book ii
. l. 58.--ED.
[361] 1832.
Through Rydal Cove from Fairfield's side,
MS. to Lady Beaumont.
Through Mosedale-Cove from Carrock's side, 1827.
[362] Dorothy Wordsworth wrote to Henry Crabb Robinson (December 21, 1822), "William has just written a poem upon the Foundation of a Church, which Lady Fleming is about to erect at Rydal. It is about 80 lines. I like it much." This letter was obviously written before the poem reached its final form.--ED.
ON THE SAME OCCASION
Composed 1822.--Published 1827
One of the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection" from the edition of 1827 to that of 1843. In 1835 transferred to the "Miscellaneous Poems."--ED.
Oh! gather whencesoe'er ye safely may The help which slackening Piety requires; Nor deem that he perforce must go astray Who treads upon the footmarks of his sires.
Our churches, invariably perhaps, stand east and west, but _why_ is by few persons _exactly_ known; nor, that the degree of deviation from _due_ east often noticeable in the ancient ones was determined, in each
## particular case, by the point in the horizon, at which the sun rose
upon the day of the saint to whom the church was dedicated.[363] These observances of our ancestors, and the causes of them, are the subject of the following stanzas.
When in the antique age of bow and spear And feudal rapine clothed with iron mail, Came ministers of peace, intent to rear The Mother Church in yon sequestered vale;[364]
Then, to her Patron Saint a previous rite 5 Resounded with deep swell and solemn close, Through unremitting vigils of the night, Till from his couch the wished-for Sun uprose.
He rose, and straight--as by divine command, They, who had waited for that sign to trace 10 Their work's foundation, gave with careful hand To the high altar its determined place;
Mindful of Him who in the Orient born There lived, and on the cross his life resigned, And who, from out the regions of the morn, 15 Issuing in pomp, shall come to judge mankind.
So taught _their_ creed;--nor failed the eastern sky, 'Mid these more awful feelings, to infuse The sweet and natural hopes that shall not die, Long as the sun his gladsome course renews. 20
For us hath such prelusive vigil ceased; Yet still we plant, like men of elder days, Our christian altar faithful to the east, Whence the tall window drinks the morning rays;
That obvious emblem giving to the eye 25 Of meek devotion, which erewhile it gave, That symbol of the day-spring from on high, Triumphant o'er the darkness of the grave.[365]
FOOTNOTES:
[363] St. Oswald's Day is the 8th of August in the Calendar.--ED.
[364] Doubtless Grasmere Church (itself originally a chapelry under Kendal), the advowson of which was sold in 1573 to the Le Flemings of Rydal. The date of the foundation is prehistoric. There is a thirteenth century window in it, but the tower is older. The church is dedicated to St. Oswald, King of Northumbria.--ED.
[365] Compare _Ode, Intimations of Immortality_, l. 117--
In darkness lost, the darkness of the grave.--ED.
1823
Only one poem and two sonnets were written in 1823.--ED.
MEMORY
Composed 1823.--Published 1827
One of the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection." See the Fenwick note to the lines _Written in a Blank Leaf of Macpherson's Ossian_ (p. 373 of this volume), where Wordsworth says that the poem was "suggested from apprehensions of the fate of his friend, H. C." (Hartley Coleridge).--ED.
A pen--to register; a key-- That winds through secret wards; Are well assigned to Memory By allegoric Bards.
As aptly, also, might be given 5 A Pencil to her hand; That, softening objects, sometimes even Outstrips the heart's demand;
That smooths foregone distress, the lines Of lingering care subdues, 10 Long-vanished happiness refines, And clothes in brighter hues;
Yet, like a tool of Fancy, works Those Spectres to dilate That startle Conscience, as she lurks 15 Within her lonely seat.
O! that our lives, which flee so fast, In purity were such, That not an image of the past Should fear that pencil's touch! 20
Retirement then might hourly look Upon a soothing scene, Age steal to his allotted nook Contented and serene;
With heart as calm as lakes that sleep, 25 In frosty moonlight glistening; Or mountain rivers, where they creep Along a channel smooth and deep, To their own far-off murmurs listening.
"NOT LOVE, NOT WAR, NOR THE TUMULTUOUS SWELL"
Composed 1823.--Published 1827
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
Not Love, not[366] War, nor the tumultuous swell Of civil conflict, nor the wrecks of change, Nor[367] Duty struggling with afflictions strange-- Not these _alone_ inspire the tuneful shell; But where untroubled peace and concord dwell, 5 There also is the Muse not loth to range, Watching the twilight smoke of cot or grange,[368] Skyward ascending from a woody dell.[369][370] Meek aspirations please her, lone endeavour, And sage content, and placid melancholy; 10 She loves to gaze upon a crystal river-- Diaphanous because it travels slowly;[371] Soft is the music that would charm for ever;[372] The flower of sweetest smell is shy and lowly.
FOOTNOTES:
[366] 1832.
... nor ... 1823.
[367] 1827.
And ... 1823.[373]
[368] 1837.
Watching the blue smoke of the elmy grange, 1823.
[369] 1837.
... from the twilight dell, 1823.
[370] Compare _Tintern Abbey_, II. 17, 18.--ED.
[371] _e. g._ The Rothay, or the Duddon.--ED.
[372] 1827.
... please for ever, 1823.
[373] See the same reading in _The Poetical Album_, 1829, vol. i. p. 43, edited by Alaric Watts.--ED.
"A VOLANT TRIBE OF BARDS ON EARTH ARE FOUND"
Composed 1823.--Published 1827
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
A volant Tribe of Bards on earth are found, Who, while the flattering Zephyrs round them play, On "coignes of vantage"[374] hang their nests of clay; How quickly from that aery hold unbound, Dust for oblivion! To the solid ground 5 Of nature trusts the Mind that builds for aye; Convinced that there, there only, she can lay Secure foundations. As the year runs round, Apart she toils within the chosen ring; While the stars shine,[375] or while day's purple eye 10 Is gently closing with the flowers of spring; Where even the motion of an Angel's wing Would interrupt the intense tranquillity Of silent hills, and more than silent sky.[376]
FOOTNOTES:
[374] _Macbeth_, act I. scene vi. l. 7.--ED.
[375] 1827.
... nests of clay, Work cunningly devised, and seeming sound; But quickly from its airy hold unbound By its own weight, or washed, or blown away With silent imperceptible decay. If man must build, admit him to thy ground, O Truth! to work within the eternal ring, Where the stars shine, ... 1823.
[376] Compare Alexander Hume's _Day's Estival_ (1599). This and the preceding sonnet were first published in 1823 in _A Collection of Poems, chiefly manuscript, and from living authors, edited for the benefit of a Friend_, by Joanna Baillie. The collection includes Sir Walter Scott's _Macduff's Cross_, and Southey's _The Cataract of Lodore_.--ED.
1824
The poems written in 1824 were few. They include two addressed to Mrs. Wordsworth, two or three composed at Coleorton, and a couple of memorial sonnets suggested during a tour in North Wales.--ED.
TO ----
Composed 1824.--Published 1827
[Written at Rydal Mount. On Mrs. Wordsworth.--I.F.]
One of the "Poems founded on the Affections."--ED.
Let other bards of angels sing, Bright suns without a spot; But thou art no such perfect thing: Rejoice that thou art not! [377]
Heed not tho' none should call thee fair;[378] 5 So, Mary, let it be If nought in loveliness compare With what thou art to me.
True beauty dwells in deep retreats, Whose veil is unremoved 10 Till heart with heart in concord beats, And the lover is beloved.
FOOTNOTES:
[377]
Such if thou wert in all men's view, A universal show, What would my Fancy have to do, My Feelings to bestow?
A second (additional) stanza in the editions of 1827-43.
[378] 1832.
The world denies that Thou art fair; 1827.
TO ----
Composed 1824.--Published 1827
[Written at Rydal Mount. To Mrs. W.--I. F.]
One of the "Poems founded on the Affections."--ED.
O dearer far than light and life are dear, Full oft our human foresight I deplore; Trembling, through my unworthiness, with fear That friends, by death disjoined, may meet no more!
Misgivings, hard to vanquish or control, 5 Mix with the day, and cross the hour of rest; While all the future, for thy purer soul, With "sober certainties" of love is blest.[379]
That sigh of thine,[380] not meant for human ear, Tells[381] that these words thy humbleness offend; 10 Yet bear me up[382]--else faltering in the rear Of a steep march: support[383] me to the end.
Peace settles where the intellect is meek, And Love is dutiful in thought and deed; Through Thee communion with that Love I seek: 15 The faith Heaven strengthens where _he_ moulds the Creed.
FOOTNOTES:
[379] See _Comus_, l. 263.--ED.
[380] 1836.
If a faint sigh, ... 1827.
[381] 1836.
Tell ... 1827.
[382] 1836.
Cherish me still-- ... 1827.
[383] 1836.
... uphold ... 1827.
"HOW RICH THAT FOREHEAD'S CALM EXPANSE!"
Composed 1824.--Published 1827
[Written at Rydal Mount. Mrs. Wordsworth's impression is that the Poem was written at Coleorton: it was certainly suggested by a Print at Coleorton Hall.--I. F.]
One of the "Poems founded on the Affections."--ED.
How rich that forehead's calm expanse! How bright that heaven-directed glance! --Waft her to glory, wingèd Powers, Ere sorrow be renewed, And intercourse with mortal hours 5 Bring back a humbler mood! So looked Cecilia when she drew An Angel from his station;[384] So looked; not ceasing to pursue Her tuneful adoration! 10
But hand and voice alike are still; No sound _here_ sweeps away the will That gave it birth: in service meek One upright arm sustains the cheek, And one across the bosom lies-- 15 That rose, and now forgets to rise, Subdued by breathless harmonies Of meditative feeling; Mute strains from worlds beyond the skies, Through the pure light of female eyes, 20 Their sanctity revealing!
FOOTNOTES:
[384] Compare Dryden's _Alexander's Feast_, an Ode in honour of St. Cecilia's Day--
_Timotheus._ He raised a mortal to the skies.
_Cecilia._ She drew an angel down.--ED.
TO ----
Composed 1824.--Published 1827
[Written at Rydal Mount. Prompted by the undue importance attached to personal beauty by some dear friends of mine.--I. F.]
One of the "Poems founded on the Affections."--ED.
Look at the fate of summer flowers, Which blow at daybreak, droop ere even-song;[385] And, grieved for their brief date, confess that ours, Measured by what we are and ought to be, Measured by all that, trembling, we foresee, 5 Is not so long!
If human Life do pass away, Perishing yet more swiftly than the flower, If we are creatures of a _winter's_ day;[386] What space hath Virgin's beauty to disclose 10 Her sweets, and triumph o'er the breathing rose? Not even an hour!
The deepest grove whose foliage hid The happiest lovers Arcady might boast Could not the entrance of this thought forbid: 15 O be thou wise as they, soul-gifted Maid! Nor rate too high what must so quickly fade, So soon be lost.
Then shall love teach some virtuous Youth "To draw, out of the object of his eyes,"[387] 20 The while[388] on thee they gaze in simple truth, Hues more exalted, "a refinèd Form," That dreads not age, nor suffers from the worm, And never dies.
FOOTNOTES:
[385] Compare Robert Herrick's poem _To Daffodils_--
Fair daffodils, we weep to see You haste away so soon; As yet the early rising sun Has not attain'd his noon. Stay, stay, Until the hasting day Has run But to the even-song, etc.
See also his poem _To Blossoms_.--ED.
[386] 1836.
Whose frail existence is but of a day; 1827.
[387] Compare Lyly's _Endymion_, v. 3--
To have him in the object of mine eyes.--ED.
[388] 1836.
The whilst ... 1827.
A FLOWER GARDEN,
AT COLEORTON HALL, LEICESTERSHIRE[389]
Composed 1824.--Published 1827
[Planned by my friend, Lady Beaumont, in connection with the garden at Coleorton.--I. F.]
One of the "Poems of the Fancy."--ED.
Tell me, ye Zephyrs! that unfold, While fluttering o'er this gay Recess,[390] Pinions that fanned the teeming mould Of Eden's blissful wilderness, Did only softly-stealing hours 5 There close the peaceful lives of flowers?
Say, when the _moving_ creatures saw All kinds commingled without fear, Prevailed a like indulgent law For the still growths that prosper here? 10 Did wanton fawn and kid forbear The half-blown rose, the lily spare?
Or peeped they often from their beds And prematurely disappeared, Devoured like pleasure ere it spreads 15 A bosom to the sun endeared? If such their harsh untimely doom, It falls not _here_ on bud or bloom.
All summer-long the happy Eve Of this fair Spot her flowers may bind, 20 Nor e'er, with ruffled fancy, grieve, From the next glance she casts, to find That love for little things by Fate Is rendered vain as love for great.
Yet, where the guardian fence is wound, 25 So subtly are our eyes beguiled We see not nor suspect a bound,[391] No more than in some forest wild; The sight is free as air--or crost[392] Only by art in nature lost. 30
And, though[393] the jealous turf refuse By random footsteps to be prest, And feed[394] on never-sullied dews, _Ye_, gentle breezes from the west, With all the ministers of hope 35 Are tempted to this sunny slope!
And hither throngs of birds resort; Some, inmates lodged in shady nests, Some, perched on stems of stately port That nod to welcome transient guests; 40 While hare and leveret, seen at play, _Appear_ not more shut out than they.
Apt emblem (for reproof of pride) This delicate Enclosure shows Of modest kindness, that would hide 45 The firm protection she bestows; Of manners, like its viewless fence, Ensuring peace to innocence.
Thus spake the moral Muse--her wing Abruptly spreading to depart, 50 She left that[395] farewell offering, Memento for some docile heart; That may respect the good old age When Fancy was Truth's willing Page; And Truth would skim the flowery glade, 55 Though entering but as Fancy's Shade.
In a letter from Mrs. Wordsworth to Lady Beaumont, dated "Rydal Mount, Feb. 28" (1824), the following occurs:--
"This garden is made out of Lady Caroline Price's, and your own, combining the recommendations of both. Like you, I enjoy the beauty of flowers, but do not carry my admiration so far as my sister, not to feel how very troublesome they are. I have more pleasure in clearing away thickets, and making such arrangements as produced the Winter Garden, and those sweet glades behind Coleorton Church."--ED.
FOOTNOTES:
[389] 1836.
A FLOWER GARDEN. 1827.
[390] The flower garden was constructed below the terrace to the east of the Hall.--ED.
[391] 1836.
So subtly is the eye beguiled It sees not nor suspects a Bound, 1827.
MS. sent by Mrs. Wordsworth to Lady Beaumont.
[392] 1836.
Free as the light in semblance--crost. 1827.
MS. sent by Mrs. Wordsworth to Lady Beaumont.
[393] 1827.
What though ...
MS. sent by Mrs. Wordsworth to Lady Beaumont.
[394] 1836.
And feeds ... 1827.
[395] 1827.
... this ...
MS. sent by Mrs. Wordsworth to Lady Beaumont.
TO THE LADY E. B. AND THE HON. MISS P.
Composed in the Grounds of Plass Newidd,[396] near Llangollen, 1824.
Composed 1824.--Published 1827
[In this Vale of Meditation my friend Jones resided, having been allowed by his diocesan to fix himself there without resigning his Living in Oxfordshire. He was with my wife and daughter and me when we visited these celebrated ladies who had retired, as one may say, into notice in this vale. Their cottage lay directly in the road between London and Dublin, and they were of course visited by their Irish friends as well as innumerable strangers. They took much delight in passing jokes on our friend Jones's plumpness, ruddy cheeks and smiling countenance, as little suited to a hermit living in the Vale of Meditation. We all thought there was ample room for retort on his part, so curious was the appearance of these ladies, so elaborately sentimental about themselves and their _Caro Albergo_ as they named it in an inscription on a tree that stood opposite, the endearing epithet being preceded by the word Ecco! calling upon the saunterer to look about him. So oddly was one of these ladies attired that we took her, at a little distance, for a Roman Catholic priest, with a crucifix and relics hung at his neck. They were without caps, their hair bushy and white as snow, which contributed to the mistake.--I. F.]
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
A STREAM, to mingle with your favourite Dee, Along the VALE OF MEDITATION[397] flows; So styled by those fierce Britons, pleased to see In Nature's face the expression of repose; Or haply there some pious hermit chose 5 To live and die, the peace of heaven his aim; To whom the wild sequestered region owes, At this late day, its sanctifying name. GLYN CAFAILLGAROCH, in the Cambrian tongue, In ours, the VALE OF FRIENDSHIP, let _this_ spot 10 Be named; where, faithful to a low-roofed Cot, On Deva's banks, ye have abode so long; Sisters in love, a love allowed to climb, Even on this earth, above the reach of Time!
FOOTNOTES:
[396] Plass Newidd is close to Llangollen, a small cottage a quarter of a mile to the south of the town. The ladies referred to in the Fenwick note, Lady Eleanor Butler and the Hon. Miss Ponsonby, formed a romantic attachment; and, having an extreme love of independence, they withdrew from society, and settled in this remote and secluded cottage. Lady Butler died in 1829, aged ninety, and Miss Ponsonby in 1831, aged seventy-six, their faithful servant, Mary Caroll, having predeceased them. The three are buried in the same grave in Llangollen Churchyard, and an inscription to the memory of each is carved on a triangular pillar beside their tomb.
In a letter to Sir George Beaumont from Hindwell, Radnorshire, Wordsworth gives an account of this tour in North Wales.... "We turned from the high-road three or four miles to visit the 'Valley of Meditation' (Glyn Myvyr), where Mr. Jones has, at present, a curacy with a comfortable parsonage. We slept at Corwen, and went down the Dee to Llangollen, which you and dear Lady B. know well. Called upon the celebrated Recluses, who hoped that you and Lady B. had not forgotten them.... Next day I sent them the following sonnet from Ruthin, which was conceived, and in a great measure composed, in their grounds." Compare Sir Walter Scott's account of his visit to these Ladies in 1825 (Lockhart's _Life of Scott_, vol. viii. pp. 48, 49).--ED.
[397] Glyn Myvyr.--W. W. The word is misspelt in most of the editions.--ED.
TO THE TORRENT AT THE DEVIL'S BRIDGE,[398] NORTH WALES, 1824
Composed 1824.--Published 1827
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
How art thou named? In search of what strange land, From what huge height, descending? Can such force Of waters issue from a British source,[399] Or hath not Pindus fed thee,[400] where the band Of Patriots scoop their freedom out, with hand 5 Desperate as thine? Or come the incessant shocks From that young Stream,[401] that smites the throbbing rocks Of Viamala? There I seem to stand, As in life's morn; permitted to behold, From the dread chasm, woods climbing above woods, 10 In pomp that fades not; everlasting snows; And skies that ne'er relinquish their repose; Such power possess the family of floods Over the minds of Poets, young or old!
FOOTNOTES:
[398] The Devil's Bridge in North Wales is at Hafod, near Aberystwyth, in Cardiganshire. Like the Teufelsbrücke, on the road from Göschenen to Airola, over the St. Gotthard in Switzerland, which spans the Reuss, the Devil's Bridge in Wales is double; _i.e._ an upper and an under bridge span the river Mynach. This _Pont-y-Mynach_ was built either by the monks of Strata Florida, or by the Knights Hospitallers.
In the letter to Sir George Beaumont, referred to in a previous note, Wordsworth writes: "We went up the Rhydiol to the Devil's Bridge, where we passed the following day in exploring these two rivers, and Hafod in the neighbourhood. I had seen these things long ago, but either my memory or my powers of observation had not done them justice. It rained heavily in the night, and we saw the waterfalls in perfection. While Dora was attempting to make a sketch from the chasm in the rain, I composed by her side the following address to the torrent,
How art thou named? etc."--ED.
[399] There are several consecutive falls on the river Mynach, at the Devil's Bridge, the longest being one of 114 feet, and the whole taken together amounting to 314 feet.--ED.
[400] The lofty ridge of mountains in northern Greece between Thessaly and Epirus, which, like the Apennines in Italy, form the back-bone of the country.--ED.
[401] The Rhine. The Via Mala is the gorge between Thusis and Zillis, near the source of the Rhine. Compare _Descriptive Sketches_ (vol. i. p. 46)--
Or, led where Via Mala's chasms confine The indignant waters of the infant Rhine.--ED.
COMPOSED AMONG THE RUINS OF A CASTLE IN NORTH WALES
Composed 1824.--Published 1827
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
Through shattered galleries, 'mid roofless halls, Wandering with timid footsteps[402] oft betrayed, The Stranger sighs, nor scruples to upbraid Old Time, though he, gentlest among the Thralls Of Destiny, upon these wounds hath laid 5 His lenient touches, soft as light that falls, From the wan Moon, upon the towers and walls, Light deepening the profoundest sleep of shade. Relic of Kings! Wreck of forgotten wars, To winds abandoned and the prying stars, 10 Time _loves_ Thee! at his call the Seasons twine Luxuriant wreaths around thy forehead hoar; And, though past pomp no changes can restore, A soothing recompense, his gift, is thine![403]
FOOTNOTES:
[402] 1837.
... footstep ... 1827.
[403] Compare _The White Doe of Rylstone_, canto i. ll. 118, 119 (vol. iv. p. 110)--
Nature, softening and concealing, And busy with a hand of healing.
This was doubtless Carnarvon Castle, which Wordsworth visited in September 1824, at the close of his three weeks' ramble in North Wales, of which he wrote to Sir George Beaumont, "We employed several hours in exploring the interior of the noble castle, and looking at it from different points of view in the neighbourhood."--ED.
ELEGIAC STANZAS
(ADDRESSED TO SIR G.H.B. UPON THE DEATH OF HIS SISTER-IN-LAW)
1824[404]
Composed 1824.--Published 1827
[On Mrs. Fermor. This lady had been a widow long before I knew her. Her husband was of the family of the lady celebrated in the _Rape of the Lock_, and was, I believe, a Roman Catholic. The sorrow which his death caused her was fearful in its character as described in this poem, but was subdued in course of time by the strength of her religious faith. I have been for many weeks at a time, an inmate with her at Coleorton Hall, as were also Mrs. Wordsworth and my sister. The truth in the sketch of her character here given was acknowledged with gratitude by her nearest relatives. She was eloquent in conversation, energetic upon public matters, open in respect to those, but slow to communicate her personal feelings; upon these she never touched in her intercourse with me, so that I could not regard myself as her confidential friend, and was accordingly surprised when I learnt she had left me a legacy of £100, as a token of her esteem. See in further illustration the second stanza inscribed upon her cenotaph in Coleorton church.--I.F.]
One of the "Epitaphs and Elegiac Pieces." In 1827 the title was simply, _Elegiac Stanzas, 1824_, and the title of the group was then, and in 1832, "Epitaphs and Elegiac Poems."--ED.
O for a dirge! But why complain? Ask rather a triumphal strain When FERMOR'S race is run; A garland of immortal boughs To twine[405] around the Christian's brows, 5 Whose glorious work is done.
We pay a high and holy debt; No tears of passionate regret Shall stain this votive lay; Ill-worthy, Beaumont! were the grief 10 That flings itself on wild relief When Saints have passed away.
Sad doom, at Sorrow's shrine to kneel, For ever covetous to feel, And impotent to bear! 15 Such once was hers--to think and think On severed love, and only sink From anguish to despair!
But nature to its inmost part Faith had[406] refined; and to her heart 20 A peaceful cradle given: Calm as the dew-drop's, free to rest Within a breeze-fanned rose's breast Till it exhales to Heaven.
Was ever Spirit that could bend: 25 So graciously?[407]--that could descend, Another's need to suit, So promptly from her lofty throne?-- In works of love, in these alone, How restless, how minute! 30
Pale was her hue; yet mortal cheek[408] Ne'er kindled with a livelier streak When aught had suffered wrong,-- When aught that breathes had felt a wound; Such look the Oppressor might confound, 35 However proud and strong.
But hushed be every thought that springs From out the bitterness of things; Her quiet is secure; No thorns can pierce her tender feet, 40 Whose life was, like the violet, sweet, As climbing jasmine, pure--
As snowdrop on an infant's grave, Or lily heaving with the wave That feeds it and defends; 45 As Vesper, ere the star hath kissed The mountain top, or breathed the mist That from the vale ascends.
Thou takest not away, O Death! Thou strikest[409]--absence perisheth, 50 Indifference is no more; The future brightens on our sight; For on the past hath fallen a light That tempts us to adore.
In a letter from Mrs. Wordsworth to Lady Beaumont, dated "Rydal Mount, Feb. 25, 1825," she says:--
"We are all much moved by the manner in which Miss Willes has received the verses,--particularly Wm., who feels himself more than rewarded for the _labour_ I cannot call it of the composition--for the tribute was poured forth with a deep stream of fervour that was something beyond labour, and it has required very little correction. In one instance a single word in the '_Address to Sir George_' is changed since we sent the copy, viz.: 'graciously' for 'courteously,' as being a word of more dignity."
The following inscription was "copied from the Churchyard of Claines, Sept. 14, 1826," by Dorothy Wordsworth, in a MS. book, containing numerous epitaphs on tombstones, and inscriptions on rural monuments in Cathedrals and Churches, in various parts of the country.
Sacred To the memory of Frances Fermor, Relict of Henry Fermor, Esqre., Of Fritwell, in the County of Oxford, And eldest Daughter of the late John Willes, Esqre., of Astrop, in the county _Of Northamptonshire_, who departed this life, Dec. 5th, 1824, aged 68 years. I am the way, the truth, and The life. Whoso cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.--ED.
FOOTNOTES:
[404] 1837.
ELEGIAC STANZAS, 1824. 1827.
[405] 1845.
To bind ... 1827.
[406] 1837.
Had Faith ... 1827.
[407] 1827.
So courteously ...
In a MS. copy sent to Coleorton.
[408] 1827.
Pale was her hue, but mortal cheek
In MS. from Mrs. Wordsworth to Lady Beaumont.
[409] 1840.
Thou strik'st--and ... 1827.
CENOTAPH
In affectionate remembrance of Frances Fermor, whose remains are deposited in the church of Claines, near Worcester, this stone is erected by her sister, Dame Margaret, wife of Sir George Beaumont, Bart., who, feeling not less than the love of a brother for the deceased, commends this memorial to the care of his heirs and successors in the possession of this place.
Composed 1824.--Published 1842
[See "Elegiac Stanzas. (Addressed to Sir G.H.B., upon the death of his sister-in-law.)"--I.F.]
One of the "Epitaphs and Elegiac Pieces."--ED.
By vain affections unenthralled, Though resolute when duty called To meet the world's broad eye, Pure as the holiest cloistered nun That ever feared the tempting sun, 5 Did Fermor live and die.
This Tablet, hallowed by her name,[410] One heart-relieving tear may claim; But if the pensive gloom Of fond regret be still thy choice, 10 Exalt thy spirit, hear the voice Of Jesus from her tomb!
"I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE."
In the letter to Lady Beaumont, referred to in the notes, the title of this poem is "Inscription in the Church of Coleorton," and a footnote is added, "Say, to the left of the vista, within the thicket, below the churchyard wall.--M. W."
Mrs. Wordsworth also says, "To fit the lines, intended for an urn, for a Monument, W. has altered the closing stanza, which (though they are not what he would have produced had he first cast them with a view to the Church) he hopes you will not disapprove."--ED.
FOOTNOTES:
[410] 1842.
This cenotaph that bears her name,
MS. Mrs. Wordsworth to Lady Beaumont.
This sacred stone that bears her name,
MS. Mrs. Wordsworth to Lady Beaumont.
1825
Three Poems were written in 1825, _The Pillar of Trajan_, _The Contrast: The Parrot and the Wren_, and the lines _To a Skylark_.--ED.
THE PILLAR OF TRAJAN
Composed 1825.--Published 1827
[These verses perhaps had better be transferred to the class of "Italian Poems." I had observed in the newspaper, that the Pillar of Trajan was given as a subject for a prize-poem in English verse. I had a wish perhaps that my son, who was then an undergraduate at Oxford, should try his fortune, and I told him so; but he, not having been accustomed to write verse, wisely declined to enter on the task; whereupon I showed him these lines as a proof of what might, without difficulty, be done on such a subject.--I.F.]
From 1827 to 1842 one of the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection"; in 1845 one of the "Memorials of a Tour in Italy."--ED.
Where towers are crushed, and unforbidden weeds O'er mutilated arches shed their seeds; And temples, doomed to milder change, unfold A new magnificence that vies with old; Firm in its pristine majesty hath stood 5 A votive Column, spared by fire and flood:-- And, though the passions of man's fretful race Have never ceased to eddy round its base, Not injured more by touch of meddling hands Than a lone obelisk, 'mid Nubian sands, 10 Or aught in Syrian deserts left to save From death the memory of the good and brave. Historic figures round the shaft embost Ascend, with lineaments in air not lost: Still as he turns, the charmed spectator sees 15 Group winding after group with dream-like ease; Triumphs in sunbright gratitude displayed,[411] Or softly stealing into modest shade. --So, pleased with purple clusters to entwine Some lofty elm-tree, mounts the daring vine; 20 The woodbine so, with spiral grace, and breathes Wide-spreading odours from her flowery wreaths.
Borne by the Muse from rills in shepherds' ears Murmuring but one smooth story for all years, I gladly commune with the mind and heart 25 Of him who thus survives by classic art, His actions witness, venerate his mien, And study Trajan as by Pliny seen; Behold how fought the Chief whose conquering sword Stretched far as earth might own a single lord; 30 In the delight of moral prudence schooled, How feelingly at home the Sovereign ruled; Best of the good--in pagan faith allied To more than Man, by virtue deified.
Memorial Pillar! 'mid the wrecks of Time 35 Preserve thy charge with confidence sublime-- The exultations, pomps, and cares of Rome, Whence half the breathing world received its doom; Things that recoil from language; that, if shown By apter pencil, from the light had flown. 40 A Pontiff, Trajan _here_ the Gods implores, _There_ greets an Embassy from Indian shores; Lo! he harangues his cohorts--_there_ the storm Of battle meets him in authentic form! Unharnessed, naked, troops of Moorish horse 45 Sweep to the charge;[412] more high, the Dacian force, To hoof and finger mailed;[413]--yet, high or low, None bleed, and none lie prostrate but the foe;[414] In every Roman, through all turns of fate, Is Roman dignity inviolate; 50 Spirit in him pre-eminent, who guides,[415] Supports, adorns, and over all presides; Distinguished only by inherent state From honoured Instruments that round him wait;[416] Rise as he may, his grandeur scorns the test 55 Of outward symbol, nor will deign to rest On aught by which another is deprest. --Alas! that One thus disciplined could toil To enslave whole nations on their native soil; So emulous of Macedonian fame, 60 That, when his age was measured with his aim, He drooped, 'mid else unclouded victories, And turned his eagles back with deep-drawn sighs. O weakness of the Great! O folly of the Wise!
Where now the haughty Empire that was spread 65 With such fond hope? her very speech is dead; Yet glorious Art the power of Time defies, And Trajan still, through various enterprise, Mounts, in this fine illusion, toward the skies: Still are we present with the imperial Chief, 70 Nor cease to gaze upon the bold Relief Till Rome, to silent marble unconfined, Becomes with all her years a vision of the Mind.
Trajan's Column was set up by the Senate and people of Rome, in honour of the Emperor, about A.D. 114. It is one of the most remarkable pillars in the world; and still stands, little injured by time, in the centre of the _Forum Trajanum_ (now a ruin); its height--132 feet--marking the height of the earth removed when the Forum was made. On the pedestal bas-reliefs were carved in series showing the arms and armour of the Romans; and round the shaft of the column similar reliefs, exhibiting pictorially the whole story of the Decian campaign of the Emperor. These are of great value as illustrating the history of the period, the costume of the Roman soldiers and the barbarians. A colossal statue of Trajan crowned the column; and, when it fell, Pope Sixtus V. replaced it by a figure of St. Peter. It is referred to by Pausanias (v. 12. 6), and by all the ancient topographers. See a minute account of it, with excellent illustrations, in Hertzberg's _Geschichte des Römischen Kaiserreiches_, pp. 330-345 (Berlin: 1880); also Müller's _Denkmäler der alten Kunst_, p. 51. The book, however, from which Wordsworth gained his information of this pillar was evidently Joseph Forsyth's _Remarks on Antiquities, Arts, and Letters, during an Excursion in Italy in 1802-3_ (London: 1813). It is thus that Dean Merivale speaks of it:--
"Amid this profusion of splendour" (_i.e._ in the _Forum Trajanum_) "the great object to which the eye was principally directed was the column, which rose majestically in the centre of the forum to the height of 126 feet, sculptured from the base of the shaft to the summit with the story of the Decian wars, shining in every volute and moulding, with gold and pigments, and crowned with the colossal effigy of the august conqueror.... The proportions of the Trajan column are peculiarly graceful; the compact masses of stone, nineteen in number, of which the whole shaft is composed, may lead us to admire the skill employed in its construction; but the most interesting feature of this historic monument is the spiral band of figures which throughout enriches it. To the subjects of Trajan himself, this record of his exploits in bold relief must have given a vivid and sufficient idea of the people, the places, and the actions indicated; even to us, after so many centuries, they furnish a correct type of the arms, the arts, and the costume both of the Romans and barbarians which we should vainly seek for elsewhere. The Trajan column forms a notable chapter in the pictorial history of Rome." (_History of the Romans under the Empire_, vol. viii. pp. 46, 47.)
In the Fenwick note, Wordsworth mentions that, what gave rise to this poem was, his observing in the newspapers that "the Pillar of Trajan" was prescribed as a subject for a prize poem at Oxford. This determines the date of composition. _The Pillar of Trajan_ was the Newdigate prize poem, won by W. W. Tireman, Wadham Coll., in 1826. We may therefore assume that the subject was proposed about the summer of 1825.--ED.
FOOTNOTES:
[411] As Wordsworth says, in his note of 1827, "See Forsyth," it may be interesting to add Forsyth's account of the Pillar, in footnotes. "Trajan's Column, considered as a long historical record to be read round and round a long convex surface, made perspective impossible. Every perspective has one fixed point of view, but here are ten thousand. The eye, like the relievos of the column, must describe a spiral round them, widening over the whole piazza. Hence, to be legible the figures must be lengthened as they rise. This licence is necessary here; but in architecture it may be contested against Vitruvius himself." (Forsyth's _Remarks on Antiquities, Arts, and Letters, during an Excursion in Italy in 1802-3_, pp. 250, 251.)--ED.
[412] "In detailing the two wars, this column sets each nation in contrast: here the Moorish horse, all naked and unharnessed" (Forsyth's _Remarks_, _etc._, p. 251.)--ED.
[413] See Forsyth.--W. W. 1827.
"There the Taranatians, in complete mail down to the fingers and the hoofs. It exhibits without embellishment all the tactics of that age, and forms grand commentary on Vegetius and Frontinus." (_Remarks_, _etc._, p. 252.)--ED.
[414] "How unlike the modern relievos, where dress appears in all its distinctions, and prostration in all its angles! none kneel here but priests and captives; no Roman appears in a fallen state: none are wounded or slain but the foe.
"No monument gives the complete and real costume of its kind so correctly as this column.... On this column we can see parts of the _subarmalia_; we can see real drawers falling down to the officers' legs; and some figures have _focalia_, like invalids, round the neck." (_Remarks_, _etc._, p. 251-2.)--ED.
[415] "This column is an immense field of antiquities, where the emperor appears in a hundred different points, as sovereign, as general, as priest." (_Remarks_, _etc._, p. 251.)--ED.
[416] "His dignity he derives from himself or his duties; not from the trappings of power, for he is dressed like any of his officers, not from the debasement of others, for the Romans stand bold and erect before him." (_Remarks_, _etc._, p. 251.)--ED.
THE CONTRAST
THE PARROT AND THE WREN[417]
Composed 1825.--Published 1827
[The Parrot belonged to Mrs. Luff while living at Fox-Ghyll. The Wren was one that haunted for many years the summerhouse between the two terraces at Rydal Mount.--I. F.]
One of the "Poems of the Fancy."--ED.
I
Within her gilded cage confined, I saw a dazzling Belle, A Parrot of that famous kind Whose name is NON-PAREIL.
Like beads of glossy jet her eyes; 5 And, smoothed by Nature's skill, With pearl or gleaming agate vies Her finely-curvèd bill.
Her plumy mantle's living hues In mass opposed to mass, 10 Outshine the splendour that imbues The robes of pictured glass.
And, sooth to say, an apter Mate Did never tempt the choice Of feathered Thing most delicate 15 In figure and in voice.
But, exiled from Australian bowers, And singleness her lot, She trills her song with tutored powers, Or mocks each casual note. 20
No more of pity for regrets With which she may have striven! Now but in wantonness she frets, Or spite, if cause be given;
Arch, volatile, a sportive bird 25 By social glee inspired; Ambitious to be seen or heard And pleased to be admired!
II
This Moss-Lined shed, green, soft, and dry, Harbours a self-contented Wren, 30 Not shunning man's abode, though shy, Almost as thought itself, of human ken.
Strange places, coverts unendeared, She never tried; the very nest In which this Child of Spring was reared, 35 Is warmed, thro' winter, by her feathery breast.
To the bleak winds she sometimes gives A slender unexpected strain; Proof that[418] the hermitess still lives, Though she appear not, and be sought in vain. 40
Say, Dora! tell me, by yon placid moon, If called to choose between the favoured pair, Which would you be,--the bird of the saloon, By lady-fingers tended with nice care, Caressed, applauded, upon dainties fed, 45 Or Nature's DARKLING of this mossy shed?
The "moss-lined shed, green, soft, and dry," still remains at Rydal Mount, as it was in the poet's time.--ED.
FOOTNOTES:
[417] 1832.
The Contrast. 1827.
[418] 1836.
That tells ... 1827.
TO A SKY-LARK
Composed 1825.--Published 1827
[Written at Rydal Mount, where there are no skylarks, but the Poet is everywhere.--I. F.]
One of the "Poems of the Imagination."--ED.
Ethereal minstrel! pilgrim of the sky! Dost thou despise the earth where cares abound? Or, while the[419] wings aspire, are heart and eye Both with thy nest upon the dewy ground? Thy nest which thou canst drop into at will, 5 Those quivering wings composed, that music still!
Leave to the nightingale her[421] shady wood; A privacy of glorious light is thine; Whence thou dost pour upon the world a flood Of harmony, with instinct[422] more divine; 10 Type of the wise who soar, but never roam; True to the kindred points of Heaven and Home!
Compare this with the earlier poem _To a Skylark_, written in 1805, and both poems with Shelley's still finer lyric to the same bird, written in 1820. See also the _Morning Exercise_ (1828), stanzas v.-x. The eighth stanza of that poem was, from 1827 to 1842, the second stanza of this one. The poem was published in the _Poetical Album_, for 1829, edited by Alaric Watts, vol. ii. p. 30.--ED.
FOOTNOTES:
[419] 1827.
... thy ...
_Poetical Album_, 1829.
[420] The following second stanza occurs only in the editions 1827-43--
To the last point of vision, and beyond, Mount, daring Warbler! that love-prompted strain, ('Twixt thee and thine a never-failing bond) Thrills not the less the bosom of the plain: Yet might'st thou seem, proud privilege! to sing All independent of the leafy spring.
[421] 1827.
... the ...
_Poetical Album_, 1829.
[422] 1832.
... rapture ... 1827.
1826
The poems composed in 1826 were six. They include two referring to the month of May, and two descriptive of places near Rydal Mount.--ED.
"ERE WITH COLD BEADS OF MIDNIGHT DEW"
Composed 1826.--Published 1827
[Written at Rydal Mount. Suggested by the condition of a friend.--I. F.]
One of the "Poems founded on the Affections."--ED.
Ere with cold beads of midnight dew Had mingled tears of thine, I grieved, fond Youth! that thou shouldst sue To haughty Geraldine.
Immoveable by generous sighs, 5 She glories in a train Who drag, beneath our native skies, An oriental chain.
Pine not like them with arms across, Forgetting in thy care 10 How the fast-rooted trees can toss Their branches in mid air.
The humblest rivulet will take Its own wild liberties; And, every day, the imprisoned lake 15 Is flowing in the breeze.
Then, crouch no more on suppliant knee, But scorn with scorn outbrave; A Briton, even in love, should be A subject, not a slave! 20
ODE
COMPOSED ON MAY MORNING
Composed 1826.--Published 1835
[This and the following poem originated in the lines, "How delicate the leafy veil," etc. My daughter and I left Rydal Mount upon a tour through our mountains, with Mr. and Mrs. Carr,[423] in the month of May, 1826, and as we were going up the Vale of Newlands I was struck with the appearance of the little chapel gleaming through the veil of half-opened leaves; and the feeling which was then conveyed to my mind was expressed in the stanza referred to above. As in the case of _Liberty_ and _Humanity_, my first intention was to write only one poem, but subsequently I broke it into two, making additions to each part so as to produce a consistent and appropriate whole.--I. F.]
In 1835, included in the Poems on _Yarrow Revisited_, etc. In 1837, one of the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection."--ED.
While from the purpling east departs The star that led the dawn, Blithe Flora from her couch upstarts, For May is on the lawn,[424] A quickening hope, a freshening glee, 5 Foreran the expected Power, Whose first-drawn breath, from bush and tree, Shakes off that pearly shower.
All Nature welcomes Her whose sway Tempers the year's extremes; 10 Who scattereth lustres o'er noon-day, Like morning's dewy gleams; While mellow warble, sprightly trill, The tremulous heart excite; And hums the balmy air to still 15 The balance of delight.
Time was, blest Power! when youths and maids At peep of dawn would rise, And wander forth in forest glades Thy birth to solemnize. 20 Though mute the song--to grace the rite Untouched the hawthorn bough, Thy Spirit triumphs o'er the slight; Man changes, but not Thou!
Thy feathered Lieges bill and wings 25 In love's disport employ; Warmed by thy influence, creeping things Awake to silent joy: Queen art thou still for each gay plant Where the slim wild deer roves; 30 And served in depths where fishes haunt Their own mysterious groves.
Cloud-piercing peak, and trackless heath, Instinctive homage pay; Nor wants the dim-lit cave a wreath 35 To honour thee, sweet May! Where cities fanned by thy brisk airs Behold a smokeless sky, Their puniest flower-pot-nursling dares To open a bright eye. 40
And if, on this thy natal morn, The pole, from which thy name Hath not departed, stands forlorn Of song and dance and game; Still from the village-green a vow 45 Aspires to thee addrest, Wherever peace is on the brow, Or love within the breast.
Yes! where Love nestles thou canst teach The soul to love the more; 50 Hearts also shall thy lessons reach That never loved before. Stript is the haughty one of pride, The bashful freed from fear, While rising, like the ocean-tide, 55 In flows the joyous year.
Hush, feeble lyre! weak words refuse The service to prolong! To yon exulting thrush the Muse Entrusts the imperfect song; 60 His voice shall chant, in accents clear, Throughout the live-long day, Till the first silver star appear, The sovereignty of May.
FOOTNOTES:
[423] Doubtless the Rev. Mr. Carr, of Bolton Abbey, and his wife.--ED.
[424] Compare _Thoughts on the Seasons_, written in 1829.--ED.
TO MAY[425]
Composed 1826-34.--Published 1835
One of the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection."--ED.
Though many suns have risen and set Since thou, blithe May, wert born, And Bards, who hailed thee, may forget Thy gifts, thy beauty scorn; There are who to a birthday strain 5 Confine not harp and voice, But evermore throughout thy reign Are grateful and rejoice!
Delicious odours! music sweet, Too sweet to pass away! 10 Oh for a deathless song to meet The soul's desire--a lay That, when a thousand years are told, Should praise thee, genial Power! Through summer heat, autumnal cold, 15 And winter's dreariest hour.
Earth, sea, thy presence feel--nor less, If yon ethereal blue With its soft smile the truth express, The heavens have felt it too. 20 The inmost heart of man if glad Partakes a livelier cheer; And eyes that cannot but be sad Let fall a brightened tear.
Since thy return, through days and weeks 25 Of hope that grew by stealth, How many wan and faded cheeks Have kindled into health! The Old, by thee revived, have said, "Another year is ours;" 30 And wayworn Wanderers, poorly fed, Have smiled upon thy flowers.
Who tripping lisps a merry song Amid his playful peers? The tender Infant who was long 35 A prisoner of fond fears; But now, when every sharp-edged blast Is quiet in its sheath, His Mother leaves him free to taste Earth's sweetness in thy breath. 40
Thy help is with the weed that creeps Along the humblest ground; No cliff so bare but on its steeps Thy favours may be found; But most on some peculiar nook 45 That our own hands have drest, Thou and thy train are proud to look, And seem to love it best.
And yet how pleased we wander forth When May is whispering, "Come! 50 "Choose from the bowers of virgin earth "The happiest for your home; "Heaven's bounteous love through me is spread "From sunshine, clouds, winds, waves, "Drops on the mouldering turret's head, 55 "And on your turf-clad graves!"
Such greeting heard, away with sighs For lilies that must fade, Or "the rathe primrose as it dies Forsaken"[426] in the shade! 60 Vernal fruitions and desires Are linked in endless chase; While, as one kindly growth retires, Another takes its place.
And what if thou, sweet May, hast known 65 Mishap by worm and blight; If expectations newly blown Have perished in thy sight; If loves and joys, while up they sprung, Were caught as in a snare; 70 Such is the lot of all the young, However bright and fair.
Lo! Streams that April could not check Are patient of thy rule; Gurgling in foamy water-break, 75 Loitering in glassy pool: By thee, thee only, could be sent Such gentle mists as glide, Curling with unconfirmed intent, On that green mountain's side. 80
How delicate the leafy veil Through which yon house of God Gleams 'mid the peace of this deep dale[427] By few but shepherds trod! And lowly huts, near beaten ways, 85 No sooner stand attired In thy fresh wreaths, than they for praise Peep forth, and are admired.
Season of fancy and of hope, Permit not for one hour, 90 A blossom from thy crown to drop, Nor add to it a flower! Keep, lovely May, as if by touch Of self-restraining art, This modest charm of not too much, 95 Part seen, imagined part!
FOOTNOTES:
[425] Some of the stanzas of this poem were composed in Nov. 1830, on the way from Rydal to Cambridge. See Wordsworth's letter to W. R. Hamilton, Nov. 26, 1830.--ED.
[426] Compare _Lycidas_, l. 142.--ED.
[427] Newlands. See the Fenwick note, p. 146.--ED.
"ONCE I COULD HAIL (HOWE'ER SERENE THE SKY)"
Composed 1826.--Published 1827
"Late, late yestreen I saw the new moone Wi' the auld moone in hir arme."
_Ballad of Sir Patrick Spence_, _Percy's Reliques_.--W. W.
["No faculty yet given me to espy The dusky Shape within her arms imbound."
Afterwards, when I could not avoid seeing it, I wondered at this, and the more so because, like most children, I had been in the habit of watching the moon through all her changes, and had often continued to gaze at it when at the full till half blinded.--I. F.]
From 1827 to 1842, one of the "Epitaphs and Elegiac Poems." In 1845 transferred to the "Miscellaneous Poems."--ED.
Once I could hail (howe'er serene the sky) The Moon re-entering her monthly round, No faculty yet given me to espy The dusky Shape within her arms imbound, That thin memento of effulgence lost 5 Which some have named her Predecessor's ghost.
Young, like the Crescent that above me shone, Nought I perceived within it dull or dim; All that appeared was suitable to One Whose fancy had a thousand fields to skim; 10 To expectations spreading with wild growth, And hope that kept with me her plighted troth.
I saw (ambition quickening at the view) A silver boat launched on a boundless flood; A pearly crest, like Dian's when it threw 15 Its brightest splendour round a leafy wood; But not a hint from under-ground, no sign Fit for the glimmering brow of Proserpine.[428]
Or was it Dian's self[428] that seemed to move Before me?--nothing blemished the fair sight; 20 On her I looked whom jocund Fairies love, Cynthia,[428] who puts the _little_ stars to flight, And by that thinning magnifies the great, For exaltation of her sovereign state.
And when I learned to mark the spectral Shape 25 As each new Moon obeyed the call of Time, If gloom fell on me, swift was my escape; Such happy privilege hath life's gay Prime, To see or not to see, as best may please A buoyant Spirit, and a heart at ease. 30
Now, dazzling Stranger! when thou meet'st my glance, Thy dark Associate ever I discern; Emblem of thoughts too eager to advance While I salute my joys, thoughts sad or stern; Shades of past bliss, or phantoms that, to gain 35 Their fill of promised lustre, wait in vain.
So changes mortal Life with fleeting years; A mournful change, should Reason fail to bring The timely insight that can temper fears, And from vicissitude remove its sting; 40 While Faith aspires to seats in that domain Where joys are perfect--neither wax nor wane.
FOOTNOTES:
[428]
Terret, lustrat, agit, Proserpina, Luna, Diana; Ima, suprema, feras, sceptro, fulgore, sagitta.--ED.
"THE MASSY WAYS, CARRIED ACROSS THESE HEIGHTS"
Composed 1826.--Published 1835[429]
[The walk is what we call the _Far-terrace_, beyond the summerhouse at Rydal Mount. The lines were written when we were afraid of being obliged to quit the place to which we were so much attached.--I.F.]
One of the "Inscriptions."--ED.
The massy Ways, carried across these heights[430] By Roman perseverance,[431] are destroyed, Or hidden under ground, like sleeping worms. How venture then to hope that Time will spare[432] This humble Walk? Yet on the mountain's side 5 A POET'S hand first shaped it; and the steps Of that same Bard--repeated to and fro At morn, at noon,[433] and under moonlight skies Through the vicissitudes of many a year-- Forbade the weeds to creep o'er its grey line. 10 No longer, scattering to the heedless winds The vocal raptures of fresh poesy, Shall he frequent these precincts; locked no more In earnest converse with beloved Friends, Here will he gather stores of ready bliss, 15 As from the beds and borders of a garden Choice flowers are gathered! But, if Power may spring Out of a farewell yearning--favoured more Than kindred wishes mated suitably With vain regrets--the Exile would consign 20 This Walk, his loved possession, to the care Of those pure Minds that reverence the Muse.[434]
FOOTNOTES:
[429] The title of these lines in the edition of 1835 was _Inscription_.--ED.
[430] 1835.
... once carried o'er these hills MS.
[431] Referring to the Roman Way, fragments of which are to be seen on High Street. Ambleside was a Roman station. "At the upper corner of Windermere lieth the dead carcase of an ancient city, with great ruins of walls, and many heaps of rubbish, one from another, remaining of building without the walls, yet to be seen. The fortress thereof was somewhat long, fenced with a ditch and rampire, took up in length 132 ells, and breadth 80. That it had been the Romans' work is evident by the British bricks, by the mortar tempered with little pieces of brick among it, by small earthen pots or pitchers, by small cruets or phials of glass, by pieces of Roman money oftentimes found, and by round stones as big as millstones or quernstones, of which laid and couched together they framed in old times their columns, and by the paved ways leading to it. Now the ancient name is gone, unless a man would guess at it, and think it were that Amboglana, whereof the book of notices maketh mention, seeing at this day it is called Ambleside."--See Camden's _Britannia_, 645 (edition 1590).--ED.
[432] 1835.
... to hope that private claims Will from the injuries of time protect MS.
[433] 1835.
... and the foot Of that same Bard, by pacing to and fro At morn, and noon, ... MS.
[434] 1835.
... its gray line. Murmuring his unambitious verse alone, Or in sweet converse with beloved Friends. No more must he frequent it. Yet might power Follow the yearnings of the spirit, he Reluctantly departing, would consign This walk, his heart's possession, to the care Of those pure Minds that reverence the Muse. MS.
FAREWELL LINES[435]
Composed 1826.--Published 1842
[These lines were designed as a farewell to Charles Lamb and his sister, who had retired from the throngs of London to comparative solitude in the village of Enfield--I.F.]
One of the "Poems founded on the Affections."--ED.
"High bliss is only for a higher state,"[436] But, surely, if severe afflictions borne With patience merit the reward of peace, Peace ye deserve; and may the solid good, Sought by a wise though late exchange, and here 5 With bounteous hand beneath a cottage-roof To you accorded, never be withdrawn, Nor for the world's best promises renounced. Most soothing was it for a welcome Friend, Fresh from the crowded city, to behold 10 That lonely union, privacy so deep, Such calm employments, such entire content. So when the rain is over, the storm laid, A pair of herons oft-times have I seen, Upon a rocky islet, side by side, 15 Drying their feathers in the sun, at ease; And so, when night with grateful gloom had fallen, Two glow-worms in such nearness that they shared, As seemed, their soft self-satisfying light, Each with the other, on the dewy ground, 20 Where He that made them blesses their repose.-- When wandering among lakes and hills I note, Once more, those creatures thus by nature paired, And guarded in their tranquil state of life, Even, as your happy presence to my mind 25 Their union brought, will they repay the debt, And send a thankful spirit back to you, With hope that we, dear Friends! shall meet again.
FOOTNOTES:
[435] As Charles Lamb retired to Enfield in 1826, these lines cannot have been composed much later than that year, although they were not published till 1842. Lamb wrote thus to Wordsworth on the 6th of April 1825: "I came home FOR EVER on Tuesday in last week. The incomprehensibleness of my condition overwhelmed me. It was like passing from life into eternity. ... I wandered about, thinking I was happy, but feeling I was not. But that tumultuousness is passing off, and I begin to understand the nature of the gift. Holidays, even the annual month, were always uneasy joys: their conscious fugitiveness; the craving after making the most of them. Now, when all is holiday, there are no holidays. I can sit at home, in rain or shine, without a restless impulse for walkings. I am daily steadying, and shall soon find it as natural to me to be my own master, as it has been irksome to have had a master. Mary wakes every morning with an obscure feeling that some good has happened to us."--ED.
[436] See Thomson's lines _To the Reverend Patrick Murdoch_, Rector of Stradishall, in Suffolk, 1738, l. 10.--ED.
1827
The poems composed in 1827 were for the most part sonnets. But several of those first published in 1827 evidently belong to an earlier year, the date of which it is impossible to discover.--ED.
ON SEEING A NEEDLECASE IN THE FORM OF A HARP
THE WORK OF E. M. S.[437]
Composed 1827.--Published 1827
One of the "Poems of the Fancy."--ED.
Frowns are on every Muse's face, Reproaches from their lips are sent, That mimicry should thus disgrace The noble Instrument.
A very Harp in all but size! 5 Needles for strings in apt gradation! Minerva's self would stigmatize The unclassic profanation.
Even her _own_ needle that subdued Arachne's rival spirit,[438] 10 Though wrought in Vulcan's happiest mood, Such honour[439] could not merit.
And this, too, from the Laureate's Child, A living lord of melody! How will her Sire be reconciled 15 To the refined indignity?
I spake, when whispered a low voice, "Bard! moderate your ire; Spirits of all degrees rejoice In presence of the lyre. 20
The Minstrels of Pygmean bands,[440] Dwarf Genii, moonlight-loving Fays, Have shells to fit their tiny hands And suit their slender lays.
Some, still more delicate of ear, 25 Have lutes (believe my words) Whose framework is of gossamer, While sunbeams are the chords.
Gay Sylphs[B] this miniature will court, Made vocal by their brushing wings, 30 And sullen Gnomes[441] will learn to sport Around its polished strings;
Whence strains to love-sick maiden dear, While in her lonely bower she tries To cheat the thought she cannot cheer, 35 By fanciful embroideries.
Trust, angry Bard! a knowing Sprite, Nor think the Harp her lot deplores; Though 'mid the stars the Lyre shine[442] bright, Love _stoops_ as fondly as he soars."[443] 40
FOOTNOTES:
[437] Edith May Southey.--ED.
[438] Arachne, daughter of a dyer of Colophon, skilful with her needle, challenged Minerva to a trial of skill. Minerva defeated her, and committing suicide, she was changed by the goddess into a spider.--ED.
[439] 1845.
Like station ... 1827.
[440] Pygmæi, the nation of Lilliputian dwarfs, fabled to dwell in India, or Ethiopia. (See Ovid, _Metamorphoses_, vi. 90; Aristotle, _De Anima_, viii. 12.)--ED.
[441] According to mediæval belief, the Sylphs were elemental spirits of the air; the Gnomes the elemental spirits of the earth. "The Gnomes or Dæmons of Earth delight in mischief; but the Sylphs, whose habitation is in the Air, are the best-condition'd creatures imaginable."--(See Pope, _Rape of the Lock_, Preface.)--ED.
[442] 1832.
... shines ... 1827.
[443] 1827.
... as she soars." MS.
MISCELLANEOUS SONNETS
DEDICATION
Composed 1827.--Published 1827
[In the cottage, Town-end, Grasmere, one afternoon in 1801, my Sister read to me the Sonnets of Milton. I had long been well acquainted with them, but I was particularly struck on that occasion by the dignified simplicity and majestic harmony that runs through most of them,--in character so totally different from the Italian, and still more so from Shakespeare's fine Sonnets. I took fire, if I may be allowed to say so, and produced three Sonnets the same afternoon, the first I ever wrote except an irregular one at school. Of these three, the only one I distinctly remember is "I grieved for Buonaparté." One was never written down: the third, which was, I believe, preserved, I cannot
## particularise.--I. F.]
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
TO ----[444]
Happy the feeling from the bosom thrown In perfect shape (whose beauty Time shall spare Though a breath made it) like a bubble blown For summer pastime into wanton air; Happy the thought best likened to a stone 5 Of the sea-beach, when, polished with nice care, Veins it discovers exquisite and rare, Which for the loss of that moist gleam atone That tempted first to gather it. That here, O chief of Friends![445] such feelings I present, 10 To thy regard, with thoughts so fortunate, Were a vain notion; but the hope is dear,[446] That thou, if not with partial joy elate, Wilt smile upon this gift with[447] more than mild content![448]
FOOTNOTES:
[444] This dedicatory sonnet may possibly have been inscribed to his sister, whose reading of Milton's sonnets in 1801 first led him (as the Fenwick note tells us) to write sonnets.--ED.
[445] See the note on the previous page.--ED.
[446] 1837.
... gather it. O chief Of Friends! such feelings if I here present, Such thoughts, with others mixed less fortunate; Then smile into my heart a fond belief That Thou, ... 1827.
[447] 1837.
Receiv'st the gift for ... 1827.
[448]
"_Something less than joy, but more than dull content._"
COUNTESS OF WINCHELSEA.--W. W. 1837.
"HER ONLY PILOT THE SOFT BREEZE, THE BOAT"
Composed 1827.--Published 1827
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
Her only pilot the soft breeze, the boat Lingers, but Fancy is well satisfied; With keen-eyed Hope, with Memory, at her side, And the glad Muse at liberty to note All that to each is precious, as we float 5 Gently along; regardless who shall chide If the heavens smile, and leave us free to glide, Happy Associates breathing air remote From trivial cares. But, Fancy and the Muse, Why have I crowded this small bark with you 10 And others of your kind, ideal crew! While here sits One whose brightness owes its hues To flesh and blood; no Goddess from above, No fleeting Spirit, but my own true Love?[449]
FOOTNOTES:
[449] The reminiscence of a day spent on Grasmere Lake with Mrs. Wordsworth.
Compare Robert Browning's lines--
No angel, but a dearer being All dipt in angel instincts.--ED.
"WHY, MINSTREL, THESE UNTUNEFUL MURMURINGS"
Composed 1827.--Published 1827
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
"Why, Minstrel, these untuneful murmurings-- Dull, flagging notes that with each other jar?" "Think, gentle Lady, of a Harp so far From its own country, and forgive the strings." A simple answer! but even so forth springs, 5 From the Castalian fountain of the heart,[450] The Poetry of Life, and all _that_ Art Divine of words quickening insensate things. From the submissive necks of guiltless men Stretched on the block, the glittering axe recoils; 10 Sun, moon, and stars, all struggle in the toils Of mortal sympathy; what wonder then That[451] the poor Harp distempered music yields To its sad Lord, far from his native fields?
FOOTNOTES:
[450] Castaly (Castalius fons), a fountain near Parnassus sacred to the Muses. See Virgil, _Georgics_, iii. 293.--ED.
[451] 1837.
If ... 1827.
TO S. H.[452]
Composed 1827.--Published 1827
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
Excuse is needless when with love sincere Of occupation, not by fashion led, Thou turn'st the Wheel that slept with dust o'erspread; _My_ nerves from no such murmur shrink,--tho' near, Soft as the Dorhawk's to a distant ear, 5 When twilight shades darken[453] the mountain's head.[454] Even She who toils to spin[455] our vital thread[456] Might smile on work, O Lady, once so dear[457] To household virtues. Venerable Art, Torn from the Poor![458] yet shall kind Heaven protect 10 Its own; though Rulers, with undue respect, Trusting to crowded factory and mart[459] And[460] proud discoveries of the intellect, Heed not[461] the pillage of man's ancient heart.
FOOTNOTES:
[452] Sarah Hutchinson, Mrs. Wordsworth's sister.--ED.
[453] 1837.
... bedim ... 1827.
[454] Either Wansfell, or Loughrigg.--ED.
[455] 1840.
She who was feigned to spin ... 1827.
She who even toils to spin ... C.
[456] Lachesis, the second of the three Parcæ, who was supposed to spin out the actions of our life.
Clotho colum retinet, Lachesis net, et Atropos occat.--ED.
[457] 1837.
Might smile, O Lady! on a task once dear 1827.
[458] Referring to the introduction of steam-looms, which displaced the hand-loom spinning of a previous generation.--ED.
[459] Compare _The Excursion_,