book iv
. ll. 1173, 1174)--
The little rills, and waters numberless, Inaudible by daylight.
And Wordsworth's sonnet beginning--
The unremitting voice of nightly streams That wastes so oft, we think, its tuneful powers.
Compare also in Gray's _Tour in the Lakes_, "At distance, heard the murmur of many waterfalls, not audible in the daytime."--ED.
[KK] Compare Milton's Sonnet on his Blindness, l. 14--
They also serve who only stand and wait. ED.
[LL] In the limestone ridges and hills of the Craven district of Yorkshire there are many caverns and underground recesses, such as the Yordas cave referred to in _The Prelude_ (vol. iii. p. 289).--ED.
[MM] The Towers of Barnard Castle on the Tees in Yorkshire.--ED.
[NN] It is so called to this day, and is thus described by Dr. Whitaker. "Rylstone Fell yet exhibits a monument of the old warfare between the Nortons and Cliffords. On a point of very high ground, commanding an immense prospect, and protected by two deep ravines, are the remains of a square tower, expressly said by Dodsworth to have been built by Richard Norton. The walls are of strong grout-work, about four feet thick. It seems to have been three stories high. Breaches have been industriously made in all the sides, almost to the ground, to render it untenable.
"But Norton Tower was probably a sort of pleasure-house in summer, as there are, adjoining to it, several large mounds, (two of them are pretty entire,) of which no other account can be given than that they were butts for large companies of archers.
"The place is savagely wild, and admirably adapted to the uses of a watch-tower."--W. W. 1815. (See note VII. p. 201.)--ED.
The remains of Norton Tower are not in the highest point of the Rylstone Fells, but on one of the western ridges: and there are now only four bare roofless rectangular walls. It was originally both a watch-tower and a hunting-tower. Looking towards Malham to the north and north-west, the view is exactly as described in the poem.--ED.
[OO] This extract was first prefixed to canto seventh in the edition of 1837.--ED.
[PP] "After the attainder of Richard Norton, his estates were forfeited to the crown, where they remained till the 2d or 3d of James; they were then granted to Francis Earl of Cumberland." From an accurate survey made at that time, several particulars have been extracted by Dr. W. It appears that the mansion-house was then in decay. "Immediately adjoining is a close, called the Vivery, so called undoubtedly from the French Vivier, or modern Latin Viverium; for there are near the house large remains of a pleasure-ground, such as were introduced in the earlier part of Elizabeth's time, with topiary works, fish-ponds, an island, etc. The whole township was ranged by an hundred and thirty red deer, the property of the Lord, which, together with the wood, had, after the attainder of Mr. Norton, been committed to Sir Stephen Tempest. The wood, it seems, had been abandoned to depredations, before which time it appears that the neighbourhood must have exhibited a forest-like and sylvan scene. In this survey, among the old tenants, is mentioned one Richard Kitchen, butler to Mr. Norton, who rose in rebellion with his master, and was executed at Ripon."--W. W. 1815.
[QQ] There are two small streams which rise near Rylstone. One, called Rylstone beck, flows westwards into the Aire. Another makes its way eastwards towards the Wharfe, joins Linton beck, and so enters Wharfe between Linton Church and Grassington Bridge. It is to the latter that Wordsworth refers, although the former is now called Rylstone beck.--ED.
[RR] "At the extremity of the parish of Burnsal, the valley of Wharf forks off into two great branches, one of which retains the name of Wharfdale to the source of the river; the other is usually called Littondale, but more anciently and properly Amerdale. Dern-brook, which runs along an obscure valley from the N. W., is derived from a Teutonic word, signifying concealment."--Dr. WHITAKER.--W. W. 1815.
The valley of Littondale, as is shown in Wordsworth's note, once bore the name of Amerdale. Though the name is not now given to the beck, it survives, singularly enough, in one pool in the stream, where it joins the Wharfe, which is still called "Amerdale Dub."--ED.
[SS] From this valley of Litton a small lateral one runs up in a south-westerly direction at Arncliffe, making a "deep fork," and is called Dernbrook. Dern means seclusion, and two or three miles up this ghyll is a farm-house bearing the name of Dernbrook House. "The phrase 'By lurking Dernbrook's pathless side' is so appropriate," says the late incumbent of Arncliffe, the Ven. Archdeacon Boyd, in a letter to the editor, "that it would almost seem that Wordsworth had been there." Mr. Boyd adds, "In the illustrated edition of _The White Doe_, published by Longmans a few years ago, there is an illustration by Birket Foster of the Dernbrook House, the original of which I had the honour to supply. It is but a short distance--two or three miles--from Malham Tarn."--ED.
[TT] On one of the bells of Rylstone church, which seems co-eval with the building of the tower, is this cypher, =J. N.= for John Norton, and the motto, "=God us ayde.="--W. W. 1815.
"A ring, bearing the same motto, was sold at a sale of antiquities from Bramhope Manor, Feb. 1865. The Norton Shield of Arms is in Rylstone Church." (See Murray's _Yorkshire_.)--ED.
[UU] Which is thus described by Dr. Whitaker:--"On the plain summit of the hill are the foundations of a strong wall, stretching from the S. W. to the N. E. corner of the tower, and to the edge of a very deep glen. From this glen, a ditch, several hundred yards long, runs south to another deep and rugged ravine. On the N. and W. where the banks are very steep, no wall or mound is discoverable, paling being the only fence that would stand on such ground.
"From the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, it appears that such pounds for deer, sheep, etc., were far from being uncommon in the south of Scotland. The principle of them was something like that of a wire mouse-trap. On the declivity of a steep hill, the bottom and sides of which were fenced so as to be impassable, a wall was constructed nearly level with the surface on the outside, yet so high within that without wings it was impossible to escape in the opposite direction. Care was probably taken that these enclosures should contain better feed than the neighbouring parks or forests; and whoever is acquainted with the habits of these sequacious animals, will easily conceive, that if the leader was once tempted to descend into the snare, an herd would follow."
I cannot conclude without recommending to the notice of all lovers of beautiful scenery--Bolton Abbey and its neighbourhood. This enchanting spot belongs to the Duke of Devonshire; and the superintendance of it has for some years been entrusted to the Rev. William Carr, who has most skilfully opened out its features; and in whatever he has added, has done justice to the place by working with an invisible hand of art in the very spirit of nature.--W. W. 1815.
[VV] The late Archdeacon of Craven wrote to me of this, "There never can have been a Lady Chapel in the usual place at Bolton, for the altar was close to the east window. I never heard of a Saint Mary's _shrine_; but, most probably, the church was dedicated to St. Mary, in which case she" (the Lady Emily) "would be speaking of the building. In proof of this, the Priory of Embsay was dedicated to St. Mary; and naturally the dedication, on the removal from Embsay to Bolton, would be renewed. See Whitaker, p. 369, in extracting from the compotus, 'Comp. Monasterii be' Mar' de Boulton in Craven.'" It may be added that the whole church being dedicated to St. Mary--as in the case of the Cistercian buildings--there would be no Lady Chapel. The mention in detail of "prostrate altars," "shrines defaced," "fret-work imagery," "plates of ornamental brass," and "sculptured Forms of Warriors" in the closing canto of _The White Doe_ is--like the "one sequestered hillock green" where Francis Norton was supposed to "sleep in his last abode"--part of the imaginative drapery of the poem.--ED.
[WW] Compare Sackville's _Ferrex and Porrex_, iv. 2; Lord Surrey's lines beginning, "Give place, ye lovers"; and George Turberville's poem which begins, "You want no skill."--ED.
[XX] Camden expressly says that he was violently attached to the Catholic Religion.--W. W. 1815.
THE FORCE OF PRAYER;[A] OR, THE FOUNDING OF BOLTON PRIORY
A TRADITION
Composed 1807.--Published 1815
[An appendage to _The White Doe_. My friend, Mr. Rogers, has also written on the subject.[B] The story is preserved in Dr. Whitaker's _History of Craven_--a topographical writer of first-rate merit in all that concerns the past; but such was his aversion from the modern spirit, as shown in the spread of manufactories in those districts of which he treats, that his readers are left entirely ignorant both of the progress of these arts and their real bearing upon the comfort, virtues, and happiness of the inhabitants. While wandering on foot through the fertile valleys and over the moorlands of the Apennine that divide Yorkshire from Lancashire, I used to be delighted with observing the number of substantial cottages that had sprung up on every side, each having its little plot of fertile ground won from the surrounding waste. A bright and warm fire, if needed, was always to be found in these dwellings. The father was at his loom; the children looked healthy and happy. Is it not to be feared that the increase of mechanic power had done away with many of these blessings, and substituted many ills? Alas! if these evils grow, how are they to be checked, and where is the remedy to be found? Political economy will not supply it; that is certain; we must look to something deeper, purer, and higher.--I. F.]
Included among the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection."--ED.
"=What is good for a bootless bene?=" With these dark words begins my Tale; And their meaning is, whence can comfort spring When Prayer is of no avail?
"=What is good for a bootless bene?=" 5 The Falconer to the Lady said; And she made answer "ENDLESS SORROW!" For she knew that her Son was dead.
She knew it by[1] the Falconer's words, And from the look of the Falconer's eye; 10 And from the love which was in her soul For her youthful Romilly.
--Young Romilly through Barden woods Is ranging high and low; And holds a greyhound in a leash, 15 To let slip upon buck or doe.
The pair[2] have reached that fearful chasm, How tempting to bestride! For lordly Wharf is there pent in With rocks on either side. 20
The[3] striding-place is called THE STRID, A name which it took of yore: A thousand years hath it borne that name, And shall a thousand more.
And hither is young Romilly come, 25 And what may now forbid That he, perhaps for the hundredth time, Shall bound across THE STRID?
He sprang in glee,--for what cared he 29 That the river was strong, and the rocks were steep?-- But the greyhound in the leash hung back, And checked him in his leap.
The Boy is in the arms of Wharf, And strangled by[4] a merciless force; For never more was young Romilly seen 35 Till he rose a lifeless corse.
Now there is[5] stillness in the vale, And long,[6] unspeaking, sorrow: Wharf shall be to pitying hearts A name more sad than Yarrow. 40
If for a lover the Lady wept, A solace she might borrow From death, and from the passion of death:-- Old Wharf might heal her sorrow.
She weeps not for the wedding-day 45 Which was to be to-morrow: Her hope was a further-looking hope, And hers is a mother's sorrow.
He was a tree that stood alone, And proudly did its branches wave; 50 And the root of this delightful tree Was in her husband's grave!
Long, long in darkness did she sit, And her first words were, "Let there be In Bolton, on the field of Wharf, 55 A stately Priory!"
The stately Priory was reared;[C] And Wharf, as he moved along, To matins joined a mournful voice, Nor failed at even-song. 60
And the Lady prayed in heaviness That looked not for relief! But slowly did her succour come, And a patience to her grief.
Oh! there is never sorrow of heart 65 That shall lack a timely end, If but to God we turn, and ask Of Him to be our friend![D]
There were few variations in the text of this poem, from 1815 to 1850; but I have found, in a letter of Dorothy Wordsworth's to her friend Miss Jane Pollard, the mother of Lady Monteagle--who kindly sent it to me--an earlier version, which differs considerably from the form in which it was first published in 1815. The letter is dated October 18th, 1807, and the poem is as follows:--
"_What is good for a bootless bene?_" The Lady answer'd, "_endless sorrow_." _Her_ words are plain; but the Falconer's words Are a path that is dark to travel thorough.
These words I bring from the Banks of Wharf, Dark words to front an ancient tale: And their meaning is, whence can comfort spring When prayer is of no avail?
"What is good for a bootless bene?" The Falconer to the Lady said, And she made answer as ye have heard, For she knew that her Son was dead.
She knew it from the Falconer's words And from the look of the Falconer's eye, And from the love that was in her heart For her youthful Romelli.
Young Romelli to the Woods is gone, And who doth on his steps attend? He hath a greyhound in a leash, A chosen forest Friend.
And they have reach'd that famous Chasm Where he who dares may stride Across the River Wharf, pent in With rocks on either side.
And that striding place is call'd THE STRID, A name which it took of yore; A thousand years hath it borne that name, And shall a thousand more.
And thither is young Romelli come; And what may now forbid That He, perhaps for the hundredth time, Shall bound across the Strid?
He sprang in glee; for what cared he That the River was strong, and the Rocks were steep? But the greyhound in the Leash hung back And check'd him in his leap.
The Boy is in the arms of Wharf, And strangled with a merciless force; For never more was young Romelli seen, Till he was a lifeless corse.
Now is there stillness in the vale And long unspeaking sorrow, Wharf has buried fonder hopes Than e'er were drown'd in Yarrow.[E]
If for a Lover the Lady wept A comfort she might borrow From death, and from the passion of death; Old Wharf might heal her sorrow.
She weeps not for the Wedding-day That was to be to-morrow,[F] Her hope was a farther-looking hope And hers is a Mother's sorrow.
Oh was he not a comely tree? And proudly did his branches wave; And the Root of this delightful Tree Is in her Husband's grave.
Long, long in darkness did she sit, And her first word was, "Let there be At Bolton, in the Fields of Wharf A stately Priory."
And the stately Priory was rear'd, And Wharf as he moved along, To Matins joined a mournful voice, Nor fail'd at Even-song.
And the Lady pray'd in heaviness That wish'd not for relief; But slowly did her succour come, And a patience to her grief.
Oh! there is never sorrow of heart That shall lack a timely end, If but to God we turn, and ask Of him to be our Friend.
The poem of Samuel Rogers, to which Wordsworth refers in the Fenwick note, is named _The Boy of Egremond_. It begins--
"Say, what remains when Hope is fled?" She answered, "endless weeping!"
In a letter to Wordsworth in 1815, Charles Lamb wrote thus of _The Force of Prayer_, "Young Romilly is divine; the reasons of his mother's grief being remediless. I never saw parental love carried up so high, towering above the other loves. Shakspeare had done something for the filial in Cordelia, and, by implication, for the fatherly too, in Lear's resentment; he left it for you to explore the depths of the maternal heart.... When I first opened upon the just mentioned poem, in a careless tone, I said to Mary, as if putting a riddle, '_What is good for a bootless bene?_' To which, with infinite presence of mind (as the jest-book has it), she answered, 'A shoeless pea.' It was the first joke she ever made.... I never felt deeply in my life if that poem did not make me feel, both lately and when I read it in MS." (_The Letters of Charles Lamb_, edited by Alfred Ainger, vol. i. p. 288.)--ED.
VARIANTS:
[1] 1820.
... from ... 1815.
[2] 1820.
And the Pair ... 1815.
[3] 1850.
This ... 1815.
[4] 1820.
... with ... 1815.
[5] 1820.
Now is there ... 1815.
[6] 1815.
And deep ... 1827.
The text of 1837 returns to that of 1815.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] See _The White Doe of Rylstone_.--W. W. 1820.
[B] Charles Lamb wrote to Wordsworth, May 1819, of Rogers--"He has been re-writing your Poem of the Strid, and publishing it at the end of his 'Human Life.' Tie him up to the cart, hangman, while you are about it." (_The Letters of Charles Lamb_, edited by Alfred Ainger, vol. ii. p. 20.)--ED.
[C] The Lady Alice De Romilly built not only Bolton Priory, but the nave of Carlisle Cathedral, and the chancel of Crosthwaite Parish Church at Keswick.--ED.
[D] "Young Romilly" was a son of Fitz Duncan, Earl of Murray in Scotland, whose Cumbrian estates extended from Dunmail Raise to St. Bees. This "Boy of Egremond" was second cousin of Malcolm, King of Scotland; and by the marriage of Fitz Duncan's sister (Matilda the Good) with Henry I. of England, he stood in the same relation to Henry II. of England. Fitz Duncan married Alice, the only daughter and heiress of Robert de Romilly, lord of Skipton. Compare Ferguson's _History of Cumberland_, p. 175.--ED.
[E] Alluding to a Ballad of Logan's.--W. W. 1807.
[F] From the same Ballad.--W. W. 1807.
COMPOSED WHILE THE AUTHOR WAS ENGAGED IN WRITING A TRACT, OCCASIONED BY THE CONVENTION OF CINTRA. 1808
Composed 1808.--Published 1815
This sonnet was included among those "dedicated to Liberty."--ED.
Not 'mid the World's vain objects that[1] enslave The free-born Soul--that World whose vaunted skill In selfish interest perverts the will, Whose factions lead astray the wise and brave-- Not there; but in dark wood and rocky cave, 5 And hollow vale which foaming torrents fill With omnipresent murmur as they rave Down their steep beds, that never shall be still: Here, mighty Nature! in this school sublime I weigh the hopes and fears of suffering Spain; 10 For her consult the auguries of time, And through the human heart explore my way; And look and listen--gathering, whence[2] I may, Triumph, and thoughts no bondage can restrain.
Wordsworth began to write on the Convention of Cintra in November 1808, and sent two articles on the subject to the December (1808) and January (1809) numbers of _The Courier_. The subject grew in importance to him as he discussed it: and he threw his reflections on the subject into the form of a small treatise, the preface to which was dated 20th May 1809. The full title of this (so-called) "Tract" is "Concerning the Relations of Great Britain, Spain, and Portugal to each other, and to the common Enemy, at this crisis; and specifically as affected by the Convention of Cintra: the whole brought to the test of those Principles, by which alone the Independence and Freedom of Nations can be Preserved or Recovered."--ED.
VARIANTS:
[1] 1820.
... which ... 1815.
[2] 1827.
... where ... 1815.
COMPOSED AT THE SAME TIME AND ON THE SAME OCCASION
Composed 1808.--Published 1815
One of the "Sonnets dedicated to Liberty."--ED.
I dropped my pen; and listened to the Wind That sang of trees up-torn and vessels tost-- A midnight harmony; and wholly lost To the general sense of men by chains confined Of business, care, or pleasure; or resigned 5 To timely sleep. Thought I, the impassioned strain, Which, without aid of numbers, I sustain, Like acceptation from the World will find. Yet some with apprehensive ear shall drink A dirge devoutly breathed o'er sorrows past; 10 And to the attendant promise will give heed-- The prophecy,--like that of this wild blast, Which, while it makes the heart with sadness shrink, Tells also of bright calms that shall succeed.
1809
The poems belonging to the years 1809 and 1810 were mainly sonnets--although _The Excursion_ was being added to at intervals. Of twenty-four which were included by Wordsworth, in the final arrangement of his poems, among those "dedicated to National Independence and Liberty," fourteen belong to the year 1809, and ten to 1810. It is difficult to ascertain the principle which guided him in determining the succession of these sonnets. They were not placed in chronological order; nor is there any historical or topographical reason for their being arranged as they were. I have therefore felt at liberty to depart from his order, to the following extent.
The six sonnets referring to the Tyrolese have been brought together in one group. Those containing allusions to Spain might have been similarly treated; but the sonnets on Schill, the King of Sweden, and Napoleon--as arranged by Wordsworth himself--do not break the continuity of the series on Spain, in the same way that the insertion of those on Palafox and Zaragoza interferes with the unity of the Tyrolean group; and the re-arrangement of the latter series enables me more conveniently to append to it a German translation of the sonnets, and a paper upon them, by Alois Brandl.--ED.
TYROLESE SONNETS
I
HOFFER
Composed 1809.--Published 1809[A]
The six sonnets of this Tyrolean group were placed among the "Sonnets dedicated to Liberty."--ED.
Of mortal parents is the Hero born By whom the undaunted Tyrolese are led? Or is it Tell's great Spirit, from the dead Returned to animate an age forlorn? He comes like Phoebus through the gates of morn 5 When dreary darkness is discomfited, Yet mark his modest[1] state! upon his head, That simple crest, a heron's plume, is worn.[2] O Liberty! they stagger at the shock From van to rear--and with one mind would flee, 10 But half their host is buried:[3]--rock on rock Descends:--beneath this godlike Warrior, see! Hills, torrents, woods, embodied to bemock The Tyrant, and confound his cruelty.
The expectation that the Germans would rise against the French in 1807 was realised only in the Tyrol. Andreas Hofer, an innkeeper in the Passeierthal, was the chief of the Tyrolese leaders. More than once he called his countrymen to arms, and was successful for a time. The Bavarians, however, defeated him, in October 1809. He was tried by court-martial, and shot in 1810.--ED.
VARIANTS:
[1] 1815.
... simple ... 1809.
[2] 1815.
A Heron's feather for a crest is worn. 1809.
[3] 1837.
... at the shock; The Murderers are aghast; they strive to flee And half their Host is buried:-- ... 1809.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] In _The Friend_, October 26.--ED.
II
"ADVANCE--COME FORTH FROM THY TYROLEAN GROUND"
Composed 1809.--Published 1809[A]
Advance--come forth from thy Tyrolean ground, Dear Liberty! stern Nymph of soul untamed; Sweet Nymph, O rightly of the mountains named! Through the long chain of Alps from mound to mound And o'er the eternal snows, like Echo, bound; 5 Like Echo, when the hunter train at dawn Have roused her from her sleep: and forest-lawn, Cliffs, woods and caves, her viewless steps resound And babble of her pastime!--On, dread Power! With such invisible motion speed thy flight, 10 Through hanging clouds, from craggy height to height, Through the green vales and through the herdsman's bower-- That all the Alps may gladden in thy might, Here, there, and in all places at one hour.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] In _The Friend_, October 26.--ED.
III
FEELINGS OF THE TYROLESE
Composed 1809.--Published 1809[A]
The Land we from our fathers had in trust, And to our children will transmit, or die: This is our maxim, this our piety; And God and Nature say that it is just. That which we _would_ perform in arms--we must! 5 We read the dictate in the infant's eye; In the wife's smile; and in the placid sky; And, at our feet, amid the silent dust Of them that were before us.--Sing aloud Old songs, the precious music of the heart! 10 Give, herds and flocks, your voices to the wind! While we go forth, a self-devoted crowd, With weapons grasped in fearless hands,[1] to assert Our virtue, and to vindicate mankind.
VARIANTS:
[1] 1837.
With weapons in the fearless hand, 1809.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] In _The Friend_, December 21.--ED.
IV
"ALAS! WHAT BOOTS THE LONG LABORIOUS QUEST"
Composed 1809.--Published 1809[A]
Alas! what boots the long laborious quest Of moral prudence, sought through good and ill; Or pains[1] abstruse--to elevate the will, And[2] lead us on to that transcendent rest Where every passion shall the sway attest 5 Of Reason, seated on her sovereign hill; What is it but a vain and curious skill, If sapient Germany must lie deprest, Beneath the brutal sword?--Her haughty Schools Shall blush; and may not we with sorrow say, 10 A few strong instincts and a few plain rules, Among the herdsmen of the Alps, have wrought More for mankind at this unhappy day Than all the pride of intellect and thought?
See the paper by Alois Brandl appended to this series of sonnets, p. 218. Wordsworth had probably no means of knowing anything of Fichte's "Addresses to the German Nation," delivered weekly in Berlin, from December 1807 to March 1808. (See _Fichte_, by Professor Adamson, pp. 84-91.)--ED.
VARIANTS:
[1] 1815.
... pain ... 1809.
[2] 1815.
Or ... 1809.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] In _The Friend_, November 16, under the title, _Sonnet suggested by the efforts of the Tyrolese, contrasted with the present state of Germany_.--ED.
V
ON THE FINAL SUBMISSION OF THE TYROLESE
Composed 1809.--Published 1809[A]
It was a _moral_ end for which they fought; Else how, when mighty Thrones were put to shame, Could they, poor Shepherds, have preserved an aim, A resolution, or enlivening thought? Nor hath that moral good been _vainly_ sought; 5 For in their magnanimity and fame Powers have they left, an impulse, and a claim Which neither can be overturned nor bought. Sleep, Warriors, sleep! among your hills repose! We know that ye, beneath the stern control 10 Of awful prudence, keep the unvanquished soul: And when, impatient of her guilt and woes, Europe breaks forth; then, Shepherds! shall ye rise For perfect triumph o'er your Enemies.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] In _The Friend_, December 21, under the title, _On the report of the submission of the Tyrolese_.--ED.
VI
"THE MARTIAL COURAGE OF A DAY IS VAIN"
Composed 1810?[A]--Published 1815
The martial courage of a day is vain, An empty noise of death the battle's roar, If vital hope be wanting to restore, Or fortitude be wanting to sustain, Armies or kingdoms. We have heard a strain 5 Of triumph, how the labouring Danube bore A weight of hostile corses: drenched with gore Were the wide fields, the hamlets heaped with slain. Yet see (the mighty tumult overpast) Austria a Daughter of her Throne hath sold! 10 And her Tyrolean Champion we behold Murdered, like one ashore by shipwreck cast, Murdered without relief. Oh! blind as bold, To think that such assurance can stand fast!
FOOTNOTES:
[A] I retain this Tyrolese sonnet amongst the others belonging to the same theme; but, as Hofer was shot in 1810, it was probably written in that year.--ED.
* * * * *
I append to this series of sonnets on the Tyrol and the Tyrolese the translation of a paper contributed by Alois Brandl, a Tyrolean, to the _Neue Freie Presse_ of October 22, 1880. Herr Brandl was for some time in England investigating the traces of a German literary influence on Coleridge, Wordsworth, and their contemporaries.
"It was in the year 1809; Napoleon was at the height of his career of victory; and England alone of all his opponents held the supremacy at sea. For years the English were the only representatives of freedom in Europe. At last it seemed that two fortunate allies arose to join their cause--the insurgents in Spain and in the little land of Tyrol. No wonder then that now British poets sympathised with the victors at the hill of Isel, and praised their courage and their leaders, and at last, when they were overcome by superior forces, laid the laurel wreath of tragic heroism on their graves.
"Thirty or forty years before, English poets would scarcely have shown such a lively interest in a war of independence in a foreign country. They stood under the curse of narrow-mindedness and one-sidedness both in politics and in art, so that their smooth-running verses neither sought nor found a response even in the hearts of their own fellow-countrymen. The poets who appeared before the public in the year 1798 with the famous 'Lyrical Ballads' were the first to strike out a new path. Although differing considerably from one another in other respects, they agreed in their opposition to the conventionality of the old school."
. . . . .
"Wordsworth lived in a simple little house on the romantic lake of Grasmere, in the heart of the mountains of Westmoreland. He studied more in his walks over heath and field than in books, and entered with interest into the questions affecting the good of the country people around him. All this of necessity impelled him to take a warm interest in the herdsmen of the Alps.
"But the Tyrolese inspired him with still greater interest on political grounds. Like all the lake poets, he was an enthusiastic admirer, not of the French revolution, but of the republic as long as it seemed to desire the realization of the ideas of Liberty, Fraternity, Equality, and the rest of Rousseau's Arcadian notions; and it was a bitter disillusion for him, as well as for Klopstock, when this much-praised home of the free rights of man resolved itself into the empire of Napoleon. From this moment he took his place on the side of the enemies of France, and particularly on the side of the Tyrolese, since they had never lost the natural simplicity of their habits, and had regained the hereditary freedom, of which they had been deprived, with the sword. Thus arose the curious paradox, that a republican poet glorified spontaneously the cause of an exceedingly monarchical and conservative country.
"Wordsworth gave vent to his enthusiasm in six sonnets, which, as far as power of language and vigour of thought are concerned, form interesting companion-pieces to the poems of the contemporary Tyrolese poet Alois Weissenbach. In the first three sonnets the splendour of the Alpine world, which he knew from his journeys in Switzerland, forms the background of the picture. In the foreground he sees a band of brave and daring men, in whose hearts he thought he could find all his own moral pathos. Many of the features which he has introduced certainly show more ideal fancy than knowledge of detail; but it was not his purpose to compose a correct report of the war, but to give an exciting description of the heroes of this struggle for independence, in order that, even though they themselves should be overpowered, their spirit might arise again among his own fellow-countrymen. In the fourth sonnet, in his enthusiasm for the Tyrolese, he has treated the German universities with unnecessary severity; but this does not prove any intentional want of fairness on his part, for at that time our universities stood under general discredit in England as the hotbeds of the wildest metaphysics and political dreams. The events of the year 1813 would probably induce Wordsworth to view them in a more favourable light. Similarly the sixth sonnet is not quite just to Austria; in particular Wordsworth has made decidedly too little allowance for the fact that the Emperor Franz I. ceded the Tyrol quite against his own will under the pressure of circumstances. But in this case we must not simply impute all the blame to the poet; for as we see from the diary of his friend Southey, his information as to the doings of Austria was of a most vague and unfavourable character. We, however, cannot have any wish to impute to Austria the sins of ill-advised diplomacy."
The following are Herr Brandl's German translations of five of Wordsworth's sonnets:--
1
Andreas Hofer.
Von Sterblichen geboren sei der Held, Der den Tirolern todeskühn gebeut? Ist etwa Tell's Geist aus der Ewigkeit Gekehrt, zu wecken die verlor'ne Welt?
Er kommt wie Phöbus aus dem Morgenzelt, Wenn sich die Finsterniß der Nacht zerstreut, Und doch, wie schlicht! Ein Falkenschweif nur dreut Von seinem Hut und füllt sein Wappenfeld.
O Freiheit! Wie der Feind erbebt in Rücken Und Front und gerne flöh' in ~einer~ Fluth, Wär' er nicht halb bedeckt von Felsenstücken, Gewälzt von dieses Kämpfers Göttermuth! Geeint sind Berg, Wald, Wildbach, zu erdrücken Hohnlachend den Tyrann und seine Wuth.
2[B]
Freiheit, ersteig aus deinem Heimatsland Tirol! du Mädchen ernst und unzähmbar Und lieblich doch, der Berge Kind fürwahr! Ein Echo zwischen Fels und Alpenwand.
Und über Gletschern bist du festgebannt; Ein Echo, das die Jagd im Morgengrau Vom Schlaf' aufscheucht, daß Berg und Wald und Au Und Höhle dröhnen, wo's unsichtbar stand,
Sein Spiel verkündend. So urplötzlich strahl', Du hehre Macht, hervor im Siegeslauf Durch Wolkenwust, von Klippenknauf zu Knauf, Durch Almenhütten, durch das grüne Thal; In dir dann jauchzen alle Alpen auf Hier, dort und überall mit ~einem~ Mal!
3
Gefühle der Tiroler.
»Das Land ist uns vertraut vom Ahngeschlecht: So sei's vererbt--und kost' es auch das Leben-- Den Kindern: das ist Pflicht und fromm und eben; Natur und Gott, sie nennen es gerecht.
Wir ~müssen~ thun, was möglich, im Gefecht: Sieh' dies Gebot im Kindesauge leben, Von Frauenlippen, aus dem Aether schweben; Ihr Väter selbst aus Grabesmoder sprecht
Es laut empor.--So kling' in Sangesbraus Der alten Lieder herzliche Musik! Einstimmen Hirt und Heerde in den Reihen! Ein opferwillig' Häuflein zieh'n wir aus, Die Waffen in den Händen, Muth im Blick, Der Tugend treu, die Menschheit zu befreien.«
4
Was nützt, ach! langes sittenkluges Streiten, Das man aus »gut« und »böse« preßt mit Müh'; Was dummer Fleiß, zu höh'n die Energie Und zu transcendentaler Ruh' zu leiten,
Daß jede Leidenschaft sich lasse reiten Von der Vernunft in Allsuprematie: Ist das nicht seltsam eitle Theorie, Wenn Deutschland trotz so viel Spitzfindigkeiten
Dem rohen Schwert erliegt? Erröthen sollen Die hohen Schulen! Müssen wir nicht sagen: Mehr wußten wenig Regeln, starkes Wollen Durch schlichte Alpenhirten auszuführen Für's Menschenwohl in diesen Unglückstagen, Als alles stolze Metaphysiciren?
5
Auf die schließliche Unterwerfung der Tiroler.
Ist einer ~guten~ Sache galt ihr Schlagen; Wie hätten bei der Throne Niederfahrt Sonst sie, die armen Schäfer, sich bewahrt Begeisternd hohen Sinn und kräftig Wagen?
Auch hat ihr Kampf für's Gute Frucht getragen: Weckt nicht ihr Ruhm, die große Denkungsart Auch uns den Muth, mit Rechtsgefühl gepaart, Der nicht zu kaufen ist, nicht zu zernagen?
Schlaft, Kämpfer! Unter euren Bergen ruht! Dem strengsten Richter kann es nicht entgehen: Nie kannte euer ~Herz~ das Retiriren. Und bricht in höchster Pein und Rachewuth Europa los, so sollt ihr auferstehen, ~Ganz~ über euern Feind zu triumphiren!
FOOTNOTES:
[B] Sonette 2 und 4 sind unbetitelt.
"AND IS IT AMONG RUDE UNTUTORED DALES"
Composed 1809.--Published 1809[A]
This and the remaining sonnets of 1809 were placed among those "dedicated to Liberty."--ED.
And is it among rude untutored Dales,[1] There, and there only, that the heart is true? And, rising to repel or to subdue, Is it by rocks and woods that man prevails? Ah no! though Nature's dread protection fails, 5 There is a bulwark in the soul.[2] This knew Iberian Burghers when the sword they drew In Zaragoza, naked to the gales Of fiercely-breathing war. The truth was felt By Palafox, and many a brave compeer, 10 Like him of noble birth and noble mind; By ladies, meek-eyed women without fear; And wanderers of the street, to whom is dealt The bread which without industry they find.
Palafox-y-Melzi, Don Joseph (1780-1847), immortalized by his heroic defence of Saragossa in 1808-9. He was of an old Aragon family, and entered the Spanish army at an early age. In 1808, when twenty-nine years of age, he was appointed governor of Saragossa, by the people of the town, who were menaced by the French armies. He defended it with a few men, against immense odds, and compelled the French to abandon the siege, after sixty-one days' attack, and the loss of thousands. Saragossa, however, was too important to lose, and Marshals Mortier and Moncy renewed the siege with a large army. Palafox (twice defeated outside) retired to the fortress as before, where the men, women, and children fought in defence, till the city was almost a heap of ruins. Typhus attacked the garrison within, while the French army assailed it from without. Palafox, smitten by the fever, had to give up the command to another, who signed a capitulation next day. He was sent a prisoner to Vincennes, and kept there for nearly five years, till the restoration of Ferdinand VII., when he was sent back on a secret mission to Madrid. In 1814 he was appointed Captain-General of Aragon; but for about thirty years--till his death in 1847--he took no part in public affairs.--ED.
VARIANTS:
[1] 1815.
... vales, 1809.
[2] The word "soul" was _italicised_ in the editions of 1809 to 1832.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] In Coleridge's _Friend_, December 21.--ED.
"O'ER THE WIDE EARTH, ON MOUNTAIN AND ON PLAIN"
Composed 1809.--Published 1809[A]
O'er the wide earth, on mountain and on plain, Dwells in the affections and the soul of man A Godhead, like the universal PAN;[B] But more exalted, with a brighter train: And shall his bounty be dispensed in vain, 5 Showered equally on city and on field, And neither hope nor stedfast promise yield In these usurping times of fear and pain? Such doom awaits us. Nay, forbid it Heaven! We know the arduous strife, the eternal laws 10 To which the triumph of all good is given, High sacrifice, and labour without pause, Even to the death:--else wherefore should the eye Of man converse with immortality?
FOOTNOTES:
[A] In Coleridge's _Friend_, December 21.--ED.
[B] Compare Aubrey de Vere's _Picturesque Sketches of Greece and Turkey_, vol. i. chap. viii. p. 204.--ED.
In _The Friend_ (edition 1812), the following footnote occurs--
"... universal Pan, Knit with the graces and the hours in dance, Led on the eternal spring.--MILTON." ED.
"HAIL, ZARAGOZA! IF WITH UNWET EYE"
Composed 1809.--Published 1815
Hail, Zaragoza! If with unwet eye We can approach, thy sorrow to behold, Yet is the heart not pitiless nor cold; Such spectacle demands not tear or sigh. These desolate remains are trophies high 5 Of more than martial courage in the breast Of peaceful civic virtue:[A] they attest Thy matchless worth to all posterity. Blood flowed before thy sight without remorse; Disease consumed thy vitals; War upheaved 10 The ground beneath thee with volcanic force: Dread trials! yet encountered and sustained Till not a wreck of help or hope remained, And law was from necessity[1] received.[B]
See note to the sonnet beginning "And is it among rude untutored Dales" (p. 222). "Saragossa surrendered February 20, 1809, after a heroic defence, which may recall the sieges of Numantiaor Saguntum. Every street, almost every house, had been hotly contested; the monks, and even the women, had taken a conspicuous share in the defence; more than 40,000 bodies of both sexes and every age testified to the obstinate courage of the besieged." (See Dyer's _History of Modern Europe_, vol. iv. p. 496.)--ED.
VARIANTS:
[1] The word "necessity" was _italicised_ in the editions of 1815 to 1843.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] Compare a passage in Wordsworth's Essay _Concerning the Convention of Cintra_ (1809, pp. 180-1), beginning "Most gloriously have the Citizens of Saragossa proved that the true army of Spain, in a contest of this nature, is the whole people."--ED.
[B] The beginning is imitated from an Italian Sonnet.--W. W. 1815.
In 1837 Wordsworth put it thus, "In this Sonnet I am under some obligations to one of an Italian author, to which I cannot refer." But it is to be noted that in the edition of 1837, this note does not refer to the sonnet on Saragossa, but to that beginning "O, for a kindling touch from that pure flame," belonging to the year 1816. In subsequent editions the note is reappended to this sonnet beginning "Hail, Zaragoza!"--ED.
"SAY, WHAT IS HONOUR?--'TIS THE FINEST SENSE"
Composed 1809.--Published 1815
Say, what is Honour?--'Tis the finest sense Of _justice_ which the human mind can frame, Intent each lurking frailty to disclaim, And guard the way of life from all offence Suffered or done. When lawless violence 5 Invades a Realm, so pressed that in the scale[1] Of perilous war her weightiest armies fail, Honour is hopeful elevation,--whence Glory, and triumph. Yet with politic skill Endangered States may yield to terms unjust; 10 Stoop their proud heads, but not unto the dust-- A Foe's most favourite purpose to fulfil: Happy occasions oft by self-mistrust Are forfeited; but infamy doth kill.
VARIANTS:
[1] 1837.
A Kingdom doth assault, and in the scale 1815.
"BRAVE SCHILL! BY DEATH DELIVERED, TAKE THY FLIGHT"
Composed 1809.--Published 1815
Brave Schill! by death delivered, take thy flight From Prussia's timid region. Go, and rest With heroes, 'mid the islands of the Blest, Or in the fields of empyrean light. A meteor wert thou crossing a dark night:[1] 5 Yet shall thy name, conspicuous and sublime, Stand in the spacious firmament of time, Fixed as a star: such glory is thy right. Alas! it may not be: for earthly fame Is Fortune's frail dependant; yet their lives 10 A Judge, who, as man claims by merit, gives; To whose all-pondering mind a noble aim, Faithfully kept, is as a noble deed; In whose pure sight all virtue doth succeed.
Ferdinand von Schill, a distinguished Prussian officer, born 1773, entered the army 1789, was seriously wounded in the battle of Jena, but took the field again at the head of a free corps. Indignant at the subjection of his country to Buonaparte, he resolved to make a great effort for the liberation of Germany, collected a small body of troops, and commenced operations on the Elbe; but after a few successes was overpowered and slain at Stralsund, May 31, 1809. On June 4, 1809, Wordsworth writing to Daniel Stewart, editor of _The Courier_ newspaper, says, "Many thanks for the newspaper. Schill is a fine fellow." The sonnet was doubtless inspired by what he thus heard of Schill.--ED.
VARIANTS:
[1] 1837.
... in a darksome night: 1815.
"CALL NOT THE ROYAL SWEDE UNFORTUNATE"
Composed 1809.--Published 1815
Call not the royal Swede unfortunate, Who never did to Fortune bend the knee; Who slighted fear; rejected steadfastly Temptation; and whose kingly name and state Have "perished by his choice, and not his fate!" 5 Hence lives He, to his inner self endeared; And hence, wherever virtue is revered, He sits a more exalted Potentate, Throned in the hearts of men. Should Heaven ordain That this great Servant of a righteous cause 10 Must still have sad or vexing thoughts to endure, Yet may a sympathizing spirit pause, Admonished by these truths, and quench all pain In thankful joy and gratulation pure.
The royal Swede, "who never did to Fortune bend the knee," was Gustavus IV. He abdicated in 1809, and came to London at the close of the year 1810. Compare the earlier sonnet on the same King of Sweden (vol. ii. p. 338), beginning--
The Voice of song from distant lands shall call.
In the edition of 1827, Wordsworth added the following note:--"In this and a former Sonnet, in honour of the same Sovereign, let me be understood as a Poet availing himself of the situation which the King of Sweden occupied, and of the principles avowed in his manifestos; as laying hold of these advantages for the purpose of embodying moral truths. This remark might, perhaps, as well have been suppressed; for to those who may be in sympathy with the course of these Poems, it will be superfluous; and will, I fear, be thrown away upon that other class, whose besotted admiration of the intoxicated despot here placed in contrast with him, is the most melancholy evidence of degradation in British feeling and intellect which the times have furnished."--ED.
"LOOK NOW ON THAT ADVENTURER WHO HATH PAID"
Composed 1809.--Published 1815
Look now on that Adventurer who hath paid His vows to Fortune; who, in cruel slight Of virtuous hope, of liberty, and right, Hath followed wheresoe'er a way was made By the blind Goddess,--ruthless, undismayed; 5 And so hath gained at length a prosperous height, Round which the elements of worldly might Beneath his haughty feet, like clouds, are laid. O joyless power that stands by lawless force! Curses are _his_ dire portion, scorn, and hate, 10 Internal darkness and unquiet breath; And, if old judgments keep their sacred course, Him from that height shall Heaven precipitate By violent and ignominious death.
The "Adventurer" who "paid his vows to Fortune," in contrast to the royal Swede "who never did to Fortune bend the knee," was of course Napoleon Buonaparte.--ED.
"IS THERE A POWER THAT CAN SUSTAIN AND CHEER"
Composed 1809.--Published 1815
Is there a power that can sustain and cheer The captive chieftain, by a tyrant's doom, Forced to descend into his destined tomb--[1] A dungeon dark! where he must waste the year, And lie cut off from all his heart holds dear; 5 What time his injured country is a stage Whereon deliberate Valour and the rage Of righteous Vengeance side by side appear, Filling from morn to night the heroic scene With deeds of hope and everlasting praise:-- 10 Say can he think of this with mind serene And silent fetters? Yes, if visions bright Shine on his soul, reflected from the days When he himself was tried in open light.
This may refer to Palafox, alluded to in the sonnet (p. 222) beginning, "And is it among rude untutored Dales," and in the one next in order in the series (p. 223); although, from the latter sonnet, it would seem that Wordsworth did not know that Palafox was, in 1809, a prisoner at Vincennes.
In his edition of the poems published in 1837, Professor Henry Reed of Philadelphia said, "He must be dull of heart who, in perusing this series of Poems 'dedicated to Liberty,' does not feel his affection for his own country--wherever it may be--and his love of freedom, under whatever form of government his lot may have been cast--at once invigorated and chastened into a purer and more thoughtful emotion."--ED.
VARIANTS:
[1] 1837.
Forced to descend alive into his tomb, 1815.
The text of 1815 was re-adopted in 1838; the text of 1840 returned to that of 1837.
EPITAPHS TRANSLATED FROM CHIABRERA
[Those from Chiabrera were chiefly translated when Mr. Coleridge was writing his _Friend_, in which periodical my "Essay on Epitaphs," written about that time, was first published. For further notice of Chiabrera, in connection with his Epitaphs, see _Musings near Aquapendente_.--I. F.]
It is better to print all the Epitaphs from Chiabrera together, than to spread them out over the years when they were written or published. Some of them were certainly written in 1809, or at least before 1810; others at a later date. But it is impossible to say in what year those published after 1810 were composed. They are all to be found in the class of "Epitaphs and Elegiac Pieces."--ED.
I
"WEEP NOT, BELOVÈD FRIENDS! NOR LET THE AIR"
Published 1837
Weep not, belovèd Friends! nor let the air For me with sighs be troubled. Not from life Have I been taken; this is genuine life And this alone--the life which now I live In peace eternal; where desire and joy 5 Together move in fellowship without end.-- Francesco Ceni willed that, after death, His tombstone thus should speak for him.[1] And surely Small cause there is for that fond wish of ours Long to continue in this world; a world 10 That keeps not faith, nor yet can point a hope To good, whereof itself is destitute.
VARIANTS:
[1] 1849.
Francesco Ceni after death enjoined That thus his tomb should speak for him ... 1837.
II
"PERHAPS SOME NEEDFUL SERVICE OF THE STATE"
Published 1810[A]
Perhaps some needful service of the State Drew TITUS from the depth of studious bowers, And doomed him to contend in faithless courts, Where gold determines between right and wrong. Yet did at length his loyalty of heart, 5 And his pure native genius, lead him back To wait upon the bright and gracious Muses, Whom he had early loved. And not in vain Such course he held! Bologna's learned schools Were gladdened by the Sage's voice, and hung 10 With fondness on those sweet Nestorian strains.[1] There pleasure crowned his days; and all his thoughts A roseate fragrance breathed.[2][B]--O human life, That never art secure from dolorous change! Behold a high injunction suddenly 15 To Arno's side hath brought him,[3] and he charmed A Tuscan audience: but full soon was called To the perpetual silence of the grave. Mourn, Italy, the loss of him who stood A Champion stedfast and invincible, 20 To quell the rage of literary War!
VARIANTS:
[1] 1815.
... Nestrian 1810.
[2] 1815.
There did he live content; and all his thoughts Were blithe as vernal flowers.-- 1810.
[3] 1837.
To Arno's side conducts him, 1810.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] In _The Friend_, February 22.--ED.
[B] Ivi vivea giocondo ei suoi pensieri Erano tutti rose.
The Translator had not skill to come nearer to his original.--W. W. 1815.
III
"O THOU WHO MOVEST ONWARD WITH A MIND"
Published 1810[A]
O Thou who movest onward with a mind Intent upon thy way, pause, though in haste! 'Twill be no fruitless moment. I was born Within Savona's walls, of gentle blood. On Tiber's banks my youth was dedicate 5 To sacred studies; and the Roman Shepherd Gave to my charge Urbino's numerous flock. Well[1] did I watch, much laboured, nor had power To escape from many and strange indignities; Was smitten by the great ones of the world, 10 But did not fall; for Virtue braves all shocks, Upon herself resting immoveably. Me did a kindlier fortune then invite To serve the glorious Henry, King of France, And in his hands I saw a high reward 15 Stretched out for my acceptance,--but Death came. Now, Reader, learn from this my fate, how false, How treacherous to her promise, is the world; And trust in God--to whose eternal doom Must bend the sceptred Potentates of earth. 20
VARIANTS:
[1] 1837.
Much ... 1810.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] In _The Friend_, February 22.--ED.
IV
"THERE NEVER BREATHED A MAN WHO, WHEN HIS LIFE"
Published 1809[A]
There never breathed a man who, when his life Was closing, might not of that life relate Toils long and hard.--The warrior will report Of wounds, and bright swords flashing in the field, And blast of trumpets. He who hath been doomed 5 To bow his forehead in the courts of kings, Will tell of fraud and never-ceasing hate, Envy and heart-inquietude, derived From intricate cabals of treacherous friends. I, who on shipboard lived from earliest youth, 10 Could represent the countenance horrible Of the vexed waters, and the indignant rage Of Auster and Boötes. Fifty[1] years Over the well-steered galleys did I rule:-- From huge Pelorus to the Atlantic pillars, 15 Rises no mountain to mine eyes unknown; And the broad gulfs I traversed oft and oft: Of every cloud which in the heavens might stir I knew the force; and hence the rough sea's pride Availed not to my Vessel's overthrow. 20 What noble pomp and frequent have not I On regal decks beheld! yet in the end I learned[2] that one poor moment can suffice To equalise the lofty and the low. We sail the sea of life--a _Calm_ One finds, 25 And One a _Tempest_--and, the voyage o'er, Death is the quiet haven of us all. If more of my condition ye would know, Savona was my birth-place, and I sprang Of noble parents: seventy[3] years and three 30 Lived I--then yielded to a slow disease.
VARIANTS:
[1] 1837.
... Forty ... 1809.
[2] 1832.
I learn ... 1809.
[3] 1837.
... sixty ... 1809.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] In _The Friend_, December 28.--ED.
V
"TRUE IS IT THAT AMBROSIO SALINERO"
Published 1837
True is it that Ambrosio Salinero With an untoward fate was long involved In odious litigation; and full long, Fate harder still! had he to endure assaults Of racking malady. And true it is 5 That not the less a frank courageous heart And buoyant spirit triumphed over pain; And he was strong to follow in the steps Of the fair Muses. Not a covert path Leads to the dear Parnassian forest's shade, 10 That might from him be hidden; not a track Mounts to pellucid Hippocrene, but he Had traced its windings.--This Savona knows, Yet no sepulchral honours to her Son She paid, for in our age the heart is ruled 15 Only by gold. And now a simple stone Inscribed with this memorial here is raised By his bereft, his lonely, Chiabrera. Think not, O Passenger! who read'st the lines That an exceeding love hath dazzled me; 20 No--he was One whose memory ought to spread Where'er Permessus bears an honoured name, And live as long as its pure stream shall flow.[A]
FOOTNOTES:
[A] Compare S. T. Coleridge's poem, _A Tombless Epitaph_.--ED.
VI
"DESTINED TO WAR FROM VERY INFANCY"
Published 1809[A]
Destined to war from very infancy Was I, Roberto Dati, and I took In Malta the white symbol of the Cross: Nor in life's vigorous season did I shun Hazard or toil; among the sands was seen 5 Of Libya; and not seldom, on the banks Of wide Hungarian Danube, 'twas my lot To hear the sanguinary trumpet sounded. So lived I, and repined not at such fate: This only grieves me, for it seems a wrong, 10 That stripped of arms I to my end am brought On the soft down of my paternal home. Yet haply Arno shall be spared all cause To blush for me. Thou, loiter not nor halt In thy appointed way, and bear in mind 15 How fleeting and how frail is human life!
FOOTNOTES:
[A] In _The Friend_, December 28.--ED.
VII
"O FLOWER OF ALL THAT SPRINGS FROM GENTLE BLOOD"
Published 1837
O flower of all that springs from gentle blood, And all that generous nurture breeds to make Youth amiable; O friend so true of soul To fair Aglaia; by what envy moved, Lelius! has death cut short thy brilliant day 5 In its sweet opening? and what dire mishap Has from Savona torn her best delight? For thee she mourns, nor e'er will cease to mourn; And, should the out-pourings of her eyes suffice not For her heart's grief, she will entreat Sebeto 10 Not to withhold his bounteous aid, Sebeto Who saw thee, on his margin, yield to death, In the chaste arms of thy belovèd Love! What profit riches? what does youth avail? Dust are our hopes;--I, weeping bitterly, 15 Penned these sad lines, nor can forbear to pray That every gentle Spirit hither led May read them not without some bitter tears.
VIII
"NOT WITHOUT HEAVY GRIEF OF HEART DID HE"
Published 1810[A]
Not without heavy grief of heart did He On whom the duty fell (for at that time The father sojourned in a distant land) Deposit in the hollow of this tomb A brother's Child, most tenderly beloved! 5 FRANCESCO was the name the Youth had borne, POZZOBONNELLI his illustrious house; And, when beneath this stone the Corse was laid, The eyes of all Savona streamed with tears. Alas! the twentieth April of his life 10 Had scarcely flowered: and at this early time, By genuine virtue he inspired a hope That greatly cheered his country: to his kin He promised comfort; and the flattering thoughts His friends had in their fondness entertained,[B] 15 He suffered not to languish or decay. Now is there not good reason to break forth Into a passionate lament?--O Soul! Short while a Pilgrim in our nether world, Do thou enjoy the calm empyreal air; 20 And round this earthly tomb let roses rise, An everlasting spring! in memory Of that delightful fragrance which was once From thy mild manners quietly exhaled.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] In _The Friend_, January 4.--ED.
[B] In justice to the Author I subjoin the original--
... e degli amici Non lasciava languire i bei pensieri.--W. W. 1815.
IX
"PAUSE, COURTEOUS SPIRIT!--BALBI SUPPLICATES"[A]
Published 1810[B]
Pause, courteous Spirit!--Balbi supplicates That Thou, with no reluctant voice, for him Here laid in mortal darkness, wouldst prefer A prayer to the Redeemer of the world. This to the dead by sacred right belongs; 5 All else is nothing.--Did occasion suit To tell his worth, the marble of this tomb Would ill suffice: for Plato's lore sublime, And all the wisdom of the Stagyrite, Enriched and beautified his studious mind: 10 With Archimedes also he conversed As with a chosen friend; nor did he leave Those laureat wreaths ungathered which the Nymphs Twine near their loved Permessus.[1]--Finally, Himself above each lower thought uplifting, 15 His ears he closed to listen to the songs[2] Which Sion's Kings did consecrate of old; And his Permessus found on Lebanon.[3] A blessèd Man! who of protracted days Made not, as thousands do, a vulgar sleep; 20 But truly did _He_ live his life. Urbino, Take pride in him!--O Passenger, farewell!
I have been unable to obtain any definite information in reference to the persons commemorated in these epitaphs by Chiabrera: Francesco Ceni, Titus, Ambrosio Salinero, Roberto Dati, Lelius, Francesco Pozzobonnelli, and Balbi. Mr. W. M. Rossetti writes to me that he "supposes all the men named by Chiabrera to be such as enjoyed a certain local and temporary reputation, which has hardly passed down to any sort of posterity, and certainly not to the ordinary English reader."
Chiabrera was born at Savona on the 8th of June 1552, and educated at Rome. He entered the service of Cardinal Cornaro, married in his 50th year, lived to the age of 85, and died October 14, 1637. His poetical faculty showed itself late. "Having commenced to read the Greek writers at home, he conceived a great admiration for Pindar, and strove successfully to imitate him. He was not less happy in catching the naïve and pleasant spirit of Anacreon; his canzonetti being distinguished for their ease and elegance, while his _Lettere Famigliari_ was the first attempt to introduce the poetical epistle into Italian Literature. He wrote also several epics, bucolics, and dramatic poems. His _Opere_ appeared at Venice, in 6 vols., in 1768."
Wordsworth says of him, in his _Essay on Epitaphs_, where translations of two of those Epitaphs of Chiabrera first appeared (see _The Friend_, February 22, 1810, and notes to _The Excursion_)--"His life was long, and every part of it bore appropriate fruits. Urbino, his birth-place, might be proud of him, and the passenger who was entreated to pray for his soul has a wish breathed for his welfare.... The Epitaphs of Chiabrera are twenty-nine in number, and all of them, save two, upon men probably little known at this day in their own country, and scarcely at all beyond the limits of it; and the reader is generally made acquainted with the moral and intellectual excellence which distinguished them by a brief history of the course of their lives, or a selection of events and circumstances, and thus they are individualized; but in the two other instances, namely, in those of Tasso and Raphael, he enters into no
## particulars, but contents himself with four lines expressing one
sentiment, upon the principle laid down in the former part of this discourse, when the subject of the epitaph is a man of prime note...."
Compare the poem _Musings near Aquapendente_. In reference to the places referred to in these Epitaphs of Chiabrera, it may be mentioned that Savona (Epitaphs III., IV., V., VII., VIII.) is a town in the Genovese territory; Permessus (Epitaphs V. and IX.) a river of Boeotia, rising in Mount Helicon and flowing round it, hence sacred to the Muses; and that the fountain of Hippocrene--also referred to in Epitaph V.--was not far distant. Sebeto (Epitaph VII.), now cape Faro, is a Sicilian promontory.--ED.
VARIANTS:
[1] 1837.
Twine on the top of Pindus.-- ... 1810.
[2] 1837.
... Song 1810.
[3] 1837.
And fixed his Pindus upon Lebanon. 1810.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] Wordsworth's extended commentary on this sonnet in his _Essay on Epitaphs_ (see his "Prose Works" in this edition), should here be referred to.--ED.
[B] In _The Friend_, January 4.--ED.
1810
As indicated in the editorial note to the poems belonging to the year 1809, those of 1810 were mainly sonnets, suggested by the events occurring on the Continent of Europe, and the patriotic efforts of the Spaniards to resist Napoleon. I have assigned the two referring to Flamininus, entitled _On a Celebrated Event in Ancient History_, to the same year. They were first published in 1815, and seem to have been due to the same impulse which led Wordsworth to write the "Sonnets dedicated to Liberty."--ED.
"AH! WHERE IS PALAFOX? NOR TONGUE NOR PEN"
Composed 1810.--Published 1815
All the sonnets of 1810 were "dedicated to Liberty." In every edition this poem had for its title the date _1810_.--ED.
Ah! where is Palafox? Nor tongue nor pen Reports of him, his dwelling or his grave! Does yet the unheard-of vessel ride the wave? Or is she swallowed up, remote from ken Of pitying human-nature? Once again 5 Methinks that we shall hail thee, Champion brave, Redeemed to baffle that imperial Slave, And through all Europe cheer desponding men With new-born hope. Unbounded is the might Of martyrdom, and fortitude, and right. 10 Hark, how thy Country triumphs!--Smilingly The Eternal looks upon her sword that gleams, Like his own lightning, over mountains high, On rampart, and the banks of all her streams.
See notes to sonnets (pp. 223 and 229).--ED.
"IN DUE OBSERVANCE OF AN ANCIENT RITE"
Composed 1810.--Published 1815
In due observance of an ancient rite, The rude Biscayans, when their children lie Dead in the sinless time of infancy, Attire the peaceful corse in vestments white; And, in like sign of cloudless triumph bright, 5 They bind the unoffending creature's brows With happy garlands of the pure white rose: Then do[1] a festal company unite In choral song; and, while the uplifted cross Of Jesus goes before, the child is borne 10 Uncovered to his grave: 'tis closed,--her loss The Mother _then_ mourns, as she needs must mourn; But soon, through Christian faith, is grief subdued;[2] And joy returns, to brighten fortitude.[3]
VARIANTS:
[1] 1837.
This done, ... 1815.
[2] 1837.
Uncovered to his grave.--Her piteous loss The lonesome Mother cannot chuse but mourn; Yet soon by Christian faith is grief subdued, 1815.
[3] C. and 1838.
And joy attends upon her fortitude. 1815.
Or joy returns to brighten fortitude. 1837.
FEELINGS OF A NOBLE BISCAYAN AT ONE OF THOSE FUNERALS, 1810
Composed 1810.--Published 1815
Yet, yet, Biscayans! we must meet our Foes With firmer soul, yet labour to regain Our ancient freedom; else 'twere worse than vain To gather round the bier these festal shows. A garland fashioned of the pure white rose 5 Becomes not one whose father is a slave: Oh, bear the infant covered to his grave! These venerable mountains now enclose A people sunk in apathy and fear. If this endure, farewell, for us, all good! 10 The awful light of heavenly innocence Will fail to illuminate the infant's bier; And guilt and shame, from which is no defence, Descend on all that issues from our blood.
ON A CELEBRATED EVENT IN ANCIENT HISTORY
Composed 1810.--Published 1815
A Roman Master stands on Grecian ground, And to the people at the Isthmian Games Assembled, He, by a herald's voice, proclaims[1] THE LIBERTY OF GREECE:--the words rebound Until all voices in one voice are drowned; 5 Glad acclamation by which air was[2] rent! And birds, high flying in the element, Dropped[3] to the earth, astonished at the sound! Yet were the thoughtful grieved; and still that voice Haunts, with sad echoes, musing Fancy's ear:[4] 10 Ah! that a _Conqueror's_ words[5] should be so dear: Ah! that a _boon_ could shed such rapturous joys! A gift of that which is not to be given By all the blended powers of Earth and Heaven.
This "Roman Master" "on Grecian ground" was T. Quintius Flamininus, one of the ablest and noblest of the Roman generals (230-174 B.C.). He was successful against Philip of Macedon, overran Thessaly in 198, and conquered the Macedonian army in 197, defeating Philip at Cynoscephalæ. He concluded a peace with the vanquished. "In the spring of 196, the Roman commission arrived in Greece to arrange, conjointly with Flamininus, the affairs of the country: they also brought with them the terms on which a definite peace was to be concluded with Philip.... The Ætolians exerted themselves to excite suspicions among the Greeks as to the sincerity of the Romans in their dealings with them. Flamininus, however, insisted upon immediate compliance with the terms of the peace.... In this summer, the Isthmian games were celebrated at Corinth, and thousands from all parts of Greece flocked thither. Flamininus, accompanied by the ten commissioners, entered the assembly, and, at his command, a herald, in name of the Roman Senate, proclaimed the freedom and independence of Greece. The joy and enthusiasm at this unexpected declaration was beyond all description: the throngs of people that crowded around Flamininus to catch a sight of their liberator or touch his garment were so enormous, that even his life was endangered." (Smith's _Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography_: Art. Flamininus, No. 4.)--ED.
VARIANTS:
[1] 1837.
And to the Concourse of the Isthmian Games He, by his Herald's voice, aloud proclaims 1815.
[2] 1815.
... is ... 1838.
The text of 1840 returns to that of 1815.
[3] 1815.
Drop ... 1838.
The text of 1840 returns to that of 1815.
[4] 1837.
... at the sound! --A melancholy Echo of that noise Doth sometimes hang on musing Fancy's ear: 1815.
[5] 1815.
... word ... 1827.
The text of 1837 returns to that of 1815.
UPON THE SAME EVENT
Composed (probably) 1810.--Published 1815
When, far and wide, swift as the beams of morn The tidings passed of servitude repealed, And of that joy which shook the Isthmian Field, The rough Ætolians smiled with bitter scorn. "'Tis known," cried they, "that he, who would adorn His envied temples with the Isthmian crown, 6 Must either win, through effort of his own, The prize, or be content to see it worn By more deserving brows.--Yet so ye prop, Sons of the brave who fought at Marathon, 10 Your feeble spirits! Greece her head hath bowed, As if the wreath of liberty thereon Would fix itself as smoothly as a cloud, Which, at Jove's will, descends on Pelion's top."
The Ætolians were the only Greeks that entertained suspicion of the Roman designs from the first. When Flamininus was wintering in Phocis in 196, and an insurrection broke out at Opus, some of the citizens had called in the aid of the Ætolians against the Macedonian garrison; but the gates of the city were not opened to admit the Ætolian volunteers till Flamininus arrived. Then in the battle at the heights of Cynoscephalæ, where the Macedonian army was routed, the Ætolian contingent, which had helped Flamininus, claimed the sole credit of the victory; and wished no truce made with Philip, as they were bent on the destruction of the Macedonian power. The Ætolians aimed subsequently at exciting suspicion against the sincerity of Flamininus. In the second sonnet, Wordsworth's sympathy seems to have been with the Ætolians, as much as it was with the Swiss and the Tyrolese in their attitude to Buonaparte. But Flamininus was not a Napoleon.--ED.
THE OAK OF GUERNICA
Composed 1810.--Published 1815
The ancient oak of Guernica, says Laborde in his account of Biscay, is a most venerable natural monument. Ferdinand and Isabella, in the year 1476, after hearing mass in the church of Santa Maria de la Antigua, repaired to this tree, under which they swore to the Biscayans to maintain their _fueros_ (privileges). What other interest belongs to it in the minds of this people will appear from the following
SUPPOSED ADDRESS TO THE SAME. 1810
Oak of Guernica! Tree of holier power Than that which in Dodona did enshrine (So faith too fondly deemed) a voice divine Heard from the depths of its aërial bower-- How canst thou flourish at this blighting hour? 5 What hope, what joy can sunshine bring to thee, Or the soft breezes from the Atlantic sea, The dews of morn, or April's tender shower? Stroke merciful and welcome would that be Which should extend thy branches on the ground, 10 If never more within their shady round Those lofty-minded Lawgivers shall meet, Peasant and lord, in their appointed seat, Guardians of Biscay's ancient liberty.
Prophetic power was believed to reside within the grove which surrounded the temple of Jupiter near Dodona, in Epirus, and oracles were given forth from the boughs of the sacred oak.--ED.
INDIGNATION OF A HIGH-MINDED SPANIARD, 1810
Composed 1810.--Published 1815
We can endure that He should waste our lands, Despoil our temples, and by sword and flame Return us to the dust from which we came; Such food a Tyrant's appetite demands: And we can brook the thought that by his hands 5 Spain may be overpowered, and he possess, For his delight, a solemn wilderness Where all the brave lie dead. But, when of bands Which he will break for us he dares to speak, Of benefits, and of a future day 10 When our enlightened minds shall bless his sway; _Then_, the strained heart of fortitude proves weak; Our groans, our blushes, our pale cheeks declare That he has power to inflict what we lack strength to bear.
Compare the two sonnets _On a Celebrated Event in Ancient History_ (pp. 242-44). The following note to the last line of this sonnet occurs in Professor Reed's American edition of the Poems:--"The student of English poetry will call to mind Cowley's impassioned expression of the indignation of a Briton under the depression of disasters somewhat similar.
Let rather Roman come again, Or Saxon, Norman, or the Dane: In all the bonds we ever bore, We grieved, we sighed, we wept, _we never blushed before_."
See Cowley's _Discourse on the Government of Oliver Cromwell_.--ED.
"AVAUNT ALL SPECIOUS PLIANCY OF MIND"
Composed 1810.--Published 1815
Avaunt all specious pliancy of mind In men of low degree, all smooth pretence! I better like a blunt indifference, And self-respecting slowness, disinclined To win me at first sight: and be there joined 5 Patience and temperance with this high reserve, Honour that knows the path and will not swerve; Affections, which, if put to proof, are kind; And piety towards God. Such men of old Were England's native growth; and, throughout Spain, (Thanks to high God) forests of such remain:[1] 11 Then for that Country let our hopes be bold; For matched with these shall policy prove vain, Her arts, her strength, her iron, and her gold.
VARIANTS:
[1] 1837.
Forests of such do at this day remain; 1815.
"O'ERWEENING STATESMEN HAVE FULL LONG RELIED"
Composed 1810.--Published 1815
In all the editions this poem has for its title the date _1810_.--ED.
O'erweening Statesmen have full long relied On fleets and armies, and external wealth: But from _within_ proceeds a Nation's health; Which shall not fail, though poor men cleave with pride To the paternal floor; or turn aside, 5 In the thronged city, from the walks of gain, As being all unworthy to detain A Soul by contemplation sanctified. There are who cannot languish in this strife, Spaniards of every rank, by whom the good 10 Of such high course was felt and understood; Who to their Country's cause have bound a life Erewhile, by solemn consecration, given To labour, and to prayer, to nature, and to heaven.[A]
FOOTNOTES:
[A] See Laborde's Character of the Spanish People; from him the sentiment of these two last lines is taken.--W. W. 1815.
THE FRENCH AND THE SPANISH GUERILLAS
Composed 1810.--Published 1815
Hunger, and sultry heat, and nipping blast From bleak hill-top, and length of march by night Through heavy swamp, or over snow-clad height-- These hardships ill-sustained, these dangers past, The roving Spanish Bands are reached at last, 5 Charged, and dispersed like foam: but as a flight Of scattered quails by signs do reunite, So these,--and, heard of once again, are chased With combinations of long-practised art And newly-kindled hope; but they are fled-- 10 Gone are they, viewless as the buried dead: Where now?--Their sword is at the Foeman's heart! And thus from year to year his walk they thwart, And hang like dreams around his guilty bed.
See the note appended to the sonnet entitled _Spanish Guerillas_ (p. 254).--ED.
MATERNAL GRIEF
Composed 1810.--Published 1842
[This was in part an overflow from the Solitary's description of his own and his wife's feelings upon the decease of their children. (See _Excursion_, book 3rd.)--I. F.]
One of the "Poems founded on the Affections."--ED.
Departed Child! I could forget thee once Though at my bosom nursed; this woeful gain Thy dissolution brings, that in my soul Is present and perpetually abides A shadow, never, never to be displaced 5 By the returning substance, seen or touched, Seen by mine eyes, or clasped in my embrace. Absence and death how differ they! and how Shall I admit that nothing can restore What one short sigh so easily removed?-- 10 Death, life, and sleep, reality and thought, Assist me, God, their boundaries to know, O teach me calm submission to thy Will!
The Child she mourned had overstepped the pale Of Infancy, but still did breathe the air 15 That sanctifies its confines, and partook Reflected beams of that celestial light[A] To all the Little-ones on sinful earth Not unvouchsafed--a light that warmed and cheered Those several qualities of heart and mind 20 Which, in her own blest nature, rooted deep, Daily before the Mother's watchful eye, And not hers only, their peculiar charms Unfolded,--beauty, for its present self, And for its promises to future years, 25 With not unfrequent rapture fondly hailed.
Have you espied upon a dewy lawn A pair of Leverets each provoking each To a continuance of their fearless sport, Two separate Creatures in their several gifts 30 Abounding, but so fashioned that, in all That Nature prompts them to display, their looks, Their starts of motion and their fits of rest, An undistinguishable style appears And character of gladness, as if Spring 35 Lodged in their innocent bosoms, and the spirit Of the rejoicing morning were their own?
Such union, in the lovely Girl maintained And her twin Brother, had the parent seen, Ere, pouncing like a ravenous bird of prey, 40 Death in a moment parted them, and left The Mother, in her turns of anguish, worse Than desolate; for oft-times from the sound Of the survivor's sweetest voice (dear child, He knew it not) and from his happiest looks, 45 Did she extract the food of self-reproach, As one that lived ungrateful for the stay By Heaven afforded to uphold her maimed And tottering spirit. And full oft the Boy, Now first acquainted with distress and grief, 50 Shrunk from his Mother's presence, shunned with fear Her sad approach, and stole away to find, In his known haunts of joy where'er he might, A more congenial object. But, as time Softened her pangs and reconciled the child 55 To what he saw, he gradually returned, Like a scared Bird encouraged to renew A broken intercourse; and, while his eyes Were yet with pensive fear and gentle awe Turned upon her who bore him, she would stoop 60 To imprint a kiss that lacked not power to spread Faint colour over both their pallid cheeks, And stilled his tremulous lip. Thus they were calmed And cheered; and now together breathe fresh air In open fields; and when the glare of day 65 Is gone, and twilight to the Mother's wish Befriends the observance, readily they join In walks whose boundary is the lost One's grave, Which he with flowers hath planted, finding there Amusement, where the Mother does not miss 70 Dear consolation, kneeling on the turf In prayer, yet blending with that solemn rite Of pious faith the vanities of grief; For such, by pitying Angels and by Spirits Transferred to regions upon which the clouds 75 Of our weak nature rest not, must be deemed Those willing tears, and unforbidden sighs, And all those tokens of a cherished sorrow, Which, soothed and sweetened by the grace of Heaven As now it is, seems to her own fond heart, 80 Immortal as the love that gave it being.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] Compare the _Ode, Intimations of Immortality_, l. 4, and _passim_ (vol. viii.)--ED.
1811
In the spring of 1811 Wordsworth left Allan Bank, to reside for two years in the Rectory, Grasmere. A small fragment on his daughter Catherine, the _Epistle to Sir George Beaumont, Bart., from the south-west coast of Cumberland_, the lines _To the Poet, John Dyer_, and four sonnets (mainly suggested by the events of the year in Spain) comprise all the poems belonging to 1811.--ED.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A CHILD THREE YEARS OLD
Composed 1811.--Published 1815
[Written at Allanbank, Grasmere. Picture of my daughter, Catherine, who died the year after.--I. F.]
Classed among the "Poems referring to the Period of Childhood."--ED.
Loving she is, and tractable, though wild; And Innocence hath privilege in her To dignify arch looks and laughing eyes; And feats of cunning; and the pretty round Of trespasses, affected to provoke 5 Mock-chastisement and partnership in play. And, as a faggot sparkles on the hearth, Not less if unattended and alone Than when both young and old sit gathered round And take delight in its activity; 10 Even so this happy Creature of herself Is all-sufficient; solitude to her Is blithe society, who fills the air With gladness and involuntary songs. Light are her sallies as the tripping fawn's 15 Forth-startled from the fern where she lay couched; Unthought-of, unexpected, as the stir Of the soft breeze ruffling the meadow-flowers, Or from before it chasing wantonly The many-coloured images imprest 20 Upon the bosom of a placid lake.
On February 28, 1810, Dorothy Wordsworth wrote to Lady Beaumont, "Catherine is the only funny child in the family; the rest of the children are _lively_, but Catherine is comical in every look and motion. Thomas perpetually forces a tender smile by his simplicity, but Catherine makes you laugh outright, though she can hardly say a dozen words, and she joins in the laugh, as if sensible of the drollery of her appearance."--ED.
SPANISH GUERILLAS, 1811
Composed 1811.--Published 1815
Classed among the "Sonnets dedicated to Liberty."--ED.
They seek, are sought; to daily battle led, Shrink not, though far outnumbered by their Foes, For they have learnt to open and to close The ridges of grim war;[A] and at their head Are captains such as erst their country bred 5 Or fostered, self-supported chiefs,--like those Whom hardy Rome was fearful to oppose; Whose desperate shock the Carthaginian fled. In One who lived unknown a shepherd's life Redoubted Viriatus breathes again;[B] 10 And Mina, nourished in the studious shade,[C] With that great Leader[D] vies, who, sick of strife And bloodshed, longed in quiet to be laid In some green island of the western main.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] Compare _Paradise Lost_,