diffuse his limbs
In languor; or, by Nature, for repose
Of panting Wood-nymph, wearied with the chase.[390] 15
O Lady! fairer in thy Poet's sight
Than fairest spiritual creature of the groves,
Approach;--and, thus invited, crown with rest
The noontide hour: though truly some there are
Whose footsteps superstitiously avoid 20
This venerable Tree; for, when the wind
Blows keenly, it sends forth a creaking sound
(Above the general roar of woods and crags)
Distinctly heard from far--a doleful note!
As if (so Grecian shepherds would have deemed) 25
The Hamadryad, pent within, bewailed
Some bitter wrong.[DW] Nor is it unbelieved,
By ruder fancy, that a troubled ghost
Haunts the old trunk;[391] lamenting deeds of which
The flowery ground is conscious. But no wind 30
Sweeps now along this elevated ridge;
Not even a zephyr stirs;--the obnoxious Tree
Is mute: and, in his silence, would look down,
O lovely Wanderer of the trackless hills,
On thy[392] reclining form with more delight 35
Than his coevals in the sheltered vale
Seem to participate, the while they view[393]
Their own far-stretching arms and leafy heads
Vividly pictured in some glassy pool,
That, for a brief space, checks the hurrying stream! 40

Where this _Haunted Tree_ stood in Rydal Park, or whether it is still standing, cannot be determined. There are several "time-dismantled oaks" in the Park, but none with a heather couch beneath them, so far as I know. I have, however, heard stories of this tree from old residenters. The "Lady," the "lovely wanderer of the trackless hills," may have been the poet's daughter, Dora, to whom (probably) this poem was inscribed.--ED.

VARIANTS:

[Footnote 388: 1827.

... that ... 1820.
]

[Footnote 389: 1827.

As beautiful a couch as e'er on earth 1820.
]

[Footnote 390: 1836.

... weary of the chace. 1820.
... wearied by the chase. 1827.
]

[Footnote 391: 1836.

Haunts this old Trunk; ... 1820.
]

[Footnote 392: 1827.

... would look down
On thy ... 1820.
]

[Footnote 393: 1849.

... whilst they view 1820.
]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote DV: The title in the first edition of 1820 was "To ----."--ED.]

[Footnote DW: The Hamadryads were supposed not only to haunt the trees, but to live in them, and to die with them.--ED.]

SEPTEMBER, 1819

Composed 1819.--Published 1820

One of the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection."--ED.

The sylvan slopes with corn-clad fields
Are hung, as if with golden shields,
Bright trophies of the sun!
Like a fair sister of the sky,
Unruffled doth the blue lake lie, 5
The mountains looking on.[DX]

And, sooth to say, yon vocal grove,
Albeit uninspired by love,
By love untaught to ring,
May well afford to mortal ear 10
An impulse more profoundly dear
Than music of the Spring.

For _that_ from turbulence and heat
Proceeds, from some uneasy seat
In nature's struggling frame, 15
Some region of impatient life:
And jealousy, and quivering strife,
Therein a portion claim.