book ii
. stanza 7.--Ed.]
* * * * *
"WHEN I HAVE BORNE IN MEMORY WHAT HAS TAMED"
Composed September, 1802.--Published 1807 [A]
When I have borne in memory what has tamed Great Nations, how ennobling thoughts depart When men change swords for ledgers, and desert The student's bower for gold, some fears unnamed I had, my Country!--am I to be blamed? 5 Now, [1] when I think of thee, and what thou art, Verily, in the bottom of my heart, Of those unfilial fears I am ashamed. [2] For dearly must we prize thee; we who find In thee a bulwark for the cause of men; [3] 10 And I by my affection was beguiled: What wonder if a Poet now and then, Among the many movements of his mind, Felt for thee as a lover or a child!
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1.
1845.
But,... 1803.]
[Variant 2.
1807.
I of those fears of mine am much ashamed. 1803.]
[Variant 3.
1845.
But dearly do I prize thee for I find In thee a bulwark of the cause of men; 1803.
But dearly must we prize thee; we who find 1807.
... for the cause of men; 1827.
Most dearly 1838.
The text of 1840 returns to that of 1827.]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: But printed previously in 'The Morning Post', September 17, 1803, under the title 'England', and signed W. L. D. Also, see Coleridge's 'Poems on Political Events', 1828-9.--Ed.]
* * * * *
COMPOSED AFTER A JOURNEY ACROSS THE HAMBLETON HILLS, [A] YORKSHIRE
Composed October 4, 1802.--Published 1807
[Composed October 4th, 1802, after a journey over the Hambleton Hills, on a day memorable to me--the day of my marriage. The horizon commanded by those hills is most magnificent. The next day, while we were travelling in a post-chaise up Wensleydale, we were stopped by one of the horses proving restive, and were obliged to wait two hours in a severe storm before the post-boy could fetch from the inn another to supply its place. The spot was in front of Bolton Hall, where Mary Queen of Scots was kept prisoner, soon after her unfortunate landing at Workington. The place then belonged to the Scroops, and memorials of her are yet preserved there. To beguile the time I composed a Sonnet. The subject was our own confinement contrasted with hers; but it was not thought worthy of being preserved.--I. F.]
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--Ed.
Dark and more dark the shades of evening fell; The wished-for point was reached--but at an hour When little could be gained from that rich dower [1] Of prospect, whereof many thousands tell. Yet did the glowing west with marvellous power 5 Salute us; there stood Indian citadel, Temple of Greece, and minster with its tower Substantially expressed--a place for bell Or clock to toll from! Many a tempting isle, With groves that never were imagined, lay 10 'Mid seas how steadfast! objects all for the eye Of silent rapture; but we felt the while [2] We should forget them; they are of the sky, And from our earthly memory fade away.
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1837.
Ere we had reach'd the wish'd-for place, night fell: We were too late at least by one dark hour, And nothing could we see of all that power Of prospect, ... 1807.
Dark, and more dark, the shades of Evening fell; The wish'd-for point was reach'd--but late the hour; And little could we see of all that power 1815.
And little could be gained from all that dower 1827.]
[Variant 2:
1837.
The western sky did recompence us well With Grecian Temple, Minaret, and Bower; And, in one part, a Minster with its Tower Substantially distinct, a place for Bell Or Clock to toll from. Many a glorious pile Did we behold, sights that might well repay All disappointment! and, as such, the eye Delighted in them; but we felt, the while, 1807.
Substantially expressed--... 1815.
Did we behold, fair sights that might repay 1815.
Yet did the glowing west in all its power 1827.
The text of 1827 is otherwise identical with that of 1837.]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: Called by Wordsworth, "The Hamilton Hills" in the editions from 1807 to 1827.--Ed.]
The following extract from Dorothy Wordsworth's Journal indicates, as fully as any other passage in it, the use which her brother occasionally made of it. We have the "Grecian Temple," and the "Minster with its Tower":
"Before we had crossed the Hambleton Hill and reached the point overlooking Yorkshire it was quite dark. We had not wanted, however, fair prospects before us, as we drove along the flat plain of the high hill; far, far off from us, in the western sky, we saw shapes of castles, ruins among groves--a great, spreading wood, rocks, and single trees--a Minster with its Tower unusually distinct, Minarets in another quarter, and a round Grecian Temple also; the colours of the sky of a bright grey, and the forms of a sober grey, with a dome. As we descended the hill there was no distinct view, but of a great space, only near us, we saw the wild (and as the people say) bottomless Tarn in the hollow at the side of the hill. It seemed to be made visible to us only by its own light, for all the hill about us was dark."
Wordsworth and his sister crossed over the Hambleton (or Hamilton) Hills, on their way from Westmoreland to Gallow Hill, Yorkshire, to visit the Hutchinsons, before they went south to London and Calais, where they spent the month of August, 1802. But after his marriage to Mary Hutchinson, on the 4th of October, Wordsworth, his wife, and sister, recrossed these Hambleton Hills on their way to Grasmere, which they reached on the evening of the 6th October. The above sonnet was composed on the evening of the 4th October, as the Fenwick note indicates.--Ed.
* * * * *
TO H. C.
SIX YEARS OLD
Composed 1802.--Published 1807
One of the "Poems referring to the Period of Childhood."--Ed.
O thou! whose fancies from afar are brought; Who of thy words dost make a mock apparel, And fittest to unutterable thought The breeze-like motion and the self-born carol; Thou faery voyager! that dost float 5 In such clear water, that thy boat May rather seem To brood on air [A] than on an earthly stream; Suspended in a stream as clear as sky, Where earth and heaven do make one imagery; 10 O blessed vision! happy child! Thou [1] art so exquisitely wild, I think of thee with many fears For what may be thy lot in future years.
I thought of times when Pain might be thy guest, 15 Lord of thy house and hospitality; And Grief, uneasy lover! never rest But when she sate within the touch of thee. O too industrious folly! O vain and causeless melancholy! 20 Nature will either end thee quite; Or, lengthening out thy season of delight, Preserve for thee, by individual right, A young lamb's heart among the full-grown flocks. What hast thou to do with sorrow, 25 Or the injuries of to-morrow? Thou art a dew-drop, which the morn brings forth, Ill fitted to sustain [2] unkindly shocks, Or to be trailed along the soiling earth; A gem that glitters while it lives, 30 And no forewarning gives; But, at the touch of wrong, without a strife Slips in a moment out of life.
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1845.
That ... 1807.]
[Variant 2:
1827.
Not doom'd to jostle with ... 1807.
Not framed to undergo ... 1815.]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: See Carver's Description of his Situation upon one of the Lakes of America.--W. W. 1807.]
These stanzas were addressed to Hartley Coleridge. The lines,
'I think of thee with many fears For what may be thy lot in future years,'
taken in connection with his subsequent career, suggest the similarly sad "presentiment" with which the 'Lines composed above Tintern Abbey' conclude. The following is the postscript to a letter by his father, S. T. C., addressed to Sir Humphry Davy, Keswick, July 25, 1800:
"Hartley is a spirit that dances on an aspen leaf; the air that yonder sallow-faced and yawning tourist is breathing, is to my babe a perpetual nitrous oxide. Never was more joyous creature born. Pain with him is so wholly trans-substantiated by the joys that had rolled on before, and rushed on after, that oftentimes five minutes after his mother has whipt him he has gone up and asked her to whip him again."
('Fragmentary Remains, Literary and Scientific', of Sir Humphry Davy, Bart., pp. 78, 79.)--Ed.
* * * * *
TO THE DAISY
Composed 1802.--Published 1807
"Her [A] divine skill taught me this, That from every thing I saw I could some instruction draw, And raise pleasure to the height Through the meanest object's sight. By the murmur of a spring, Or the least bough's rustelling; By a Daisy whose leaves spread Shut when Titan goes to bed; Or a shady bush or tree; She could more infuse in me Than all Nature's beauties can In some other wiser man."
G. WITHER. [1]
[Composed in the orchard, Town-end, Grasmere.--I. F.]
One of the "Poems of the Fancy."--Ed.
In youth from rock to rock I went, From hill to hill in discontent Of pleasure high and turbulent, Most pleased when most uneasy; But now my own delights I make,--5 My thirst at every rill can slake, [2] And gladly Nature's love partake, Of Thee, sweet Daisy! [3]
Thee Winter in the garland wears That thinly decks his few grey hairs; 10 Spring parts the clouds with softest airs, That she may sun thee; [4] Whole Summer-fields are thine by right; And Autumn, melancholy Wight! Doth in thy crimson head delight 15 When rains are on thee.
In shoals and bands, a morrice train, Thou greet'st the traveller in the lane; Pleased at his greeting thee again; Yet nothing daunted, 20 Nor grieved if thou be set at nought: [5] And oft alone in nooks remote We meet thee, like a pleasant thought, When such are wanted.
Be violets in their secret mews 25 The flowers the wanton Zephyrs choose; Proud be the rose, with rains and dews Her head impearling, Thou liv'st with less ambitious aim, Yet hast not gone without thy fame; 30 Thou art indeed by many a claim The Poet's darling.
If to a rock from rains he fly, Or, some bright day of April sky, Imprisoned by hot sunshine lie 35 Near the green holly, And wearily at length should fare; He needs [6] but look about, and there Thou art!--a friend at hand, to scare His melancholy. 40
A hundred times, by rock or bower, Ere thus I have lain couched an hour, Have I derived from thy sweet power Some apprehension; Some steady love; some brief delight; [7] 45 Some memory that had taken flight; Some chime [8] of fancy wrong or right; Or stray invention.
If stately passions in me burn, And one [9] chance look to Thee should turn, 50 I drink out of an humbler urn A lowlier pleasure; The homely sympathy that heeds The common life, our nature breeds; A wisdom fitted to the needs 55 Of hearts at leisure.
Fresh-smitten by the morning ray, When thou art up, alert and gay, Then, cheerful Flower! my spirits play With kindred gladness: [10] 60 And when, at dusk, by dews opprest Thou sink'st, the image of thy rest Hath often eased my pensive breast Of careful sadness. [11]
And all day long I number yet, 65 All seasons through, another debt, Which I, wherever thou art met, To thee am owing; [12] An instinct call it, a blind sense; A happy, genial influence, 70 Coming one knows not how, nor whence, Nor whither going.
Child of the Year! that round dost run Thy pleasant course,--when day's begun As ready to salute the sun 75 As lark or leveret, Thy long-lost praise thou shalt regain; [B] Nor be less dear to future men Than in old time;--thou not in vain [13] Art Nature's favourite. [C] 80
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1: The extract from Wither was first prefixed to this poem in the edition of 1815. The late Mr. Dykes Campbell was of opinion that Charles Lamb had suggested this motto to Wordsworth, as 'The Shepherd's Hunting' was Lamb's "prime favourite" amongst Wither's poems. It may be as well to note that his quotation was erroneous in two places. His "instruction" should be "invention" (l. 3), and his "the" (in l. 4) should be "her."--Ed.]
[Variant 2:
1807.
To gentle sympathies awake, MS.]
[Variant 3:
1807.
And Nature's love of Thee partake, Her much-loved Daisy! 1836.
The text of 1840 returns to the reading of 1807.
Of her sweet Daisy. C.]
[Variant 4:
1836.
When soothed a while by milder airs, Thee Winter in the garland wears That thinly shades his few grey hairs; Spring cannot shun thee; 1807.
When Winter decks his few grey hairs Thee in the scanty wreath he wears; Spring parts the clouds with softest airs, That she may sun thee; 1827.]
[Variant 5:
1836.
... in the lane; If welcome once thou count'st it gain; Thou art not daunted, Nor car'st if thou be set at naught; 1807.
If welcom'd ... 1815.
The text of 1827 returns to that of 1807.]
[Variant 6:
1820
He need..... 1807]
[Variant 7:
1807
....some chance delight; MS.]
[Variant 8:
1807
Some charm..... C.]
[Variant 9:
1807
And some..... MS.]
[Variant 10:
1836.
When, smitten by the morning ray, I see thee rise alert and gay, Then, chearful Flower! my spirits play With kindred motion: 1807.
With kindred gladness: 1815.
Then Daisy! do my spirits play, With cheerful motion. MS.]
[Variant 11:
1815.
At dusk, I've seldom mark'd thee press The ground, as if in thankfulness Without some feeling, more or less, Of true devotion. 1807.
The ground in modest thankfulness MS.]
[Variant 12:
1807.
But more than all I number yet O bounteous Flower! another debt Which I to thee wherever met Am daily owing; MS.]
[Variant 13:
1836.
Child of the Year! that round dost run Thy course, bold lover of the sun, And chearful when the day's begun As morning Leveret, Thou long the Poet's praise shalt gain; Thou wilt be more belov'd by men In times to come; thou not in vain 1807.
Thy long-lost praise thou shalt regain; Dear shalt thou be to future men As in old time;--1815.
Dear thou shalt be 1820.
The text of 1827 returns to that of 1815.]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: His Muse.--W. W. 1815.
The extract is from 'The Shepherds Hunting', eclogue fourth, ll. 368-80.--Ed.]
[Footnote B: See, in Chaucer and the elder Poets, the honours formerly paid to this flower.--W. W. 1815.]
[Footnote C: This Poem, and two others to the same Flower, which the Reader will find in the second Volume, were written in the year 1802; which is mentioned, because in some of the ideas, though not in the manner in which those ideas are connected, and likewise even in some of the expressions, they bear a striking resemblance to a Poem (lately published) of Mr. Montgomery, entitled, 'A Field Flower'. This being said, Mr. Montgomery will not think any apology due to him; I cannot however help addressing him in the words of the Father of English Poets:
'Though it happe me to rehersin-- That ye han in your freshe songis saied, Forberith me, and beth not ill apaied, Sith that ye se I doe it in the honour Of Love, and eke in service of the Flour.'
W. W. 1807.
In the edition of 1836, the following variation of the text of this note occurs: "There is a resemblance to passages in a Poem."--Ed.]
For illustration of the last stanza, see Chaucer's Prologue to 'The Legend of Good Women'.
'As I seyde erst, whanne comen is the May, That in my bed ther daweth me no day, That I nam uppe and walkyng in the mede, To seen this floure agein the sonne sprede, Whan it up rysith erly by the morwe; That blisful sight softneth al my sorwe, So glad am I, whan that I have presence Of it, to doon it alle reverence, As she that is of alle floures flour.' ... To seen this flour so yong, so fresshe of hewe, Constreynde me with so gredy desire, That in myn herte I feele yet the fire, That made me to ryse er yt wer day, And this was now the firste morwe of May, With dredful hert, and glad devocioun For to ben at the resurreccion Of this flour, whan that yt shulde unclose Agayne the sonne, that roos as rede as rose ... And doune on knes anoon ryght I me sette, And as I koude, this fresshe flour I grette, Knelying alwey, til it unclosed was, Upon the smale, softe, swote gras.
Again, in The 'Cuckoo and the Nightingale', after a wakeful night, the Poet rises at dawn, and wandering forth, reaches a "laund of white and green."
'So feire oon had I nevere in bene, The grounde was grene, y poudred with daysé, The floures and the gras ilike al hie, Al grene and white, was nothing elles sene.'
Ed.
* * * * *
TO THE SAME FLOWER [A]
Composed 1802.--Published 1807
[Composed in the orchard, Town-end, Grasmere.-I. F.]
One of the "Poems of the Fancy."--Ed.
With little here to do or see Of things that in the great world be, Daisy! again I talk to thee, [1] For thou art worthy, Thou unassuming Common-place 5 Of Nature, with that homely face, And yet with something of a grace, Which Love makes for thee!
Oft on the dappled turf at ease I sit, and play with similes, [2] 10 Loose types of things through all degrees, Thoughts of thy raising: And many a fond and idle name I give to thee, for praise or blame, As is the humour of the game, 15 While I am gazing.
A nun demure of lowly port; Or sprightly maiden, of Love's court, In thy simplicity the sport Of all temptations; 20 A queen in crown of rubies drest; A starveling in a scanty vest; Are all, as seems [3] to suit thee best, Thy appellations.
A little cyclops, with one eye 25 Staring to threaten and defy, That thought comes next--and instantly The freak is over, The shape will vanish--and behold A silver shield with boss of gold, 30 That spreads itself, some faery bold In fight to cover!
I see thee glittering from afar-- And then thou art a pretty star; Not quite so fair as many are 35 In heaven above thee! Yet like a star, with glittering crest, Self-poised in air thou seem'st to rest;-- May peace come never to his nest, Who shall reprove thee! 40
Bright _Flower!_ [4] for by that name at last, When all my reveries are past, I call thee, and to that cleave fast, Sweet silent creature! That breath'st with me in sun and air, 45 Do thou, as thou art wont, repair My heart with gladness, and a share Of thy meek nature!
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1845.
Sweet Daisy! oft I talk to thee, 1807.
Yet once again I talk . . 1836.]
[Variant 2:
1820.
Oft do I sit by thee at ease, And weave a web of similies, 1807.]
[Variant 3:
1827.
... seem ... 1807.]
[Variant 4:
1836.
Sweet Flower!.... 1807.]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: The two following Poems were overflowings of the mind in composing the one which stands first in the first Volume (i.e. the previous Poem),--W. W. 1807.]
In his editions 1836-1849 Wordsworth gave 1805 as the year in which this poem was composed, but the Fenwick note prefixed to it renders this impossible. It evidently belongs to the same time, and "mood," as the previous poem.--Ed.
* * * * *
TO THE DAISY (#2)
Composed 1802.--Published 1807
[This and the other Poems addressed to the same flower were composed at Town-end, Grasmere, during the earlier part of my residence there. I have been censured for the last line but one--"thy function apostolical"--as being little less than profane. How could it be thought so? The word is adopted with reference to its derivation, implying something sent on a mission; and assuredly this little flower, especially when the subject of verse, may be regarded, in its humble degree, as administering both to moral and to spiritual purposes.--I.F.]
This was included among the "Poems of the Fancy" from 1815 to 1832. In 1837 it was transferred to the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection."--Ed.
Bright Flower! whose home is everywhere, Bold in maternal Nature's care, And all the long year through the heir [1] Of joy and [2] sorrow. Methinks that there abides in thee 5 Some concord [3] with humanity, Given to no other flower I see The forest thorough!
Is it that Man is soon deprest? [4] A thoughtless Thing! who, once unblest, 10 Does little on his memory rest, Or on his reason, And [5] Thou would'st teach him how to find A shelter under every wind, A hope for times that are unkind 15 And every season?
Thou wander'st the wide world about, Uncheck'd by pride or scrupulous doubt, With friends to greet thee, or without, Yet pleased and willing; 20 Meek, yielding to the occasion's call, And all things suffering from all, Thy function apostolical In peace fulfilling. [6]
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1840.
Bright Flower, whose home is every where! A Pilgrim bold in Nature's care, And all the long year through the heir 1807.
Bright flower, whose home is every where! A Pilgrim bold in Nature's care, And oft, the long year through, the heir 1827.
Confiding Flower, by Nature's care Made bold,--who, lodging here or there, Art all the long year through the heir 1837.]
[Variant 2:
1850.
... or ... 1807.]
[Variant 3:
1807.
Communion ... 1837.
The text of 1840 returns to that of 1807.]
[Variant 4:
1807.
And wherefore? Man is soon deprest; 1827.
The text of 1837 returns to that of 1807.]
[Variant 5:
1807.
But ... 1827.
The text of 1837 returns to that of 1807.]
[Variant 6:
1807.
This stanza was omitted in the editions of 1827 and 1832, but replaced in 1837.]
The three preceding poems 'To the Daisy' evidently belong to the same time, and are, as Wordsworth expressly says, "overflowings of the mind in composing the one which stands first." Nevertheless, in the revised edition of 1836-7, he gave the date 1802 to the first, 1803 to the third, and 1805 to the second of them. In the earlier editions 1815 to 1832, they are all classed among the "Poems of the Fancy," but in the edition of 1837, and afterwards, the last, "Bright Flower! whose home is everywhere," is ranked among the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection." They should manifestly be placed together. Wordsworth's fourth poem 'To the Daisy', which is an elegy on his brother John, and belongs to a subsequent year--having no connection with the three preceding poems, will be found in its chronological place.--Ed.
* * * * *
LOUISA
AFTER ACCOMPANYING HER ON A MOUNTAIN EXCURSION
Composed 1802.--Published 1807
[Town-end 1805.--I. F.]
One of the "Poems founded on the Affections." From 1807 to 1832 the title was simply 'Louisa'.--Ed.
I met Louisa in the shade, And, having seen that lovely Maid, Why should I fear to say [1] That, nymph-like, she is fleet and strong, [2] And down the rocks can leap along 5 Like rivulets in May? [3] She loves her fire, her cottage-home; Yet o'er the moorland will she roam In weather rough and bleak; And, when against the wind she strains, 10 Oh! might I kiss the mountain rains That sparkle on her cheek.
Take all that's mine "beneath the moon," [A] If I with her but half a noon May sit beneath the walls 15 Of some old cave, or mossy nook, When up she winds along the brook [4] To hunt the waterfalls.
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1807.
Though, by a sickly taste betrayed, Some will dispraise the lovely Maid, With fearless pride I say 1836.
The text of 1845 returns to that of 1807.]
[Variant 2:
1845.
That she is ruddy, fleet, and strong; 1807.
That she is healthful, ... 1836.]
[Variant 3: In the editions of 1807 to 1843 occurs the following verse, which was omitted from subsequent editions:
And she hath smiles to earth unknown; Smiles, that with motion of their own Do spread, and sink, and rise; That come and go with endless play, And ever, as they pass away, Are hidden in her eyes.]
[Variant 4:
1807.
When she goes barefoot up the brook MS.]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: Compare Young's 'Night Thoughts', where the phrase occurs three times. See also 'Lear', act IV. scene vi. l. 26:
'For all beneath the moon.'
Haywood, 'The English Traveller', v. 1:
'All things that dwell beneath the moon.'
It was also used by William Drummond, in one of his sonnets,
'I know that all beneath the moon decays.'
Ed.]
Wordsworth gave as the date of the composition of this poem the year 1805; but he said of the following one, 'To a Young Lady, who had been Reproached for taking Long Walks in the Country'--"composed at the same time" and "designed to make one piece"--that it was written in 1803.
But it is certain that these following lines appeared in 'The Morning Post', on Feb. 12, 1802, where they are headed 'To a beautiful Young Lady, who had been harshly spoken of on account of her fondness for taking long walks in the Country'. There is difficulty, both in ascertaining the exact date of composition, and in knowing who "Louisa" or the "Young Lady" was. Mrs. Millicent G. Fawcett wrote to me several years ago, suggesting, with some plausibility, a much earlier date, if Dorothy Wordsworth was the lady referred to. She referred me to Dorothy's letter to her aunt, Mrs. Crackenthorpe, written from Windybrow, Keswick, in 1794, when staying there with her brother; and says
"What inclined me to think that the poem was written earlier than 1805 was that it anticipates Dorothy's marriage, and this would more naturally be present as a probable event in W. W.'s mind in 1794 or thereabouts than in 1805, after Dorothy had dedicated her life to her brother, to the exclusion of all wish to make a home of her own by marriage. The expression 'Healthy as a shepherd boy' is also more applicable to a girl of twenty-two than to a woman of thirty-three. Do you think it possible that the poem may have been written in 1794, and not published till later, when its application would be less evident to the family circle?"
Dorothy Wordsworth's letter will be quoted in full in a later volume, but the following extract from it may be given now:
"I cannot pass unnoticed that part of your letter in which you speak of my 'rambling about the country on foot.' So far from considering this as a matter for condemnation I rather thought it would have given my friends pleasure that I had courage to make use of the strength with which Nature has endowed me, when it not only procured me infinitely more pleasure than I should have received from sitting in a post-chaise, but was also the means of saving me at least thirty shillings."
I do not think the date of composition can be so early as 1794. What may be called internal, or structural, evidence is against it. Wordsworth never could have written these two poems till after his settlement at Dove Cottage. Besides, in 1794, he could have no knowledge of a possible "nest in a green dale, a harbour and a hold"; while at that time his sister had certainly no "cottage home." I believe they were written after he took up his residence at Town-end (the date being uncertain); and that they refer to his sister, and not to his wife. It has been suggested by Mr. Ernest Coleridge (see 'The Athenæum', Oct. 21, 1893) that they refer to Mary Hutchinson: but there is no evidence of Wordsworth taking long country walks with her before their marriage, or that she was "nymph-like," "fleet and strong," that she loved to "roam the moorland," "in weather rough and bleak," or that she "hunted waterfalls." The reference to his sister is confirmed by the omission of the delightful second stanza of the poem in the last edition revised by the poet, that of 1849, when she was a confirmed invalid at Rydal Mount. Those "smiles to earth unknown," had then ceased for ever. The reason why Wordsworth erased so delightful and wonderful a stanza, is to me only explicable on the supposition, that it was his sister he referred to, she who had accompanied him in former days, in so many of his "long walks in the country." His wife never did this; she had not the physical strength to do it; and, if she had been the person referred to, Wordsworth would hardly, in 1845, have erased such a description of her, as occurs in the stanza written in 1802, when she was still so vigorous. Besides, Mary Wordsworth was in no sense "a Child of Nature," as Dorothy was: while the testimony of the Wordsworth household is explicit, that it was to his sister, and not to his wife, that the poet referred. I find no difficulty in the allusion made in the second poem to Dorothy being yet possibly a "Wife and Friend"; nor to the fact that it was originally addressed "To a beautiful Young Lady." Neither Dorothy nor Mary Wordsworth were physically "beautiful," according to our highest standards; although the poet addressed the latter as "a Phantom of delight," and as "a lovely apparition." It is quite true that it was Mary Wordsworth's old age that was "serene and bright," while Dorothy's was the very reverse; but the poet's anticipation of the future was written when his sister was young, and was by far the stronger of the two.--Ed.
* * * * *
TO A YOUNG LADY, WHO HAD BEEN REPROACHED FOR TAKING LONG WALKS IN THE COUNTRY [A]
Composed 1802.--Published 1807
[Composed at the same time and on the same view as "I met Louisa in the shade:" indeed they were designed to make one piece.--I.F.]
From 1815 to 1832 this was classed among the "Poems proceeding from Sentiment and Reflection." In 1836 it was transferred to the group of "Poems of the Imagination."--Ed.
Dear Child of Nature, let them rail! --There is a nest in a green dale, A harbour and a hold; Where thou, a Wife and Friend, shalt see Thy own heart-stirring days, [1] and be 5 A light to young and old.
There, healthy as a shepherd boy, And treading among flowers of joy Which at no season fade, [2] Thou, while thy babes around thee cling, 10 Shalt show us how divine a thing A Woman may be made.
Thy thoughts and feelings shall not die, Nor leave thee, when grey hairs are nigh A melancholy slave; 15 But an old age serene [3] and bright, And lovely as a Lapland night, Shall lead thee to thy grave.
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1836.
Thy own delightful days, ... 1802.]
[Variant 2:
1836.
As if thy heritage were joy, And pleasure were thy trade. 1802.
And treading among flowers of joy, That at no season fade, 1827.]
[Variant 3:
1815.
... alive ... 1802.]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: For the original title of this poem,--as published in 'The Morning Post and Gazetteer',--see the note to the previous poem. When first published it was unsigned.--Ed.]
See the editorial note to the preceding poem.--Ed.
* * * * *
1803
The poems associated with the year 1803 consist mainly of the "Memorials of a Tour in Scotland," which Wordsworth and his sister took--along with Coleridge--in the autumn of that year, although many of these were not written till some time after the Tour was finished. 'The Green Linnet' and 'Yew-trees' were written in 1803, and some sonnets were composed in the month of October; but, on the whole, 1803 was not a fruitful year in Wordsworth's life, as regards his lyrics and smaller poems. Doubtless both 'The Prelude' and 'The Excursion' were revised in 1803.--Ed.
* * * * *
THE GREEN LINNET
Composed 1803.--Published 1807
[Composed in the orchard, Town-end, Grasmere, where the bird was often seen as here described.--I.F.]
One of the "Poems of the Fancy."--Ed.
Beneath these fruit-tree boughs that shed Their snow white blossoms on my head, With brightest sunshine round me spread Of spring's unclouded weather, In this sequestered nook how sweet 5 To sit upon my orchard-seat! And birds and flowers once more to greet, My last year's friends together. [1]
One have I marked, the happiest guest In all this covert of the blest: 10 Hail to Thee, far above the rest In joy of voice and pinion! Thou, Linnet! in thy green array, Presiding Spirit here to-day, Dost lead the revels of the May; 15 And this is thy dominion.
While birds, and butterflies, and flowers, Make all one band of paramours, Thou, ranging up and down the bowers, Art sole in thy employment: 20 A Life, a Presence like the Air, Scattering thy gladness without care, Too blest with any one to pair; Thyself thy own enjoyment.
Amid [2] yon tuft of hazel trees, 25 That twinkle to the gusty breeze, Behold him perched in ecstacies, Yet seeming still to hover; There! where the flutter of his wings Upon his back and body flings 30 Shadows and sunny glimmerings, That cover him all over.
My dazzled sight he oft deceives, A Brother of the dancing leaves; Then flits, and from the cottage-eaves 35 Pours forth his song in gushes; [3] As if by that exulting strain He mocked and treated with disdain The voiceless Form he chose to feign, While fluttering in the bushes. [4] 40
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1827.
The May is come again:--how sweet To sit upon my Orchard-seat! And Birds and Flowers once more to greet, My last year's Friends together: My thoughts they all by turns employ; A whispering Leaf is now my joy, And then a Bird will be the toy That doth my fancy tether. 1807.
And Flowers and Birds once more to greet, 1815.
The text of 1815 is otherwise identical with that of 1827.]
[Variant 2:
1845.
Upon ... 1807.]
[Variant 3:
1845.
While thus before my eyes he gleams, A Brother of the Leaves he seems; When in a moment forth he teems His little song in gushes: 1807.
My sight he dazzles, half deceives, A Bird so like the dancing Leaves; Then flits, and from the Cottage eaves Pours forth his song in gushes; 1827.
My dazzled sight the Bird deceives, A Brother of the dancing Leaves; 1832.
The Bird my dazzled sight deceives, 1840.
The Bird my dazzling sight deceives C.]
[Variant 4:
1827.
As if it pleas'd him to disdain And mock the Form which he did feign, While he was dancing with the train Of Leaves among the bushes. 1807.
The voiceless Form he chose to feign, 1820.]
Of all Wordsworth's poems this is the one most distinctively associated with the Orchard, at Town-end, Grasmere. Dorothy Wordsworth writes in her Journal under date May 28th, 1802:
"We sat in the orchard. The young bull-finches in their pretty coloured raiment, bustle about among the blossoms, and poise themselves like wire-dancers or tumblers, shaking the twigs and dashing off the blossoms."
Ed.
* * * * *
YEW-TREES
Composed 1803.--Published 1815
[Written at Grasmere. These Yew-trees are still standing, but the spread of that at Lorton is much diminished by mutilation. I will here mention that a little way up the hill, on the road leading from Rosthwaite to Stonethwaite (in Borrowdale) lay the trunk of a Yew-tree, which appeared as you approached, so vast was its diameter, like the entrance of a cave, and not a small one. Calculating upon what I have observed of the slow growth of this tree in rocky situations, and of its durability, I have often thought that the one I am describing must have been as old as the Christian era. The Tree lay in the line of a fence. Great masses of its ruins were strewn about, and some had been rolled down the hillside and lay near the road at the bottom. As you approached the tree, you were struck with the number of shrubs and young plants, ashes, etc., which had found a bed upon the decayed trunk and grew to no inconsiderable height, forming, as it were, a part of the hedgerow. In no part of England, or of Europe, have I ever seen a yew-tree at all approaching this in magnitude, as it must have stood. By the bye, Hutton, the old guide, of Keswick, had been so impressed with the remains of this tree, that he used gravely to tell strangers that there could be no doubt of its having been in existence before the flood.--I.F.]
One of the "Poems of the Imagination."--Ed.
There is a Yew-tree, pride of Lorton Vale, Which to this day stands single, in the midst Of its own darkness, as it stood of yore: Not loth to furnish weapons for the bands Of Umfraville or Percy ere they marched 5 To Scotland's heaths; or those that crossed the sea And drew their sounding bows at Azincour, Perhaps at earlier Crecy, or Poictiers. Of vast circumference and gloom profound This solitary Tree! a living thing 10 Produced too slowly ever to decay; Of form and aspect too magnificent To be destroyed. But worthier still of note Are those fraternal Four of Borrowdale, Joined in one solemn and capacious grove; 15 Huge trunks! and each particular trunk a growth Of intertwisted fibres serpentine Up-coiling, and inveterately convolved; Nor uninformed with Phantasy, and looks That threaten the profane;--a pillared shade, 20 Upon whose grassless floor of red-brown hue, By sheddings from the pining umbrage tinged Perennially--beneath whose sable roof Of boughs, as if for festal purpose, decked With unrejoicing berries--ghostly Shapes 25 May meet at noontide; Fear and trembling Hope, Silence and Foresight; Death the Skeleton And Time the Shadow;--there to celebrate, As in a natural temple scattered o'er With altars undisturbed of mossy stone, 30 United worship; or in mute repose To lie, and listen to the mountain flood Murmuring from Glaramara's inmost caves.
The text of this poem was never altered. The Lorton Yew-tree--which, in 1803, was "of vast circumference," the "pride of Lorton Vale," and described as:
'a living thing Produced too slowly ever to decay; Of form and aspect too magnificent To be destroyed--'
does not now verify its poet's prediction of the future. Mr. Wilson Robinson of Whinfell Hall, Cockermouth, wrote to me of it in May 1880:
"The tree in outline expanded towards the root considerably: then, at about two feet from the ground, the trunk began to separate into huge limbs, spreading in all directions. I once measured this trunk at its least circumference, and found it 23 feet 10 inches. For the last 50 or 60 years the branches have been gradually dying on the S. E. side, and about 25 years ago a strong S. E. gale, coming with accumulated force down Hope Gill, and--owing to the tree being so open on that side--taking it laterally at a disadvantage, wrenched off one of the great side branches down to the ground, carrying away nearly a third of the tree. This event led to farther peril; for, the second portion having been sold to a cabinetmaker at Whitehaven for £15, this gave the impression that the wood was very valuable (owing to the celebrity of the tree); and a local woodmonger bought the remainder. Two men worked half a day to grub it up; but a Cockermouth medical gentleman, hearing what was going on, made representations to the owner, and it ended in the woodmen sparing the remainder of the tree, which was not much the worse for what had been done. Many large dead branches have also been cut off, and now we have to regret that the 'pride of Lorton Vale,' shorn of its ancient dignity, is but a ruin, much more venerable than picturesque."
The "fraternal Four of Borrowdale" are certainly "worthier still of note." The "trunk" described in the Fenwick note, as on the road between Rosthwaite and Stonethwaite, has disappeared long ago; but the "solemn and capacious grove" existed till 1883 in its integrity. The description in the poem is realistic throughout, while the visible scene suggests
"an ideal grove, in which the ghostly masters of mankind meet, and sleep, and offer worship to the Destiny that abides above them, while the mountain flood, as if from another world, makes music to which they dimly listen."
(Stopford A. Brooke, in 'Theology in the English Poets', p. 259.) With the first part of the poem Wordsworth's 'Sonnet composed at----Castle' during the Scotch Tour of 1803 may be compared (p. 410). For a critical estimate of the poem see 'Modern Painters',