book xi
. l. 108:
'Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, But to be young was very Heaven.'
Ed.]
[Footnote G: This line has a close resemblance to an admirable line of Young, the exact expression of which I cannot recollect.--W. W. 1798.
It is the line:
'And half-create the wondrous world they see.'
'Night Thoughts', (Night vi. l. 427).--Ed.]
[Footnote H: Compare, in _The Recluse_, canto "Home at Grasmere," l. 91:
Her voice was like a hidden Bird that sang, The thought of her was like a flash of light, Or an _unseen_ companionship.
Ed.]
* * * * *
THERE WAS A BOY
Composed 1798.--Published 1800
[Written in Germany, 1799. This is an extract from the Poem on my own poetical education. This practice of making an instrument of their own fingers is known to most boys, though some are more skilful at it than others. William Raincock of Rayrigg, a fine spirited lad, took the lead of all my schoolfellows in this art.--I. F.]
This "extract" will be found in the fifth book of 'The Prelude', ll. 364-397. It was included among the "Poems of the Imagination." In the editions of 1800 to 1832 it had no title, except in the table of contents. In 1836, the finally adopted title of the poem was given in the text, as well as in the table of contents.--Ed.
There was a Boy; ye knew him well, ye cliffs And islands of Winander!--many a time, At evening, when the earliest stars began [1] To move along the edges of the hills, Rising or setting, would he stand alone, 5 Beneath the trees, or by the glimmering lake; And there, with fingers interwoven, both hands Pressed closely palm to palm and to his mouth Uplifted, he, as through an instrument, Blew mimic hootings to the silent owls, 10 That they might answer him.--And they would shout Across the watery vale, and shout again, Responsive to his call,--with quivering peals, And long halloos, and screams, and echoes loud Redoubled and redoubled; concourse wild 15 Of jocund din! [2] And, when there came a pause Of silence such as baffled his best skill: [3] Then, sometimes, in that silence, while he hung Listening, a gentle shock of mild surprise Has carried far into his heart the voice 20 Of mountain-torrents; or the visible scene Would enter unawares into his mind With all its solemn imagery, its rocks, Its woods, and that uncertain heaven received Into the bosom of the steady lake. 25
This boy was taken from his mates, and died [4] In childhood, ere he was full twelve years old. [5] Pre-eminent in beauty is the vale Where he was born and bred: the church-yard hangs [6] Upon a slope above the village-school; 30 And, through that church-yard when my way has led On summer-evenings, I believe, that there [7] A long half-hour together I have stood Mute--looking at the grave in which he lies![A] [8]
Wordsworth sent this fragment in MS. to Coleridge, who was then living at Ratzeburg, and Coleridge wrote in reply on the 10th Dec. 1798:
"The blank lines gave me as much direct pleasure as was possible in the general bustle of pleasure with which I received and read your letter. I observed, I remember, that the 'fingers woven,' etc., only puzzled me; and though I liked the twelve or fourteen first lines very well, yet I liked the remainder much better. Well, now I have read them again, they are very beautiful, and leave an affecting impression. That
'uncertain heaven received Into the bosom of the steady lake,'
I should have recognised anywhere; and had I met these lines, running wild in the deserts of Arabia, I should have instantly screamed out 'Wordsworth'!"
The MS. copy of this poem sent to Coleridge probably lacked the explanatory line,
'Pressed closely palm to palm and to his mouth,'
as another MS., in the possession of the poet's grandson, lacks it; and the line was possibly added--as the late Mr. Dykes Campbell suggested--"in deference to S. T. C.'s expression of puzzlement."
Fletcher Raincock--an elder brother of the William Raincock referred to in the Fenwick note to this poem, as Wordsworth's schoolfellow at Hawkshead--was with him also at Cambridge. He attended Pembroke College, and was second wrangler in 1790. [B] John Fleming of Rayrigg, his half-brother--the boy with whom Wordsworth used to walk round the lake of Esthwaite, in the morning before school-time, ("five miles of pleasant wandering")--was also at St. John's College, Cambridge, at this time, and had been fifth Wrangler in the preceding year, 1789. He is referred to both in the second and the fifth books of 'The Prelude' (see notes to that poem). It is perhaps not unworthy of note that Wrangham, whose French stanzas on "The Birth of Love" Wordsworth translated into English, was in the same year--1789--third Wrangler, second Smith's prizeman, and first Chancellor's medallist; while Robert Greenwood, "the Minstrel of the Troop," who "blew his flute, alone upon the rock" in Windermere,--also one of the characters referred to in the second book of 'The Prelude',--was sixteenth Wrangler in Wordsworth's year, viz. 1791. William Raincock was at St. John's College, Cambridge.--Ed.
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1815.
... when the stars had just begun 1800.]
[Variant 2:
1836.
... a wild scene Of mirth and jocund din! ... 1800.
... concourse wild 1805.]
[Variant 3:
1836.
... And, when it chanced That pauses of deep silence mock'd his skill, 1800.
... and, when a lengthened pause Of silence came and baffled his best skill, 'The Prelude', 1850.]
[Variant 4: This and the following line were added in 1805.]
[Variant 5:
1815.
... ere he was ten years old. 1805.]
[Variant 6:
1845.
Fair are the woods, and beauteous is the spot, The vale where he was born: the Church-yard hangs 1800.
Fair is the spot, most beautiful the Vale Where he was born: the grassy Church-yard hangs 1827.
The text of 1840 returns to that of 1800.]
[Variant 7:
1836.
And there along that bank when I have pass'd At evening, I believe, that near his grave 1800.
... I believe, that oftentimes 1805.
And through that Church-yard when my way has led 1827.]
[Variant 8:
1815.
A full half-hour together I have stood, Mute--for he died when he was ten years old. 1800.
Mute--looking at the grave in which he lies. 1805.]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: In 'The Prelude' the version of 1827 is adopted for the most part.--Ed.]
[Footnote B: See 'Graduati Cantabrigienses' (1850), by Joseph Romily, the Registrar to the University 1832-1862.--Ed.]
* * * * *
THE TWO THIEVES; OR, THE LAST STAGE OF AVARICE
Composed 1798.--Published 1800
[This is described from the life, as I was in the habit of observing when a boy at Hawkshead School. Daniel was more than eighty years older than myself when he was daily, thus occupied, under my notice. No books have so early taught me to think of the changes to which human life is subject, and while looking at him I could not but say to myself--we may, one of us, I or the happiest of my playmates, live to become still more the object of pity, than this old man, this half-doating pilferer.--I.F.]
Included among the "Poems referring to the Period of Old Age."--Ed.
O now that the genius of Bewick [A] were mine, And the skill which he learned on the banks of the Tyne, Then the Muses might deal with me just as they chose, For I'd take my last leave both of verse and of prose. [1]
What feats would I work with my magical hand! 5 Book-learning and books should be banished the land: [2] And, for hunger and thirst and such troublesome calls, Every ale-house should then have a feast on its walls.
The traveller would hang his wet clothes on a chair; Let them smoke, let them burn, not a straw. Would he care! 10 For the Prodigal Son, Joseph's Dream and his sheaves, Oh, what would they be to my tale of two Thieves?
The One, yet unbreeched, is not three birthdays old,[3] His Grandsire that age more than thirty times told; There are ninety good seasons of fair and foul weather 15 Between them, and both go a-pilfering [4] together.
With chips is the carpenter strewing his floor? Is a cart-load of turf [5] at an old woman's door? Old Daniel his hand to the treasure will slide! And his Grandson's as busy at work by his side. 20
Old Daniel begins; he stops short--and his eye, Through the lost look of dotage, is cunning and sly: 'Tis a look which at this time is hardly his own, But tells a plain tale of the days that are flown.
He once [6] had a heart which was moved by the wires 25 Of manifold pleasures and many desires: And what if he cherished his purse? 'Twas no more Than treading a path trod by thousands before.
'Twas a path trod by thousands; but Daniel is one Who went something farther than others have gone, [7] 30 And now with old Daniel you see how it fares; You see to what end he has brought his grey hairs.
The pair sally forth hand in hand: ere the sun Has peered o'er the beeches, their work is begun: And yet, into whatever sin they may fall, 35 This child but half knows it, and that not at all.
They hunt through the streets [8] with deliberate tread, And each, in his turn, becomes leader or led; [9] And, wherever they carry their plots and their wiles, Every face in the village is dimpled with smiles. 40
Neither checked by the rich nor the needy they roam; For the grey-headed Sire [10] has a daughter at home, Who will gladly repair all the damage that's done; And three, were it asked, would be rendered for one.
Old Man! whom so oft I with pity have eyed, 45 I love thee, and love the sweet Boy at thy side: Long yet may'st thou live! for a teacher we see That lifts up the veil of our nature in thee. [B]
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1800.
Oh! now that the boxwood and graver were mine, Of the Poet who lives on the banks of the Tyne, Who has plied his rude tools with more fortunate toil Than Reynolds e'er brought to his canvas and oil. MS. 1798.]
[Variant 2:
1800.
Then Books, and Book-learning, I'd ring out your knell, The Vicar should scarce know an A from an L. MS. 1798.]
[Variant 3:
1820.
Little Dan is unbreech'd, he is three birth-days old, 1800.]
[Variant 4:
1837.
... a-stealing ... 1800.]
[Variant 5:
1827.
... of peats ... 1800.]
[Variant 6:
1820.
Dan once ... 1800.]
[Variant 7:
1800.
'Twas a smooth pleasant pathway, a gentle descent, And leisurely down it, and down it, he went. MS. 1798.]
[Variant 8:
1802.
... street ... 1800.]
[Variant 9:
1837.
... is both leader and led; 1800.]
[Variant 10:
1837.
For grey-headed Dan ... 1800.
The grey-headed Sire ... 1820.]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: Thomas Bewick, the wood engraver, born at Cherryburn, near Newcastle-on-Tyne, in 1753, died 1828. He revived the art of wood engraving in England. His illustrations--drawn for the 'General History of British Quadrupeds' (1790), and for his own 'History of British Birds' (1797 and 1804)--were unrivalled in their way.--Ed.]
[Footnote B: Charles Lamb, writing to Wordsworth in 1815, spoke of
"that delicacy towards aberrations from the strict path, which is so fine in the 'Old Thief and the Boy by his side,' which always brings water into my eyes."
(See 'Letters of Charles Lamb', edited by Alfred Ainger, vol. i. p. 287.)--Ed.]
* * * * *
WRITTEN WITH A SLATE PENCIL UPON A STONE, THE LARGEST OF A HEAP LYING NEAR A DESERTED QUARRY, UPON ONE OF THE ISLANDS [A] AT RYDAL
Composed 1798.--Published 1800
Included among the "Inscriptions."--Ed.
Stranger! this hillock of mis-shapen stones Is not a Ruin spared or made by time, [1] Nor, as perchance thou rashly deem'st, the Cairn Of some old British Chief: 'tis nothing more Than the rude embryo of a little Dome 5 Or Pleasure-house, once destined to be built [2] Among the birch-trees of this rocky isle. [3] But, as it chanced, Sir William having learned That from the shore a full-grown man might wade, And make himself a freeman of this spot 10 At any hour he chose, the prudent Knight [4] Desisted, and the quarry and the mound Are monuments of his unfinished task. The block on which these lines are traced, perhaps, Was once selected as the corner-stone 15 Of that [5] intended Pile, which would have been Some quaint odd plaything of elaborate skill, So that, I guess, the linnet and the thrush, And other little builders who dwell here, Had wondered at the work. But blame him not, 20 For old Sir William was a gentle Knight, Bred in this vale, to which he appertained [6] With all his ancestry. Then peace to him, And for the outrage which he had devised Entire forgiveness!--But if thou art one 25 On fire with thy impatience to become An inmate of these mountains,--if, disturbed By beautiful conceptions, thou hast hewn Out of the quiet rock the elements Of thy trim Mansion destined soon to blaze 30 In snow white splendour, [B] [7]--think again; and, taught By old Sir William and his quarry, leave Thy fragments to the bramble and the rose; There let the vernal slow warm sun himself, And let the redbreast hop from stone to stone. 35
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1837.
Is not a ruin of the ancient time, 1800.
... antique ... MS.]
[Variant 2:
1802.
... which was to have been built 1800.]
[Variant 3:
1800.
Of some old British warrior: so, to speak The honest truth, 'tis neither more nor less Than the rude germ of what was to have been A pleasure-house, and built upon this isle. MS.]
[Variant 4:
1837.
... the Knight forthwith 1800.]
[Variant 5:
1837.
Of the ... 1800.]
[Variant 6:
1800.
Bred here, and to this valley appertained MS. 1798.]
[Variant 7:
1800.
... glory, ... 1802.
The text of 1815 returns to that of 1800.]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: In a MS. copy this is given as "the lesser Island."--Ed.]
[Footnote B: Compare Wordsworth's
"objections to white, as a colour, in large spots or masses in landscape,"
in his 'Guide through the district of the Lakes' (section third).--Ed.]
* * * * *
1799
The poems belonging to the year 1799 were chiefly, if not wholly, composed at Goslar, in Germany; and all, with three exceptions, appeared in the second edition of "Lyrical Ballads" (1800). The exceptions were the following: The lyric beginning, "I travelled among unknown men," which was first published in the "Poems" of 1807; and two fragments from 'The Prelude', viz. 'The Influence of Natural Objects' (which appeared in 'The Friend' in 1809), and 'The Simplon Pass' (first published in the 8vo edition of the Poems in 1845).
Wordsworth reached Goslar on the 6th of October 1798, and left it on the 10th of February 1799. It is impossible to determine the precise order in which the nineteen or twenty poems associated with that city were composed. But it is certain that the fragment on the immortal boy of Windermere--whom its cliffs and islands knew so well--was written in 1798, and not in 1799 (as Wordsworth himself states); because Coleridge sent a letter to his friend, thanking him for a MS. copy of these lines, and commenting on them, of which the date is "Ratzeburg, Dec. 10, 1798." For obvious reasons, however, I place the fragments originally meant to be parts of 'The Recluse' together; and, since Wordsworth gave the date 1799 to the others, it would be gratuitous to suppose that he erred in reference to them all, because we know that his memory failed him in reference to one of the series. Therefore, although he spent more than twice as many days in 1798 as in 1799 at Goslar, I set down this group of poems as belonging to 1799, rather than to the previous year. It will be seen that, after placing all the poems of this Goslar period in the year to which they belong, it is possible also to group them according to their subject matter, without violating chronological order. I therefore put the fragments, afterwards incorporated in 'The Prelude', together. These are naturally followed by 'Nutting'--a poem intended for 'The Prelude', but afterwards excluded, as inappropriate. The five poems referring to "Lucy" are placed in sequence, and the same is done with the four "Matthew" poems. A small group of four poems follows appropriately, viz. 'To a Sexton', 'The Danish Boy', 'Lucy Gray', and 'Ruth'; while the Fenwick note almost necessitates our placing the 'Poet's Epitaph' immediately after the Lines 'Written in Germany'; and, with Wordsworth's life at Goslar, we naturally associate five things--the cold winter, 'The Prelude', the "Lucy" and the "Matthew" poems, and the 'Poet's Epitaph'.--Ed.
* * * * *
INFLUENCE OF NATURAL OBJECTS IN CALLING FORTH AND STRENGTHENING THE IMAGINATION IN BOYHOOD AND EARLY YOUTH
FROM AN UNPUBLISHED POEM
[This extract is reprinted from "THE FRIEND."[A]]
Composed 1799.--Published 1809
It was included by Wordsworth among the "Poems referring to the Period of Childhood."--Ed.
Wisdom and Spirit of the universe! Thou Soul, that art the Eternity of thought! And giv'st [1] to forms and images a breath And everlasting motion! not in vain, By day or star-light, thus from my first dawn 5 Of childhood didst thou intertwine for me The passions that build up our human soul; Not [2] with the mean and vulgar works of Man: But with high objects, with enduring things, With life and nature: purifying thus 10 The elements of feeling and of thought, And sanctifying by such discipline Both pain and fear,--until we recognise A grandeur in the beatings of the heart.
Nor was this fellowship vouchsafed to me 15 With stinted kindness. In November days, When vapours rolling down the valleys [3] made A lonely scene more lonesome; among woods At noon; and 'mid the calm of summer nights, When, by the margin of the trembling lake, 20 Beneath the gloomy hills, homeward I went [4] In solitude, such intercourse was mine: Mine was it in the fields [5] both day and night, And by the waters, all the summer long. And in the frosty season, when the sun 25 Was set, and, visible for many a mile, The cottage-windows through the twilight blazed, [6] I heeded not the summons: happy time It was indeed for all of us; for me [7] It was a time of rapture! Clear and loud 30 The village-clock tolled six--I wheeled about, Proud and exulting like an untired horse That cares not for his home. [8]--All shod with steel We hissed along the polished ice, in games Confederate, imitative of the chase 35 And woodland pleasures,--the resounding horn, The pack loud-chiming, [9] and the hunted hare. So through the darkness and the cold we flew, And not a voice was idle: with the din Smitten, [10] the precipices rang aloud; 40 The leafless trees and every icy crag Tinkled like iron; while far-distant hills [11] Into the tumult sent an alien sound Of melancholy, not unnoticed while the stars, Eastward, were sparkling clear, and in the west 45 The orange sky of evening died away.
Not seldom from the uproar I retired Into a silent bay, or sportively Glanced sideway, leaving the tumultuous throng, To cut across the reflex [12] of a star; 50 Image, that, flying still before me, gleamed Upon the glassy plain: and oftentimes, [13] When we had given our bodies to the wind, And all the shadowy banks on either side Came sweeping through the darkness, spinning still 55 The rapid line of motion, then at once Have I, reclining back upon my heels, Stopped short; yet still the solitary cliffs Wheeled by me--even as if the earth had rolled With visible motion her diurnal round! 60 Behind me did they stretch in solemn train, Feebler and feebler, and I stood and watched Till all was tranquil as a summer sea. [14]
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1809.
That givest ... 'The Prelude', 1850.]
[Variant 2:
1815.
Nor ... 1809.]
[Variant 3:
1809.
... valley ... The Prelude', 1850.]
[Variant 4:
1836.
... I homeward went 1809.]
[Variant 5:
1845.
'Twas mine among the fields ... 1809.]
[Variant 6:
1809.
... blazed through twilight gloom, 'The Prelude', 1850.]
[Variant 7:
1815.
... to me 1809.]
[Variant 8:
1827.
... car'd not for its home--... 1809.
... cares not ... 1815.]
[Variant 9:
1840.
... loud bellowing ... 1809.]
[Variant 10:
1836.
Meanwhile ... 1809.]
[Variant 11:
1845.
... while the distant hills 1809.]
[Variant 12:
1827.
To cut across the image ... 1809.
To cross the bright reflection ... 1820.]
[Variant 13:
1820.
That gleam'd upon the ice; and oftentimes 1809.
(This line occupied the place of lines 51-52 of the final text.)
That fled, and, flying still before me, gleamed Upon the glassy plain; and oftentimes, 'The Prelude', 1850.]
[Variant 14:
1809.
... as a dreamless sleep. 'The Prelude', 1850.]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: The title of the fragment, as it appeared in 'The Friend', No. 19, (Dec. 28, 1809,) was 'Growth of Genius from the Influences of Natural Objects on the Imagination, in Boyhood and Early Youth'. It first appeared in Wordsworth's Poems in the edition of 1815. It was afterwards included in the first book of 'The Prelude', l. 401.
The lake referred to with its "silent bays" and "shadowy banks" is that of Esthwaite; the village clock is that of Hawkshead (see the footnotes to 'The Prelude'). The only physical accomplishment in which Wordsworth thought he excelled was skating, an accomplishment in which his brother poet and acquaintance, Klopstock, also excelled.--Ed.]
* * * * *
THE SIMPLON PASS [A]
Composed 1799.--Published 1845
Included among the "Poems of the Imagination."--Ed.
--Brook and road Were fellow-travellers in this gloomy Pass, [1] And with them did we journey several hours At a slow step. [2] The immeasurable height Of woods decaying, never to be decayed, 5 The stationary blasts of waterfalls, And in the narrow rent, at every turn, Winds thwarting winds bewildered and forlorn, The torrents shooting from the clear blue sky, The rocks that muttered close upon our ears, 10 Black drizzling crags that spake by the wayside As if a voice were in them, the sick sight And giddy prospect of the raving stream, The unfettered clouds and region of the heavens, Tumult and peace, the darkness and the light--15 Were all like workings of one mind, the features Of the same face, blossoms upon one tree, Characters of the great Apocalypse, The types and symbols of Eternity, Of first, and last, and midst, and without end. 20
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1845.
... gloomy strait, 'The Prelude', 1850.]
[Variant 2:
1845.
... pace ... 'The Prelude', 1850.]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: This is an extract from the sixth book of 'The Prelude', l. 621. It refers to Wordsworth's first experience of Switzerland, when he crossed the Alps by the Simplon route, in 1790, in company with his friend Robert Jones.--Ed.]
* * * * *
NUTTING
Composed 1799.--Published 1800
[Written in Germany; intended as part of a poem on my own life, but struck out as not being wanted there. Like most of my schoolfellows I was an impassioned Nutter. For this pleasure, the Vale of Esthwaite, abounding in coppice wood, furnished a very wide range. These verses arose out of the remembrance of feelings I had often had when a boy, and
## particularly in the extensive woods that still stretch from the side of
Esthwaite Lake towards Graythwaite, the seat of the ancient family of Sandys.--I.F.]
One of the "Poems of the Imagination."--Ed.
--It seems a day (I speak of one from many singled out) One of those heavenly days that [1] cannot die; When, in the eagerness of boyish hope, [2] I left our cottage-threshold, [A] sallying forth [3] 5 With a huge wallet o'er my shoulders slung, [4] A nutting-crook in hand; and turned [5] my steps Tow'rd some far-distant wood, [6] a Figure quaint, Tricked out in proud disguise of cast-off weeds Which for that service had been husbanded, 10 By exhortation of my frugal Dame--[7] Motley accoutrement, of power to smile At thorns, and brakes, and brambles,--and, in truth, More ragged than need was! O'er pathless rocks, Through beds of matted fern, and tangled thickets, 15 Forcing my way, I came to one dear nook [8] Unvisited, where not a broken bough Drooped with its withered leaves, ungracious sign Of devastation; but the hazels rose Tall and erect, with tempting clusters [9] hung, 20 A virgin scene!--A little while I stood, Breathing with such suppression of the heart As joy delights in; and, with wise restraint Voluptuous, fearless of a rival, eyed The banquet;--or beneath the trees I sate 25 Among the flowers, and with the flowers I played; A temper known to those, who, after long And weary expectation, have been blest With sudden happiness beyond all hope. Perhaps it was a bower beneath whose leaves 30 The violets of five seasons re-appear And fade, unseen by any human eye; Where fairy water-breaks do murmur on For ever; and I saw the sparkling foam, And--with my cheek on one of those green stones 35 That, fleeced with moss, under [10] the shady trees, Lay round me, scattered like a flock of sheep-- I heard the murmur and the murmuring sound, In that sweet mood when pleasure loves to pay Tribute to ease; and, of its joy secure, 40 The heart luxuriates with indifferent things, Wasting its kindliness on stocks and stones, And on the vacant air. Then up I rose, And dragged to earth both branch and bough, with crash And merciless ravage: and the shady nook 45 Of hazels, and the green and mossy bower, Deformed and sullied, patiently gave up Their quiet being: and, unless I now Confound my present feelings with the past; Ere from the mutilated bower I turned [11] 50 Exulting, rich beyond the wealth of kings, I felt a sense of pain when I beheld The silent trees, and saw the intruding sky.--[12] Then, dearest Maiden, move along these shades In gentleness of heart; with gentle hand 55 Touch--for there is a spirit in the woods.
The woods round Esthwaite Lake have undergone considerable change since Wordsworth's school-days at Hawkshead; but hazel coppice is still abundant to the south and west of the Lake.--Ed.
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1836.
... which ... 1800.]
[Variant 2: This line was added in the edition of 1827.]
[Variant 3:
1827.
When forth I sallied from our cottage-door, 1800.]
[Variant 4:
1832.
And with a wallet o'er my shoulder slung, 1800.
With a huge wallet o'er my shoulder slung, 1815.]
[Variant 5:
1815.
... I turn'd ... 1800.]
[Variant 6:
1836.
Towards the distant woods, ... 1800.
Toward ... 1832.]
[Variant 7:
1815.
... of Beggar's weeds Put on for the occasion, by advice And exhortation ... 1800.]
[Variant 8:
1836.
... Among the woods, And o'er the pathless rocks, I forc'd my way Until, at length, I came ... 1800.]
[Variant 9:
1845.
... milk-white clusters ... 1800.]
[Variant 10:
1845.
... beneath ... 1800.]
[Variant 11:
1836.
Even then, when from the bower I turn'd away, 1800.]
[Variant 12:
1836.
... and the intruding sky.--1800.]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: The house at which I was boarded during the time I was at School.--W. W. 1800.]
* * * * *
WRITTEN IN GERMANY, ON ONE OF THE COLDEST DAYS OF THE CENTURY
Composed 1799.--Published 1800
I must apprize the Reader that the stoves in North Germany generally have the impression of a galloping Horse upon them, this being part of the Brunswick Arms.--W. W. 1800.
[A bitter winter it was when these verses were composed by the side of my sister, in our lodgings at a draper's house, in the romantic imperial town of Goslar, on the edge of the Hartz Forest. In this town the German emperors of the Franconian Line were accustomed to keep their court, and it retains vestiges of ancient splendour. So severe was the cold of this winter, that when we passed out of the parlour warmed by the stove, our cheeks were struck by the air as by cold iron. I slept in a room over a passage that was not ceiled. The people of the house used to say rather unfeelingly, that they expected I should be frozen to death some night; but with the protection of a pelisse lined with fur, and a dog's skin bonnet, such as was worn by the peasants, I walked daily on the ramparts, or on a sort of public ground or garden, in which was a pond. Here I had no companion but a kingfisher, a beautiful creature that used to glance by me. I consequently became much attached to it. During these walks I composed the poem that follows, _A Poet's Epitaph_.--I.F.]
One of the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection." Wordsworth originally gave to this poem the title "The Fly," but erased it before publication.--Ed.
A plague on [1] your languages, German and Norse! Let me have the song of the kettle; And the tongs and the poker, instead of that horse That gallops away with such fury and force On this [2] dreary dull plate of black metal. 5 [3] See that Fly, [4]--a disconsolate creature! perhaps A child of the field or the grove; And, sorrow for him! the [5] dull treacherous heat Has seduced the poor fool from his winter retreat, And he creeps to the edge of my stove. 10
Alas! how he fumbles about the domains Which this comfortless oven environ! He cannot find out in what track he must crawl, Now back to the tiles, then in search of the wall, [6] And now on the brink of the iron. 15
Stock-still there he stands like a traveller bemazed: The best of his skill he has tried; His feelers, methinks, I can see him put forth To the east and the west, to [7] the south and the north But he finds neither guide-post nor guide. 20
His spindles [8] sink under him, foot, leg, and thigh! His eyesight and hearing are lost; Between life and death his blood freezes and thaws; And his two pretty pinions of blue dusky gauze Are glued to his sides by the frost. 25
No brother, no mate [9] has he near him--while I Can draw warmth from the cheek of my Love; As blest and as glad, in this desolate gloom, As if green summer grass were the floor of my room, And woodbines were hanging above. 30
Yet, God is my witness, thou small helpless Thing! Thy life I would gladly sustain Till summer come [10] up from the south, and with crowds Of thy brethren a march thou should'st sound through the clouds. And back to the forests again! 35
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1820.
A fig for ... 1800.]
[Variant 2:
1800.
On his ... 1827.
The text of 1837 returns to that of 1800.]
[Variant 3:
Our earth is no doubt made of excellent stuff, But her pulses beat slower and slower, The weather in Forty was cutting and rough, And then, as Heaven knows, the glass stood low enough, And _now_ it is four degrees lower.
This stanza occurs only in the editions of 1800 to 1815.]
[Variant 4:
1820.
Here's a Fly, ... 1800.]
[Variant 5:
1827.
... this ... 1800.]
[Variant 6:
1837.
... and not back to the wall, 1800.]
[Variant 7:
1827.
... and the South ... 1800.]
[Variant 8:
1845.
See! his spindles ... 1800.
How his spindles ... 1827.]
[Variant 9:
1827.
... no Friend ... 1800.
No brother has he, no companion, while I MS.]
[Variant 10:
1837.
... comes ... 1800.]
* * * * *
A POET'S EPITAPH
Composed 1799.--Published 1800
One of the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection."--Ed.
Art thou a Statist [1] in the van Of public conflicts [2] trained and bred? --First learn to love one living man; _Then_ may'st thou think upon the dead.
A Lawyer art thou?--draw not nigh! 5 Go, carry to some fitter place The keenness of that practised eye, The hardness of that sallow face. [3]
Art thou a Man of purple cheer? A rosy Man, right plump to see? 10 Approach; yet, Doctor, [A] not too near, This grave no cushion is for thee.
Or art thou one of gallant pride, [4] A Soldier and no man of chaff? Welcome!--but lay thy sword aside, 15 And lean upon a peasant's staff.
Physician art thou?--one, all eyes, Philosopher!--a fingering slave, One that would peep and botanize Upon his mother's grave? 20
Wrapt closely in thy sensual fleece, O turn aside,--and take, I pray, That he below may rest in peace, Thy ever-dwindling soul, away! [5]
A Moralist perchance appears; 25 Led, Heaven knows how! to this poor sod: And he has neither eyes nor ears; Himself his world, and his own God;
One to whose smooth-rubbed soul can cling Nor form, nor feeling, great or [6] small; 30 A reasoning, self-sufficing [7] thing, An intellectual All-in-all!
Shut close the door; press down the latch; Sleep in thy intellectual crust; Nor lose ten tickings of thy watch 35 Near this unprofitable dust.
But who is He, with modest looks, And clad in homely russet brown? [B] He murmurs near the running brooks A music sweeter than their own. 40
He is retired as noontide dew, Or fountain in a noon-day grove; And you must love him, ere to you He will seem worthy of your love.
The outward shows of sky and earth, 45 Of hill and valley, he has viewed; And impulses of deeper birth Have come to him in solitude.
In common things that round us lie Some random truths he can impart,--50 The harvest of a quiet eye That broods and sleeps on his own heart.
But he is weak; both Man and Boy, Hath been an idler in the land; Contented if he might enjoy 55 The things which others understand.
--Come hither in thy hour of strength; Come, weak as is a breaking wave! Here stretch thy body at full length; Or build thy house upon this grave. 60
See the Fenwick note to the poem, 'Written in Germany, on one of the coldest Days of the Century' (p. 73).
"The 'Poet's Epitaph' is disfigured to my taste by the common satire upon parsons and lawyers in the beginning, and the coarse epithet of 'pin-point', in the sixth stanza. All the rest is eminently good, and your own."
(Charles Lamb to William Wordsworth, January 1801.)--Ed.
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1837.
... Statesman, ... 1800.]
[Variant 2:
1837.
Of public business ... 1800.]
[Variant 3:
1820.
... to some other place The hardness of thy coward eye, The falsehood of thy sallow face. 1800.]
[Variant 4:
1820.
Art thou a man of gallant pride, 1800.]
[Variant 5:
1837.
Thy pin-point of a soul away! 1800.
That abject thing, thy soul, away! 1815.]
[Variant 6:
1837.
... nor ... 1800.]
[Variant 7:
1800.
... self-sufficient ... 1802.
The edition of 1815 returns to the text of 1800.]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: D. D., not M. D. The physician is referred to in the fifth stanza.--Ed.]
[Footnote B: Compare Thomson's description of the Bard, in his 'Castle of Indolence' (canto ii., stanza xxxiii.):
He came, the bard, a little Druid wight, Of withered aspect; but his eye was keen, With sweetness mixed. In russet brown bedight, He crept along, etc.
Ed.]
* * * * *
"STRANGE FITS OF PASSION HAVE I KNOWN"
Composed 1799.--Published 1800
[Written in Germany, 1799.--I.F.]
One of the "Poems founded on the Affections." In MS. Wordsworth gave, as the title, "A Reverie," but erased it.--Ed.
Strange fits of passion have I known: [1] And I will dare to tell, But in the Lover's ear alone, What once to me befel.
When she I loved looked every day 5 Fresh as a rose in June, [2] I to her cottage bent my way, Beneath an [3] evening moon.
Upon the moon I fixed my eye, All over the wide lea; 10 With quickening pace my horse drew nigh [4] Those paths so dear to me.
And now we reached the orchard-plot; And, as we climbed the hill, The sinking moon to Lucy's cot 15 Came near, and nearer still. [5]
In one of those sweet dreams I slept, Kind Nature's gentlest boon! And all the while my eyes I kept On the descending moon. 20
My horse moved on; hoof after hoof He raised, and never stopped: When down behind the cottage roof, At once, the bright moon dropped. [6]
What fond and wayward thoughts will slide 25 Into a Lover's head! "O mercy!" to myself I cried, "If Lucy should be dead!"
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1832.
... I have known, 1800.]
[Variant 2:
1836.
When she I lov'd, was strong and gay And like a rose in June, 1800.]
[Variant 3:
1836.
... the ... 1800.]
[Variant 4:
1836.
My horse trudg'd on, and we drew nigh 1800.]
[Variant 5:
1836.
Towards the roof of Lucy's cot The moon descended still. [a] 1800.]
[Variant 6:
1815.
... the planet dropp'd. 1800.]
* * * * *
SUB-FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Sub-Footnote a: Compare the lines in Arthur Hugh Clough's poem, 'The Stream of Life':
And houses stand on either hand And thou descendest still.
Ed.]
* * * * *
"SHE DWELT AMONG THE UNTRODDEN WAYS"
Composed 1799.--Published 1800
One of the "Poems founded on the Affections." In the edition of 1800 it is entitled 'Song'.--Ed.
She dwelt among the untrodden ways Beside the springs of Dove, A Maid whom there were none to praise And very few to love: [1]
A violet by a mossy stone 5 Half hidden from the eye! --Fair as a star, when only one Is shining in the sky.
She lived [2] unknown, and few could know When Lucy ceased to be; 10 But she is in her grave, and, oh, The difference to me!
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1800.
A very few ... 1802.
The text of the edition of 1805 returns to that of 1800.]
[Variant 2: The word "lived" was italicised in the edition of 1800 only.]
* * * * *
"I TRAVELLED AMONG UNKNOWN MEN"
Composed 1799.-Published 1807
One of the "Poems founded on the Affections."--Ed.
I travelled among unknown men, In lands beyond the sea; Nor, England! did I know till then What love I bore to thee.
'Tis past, that melancholy dream! 5 Nor will I quit thy shore A second time; for still I seem To love thee more and more.
Among thy mountains did I feel The joy of my desire; [1] 10 And she I cherished turned her wheel Beside an English fire.
Thy mornings showed, thy nights concealed The bowers where Lucy played; And thine too is the last green field 15 That Lucy's eyes surveyed. [2] [A]
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
The gladness of desire; MS.]
[Variant 2:
1836.
And thine is, too, the last green field Which ... 1807.
That ... 1815.]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: Compare Sara Coleridge's comment on this poem in the 'Biographia Literaria' (1847), vol. ii. chap. ix. p. 173. Also Mrs. Oliphant's remarks in her 'Literary History of the Nineteenth Century', vol. i. pp. 306-9.--Ed.]
* * * * *
"THREE YEARS SHE GREW IN SUN AND SHOWER"
Composed 1799.--Published 1800
[1799. Composed in the Hartz Forest.--I.F.]
One of the "Poems of the Imagination." It has no title in any edition, but from 1820 to 1836 the second page occupied by the poem is headed "Lucy." In the editions of 1836 to 1843 it is called "Lucy" in the list of contents.--Ed.
Three years she grew in sun and shower, Then Nature said, "A lovelier flower On earth was never sown; This Child I to myself will take; She shall be mine, and I will make 5 A Lady of my own.
"Myself will to my darling be Both law and impulse: [1] and with me The Girl, in rock and plain, In earth and heaven, in glade and bower, 10 Shall feel an overseeing power To kindle or restrain.
"She shall be sportive as the fawn That wild with glee across the lawn Or up the mountain springs; 15 And her's shall be the breathing balm, And her's the silence and the calm Of mute insensate things.
"The floating clouds their state shall lend To her; for her the willow bend; 20 Nor shall she fail to see Even in the motions of the Storm Grace that shall mould the Maiden's form [2] By silent sympathy.
"The stars of midnight shall be dear 25 To her; and she shall lean her ear In many a secret place Where rivulets dance their wayward round, And beauty born of murmuring sound [A] Shall pass into her face. 30
"And vital feelings of delight Shall rear her form to stately height, Her virgin bosom swell; Such thoughts to Lucy I will give While she and I together live 35 Here in this happy dell."
Thus Nature spake--The work was done-- How soon my Lucy's race was run! She died, and left to me This heath, this calm, and quiet scene; 40 The memory of what has been, And never more will be. [B]
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1800.
Her Teacher I myself will be, She is my darling;--...
MS. 1801, and the edition of 1802. The edition of 1805 returns to the text of 1800.]
[Variant 2:
1800.
A reading--printed in the edition of 1800, but replaced in its list of 'errata' by that given in the text--may be quoted here,
A beauty that shall mould her form ... 1800.]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: Compare Dryden's 'Indian Emperor', iv. 3.--Ed.]
[Footnote B: On Oct 9, 1800, S. T. Coleridge, in writing to Sir Humphry Davy of his own 'Christabel', said,
"I would rather have written 'Ruth', and 'Nature's Lady,' than a million such poems."
This poem was printed in 'The Morning Post', March 2nd, 1801.--Ed.]
* * * * *
"A SLUMBER DID MY SPIRIT SEAL"
Composed 1799.--Published 1800
[Written in Germany.--I.F.]
Included among the "Poems of the Imagination." [A]--Ed.
A slumber did my spirit seal; I had no human fears: She seemed a thing that could not feel The touch of earthly years.
No motion has she now, no force; 5 She neither hears nor sees; Rolled round in earth's diurnal course, With rocks, and stones, and trees. [B]
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: It was one of the "Lucy" Poems. In his instructions to the printer in 1807, Wordsworth told him to insert "I travelled among unknown men" after "A slumber did my spirit seal."--Ed.]
[Footnote B: Compare Suckling's 'Fragmenta Aurea' (The Tragedy of Brennoralt), p. 170, edition 1658.
Heavens! shall this fresh ornament of the world, These precious love-lines, pass with other common things, Amongst the wastes of time? What pity 'twere.
Ed.]
* * * * *
ADDRESS TO THE SCHOLARS OF THE VILLAGE SCHOOL OF--
Composed 1798 or 1799.--Published 1842
[Composed at Goslar, in Germany.--I.F.]
First published in "Poems, chiefly of Early and Late Years," and included, in 1845, among the "Epitaphs and Elegiac Pieces."--Ed.
I come, ye little noisy Crew, Not long your pastime to prevent; I heard the blessing which to you Our common Friend and Father sent. I kissed his cheek before he died; 5 And when his breath was fled, I raised, while kneeling by his side, His hand:--it dropped like lead. Your hands, dear Little-ones, do all That can be done, will never fall 10 Like his till they are dead. By night or day blow foul or fair, Ne'er will the best of all your train Play with the locks of his white hair, Or stand between his knees again. 15
Here did he sit confined for hours; But he could see the woods and plains, Could hear the wind and mark the showers Come streaming down the streaming panes. Now stretched beneath his grass-green mound 20 He rests a prisoner of the ground. He loved the breathing air, He loved the sun, but if it rise Or set, to him where now he lies, Brings not a moment's care. 25
Alas! what idle words; but take The Dirge which for our Master's sake And yours, love prompted me to make. The rhymes so homely in attire With learned ears may ill agree, 30 But chanted by your Orphan Quire Will make a touching melody.
DIRGE
Mourn, Shepherd, near thy old grey stone; Thou Angler, by the silent flood; And mourn when thou art all alone, 35 Thou Woodman, in the distant wood!
Thou one blind Sailor, rich in joy Though blind, thy tunes in sadness hum; And mourn, thou poor half-witted Boy! Born deaf, and living deaf and dumb. 40
Thou drooping sick Man, bless the Guide Who checked or turned thy headstrong youth, As he before had sanctified Thy infancy with heavenly truth.
Ye Striplings, light of heart and gay, 45 Bold settlers on some foreign shore, Give, when your thoughts are turned this way, A sigh to him whom we deplore.
For us who here in funeral strain With one accord our voices raise, 50 Let sorrow overcharged with pain Be lost in thankfulness and praise.
And when our hearts shall feel a sting From ill we meet or good we miss, May touches of his memory bring 55 Fond healing, like a mother's kiss.
BY THE SIDE OF THE GRAVE SOME YEARS AFTER
Long time his pulse hath ceased to beat; But benefits, his gift, we trace-- Expressed in every eye we meet Round this dear Vale, his native place. 60
To stately Hall and Cottage rude Flowed from his life what still they hold, Light pleasures, every day, renewed; And blessings half a century old.
Oh true of heart, of spirit gay, 65 Thy faults, where not already gone From memory, prolong their stay For charity's sweet sake alone.
Such solace find we for our loss; And what beyond this thought we crave 70 Comes in the promise from the Cross, Shining upon thy happy grave.
To this poem, when first published in the "Poems of Early and Late Years" (1842), Wordsworth appended the note, "See, upon the subject of the three foregoing pieces, 'The Fountain' [p. 91], etc. etc. in the fifth volume of the Author's Poems." He thus connects it with the poems referring to Matthew in such a way that it may be said to belong to that series; and, while he assigned it to the year 1798, both in the edition of 1845, and in that of 1849-50, it is quite possible that it was written in 1799. "The village school" was the Grammar School of Hawkshead, where Wordsworth spent his boyhood; and the schoolmaster was the Rev. William Taylor, M. A., Emmanuel College, Cambridge, who was the third of the four masters who taught in it during Wordsworth's residence there. He was master from 1782 to 1786. Just before his death he sent for the upper boys of the school (amongst whom was Wordsworth), and calling them into his room, took leave of them with a solemn blessing. This farewell doubtless suggested the lines:
'the blessing which to you Our common Friend and Father sent.'
Mr. Taylor was buried in Cartmell Churchyard. In 'The Prelude', Wordsworth writes of him as "an honoured teacher of my youth;" and there describes, with some minuteness, a visit to his grave. (See