book xii
. l. 151 (vol. iii. p. 349)--
I knew a maid, A young enthusiast, who escaped these bonds; Her eye was not the mistress of her heart. ED.
[D] Wordsworth said on one occasion, as Professor Dowden has reminded us, that he thought _Othello_, the close of the _Phædo_, and Walton's _Life of George Herbert_, the three "most pathetic" writings in the world.--ED.
ADMONITION
Intended more particularly for the perusal of those who may have happened to be enamoured of some beautiful place of Retreat, in the Country of the Lakes.
Composed 1806.--Published 1807
Classed among the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
Well may'st thou halt--and gaze with brightening eye![1] The lovely Cottage in the guardian nook Hath stirred thee deeply; with its own dear brook, Its own small pasture, almost its own sky![A] But covet not the Abode;--forbear to sigh,[2] 5 As many do, repining while they look; Intruders--who would tear[3] from Nature's book This precious leaf, with harsh impiety.[4] Think what the Home must[5] be if it were thine, Even thine, though few thy wants!--Roof, window, door, 10 The very flowers are sacred to the Poor, The roses to the porch which they entwine: Yea, all, that now enchants thee, from the day On which it should be touched, would melt away.[6]
The cottage at Town-end, Grasmere--where this sonnet was composed--may have suggested it. Some of the details, however, are scarcely applicable to Dove Cottage; the "brook" (referred to elsewhere) is outside the orchard ground, and there is scarcely anything in the garden to warrant the phrase, "its own small pasture." It is unnecessary to localise the allusions.--ED.
VARIANTS:
[1] 1837.
Yes, there is holy pleasure in thine eye! 1807.
[2] 1827.
... oh! do not sigh, 1807.
[3] 1827.
Sighing a wish to tear ... 1807.
[4] 1827.
This blissful leaf, with worst impiety. 1807.
... with harsh impiety. 1815.
[5] 1827.
... would ... 1807.
[6] 1838.
... would melt, and melt away! 1807.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] Compare the lines in _Peter Bell_, vol. ii. p. 13--
Where deep and low the hamlets lie Beneath their little patch of sky And little lot of stars. ED.
"'BELOVED VALE!' I SAID, 'WHEN I SHALL CON'"
Composed 1806.--Published 1807
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
"Beloved Vale!" I said, "when I shall con Those many records of my childish years, Remembrance of myself and of my peers Will press me down: to think of what is gone Will be an awful thought, if life have one." 5 But, when into the Vale I came, no fears Distressed me; from mine eyes escaped no tears;[1] Deep thought, or dread remembrance, had I none.[2] By doubts and thousand petty fancies crost[3] I stood, of simple shame the blushing Thrall;[A] 10 So narrow seemed the brooks, the fields so small![4] A Juggler's balls old Time about him tossed; I looked, I stared, I smiled, I laughed; and all The weight of sadness was in wonder lost.
Doubtless the "Vale" referred to is that of Hawkshead; the "brooks" may refer to the one that feeds Esthwaite lake, or to Sawrey beck, or (more likely) to the streamlet, "the famous brook within our garden boxed," described in _The Prelude_, books i. and ii. (vol. iii.) See also _The Fountain_, vol. ii. p. 92.--ED.
VARIANTS:
[1] 1827.
Distress'd me; I look'd round, I shed no tears; 1807.
[2] 1837.
... or awful vision, I had none. 1807.
... had I none. 1827.
[3] 1827.
By thousand petty fancies I was cross'd, 1807.
[4] 1827.
To see the Trees, which I had thought so tall, Mere dwarfs; the Brooks so narrow, Fields so small. 1807.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] Compare _Hart-Leap Well_, l. 117 (vol. ii. p. 134).--ED.
"HOW SWEET IT IS, WHEN MOTHER FANCY ROCKS"
Composed 1806.--Published 1807
Placed among the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
How sweet it is, when mother Fancy rocks The wayward brain, to saunter through a wood! An old place, full of many a lovely brood, Tall trees, green arbours, and ground-flowers in flocks; And wild rose tip-toe upon hawthorn stocks, 5 Like a bold Girl, who plays her agile pranks[1] At Wakes and Fairs with wandering Mountebanks,-- When she stands cresting the Clown's head, and mocks The crowd beneath her. Verily I think, Such place to me is sometimes like a dream 10 Or map of the whole world: thoughts, link by link, Enter through ears and eyesight, with such gleam Of all things, that at last in fear I shrink, And leap at once from the delicious stream.
VARIANTS:
[1] 1827.
Like to a bonny Lass, who plays her pranks 1807.
"THOSE WORDS WERE UTTERED AS IN PENSIVE MOOD"
Composed 1806.--Published 1807
----"they are of the sky, And from our earthly memory fade away."[A]
Placed among the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
Those[1] words were uttered as in pensive mood[2] We turned, departing from[3] that solemn sight: A contrast and reproach to[4] gross delight, And life's unspiritual pleasures daily wooed! But now upon this thought I cannot brood; 5 It is unstable as a dream of night;[5] Nor will I praise a cloud, however bright, Disparaging Man's gifts, and proper food. Grove, isle, with every shape of sky-built dome,[6] Though clad in colours beautiful and pure, 10 Find in the heart of man no natural home: The immortal Mind craves objects that endure: These cleave to it; from these it cannot roam, Nor they from it: their fellowship is secure.
VARIANTS:
[1] 1838.
These ... 1807.
[2] 1827.
... utter'd in a pensive mood. 1807.
[3] 1827.
Even while mine eyes were on ... 1807.
Mine eyes yet lingering on ... 1815.
[4] 1807.
A silent counter part of ... MS.
[5] 1827.
It is unstable, and deserts me quite; 1807.
[6] 1827.
The Grove, the sky-built Temple, and the Dome, 1807.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] See the sonnet _Composed after a Journey across the Hambleton Hills, Yorkshire_, vol. ii. p. 349.--ED.
"WITH HOW SAD STEPS, O MOON, THOU CLIMB'ST THE SKY"
Composed 1806.--Published 1807
In the edition of 1815, this was placed among the "Poems of the Fancy." In 1820 it became one of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
With how sad steps, O Moon, thou climb'st the sky, "How silently, and with how wan a face!"[A] Where art thou? Thou so often seen on high[1] Running among the clouds a Wood-nymph's race! Unhappy Nuns, whose common breath's a sigh 5 Which they would stifle, move at such a pace! The northern Wind, to call thee to the chase, Must blow to-night his bugle horn. Had I The power of Merlin, Goddess! this should be: And all the stars, fast as the clouds were riven,[2] 10 Should sally forth, to keep thee company,[3] Hurrying and sparkling through the clear blue heaven;[4] But, Cynthia! should to thee the palm be given, Queen both for beauty and for majesty.
The sonnet of Sir Philip Sidney's, from which the two first lines are taken, is No. XXXI. in _Astrophel and Stella_. In the edition of 1807 these lines were printed, not as a sonnet, but as No. III. in the series of "Poems composed during a Tour, chiefly on foot;" and in 1807 and 1815 the first two lines were placed within quotation marks.--ED.
VARIANTS:
[1] 1837.
... Thou whom I have seen on high 1807.
[2] 1837.
And all the Stars, now shrouded up in heaven, 1807.
And the keen Stars, fast as the clouds were riven, 1820.
[3] 1807.
Should sally forth, an emulous Company, 1820.
The text of 1837 returns to that of 1807.
[4] 1840.
What strife would then be yours, fair Creatures, driv'n Now up, now down, and sparkling in your glee! 1807.
Sparkling, and hurrying through the clear blue heaven; 1820.
All hurrying with thee through the clear blue heaven; 1832.
In that keen sport along the plain, of heaven; 1837.
... in emulous company Sparkling, and hurrying through the clear blue heaven; 1838 and C.
Hurrying and sparkling through the clear blue Heaven. C.
With emulous brightness through the clear blue Heaven. C.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] From a sonnet of Sir Philip Sydney.--W. W. 1807.
"THE WORLD IS TOO MUCH WITH US; LATE AND SOON"
Composed 1806.--Published 1807
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers: Little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! This[1] Sea that bares her bosom to the moon; 5 The winds that will be howling at all hours, And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers; For this, for every thing, we are out of tune; It moves us not.--Great God! I'd rather be A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn; 10 So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,[A] Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn; Have sight of Proteus rising[2] from the sea;[B] Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.[C]
The "pleasant lea" referred to in this sonnet is unknown. It may have been on the Cumbrian coast, or in the Isle of Man.
I am indebted to the Rev. Canon Ainger for suggesting an (unconscious) reminiscence of Spenser in the last line of the sonnet. Compare Dr. Arnold's commentary (_Miscellaneous Works of Thomas Arnold_, p. 311), and that of Sir Henry Taylor in his _Notes from Books_.--ED.
VARIANTS:
[1] 1807.
The ... MS.
[2] 1827.
... coming ... 1807.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] See Spenser's _Colin Clout's come Home againe_, l. 283--
"A goodly pleasant lea." ED.
[B] Compare _Paradise Lost_,