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diff --git a/32459.txt b/32459.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..27720d4 --- /dev/null +++ b/32459.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13711 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth, +Volume IV (of 8), by William Wordsworth, Edited by William Knight + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth, Volume IV (of 8) + + +Author: William Wordsworth + +Editor: William Knight + +Release Date: May 20, 2010 [eBook #32459] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE POETICAL WORKS OF WILLIAM +WORDSWORTH, VOLUME IV (OF 8)*** + + +E-text prepared by Jonathan Ingram, Christine Aldridge, and the Project +Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) + + + +Transcriber's note: + + 1. Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_). + + 2. Text in Gothic Font other than Fraktur is enclosed by + equal signs (=Gothic font=). + + 3. Text in gesperrt (s p a c e d) is enclosed by tildes + (~g e s p e r r t~). + + 4. Minor punctuation errors have been corrected. + + 5. All footnotes have been moved to the chapter or sub-chapter + ends. Other notes about variants and footnotes are located + at the end of this text. + + 6. All poetry line markers have been retained as placed and + numbered by the printer at 5, 4 or 6 line intervals. + + 7. Spelling inconsistencies have been retained, a list appears + at the end of this text, together with printers error + corrections. + + 8. The [oe] ligature appears in the original text in the words: + Phoebus,Boeotia and manoeuvres, and has been removed from + this e-text. + + + + + +THE POETICAL WORKS OF WILLIAM WORDSWORTH + +Edited by + +WILLIAM KNIGHT + +VOL. IV + + + + + + + +[ILLUSTRATION] + + +=London= +Macmillan and Co., Ltd. +New York: Macmillan & Co. +1896 + + + + +CONTENTS + + + 1806 + + PAGE + To the Spade of a Friend 2 + + Character of the Happy Warrior 7 + + The Horn of Egremont Castle 12 + + A Complaint 17 + + Stray Pleasures 18 + + Power of Music 20 + + Star-gazers 22 + + "Yes, it was the mountain Echo" 25 + + "Nuns fret not at their convent's narrow room" 27 + + Personal Talk 30 + + Admonition 34 + + "'Beloved Vale!' I said, 'when I shall con'" 35 + + "How sweet it is, when mother Fancy rocks" 36 + + "Those words were uttered as in pensive mood" 37 + + "With how sad steps, O Moon, thou climb'st the sky" 38 + + "The world is too much with us; late and soon" 39 + + "With Ships the sea was sprinkled far and nigh" 40 + + "Where lies the Land to which yon Ship must go?" 41 + + To Sleep 42 + + To Sleep 43 + + To Sleep 43 + + To the Memory of Raisley Calvert 44 + + "Methought I saw the footsteps of a throne" 46 + + Lines composed at Grasmere, during a walk one Evening, + after a stormy day, the Author having just read + in a Newspaper that the dissolution of Mr. Fox was + hourly expected 47 + + November, 1806 49 + + Address to a Child 50 + + "Brook! whose society the Poet seeks" 52 + + "There is a little unpretending Rill" 53 + + + 1807 + + To Lady Beaumont 57 + + A Prophecy. February, 1807 59 + + Thought of a Briton on the Subjugation of Switzerland 60 + + To Thomas Clarkson, on the final passing of the Bill for + the Abolition of the Slave Trade, March, 1807 62 + + The Mother's Return 63 + + Gipsies 65 + + "O Nightingale! thou surely art" 67 + + "Though narrow be that old Man's cares, and near" 68 + + Composed by the side of Grasmere Lake. 1807 73 + + In the Grounds of Coleorton, the Seat of Sir George + Beaumont, Bart., Leicestershire 74 + + In a Garden of the same 76 + + Written at the request of Sir George Beaumont, Bart., + and in his name, for an Urn, placed by him at the + termination of a newly-planted Avenue in the same + Grounds 78 + + For a Seat in the Groves of Coleorton 80 + + Song at the Feast of Brougham Castle 82 + + + 1808 + + The White Doe of Rylstone 100 + + The Force of Prayer 204 + + Composed while the Author was engaged in writing a + Tract, occasioned by the Convention of Cintra. 1808 210 + + Composed at the same time and on the same occasion 211 + + + 1809 + + Tyrolese Sonnets-- + + Hoffer 213 + + "Advance--come forth from thy Tyrolean ground" 214 + + Feelings of the Tyrolese 215 + + "Alas! what boots the long laborious quest" 216 + + On the final Submission of the Tyrolese 217 + + "The martial courage of a day is vain" 217 + + "And is it among rude untutored Dales" 222 + + "O'er the wide earth, on mountain and on plain" 223 + + "Hail, Zaragoza! If with unwet eye" 224 + + "Say, what is Honour?--'Tis the finest sense" 225 + + "Brave Schill! by death delivered, take thy flight" 226 + + "Call not the royal Swede unfortunate" 227 + + "Look now on that Adventurer who hath paid" 228 + + "Is there a power that can sustain and cheer" 228 + + Epitaphs translated from Chiabrera-- + + "Weep not, beloved Friends! nor let the air" 230 + + "Perhaps some needful service of the State" 230 + + "O Thou who movest onward with a mind" 231 + + "There never breathed a man who, when his life" 232 + + "True is it that Ambrosio Salinero" 233 + + "Destined to war from very infancy" 234 + + "O flower of all that springs from gentle blood" 235 + + "Not without heavy grief of heart did He" 236 + + "Pause, courteous Spirit!--Balbi supplicates" 237 + + + 1810 + + "Ah! where is Palafox? Nor tongue nor pen" 240 + + "In due observance of an ancient rite" 241 + + Feelings of a noble Biscayan at one of those Funerals, 242 + 1810 + + On a celebrated Event in Ancient History 242 + + Upon the same Event 244 + + The Oak of Guernica 245 + + Indignation of a high-minded Spaniard, 1810 246 + + "Avaunt all specious pliancy of mind" 247 + + "O'erweening Statesmen have full long relied" 247 + + The French and the Spanish Guerillas 248 + + Maternal Grief 248 + + + 1811 + + Characteristics of a Child three years old 252 + + Spanish Guerillas, 1811 253 + + "The power of Armies is a visible thing" 254 + + "Here pause: the poet claims at least this praise" 255 + + Epistle to Sir George Howland Beaumont, Bart. 256 + + Upon perusing the foregoing Epistle thirty years after its + composition 267 + + Upon the sight of a Beautiful Picture 271 + + To the Poet, John Dyer 273 + + + 1812 + + Song for the Spinning Wheel 275 + + Composed on the Eve of the Marriage of a Friend in the + Vale of Grasmere, 1812 276 + + Water-fowl 277 + + + 1813 + + View from the Top of Black Comb 279 + + Written with a Slate Pencil on a Stone, on the side of the + Mountain of Black Comb 281 + + November, 1813 282 + + + + +WORDSWORTH'S POETICAL WORKS + + + + +1806 + + +Wordsworth left Grasmere with his household for Coleorton in November +1806, and there is no evidence that he returned to Westmoreland till +April 1808; although his sister spent part of the winter of 1807-8 at +Dove Cottage, while he and Mrs. Wordsworth wintered at Stockton with the +Hutchinson family. Several of the sonnets which are published in the +"Poems" of 1807 refer, however, to Grasmere, and were probably composed +there. I have conjecturally assigned a good many of them to the year +1806. Some may have been composed earlier than 1806, but it is not +likely that any belong to a later year. + +In addition to these, the poems of 1806 include the _Character of the +Happy Warrior_, unless it should be assigned to the close of the +previous year (see the note to the poem, p. 11), _The Horn of Egremont +Castle_, the three poems composed in London in the spring of the year +(April or May)--viz. _Stray Pleasures_, _Power of Music_, and +_Star-gazers_--the lines on the Mountain Echo, those composed in +expectation of the death of Mr. Fox, and the _Ode, Intimations of +Immortality_.[A] Southey, in writing to Sir Walter Scott, on the 4th of +February 1806, said, "Wordsworth has of late been more employed in +correcting his poems than in writing others."--ED. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] For reasons stated in the preface to vol. i. this Ode is printed in +vol. viii. at the close of the poems.--ED. + + + + +TO THE SPADE OF A FRIEND + +(AN AGRICULTURIST) + +COMPOSED WHILE WE WERE LABOURING[A] TOGETHER IN HIS PLEASURE-GROUND + +Composed 1806.--Published 1807 + + +[This person was Thomas Wilkinson, a Quaker by religious profession; by +natural constitution of mind--or, shall I venture to say, by God's +grace? he was something better. He had inherited a small estate, and +built a house upon it, near Yanwath, upon the banks of the Emont. I have +heard him say that his heart used to beat, in his boyhood, when he heard +the sound of a drum and fife. Nevertheless the spirit of adventure in +him confined itself in tilling his ground, and conquering such obstacles +as stood in the way of its fertility. Persons of his religious +persuasion do now, in a far greater degree than formerly, attach +themselves to trade and commerce. He kept the old track. As represented +in this poem, he employed his leisure hours in shaping pleasant walks by +the side of his beloved river, where he also built something between a +hermitage and a summer house, attaching to it inscriptions after the +manner of Shenstone at his Leasowes. He used to travel from time to +time, partly from love of Nature, and partly with religious friends, in +the service of humanity. His admiration of genius in every department +did him much honour. Through his connection with the family in which +Edmund Burke was educated, he became acquainted with that great man, who +used to receive him with great kindness and condescension; and many +times I have heard Wilkinson speak of those interesting interviews. He +was honoured also by the friendship of Elizabeth Smith, and of Thomas +Clarkson and his excellent wife, and was much esteemed by Lord and Lady +Lonsdale, and every member of that family. Among his verses (he wrote +many) are some worthy of preservation; one little poem in particular, +upon disturbing, by prying curiosity, a bird while hatching her young in +his garden. The latter part of this innocent and good man's life was +melancholy. He became blind, and also poor, by becoming surety for some +of his relations. He was a bachelor. He bore, as I have often witnessed, +his calamities with unfailing resignation. I will only add, that while +working in one of his fields, he unearthed a stone of considerable size, +then another, then two more; observing that they had been placed in +order, as if forming the segment of a circle, he proceeded carefully to +uncover the soil, and brought into view a beautiful Druid's temple, of +perfect, though small dimensions. In order to make his farm more +compact, he exchanged this field for another, and, I am sorry to add, +the new proprietor destroyed this interesting relic of remote ages for +some vulgar purpose. The fact, so far as concerns Thomas Wilkinson, is +mentioned in the note on a sonnet on _Long Meg and her Daughters_.--I. +F.] + +One of the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection."--ED. + + + Spade! with which Wilkinson hath tilled his lands, + And shaped these pleasant walks by Emont's side, + Thou art a tool of honour in my hands; + I press thee, through the yielding soil, with pride. + + Rare master has it been thy lot to know; 5 + Long hast Thou served a man to reason true; + Whose life combines the best of high and low, + The labouring[1] many and the resting few; + + Health, meekness, ardour, quietness secure,[2] + And industry of body and of mind; 10 + And elegant enjoyments, that are pure + As nature is;--too pure to be refined. + + Here often hast Thou heard the Poet sing + In concord with his river murmuring by; + Or in some silent field, while timid spring 15 + Is yet uncheered by other minstrelsy. + + Who shall inherit Thee when death has[3] laid + Low in the darksome cell thine own dear lord? + That man will have a trophy, humble Spade! + A trophy nobler than a conqueror's sword.[4] 20 + + If he be one that feels, with skill to part + False praise from true, or, greater from the less, + Thee will he welcome to his hand and heart, + Thou monument of peaceful happiness! + + He will not dread with Thee a toilsome day-- 25 + Thee his loved servant, his inspiring mate![5] + And, when thou art past service, worn away, + No dull oblivious nook shall hide thy fate.[6] + + His thrift thy uselessness[7] will never scorn; + An _heir-loom_ in his cottage wilt thou be:-- 30 + High will he hang thee up, well pleased to adorn[8] + His rustic chimney with the last of Thee! + + +Thomas Wilkinson of Yanwath, the friend of Wordsworth and the subject of +these verses, deserves more than a passing note. + + He was a man + Whom no one could have passed without remark. + +One of the old race of Cumbrian "Statesmen"--men who owned, and +themselves cultivated, small bits of land (see Wordsworth's letter on +_The Brothers_ and _Michael_, vol. ii. p. 234)--he was Wordsworth's +senior by nineteen years, and lived on a patrimonial farm of about forty +acres, on the banks of the Emont,--the stream which, flowing out of +Ullswater, divides Cumberland from Westmoreland. He was a Friend, and +used to travel great distances to attend religious conferences, or +engage in philanthropic work,--on one occasion riding on his pony from +Yanwath to London, to the yearly meeting of the Friends; and, on +another, walking the 300 miles to town, in eight days, for the same +purpose. A simple, genuine nature; serene, refined, hospitable, naive, +and humorous withal; a quaint original man, with a true eye for Nature, +a keen relish for rural life (especially for gardening) and a happy +knack of characterization, whether he undertook descriptions of scenery +in the course of his travels, or narrated the incidents which befell him +on the way. This is how he writes of his farm, and his work upon +it:--"We have at length some traces of spring (6th April 1784); the +primrose under the hedge begins to open her modest flower, the buds +begin to swell, and the birds to build; yet we have still a wide +horizon, the mountain tops resign not their snows. The happiest season +of the year with me is now commencing--I mean that in which I am at the +plough; my horses pace slowly on before, the larks sing above my head, +and the furrow falls at my side, and the face of Nature and my own mind +seem to wear a sweet and cheerful tranquillity." + +The following extract shows the interest which he took in the very +implements of his industry, and may serve as an illustration of +Wordsworth's stanzas on his "spade." "Eighth month, 16th, 1789. +Yesterday I parted without regret from an old acquaintance--I set by my +scythe for this year. I have often this season seen the dark blue +mountains before the sun and his rising embroider them with gold. I have +had many a good sleep in the shade among fragrant grass and refreshing +breezes, and though closely engaged in what may be thought heavy work, I +was sensible of the enjoyments of life with uninterrupted health." In +the closing years of the last century, when the spirit of patriotic +ardour was so thoroughly roused in England by the restlessness of France +and the ambition of Napoleon, he lived on at his pastoral farm, "busy +with his husbandry." In London, he made the acquaintance of Edmund +Burke; and Thomas Clarkson, the philanthropist,--whose labours for the +abolition of the slave trade are matter of history,--became his intimate +friend, and was a frequent visitor at Yanwath. Clarkson afterwards +bought an estate near to Wilkinson's home, on the shores of Ullswater, +where he built a house, and named it Eusemere, and there the Wordsworths +were not infrequent guests. (See the note to the poem beginning "I +wandered lonely as a cloud," vol. iii. p. 5.) Wordsworth stayed at +Yanwath for two days in 1806. The _Tours to the British Mountains, with +the Descriptive Poems of Lowther and Emont Vale_ (London, 1824), have +been referred to in the note to _The Solitary Reaper_, vol. ii. p. 399, +one of the poems in the "Memorials of a Tour in Scotland, 1803." It is +an interesting volume--the prose much superior to the verse--and might +be reprinted with advantage. Wilkinson was urged repeatedly to publish +his "Tour through the Highlands," but he always declined, and it was +printed at last without his knowledge, by some one to whom he had lent +his MS. + +Wilkinson's relations to Wordsworth are alluded to in the note to _The +Solitary Reaper_. He is occasionally referred to in Dorothy Wordsworth's +Grasmere Journal of January and March 1802, _e.g._:--"Monday, 12th +March.--The ground covered with snow. Walked to T. Wilkinson's and sent +for letters. The woman brought me one from Wm. and Mary. It was a sharp +windy night. Thomas Wilkinson came with me to Barton, and questioned me +like a catechiser all the way. Every question was like the snapping of a +little thread about my heart. I was so full of thought of my half-read +letter and other things." + +The following are extracts from letters of Wilkinson to Miss Mary +Leadbeater of Ballintore:--"Yanwath, 15. 2. 1801.--I had lately a young +Poet seeing me that sprang originally from the next village. He has left +the College, turned his back on all preferment, and settled down +contentedly among our Lakes, with his Sister and his Muse. He ... writes +in what he conceives to be the language of Nature in opposition to the +finery of our present poetry. He has published two volumes of Poems, +mostly of the same character. His name is William Wordsworth." In a +letter, dated 29. 1. 1809, the following occurs:--"Thou hast wished to +have W. Wordsworth's Lines on my Spade, which I shall transcribe thee. I +had promised Lord Lonsdale to take him to Lowther, when he came to see +me, but when we arrived he was gone to shoot moor-game with Judge +Sutton. William and I then returned, and wrought together at a walk I +was then forming, which gave birth to his Verses." The expression +"sprang from the next village" might not be intended to mean that he was +born there; or, if it did, the fact that Wordsworth's mother was a +native of Penrith, and his own visits to that town, might account for +the mistake of one who had made no minute enquiry as to the poet's +birthplace. He was born at Cockermouth. Compare an interesting account +of Thomas Wilkinson, by Mary Carr, reprinted from the _Friends' +Quarterly Examiner_, 1882.--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1837. + + ... toiling ... 1807. + +[2] 1827. + + Health, quiet, meekness, ardour, hope secure, 1807. + +[3] 1815. + + ... hath ... 1807. + +[4] 1815. + + More noble than the noblest Warrior's sword. 1807. + +[5] 1837. + + With Thee he will not dread a toilsome day, + His powerful Servant, his inspiring Mate! 1807. + +[6] 1837. + + Thee a surviving soul shall consecrate. 1807. + +[7] 1815. + + ... usefulness ... 1807. + +The text of 1832 resumes that of 1807, but the edition of 1837 returns +to the final text of 1815. + +[8] 1837. + + ... and will adorn 1807. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] In a letter to Wilkinson, accompanying a copy of these verses, which +Wordsworth sent from Coleorton, in November 1806, he wrote: "They are +supposed to have been composed that afternoon when you and I were +labouring together in your pleasure-ground." I think that Professor +Dowden is right in supposing that they were written in 1806.--ED. + + + + +CHARACTER OF THE HAPPY WARRIOR + +Composed 1806.--Published 1807 + + +[The course of the great war with the French naturally fixed one's +attention upon the military character, and, to the honour of our +country, there were many illustrious instances of the qualities that +constitute its highest excellence. Lord Nelson carried most of the +virtues that the trials he was exposed to in his department of the +service necessarily call forth and sustain, if they do not produce the +contrary vices. But his public life was stained with one great crime, so +that though many passages of these lines were suggested by what was +generally known as excellent in his conduct, I have not been able to +connect his name with the poem as I could wish, or even to think of him +with satisfaction in reference to the idea of what a warrior ought to +be. For the sake of such of my friends as may happen to read this note, +I will add that many elements of the character here pourtrayed were +found in my brother John, who perished by shipwreck, as mentioned +elsewhere. His messmates used to call him the Philosopher, from which it +must be inferred that the qualities and dispositions I allude to had not +escaped their notice. He often expressed his regret, after the war had +continued some time, that he had not chosen the Naval, instead of the +East India Company's, service, to which his family connection had led +him. He greatly valued moral and religious instruction for youth, as +tending to make good sailors. The best, he used to say, came from +Scotland; the next to them, from the North of England, especially from +Westmoreland and Cumberland, where, thanks to the piety and local +attachments of our ancestors, endowed, or, as they are commonly called, +free, schools abound.--I. F.] + +Classed among the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection."--ED. + + + Who is the happy Warrior? Who is he + That[1] every man in arms should wish to be? + --It is the generous Spirit, who, when brought + Among the tasks of real life, hath wrought + Upon the plan that pleased his boyish[2] thought: 5 + Whose high endeavours are an inward light + That makes[3] the path before him always bright: + Who, with a natural instinct to discern + What knowledge can perform, is diligent to learn; + Abides by this resolve, and stops not there, 10 + But makes his moral being his prime care; + Who, doomed to go in company with Pain, + And Fear, and Bloodshed, miserable train! + Turns his necessity to glorious gain; + In face of these doth exercise a power 15 + Which is our human nature's highest dower; + Controls them and subdues, transmutes, bereaves + Of their bad influence, and their good receives: + By objects, which might force the soul to abate + Her feeling, rendered more compassionate; 20 + Is placable--because occasions rise + So often that demand such sacrifice; + More skilful in self-knowledge, even more pure, + As tempted more; more able to endure, + As more exposed to suffering and distress; 25 + Thence, also, more alive to tenderness. + --'Tis he whose law is reason; who depends + Upon that law as on the best of friends; + Whence, in a state where men are tempted still + To evil for a guard against worse ill, 30 + And what in quality or act is best + Doth seldom on a right foundation rest, + He labours good on good to fix,[4] and owes + To virtue every triumph that he knows: + --Who, if he rise to station of command, 35 + Rises by open means; and there will stand + On honourable terms, or else retire, + And in himself possess his own desire; + Who comprehends his trust, and to the same + Keeps faithful with a singleness of aim; 40 + And therefore does not stoop, nor lie in wait + For wealth, or honours, or for worldly state; + Whom they must follow; on whose head must fall, + Like showers of manna, if they come at all:[A] + Whose powers shed round him in the common strife, + Or mild concerns of ordinary life, 46 + A constant influence, a peculiar grace; + But who, if he be called upon to face + Some awful moment to which Heaven has joined + Great issues, good or bad for human kind, 50 + Is happy as a Lover; and attired + With sudden brightness, like a Man inspired; + And, through the heat of conflict, keeps the law + In calmness made, and sees what he foresaw; + Or if an unexpected call succeed, 55 + Come when it will, is equal to the need: + --He who, though thus endued as with a sense + And faculty for storm and turbulence, + Is yet a Soul whose master-bias leans + To homefelt pleasures and to gentle scenes; 60 + Sweet images! which, wheresoe'er he be, + Are at his heart; and such fidelity + It is his darling passion to approve; + More brave for this, that he hath much to love:-- + 'Tis, finally, the Man, who, lifted high, 65 + Conspicuous object in a Nation's eye, + Or left unthought-of in obscurity,-- + Who, with a toward or untoward lot, + Prosperous or adverse, to his wish or not-- + Plays, in the many games of life, that one 70 + Where what he most doth value must be won: + Whom neither shape of danger can dismay, + Nor thought of tender happiness betray; + Who, not content that former worth stand fast, + Looks forward, persevering to the last, 75 + From well to better, daily self-surpast:[B] + Who, whether praise of him must walk the earth + For ever, and to noble deeds give birth, + Or he must fall, to sleep without his fame,[5] + And leave a dead unprofitable name-- 80 + Finds comfort in himself and in his cause; + And, while the mortal mist is gathering, draws + His breath in confidence of Heaven's applause: + This is the happy Warrior; this is He + That[6] every Man in arms should wish to be. 85 + + +The following note was appended by Wordsworth in the edition of 1807. +"The above Verses were written soon after tidings had been received of +the Death of Lord Nelson, which event directed the Author's thoughts to +the subject. His respect for the memory of his great fellow-countryman +induces him to mention this; though he is well aware that the Verses +must suffer from any connection in the Reader's mind with a Name so +illustrious." + + * * * * * + +This note would seem to warrant our removing the date of the composition +of the poem from 1806 to 1805; since Lord Nelson died at the battle of +Trafalgar, on the 21st of October 1805. On the other hand, Wordsworth +himself gave the date 1806; and the "soon after" of the above note may +perhaps be stretched to include two months and a half. In writing to Sir +George Beaumont on the 11th of February 1806, and enclosing a copy of +these verses, he says, "they were written several weeks ago." Southey, +writing to Sir Walter Scott, from Keswick, on the 4th of February 1806, +says, "Wordsworth was with me last week; he has of late been more +employed in correcting his poems than in writing others; but one piece +he has written, upon the ideal character of a soldier, than which I have +never seen anything more full of meaning and sound thought. The subject +was suggested by Nelson's most glorious death, though having no +reference to it. He had some thoughts of sending it to _The Courier_, in +which case you will easily recognise his hand." (_The Life and +Correspondence of Robert Southey_, vol. iii. p. 19.) As it is impossible +to decide with accuracy, in the absence of more definite data, I follow +the poet's own statement, and assign it to the year 1806. + +Wordsworth tells us that features in the character, both of Lord Nelson +and of his own brother John, are delineated in this poem. Mr. William +Davies writes to me, "He might very well have set the name of Cuthbert, +Lord Collingwood, Nelson's contemporary, at the head of the poem, as +embodying its spirit and lofty rule of life."--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1820. + + Whom ... 1807. + +[2] 1845. + + ... childish ... 1807. + +[3] 1832. + + ... make ... 1807. + +[4] 1837. + + He fixes good on good alone, ... 1807. + +[5] C. and 1840. + + Or He must go to dust without his fame, 1807. + + Or he must fall and sleep without his fame, 1837. + +[6] 1845. + + Whom ... 1807. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] Compare Pope's _Temple of Fame_ (ll. 513, 514)-- + + Nor Fame I slight, nor for her favours call; + She comes unlook'd for, if she comes at all. + +And Carew's _Epistle to the Countess of Anglesie_ (ll. 57, 58)-- + + He chose not in the active stream to swim, + Nor hunted Honour, which yet hunted him. ED. + +[B] In the edition of 1807, the following note was added to these +lines:-- + + For Knightes ever should be persevering, + To seeke honour without feintise or slouth, + Fro wele to better in all manner thinge. + + CHAUCER--_The Floure and the Leafe_.--ED. + + + + +THE HORN OF EGREMONT CASTLE + +Composed 1806.--Published 1807 + + +[A Tradition transferred from the ancient mansion of Hutton John, the +seat of the Huddlestones, to Egremont Castle.--I. F.] + +In 1815 this poem was placed among those "of the Imagination"; in 1845 +it was transferred to the class of "Miscellaneous Poems."--ED. + + + Ere the Brothers through the gateway + Issued forth with old and young, + To the Horn Sir Eustace pointed + Which for ages there had hung.[1] + Horn it was which none could sound, 5 + No one upon living ground, + Save He who came as rightful Heir + To Egremont's Domains and Castle fair. + + Heirs from times of earliest record[2] + Had the House of Lucie born, 10 + Who of right had held the Lordship + Claimed by proof upon the Horn:[3] + Each at the appointed hour + Tried the Horn,--it owned his power; + He was acknowledged: and the blast, 15 + Which good Sir Eustace sounded, was the last. + + With his lance Sir Eustace pointed, + And to Hubert thus said he, + "What I speak this Horn shall witness + For thy better memory. 20 + Hear, then, and neglect me not! + At this time, and on this spot, + The words are uttered from my heart, + As my last earnest prayer ere we depart. + + "On good service we are going 25 + Life to risk by sea and land, + In which course if Christ our Saviour + Do my sinful soul demand, + Hither come thou back straightway, + Hubert, if alive that day; 30 + Return, and sound the Horn, that we + May have a living House still left in thee!" + + "Fear not," quickly answered Hubert; + "As I am thy Father's son, + What thou askest, noble Brother, 35 + With God's favour shall be done." + So were both right well content: + Forth they from the Castle went,[4] + And at the head of their Array + To Palestine the Brothers took their way. 40 + + Side by side they fought (the Lucies + Were a line for valour famed) + And where'er their strokes alighted, + There the Saracens were tamed. + Whence, then, could it come--the thought-- 45 + By what evil spirit brought? + Oh! can a brave Man wish to take + His Brother's life, for Lands' and Castle's sake? + + "Sir!" the Ruffians said to Hubert, + "Deep he lies in Jordan flood." 50 + Stricken by this ill assurance, + Pale and trembling Hubert stood. + "Take your earnings."--Oh! that I + Could have _seen_[5] my Brother die! + It was a pang that vexed him then; 55 + And oft returned, again, and yet again. + + Months passed on, and no Sir Eustace! + Nor of him were tidings heard. + Wherefore, bold as day, the Murderer + Back again to England steered. 60 + To his Castle Hubert sped; + Nothing has he[6] now to dread. + But silent and by stealth he came, + And at an hour which nobody could name. + + None could tell if it were night-time, 65 + Night or day, at even or morn; + No one's eye had seen him enter, + No one's ear had heard the Horn.[7] + But bold Hubert lives in glee: + Months and years went smilingly; 70 + With plenty was his table spread; + And bright the Lady is who shares his bed. + + Likewise he had sons and daughters; + And, as good men do, he sate + At his board by these surrounded, 75 + Flourishing in fair estate. + And while thus in open day + Once he sate, as old books say, + A blast was uttered from the Horn, + Where by the Castle-gate it hung forlorn. 80 + + 'Tis the breath of good Sir Eustace! + He is come to claim his right: + Ancient castle, woods, and mountains + Hear the challenge with delight. + Hubert! though the blast be blown 85 + He is helpless and alone: + Thou hast a dungeon, speak the word! + And there he may be lodged, and thou be Lord. + + Speak!--astounded Hubert cannot; + And, if power to speak he had, 90 + All are daunted, all the household + Smitten to the heart, and sad. + 'Tis Sir Eustace; if it be + Living man, it must be he! + Thus Hubert thought in his dismay, 95 + And by a postern-gate he slunk away.[8] + + Long, and long was he unheard of: + To his Brother then he came, + Made confession, asked forgiveness, + Asked it by a brother's name, 100 + And by all the saints in heaven; + And of Eustace was forgiven: + Then in a convent went to hide + His melancholy head, and there he died. + + But Sir Eustace, whom good angels 105 + Had preserved from murderers' hands, + And from Pagan chains had rescued, + Lived with honour on his lands. + Sons he had, saw sons of theirs: + And through ages, heirs of heirs, 110 + A long posterity renowned, + Sounded the Horn which they alone could sound. + + +The following note is appended to this poem in the edition of 1807, and +in those of 1836 to 1850:-- + + "This Story is a Cumberland tradition; I have heard it also + related of the Hall of Hutton John, an antient residence of the + Huddlestones, in a sequestered Valley upon the River Dacor." + +Egremont Castle, to which this Cumberland tradition was transferred, is +close to the town of Egremont, an ancient borough on the river Ehen, not +far from St. Bees. The castle was founded about the beginning of the +twelfth century, by William, brother of Ranulph de Meschines, who +bestowed on William the whole of the extensive barony of Copeland. The +gateway of the castle is vaulted with semi-circular arches, and defended +by a strong tower. Westward from the castle area is an ascent to three +narrow gates, standing in a line, and close together. These communicated +with the outworks, each being defended by a portcullis. Beyond the gates +is an artificial mound, seventy-eight feet above the moat; and on this +stood an ancient circular tower. (See a description of the castle in +Britton and Brayley's _Cumberland_.) The river Dacor, or Dacre, referred +to in Wordsworth's note, joins the Emont a short way below Ullswater; +and the hall of Hutton John, which in the reign of Edward III. belonged +to the barony of Graystock, passed in the time of Elizabeth to the +Huddlestones. The famous Catholic father, John Huddlestone, chaplain to +Charles II. and James II., was of this family. + +In the edition of 1815, there is the following footnote to the title of +the poem:--"This Poem and the Ballad which follows it" (it was that of +_Goody Blake and Harry Gill_), "as they rather refer to the imagination +than are produced by it, would not have been placed here" (_i.e._ among +the "Poems of the Imagination"), "but to avoid a needless multiplication +of the Classes." + +The text of 1807 underwent no change until 1845. But--as is shown by the +notes in the late Lord Coleridge's copy of the edition of 1836--the +alterations subsequently adopted in 1845 were made in the interval +between these years.--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] C. and 1845. + + When the Brothers reach'd the gateway, + Eustace pointed with his lance + To the Horn which there was hanging; + Horn of the inheritance. 1807. + + When the Brothers reached the gateway, + With their followers old and young, + To the Horn Sir Eustace pointed + That for ages there had hung. C. + +[2] C. and 1845. + + Heirs from ages without record 1807. + +[3] C. and 1845. + + Who of right had claim'd the Lordship + By the proof upon the Horn: 1807. + + ... held ... + Claimed by proof ... C. + +[4] C. and 1845. + + From the Castle forth they went. 1807. + +[5] _Italics_ were first used in 1815. + +[6] 1845. + + He has nothing ... 1807. + +[7] C. and 1845. + + For the sound was heard by no one + Of the proclamation-horn. 1807. + +[8] 1807. + + ... slipped away. MS. + + + + +A COMPLAINT + +Composed 1806.--Published 1807 + + +[Written at Town-end, Grasmere. Suggested by a change in the manner of a +friend.--I. F.] + +Classed among the "Poems founded on the Affections."--ED. + + + There is a change--and I am poor; + Your love hath been, nor long ago, + A fountain at my fond heart's door, + Whose only business was to flow; + And flow it did; not taking heed 5 + Of its own bounty, or my need. + + What happy moments did I count! + Blest was I then all bliss above! + Now, for that[1] consecrated fount + Of murmuring, sparkling, living love, 10 + What have I? shall I dare to tell? + A comfortless and hidden well. + + A well of love--it may be deep-- + I trust it is,--and never dry: + What matter? if the waters sleep 15 + In silence and obscurity. + --Such change, and at the very door + Of my fond heart, hath made me poor. + + +It is highly probable that the friend was S. T. Coleridge. See the _Life +of Wordsworth_ (1889), vol. ii. pp. 166, 167.--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1836. + + ... this ... 1807. + + + + +STRAY PLEASURES + +Composed 1806.--Published 1807 + + +[Suggested on the Thames by the sight of one of those floating mills +that used to be seen there. This I noticed on the Surrey side between +Somerset House and Blackfriars' Bridge. Charles Lamb was with me at the +time; and I thought it remarkable that I should have to point out to +_him_, an idolatrous Londoner, a sight so interesting as the happy group +dancing on the platform. Mills of this kind used to be, and perhaps +still are, not uncommon on the continent. I noticed several upon the +river Saone in the year 1799, particularly near the town of Chalons, +where my friend Jones and I halted a day when we crossed France; so far +on foot; there we embarked, and floated down to Lyons.--I. F.] + + "----_Pleasure is spread through the earth + In stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find._" + +One of the "Poems of the Fancy." The title _Stray Pleasures_ was first +given in the edition of 1820. In 1807 and 1815 the poem had no title; +but in the original MS. it was called "Dancers."--ED. + + + By their floating mill, + That[1] lies dead and still, + Behold yon Prisoners three, + The Miller with two Dames, on the breast of the Thames! + The platform is small, but gives room[2] for them all; 5 + And they're dancing merrily. + + From the shore come the notes + To their mill where it floats, + To their house and their mill tethered fast: + To the small wooden isle where, their work to beguile, 10 + They from morning to even take whatever is given;-- + And many a blithe day they have past.[3] + + In sight of the spires, + All alive with the fires + Of the sun going down to his rest, 15 + In the broad open eye of the solitary sky, + They dance,--there are three, as jocund as free, + While they dance on the calm river's breast. + + Man and Maidens wheel, + They themselves make the reel, 20 + And their music's a prey which they seize; + It plays not for them,--what matter? 'tis theirs; + And if they had care, it has scattered their cares + While they dance, crying, "Long as ye please!" + + They dance not for me, 25 + Yet mine is their glee! + Thus pleasure is spread through the earth + In stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find; + Thus a rich loving-kindness, redundantly kind, + Moves all nature to gladness and mirth. 30 + + The showers of the spring + Rouse the birds, and they sing; + If the wind do but stir for his proper delight, + Each leaf, that and this, his neighbour will kiss;[A] + Each wave, one and t'other, speeds after his brother; 35 + They are happy, for that is their right! + + +Wordsworth went up to London in April 1806, where he stayed two months. +It was, doubtless, on that occasion that these lines were written. The +year mentioned in the Fenwick note is incorrect. It was in 1790 that +Wordsworth crossed France with his friend Jones.--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1827. + + Which ... 1807. + +[2] 1820. + + ... but there's room ... 1807. + +[3] 1807. + + ... with whatever be given;-- + Full many a blithe day have past. MS. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] Compare Michael Drayton, _The Muse's Elysium_, nymphal vi. ll. 4-7-- + + The wind had no more strength than this, + That leisurely it blew, + To make one leaf the next to kiss + That closely by it grew. + +Wordsworth frequently confessed his obligation to Dr. Anderson--the +editor of the _British Poets_--for enabling him to acquaint himself with +the poetry of Drayton, and other early English writers.--ED. + + + + +POWER OF MUSIC + +Composed 1806.--Published 1807 + + +[Taken from life.--I. F.] + +Classed among the "Poems of the Imagination." The original title in MS. +was "A Street Fiddler (in London)."--ED. + + + An Orpheus! an Orpheus! yes, Faith may grow bold, + And take to herself all the wonders of old;-- + Near the stately Pantheon you'll meet with the same + In the street that from Oxford hath borrowed its name. + + His station is there; and he works on the crowd, 5 + He sways them with harmony merry and loud; + He fills with his power all their hearts to the brim-- + Was aught ever heard like his fiddle and him? + + What an eager assembly! what an empire is this! + The weary have life, and the hungry have bliss; 10 + The mourner is cheered, and the anxious have rest; + And the guilt-burthened soul is no longer opprest. + + As the Moon brightens round her the clouds of the night, + So He, where he stands, is a centre of light; + It gleams on the face, there, of dusky-browed[1] Jack, 15 + And the pale-visaged Baker's, with basket on back. + + That errand-bound 'Prentice was passing in haste-- + What matter! he's caught--and his time runs to waste; + The Newsman is stopped, though he stops on the fret; + And the half-breathless Lamplighter--he's in the net! 20 + + The Porter sits down on the weight which he bore; + The Lass with her barrow wheels hither her store;[2]-- + If a thief could be here he might pilfer at ease; + She sees the Musician, 'tis all that she sees! 24 + + He stands, backed by the wall;--he abates not his din; + His hat gives him vigour, with boons dropping in, + From the old and the young, from the poorest; and there! + The one-pennied Boy has his penny to spare. + + O blest are the hearers, and proud be the hand 29 + Of the pleasure it spreads through so thankful a band; + I am glad for him, blind as he is!--all the while + If they speak 'tis to praise, and they praise with a smile. + + That tall Man, a giant in bulk and in height, + Not an inch of his body is free from delight; + Can he keep himself still, if he would? oh, not he! 35 + The music stirs in him like wind through a tree. + + Mark that Cripple[3] who leans on his crutch; like a tower + That long has leaned forward, leans hour after hour!-- + That Mother,[4] whose spirit in fetters is bound, + While she dandles the Babe in her arms to the sound. 40 + + Now, coaches and chariots! roar on like a stream; + Here are twenty souls happy as souls in a dream: + They are deaf to your murmurs--they care not for you, + Nor what ye are flying, nor[5] what ye pursue! + + +This must be assigned to the same London visit, in the spring of 1806, +referred to in the note to the previous poem. + +Charles Lamb wrote to Wordsworth in 1815, "Your _Power of Music_ +reminded me of his" (Bourne's) "poem of _The Ballad Singer in the Seven +Dials_."--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1815. + + ... dusky-faced ... 1807. + +[2] 1815. + + ... for store;-- 1807. + +[3] 1827. + + There's a Cripple ... 1807. + +[4] 1827. + + A Mother, ... 1807. + +[5] 1815. + + ... or ... 1807. + + + + +STAR-GAZERS + +Composed 1806.--Published 1807 + + +[Observed by me in Leicester-square, as here described.--I. F.] + +One of the "Poems of the Imagination."--ED. + + + What crowd[1] is this? what have we here! we must not[2] pass it by; + A Telescope upon its frame, and pointed to the sky: + Long is it as a barber's pole, or mast of little boat, + Some little pleasure skiff, that doth on Thames's waters float. + + The Show-man chooses well his place, 'tis Leicester's busy 5 + Square; + And is[3] as happy in his night, for the heavens are blue and fair; + Calm, though impatient, is[4] the crowd; each stands ready[5] with + the fee, + And envies him that's looking[6];--what an insight must it be! + + Yet, Show-man, where can lie[7] the cause? Shall thy Implement have + blame, + A boaster, that when he is tried, fails, and is put to shame? 10 + Or is it good as others are, and be their eyes in fault? + Their eyes, or minds? or, finally, is yon[8] resplendent vault? + + Is nothing of that radiant pomp so good as we have here? + Or gives a thing but small delight that never can be dear? + The silver moon with all her vales, and hills of mightiest fame, 15 + Doth she betray us when they're seen? or[9] are they but a name? + + Or is it rather that Conceit rapacious is and strong, + And bounty never yields[10] so much but it seems to do her wrong? + Or is it, that when human Souls a journey long have had + And are returned into themselves, they cannot but be sad?[A] 20 + + Or must we be constrained to think that these Spectators rude, + Poor in estate, of manners base, men of the multitude, + Have souls which never yet have risen, and therefore prostrate lie? + No, no, this cannot be;--men thirst for power and majesty![11] + + Does, then, a deep and earnest thought[12] the blissful mind 25 + employ + Of him who gazes, or has gazed? a grave and steady joy, + That doth reject all show of pride, admits no outward sign, + Because not of this noisy world, but silent and divine! + + Whatever be the cause,[13] 'tis sure that they who pry and pore + Seem to meet with little gain, seem less happy than before: 30 + One after One they take their turn,[14] nor have I one espied + That doth not slackly go away, as if dissatisfied. + + +Doubtless "observed" during the visit to London in April and May +1806.--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1807. + + What throng ... MS. + +[2] 1807 + + ... we cannot ... MS. + +[3] 1827. + + And he's ... 1807. + +[4] 1807. + + ... are ... + + MS. letter, D. W. to Lady Beaumont, Nov. 15, 1806. + +[5] 1827. + + ... Each is ready ... 1807. + +[6] 1807. + + Impatient till his moment comes-- ... 1827. + + ... come;-- ... 1836. + + The text of 1840 returns to that of 1807. + +[7] 1807. + + ... be ... MS. + +[8] 1832. + + ... this ... 1807. + + And MS. letter, D. W. to Lady Beaumont, Nov. 15, 1806. + +[9] 1827. + + Do they betray us when they're seen? and ... 1807. + + And MS. letter, D. W. to Lady Beaumont, Nov. 15, 1806. + +[10] 1807. + + ... cannot yield ... MS. + +[11] 1807. + + Or is it but unwelcome thought! that these Spectators rude, + Poor in estate, of manners base, men of the multitude, + Have souls which never yet have risen, and therefore prostrate lie, + Not to be lifted up at once to power and majesty? + + MS. letter, D. W. to Lady Beaumont, Nov. 15, 1806. + +[12] 1807. + + Or does some deep and earnest joy ... + + MS. letter, D. W. to Lady Beaumont, Nov. 15, 1806. + +[13] 1807. + + Whate'er the cause may be, ... + + MS. letter, D. W. to Lady Beaumont, Nov. 15, 1806. + +[14] 1827. + + ... turns, ... 1807. + + And MS. letter, D. W. to Lady Beaumont, Nov. 15, 1806. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] "Compare Shelley's statement in _Julian and Maddalo_--where he +speaks of material not spiritual voyaging--that coming homeward 'always +makes the spirit tame'" (Professor Dowden). + + + + +"YES, IT WAS THE MOUNTAIN ECHO" + +Composed 1806.--Published 1807 + + +[Written at Town-end, Grasmere. The echo came from Nab-scar, when I was +walking on the opposite side of Rydal Mere. I will here mention, for my +dear Sister's sake, that, while she was sitting alone one day high up on +this part of Loughrigg Fell, she was so affected by the voice of the +Cuckoo heard from the crags at some distance that she could not suppress +a wish to have a stone inscribed with her name among the rocks from +which the sound proceeded. On my return from my walk I recited these +verses to Mrs. Wordsworth.--I. F.] + +Classed among the "Poems of the Imagination."--ED. + + + Yes, it was the mountain Echo, + Solitary, clear, profound, + Answering to the shouting Cuckoo, + Giving to her sound for sound![1] + + [2] + + Unsolicited reply 5 + To a babbling wanderer sent;[3] + Like her ordinary cry, + Like--but oh, how different! + + Hears not also mortal Life? + Hear not we, unthinking Creatures! 10 + Slaves of folly, love, or strife-- + Voices of two different natures? + + Have not _we_[4] too?--yes, we have + Answers, and we know not whence; + Echoes from beyond the grave, 15 + Recognised intelligence! + + Such rebounds our inward ear[A] + Catches sometimes from afar--[5] + Listen, ponder, hold them dear;[6] + For of God,--of God they are. 20 + + +The place where this echo was heard can easily be identified by any one +walking along the southern or Loughrigg shore of Rydal. The Fenwick +note refers to a wish of Dorothy Wordsworth to have her name inscribed +on a stone among the rocks of Loughrigg Fell. It is impossible to know +whether it was ever carried out or not. If it was, the place is +undiscoverable, like the spot on the banks of the Rotha, where Joanna's +name was graven "deep in the living rock," or the place where Wordsworth +carved his wife's initials (as recorded in Mrs. Hemans' _Memoirs_), or +where the daisy was found, which suggested the lines beginning + + Small service is true service while it lasts; + +and it is well that they are undiscoverable. It is so easy for posterity +to vulgarise, by idle and unappreciative curiosity, spots that are +sacred only to the few who feel them to be shrines. The very grave where +Wordsworth rests runs the risk of being thus abused by the unthinking +crowd. But, in the hope that no one will desecrate it, as the Rock of +Names has been injured, I may mention that there is a stone near Rydal +Mere, on the north-eastern slope of Loughrigg, with the initial "M." +deeply cut. The exact locality I need not more minutely indicate.--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1827. + + Yes! full surely 'twas the Echo, + Solitary, clear, profound, + Answering to Thee, shouting Cuckoo! + Giving to thee Sound for Sound. 1807. + +[2] Whence the Voice? from air or earth? + This the Cuckoo cannot tell; + But a startling sound had birth, + As the Bird must know full well; + + Only in the edition of 1807. + +[3] 1815. + + Like the voice through earth and sky + By the restless Cuckoo sent; 1807. + +[4] _Italics_ were first used in the edition of 1836. + +[5] 1836. + + Such within ourselves we hear + Oft-times, ours though sent from far; 1807. + + Such rebounds our inward ear + Often catches from afar;-- 1827. + + Often as thy inward ear + Catches such rebounds, beware,-- 1832. + +[6] 1807. + + Giddy Mortals! hold them dear; 1827. + + The edition of 1832 returns to the text of 1807. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] Writing to Barron Field about this stanza of the poem in 1827, +Wordsworth said, "The word 'rebounds' I wish much to introduce here; for +the imaginative warning turns upon the echo, which ought to be revived +as near the conclusion as possible."--ED. + + + + +"NUNS FRET NOT AT THEIR CONVENT'S NARROW ROOM" + +Composed 1806.--Published 1807 + + +[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 with 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 +Shakspeare'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 Buonaparte." One was never +written down; the third, which was, I believe, preserved, I cannot +particularise.--I. F.] + +From 1807 to 1820 this was named _Prefatory Sonnet_, as introducing the +series of "Miscellaneous Sonnets" in these editions. In 1827 it took its +place as the first in that series, following the Dedication +_To ----_.--ED. + + + Nuns fret not at their convent's narrow room; + And hermits are contented with their cells; + And students with their pensive citadels; + Maids at the wheel, the weaver at his loom, + Sit blithe and happy; bees that soar for bloom, 5 + High as the highest Peak of Furness-fells, + Will murmur by the hour in foxglove bells: + In truth the prison, unto which we doom + Ourselves, no prison is:[A] and hence for me,[1] + In sundry moods,'twas pastime to be bound 10 + Within the Sonnet's scanty plot of ground; + Pleased if some Souls (for such there needs must be) + Who have felt the weight of too much liberty,[B] + Should find brief[2] solace there, as I have found. + + +In Wordsworth's time "Furness-fells" was a generic phrase for all the +hills east of the Duddon, south of the Brathay, and west of Windermere; +including the Coniston group, Wetherlam, with the Yewdale and +Tilberthwaite fells. The district of Furness, like that of Craven in +Yorkshire, being originally ecclesiastical, had a wide area, of which +the abbey of Furness was the centre. + +In the Fenwick note prefixed to this sonnet, Wordsworth refers to his +earliest attempt at sonnet writing. He says he wrote an irregular one at +school, and the next were three sonnets written one afternoon in Dove +Cottage in the year 1801, after his sister had read the sonnets of +Milton. This note is not, however, to be trusted. It was not in 1801, +but on the 21st of May 1802, that his sister read to him these sonnets +of Milton; and he afterwards wrote not one but two sonnets on +Buonaparte. What the irregular sonnet written at school was it is +impossible to say, unless he refers to the one entitled, in 1807 and +subsequent editions, _Written in Very Early Youth_; and beginning-- + + Calm is all nature as a resting wheel. + +But on a copy of _An Evening Walk_ (1793 edition) Wordsworth +wrote:--"This is the first of my published poems, with the exception of +a sonnet, written when I was a schoolboy, and published in the _European +Magazine_ in June or July 1786, and signed Axiologus." Even as to this +date his memory was at fault. It was published in 1787, when he was +seventeen years of age. Its full title may be given; although, for +reasons already stated, it would be unjustifiable to republish the +sonnet, except in an appendix to the poems, and mainly for its +biographical interest. It was entitled, _Sonnet, on seeing Miss Maria +Williams weep at a Tale of Distress_. But, fully ten years before the +date mentioned by Dorothy Wordsworth in her Grasmere Journal--as the day +on which she read Milton's sonnets to her brother, and on which he wrote +the two on Buonaparte--he had written others, the existence of which he +had evidently forgotten. On the 6th of May 1792, his sister wrote thus +from Forncett Rectory in Norfolk to her friend, Miss Jane Pollard:--"I +promised to transcribe some of William's compositions. As I made the +promise, I will give you a little sonnet.... I take the first that +offers. It is very valuable to me, because the cause which gave birth to +it was the favourite evening walk of William and me.... I have not +chosen this sonnet from any particular beauty it has. _It was the first +I laid my hands upon._" From the clause I have italicised, it would +almost seem that other sonnets belong to that period, viz. before 1793, +when _An Evening Walk_ appeared. She would hardly have spoken of it as +she did, if this was the only sonnet her brother had then written. +Though very inferior to his later work, this sonnet may be preserved as +a specimen of Wordsworth's earlier manner, before he had broken away, +by the force of his own imagination, from the trammels of the +conventional style, which he inherited. It is printed in the Appendix to +volume viii. + +It will be seen that Wordsworth's memory cannot be always relied upon, +in reference to dates, and similar details, in the Fenwick +memoranda.--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1849. + + ... to me, 1807. + +[2] 1827. + + ... short ... 1807. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] Compare in Lovelace's poem, _To Althea from Prison_-- + + Stone walls do not a prison make, + Nor iron bars a cage; + Minds innocent and quiet take + That for a hermitage. ED. + +[B] Compare the line in the _Ode to Duty_ vol. iii. p. 40-- + + Me this unchartered freedom tires. ED. + + + + +PERSONAL TALK + +Composed 1806.--Published 1807 + + +[Written at Town-end, Grasmere. The last line but two stood, at first, +better and more characteristically, thus:-- + + "By my half-kitchen and half-parlour fire." + +My sister and I were in the habit of having the tea-kettle in our little +sitting room; and we toasted the bread ourselves, which reminds me of a +little circumstance not unworthy to be set down among these minutiae. +Happening both of us to be engaged a few minutes one morning when we had +a young prig of a Scotch lawyer to breakfast with us, my dear Sister, +with her usual simplicity, put the toasting fork with a slice of bread +into the hands of this Edinburgh genius. Our little book-case stood on +one side of the fire. To prevent loss of time, he took down a book, and +fell to reading, to the neglect of the toast, which was burnt to a +cinder. Many a time have we laughed at this circumstance, and other +cottage simplicities of that day. By the bye, I have a spite at one of +this series of Sonnets (I will leave the reader to discover which) as +having been the means of nearly putting off for ever our acquaintance +with dear Miss Fenwick, who has always stigmatized one line of it as +vulgar, and worthy only of having been composed by a country squire.--I. +F.] + +In 1815, this was classed among the "Poems proceeding from Sentiment and +Reflection." From 1820 to 1843, it found a place among the +"Miscellaneous Sonnets," and in 1845 was restored to its earlier one +among the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection."--ED. + + + I + + I am not One who much or oft delight + To season my fireside with personal talk,-- + Of[1] friends, who live within an easy walk, + Or neighbours, daily, weekly, in my sight: + And, for my chance-acquaintance, ladies bright, 5 + Sons, mothers, maidens withering on the stalk,[A] + These all wear out of me, like Forms, with chalk + Painted on rich men's floors, for one feast-night. + Better than such discourse doth silence long, + Long, barren silence, square with my desire; 10 + To sit without emotion, hope, or aim, + In the loved presence of my cottage-fire,[2] + And listen to the flapping of the flame, + Or kettle whispering its faint undersong. + + + II + + "Yet life," you say, "is life; we have seen and see, 15 + And with a living pleasure we describe; + And fits of sprightly malice do but bribe + The languid mind into activity. + Sound sense, and love itself, and mirth and glee + Are fostered by the comment and the gibe." 20 + Even be it so: yet still among your tribe, + Our daily world's true Worldlings, rank not me! + Children are blest, and powerful; their world lies + More justly balanced; partly at their feet, + And part far from them:--sweetest melodies 25 + Are those that are by distance made more sweet;[B] + Whose mind is but the mind of his own eyes, + He is a Slave; the meanest we can meet![C] + + + III + + Wings have we,--and as far as we can go + We may find pleasure: wilderness and wood, 30 + Blank ocean and mere sky, support that mood + Which with the lofty sanctifies the low. + Dreams, books, are each a world; and books, we know, + Are a substantial world, both pure and good: + Round these, with tendrils strong as flesh and blood, + Our pastime and our happiness will grow. 36 + There find I personal themes, a plenteous store, + Matter wherein right voluble I am, + To which I listen with a ready ear; + Two shall be named, pre-eminently dear,--[3] 40 + The gentle Lady married to the Moor;[D] + And heavenly Una with her milk-white Lamb. + + + IV + + Nor can I not believe but that hereby + Great gains are mine; for thus I live remote + From evil-speaking; rancour, never sought, 45 + Comes to me not; malignant truth, or lie. + Hence have I genial seasons, hence have I + Smooth passions, smooth discourse, and joyous thought: + And thus from day to day my little boat + Rocks in its harbour, lodging peaceably. 50 + Blessings be with them--and eternal praise, + Who gave us nobler loves, and nobler cares-- + The Poets, who on earth have made us heirs + Of truth and pure delight by heavenly lays! + Oh! might my name be numbered among theirs, 55 + Then gladly would I end my mortal days. + + +The text of the poem was little altered, and was fixed in 1827. It had +no title in 1807 and 1815. + +The reading of 1807, + + my half-kitchen my half-parlour fire, + +was a reminiscence of Dove Cottage, which we regret to lose in the later +editions. + +In the Baptistery of Westminster Abbey, there is a statue of Wordsworth +by Frederick Thrupp of great merit, placed there by the late Dean +Stanley, beside busts of Keble, Maurice, and Kingsley. Underneath the +statue of Wordsworth are the four lines from _Personal Talk_-- + + Blessings be with them--and eternal praise, + Who gave us nobler loves, and nobler cares-- + The Poets, who on earth have made us heirs + Of truth and pure delight by heavenly lays! + +Dean Stanley found it difficult to select from Wordsworth's poems the +lines most appropriate for inscription, and adopted these at the +suggestion of his friend, Principal Shairp.--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1815. + + About ... 1807. + +[2] 1815. + + By my half-kitchen my half-parlour fire, 1807. + +[3] 1827. + + There do I find a never-failing store + Of personal themes, and such as I love best; + Matter wherein right voluble I am: + Two will I mention, dearer than the rest; 1807. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] This is the line referred to by Wordsworth in the Fenwick note. +Compare _Midsummer Night's Dream_, act I. scene i. ll. 75-78.--ED. + +[B] Compare Collins, _The Passions_, l. 60, and _An Evening Walk_, l. +237 and note (vol. i. p. 22).--ED. + +[C] Compare _The Prelude_, 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 _Phaedo_, 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 wreathed 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_, book iii. l. 603. + +[C] See _Colin Clout's come Home againe_, ll. 244-5-- + + Of them the shepheard which hath charge in chief, + Is Triton, blowing loud his wreathed horne. ED. + + + + +"WITH SHIPS THE SEA WAS SPRINKLED FAR AND NIGH" + +Composed 1806.--Published 1807 + + +Placed among the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED. + + + With Ships the sea was sprinkled far and nigh,[A] + Like stars in heaven, and joyously it showed; + Some lying fast at anchor in the road, + Some veering up and down, one knew not why. + A goodly Vessel did I then espy 5 + Come like a giant from a haven broad; + And lustily along the bay she strode, + Her tackling rich, and of apparel high.[B] + This Ship was nought to me, nor I to her, + Yet I pursued her with a Lover's look; 10 + This Ship to all the rest did I prefer: + When will she turn, and whither? She will brook + No tarrying; where She comes the winds must stir: + On went She, and due north her journey took.[C] + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] Compare _The Excursion_, book iv. l. 1197-- + + ... sea with ships + Sprinkled ... ED. + +[B] In the editions of 1815 to 1832 (but not in 1807) this line was +printed within inverted commas. The quotation marks were dropped, +however, in subsequent editions (as in the quotation from Spenser, in +the poem _Beggars_). In a note at the end of the volumes of 1807, +Wordsworth says, "From a passage in Skelton, which I cannot here insert, +not having the Book at hand." + +The passage is as follows-- + + Her takelynge ryche, and of hye apparayle. + + Skelton's _Bowge of Courte_, stanza vi.--ED. + +[C] See Professor H. Reed's note to the American edition of _Memoirs of +Wordsworth_, vol. i. p. 335; and Wordsworth's comment on Mrs. Fermor's +criticism of this sonnet in his letter to Lady Beaumont, May 21, +1807.--ED. + + + + +"WHERE LIES THE LAND TO WHICH YON SHIP MUST GO?" + +Composed 1806.--Published 1807 + + +Classed among the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED. + + + Where lies the Land to which yon Ship must go? + Fresh as a lark mounting at break of day, + Festively she puts forth in trim array;[1] + Is she for tropic suns, or polar snow? + What boots the inquiry?--Neither friend nor foe 5 + She cares for; let her travel where she may, + She finds familiar names, a beaten way + Ever before her, and a wind to blow. + Yet still I ask, what haven is her mark? + And, almost as it was when ships were rare, 10 + (From time to time, like Pilgrims, here and there + Crossing the waters) doubt, and something dark, + Of the old Sea some reverential fear, + Is with me at thy farewell, joyous Bark! + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1837. + + Festively she puts forth in trim array; + As vigorous as a Lark at break of day: 1807. + + + + +TO SLEEP + +Composed 1806.--Published 1807 + + +Placed among the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED. + + + O gentle sleep! do they belong to thee, + These twinklings of oblivion? Thou dost love + To sit in meekness, like the brooding Dove, + A captive never wishing to be free. + This tiresome night, O Sleep! thou art to me 5 + A Fly, that up and down himself doth shove + Upon a fretful rivulet, now above + Now on the water vexed with mockery. + I have no pain that calls for patience, no;[A] + Hence am I[1] cross and peevish as a child: 10 + Am[2] pleased by fits to have thee for my foe, + Yet ever willing to be reconciled: + O gentle Creature! do not use me so, + But once and deeply let me be beguiled. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1807. + + ... I am ... 1815. + + The text of 1827 returns to that of 1807. + +[2] 1807. + + And ... 1815. + + The text of 1827 returns to that of 1807. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] Compare--"Et c'est encore ce qui me fache, de n'etre pas meme en +droit de ... facher."--Rousseau, _La Nouvelle Heloise_. + + "Vixque tenet lacrymas; quia nil lacrymabile cernit." + + Ovid, _Metamorphoses_, lib. ii. l. 796.--ED. + + + + +TO SLEEP + +Composed 1806.--Published 1807 + + +One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED. + + + Fond words have oft been spoken to thee, Sleep! + And thou hast had thy store of tenderest names; + The very sweetest, Fancy culls or frames,[1] + When thankfulness of heart is strong and deep! + Dear Bosom-child we call thee, that dost steep 5 + In rich reward all suffering; Balm that tames + All anguish; Saint that evil thoughts and aims + Takest away, and into souls dost creep, + Like to a breeze from heaven. Shall I alone, + I surely not a man ungently made, 10 + Call thee worst Tyrant by which Flesh is crost? + Perverse, self-willed to own and to disown, + Mere slave of them who never for thee prayed, + Still last to come where thou art wanted most! + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1837. + + The very sweetest words that fancy frames 1807. + + + + +TO SLEEP + +Composed 1806.--Published 1807 + + +Classed among the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED. + + + A flock of sheep that leisurely pass by, + One after one; the sound of rain, and bees + Murmuring; the fall of rivers, winds and seas, + Smooth fields, white sheets of water, and pure sky; + I have thought of all by turns, and yet do lie[1] 5 + Sleepless[A]! and soon the small birds' melodies + Must hear, first uttered from my orchard trees; + And the first cuckoo's melancholy cry. + Even thus last night, and two nights more, I lay, + And could not win thee, Sleep! by any stealth: 10 + So do not let me wear to-night away: + Without Thee what is all the morning's wealth? + Come, blessed barrier between[2] day and day, + Dear mother of fresh thoughts and joyous health! + + +Compare Ovid, _Metamorphoses_, book xi. l. 623; _Macbeth_, act II. scene +ii. l. 39; _King Henry IV._, Part II., act III. scene i. l. 5; +_Midsummer Night's Dream_, act III. scene ii. l. 435.--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1845. + + I've thought of all by turns; and still I lie 1807. + + By turns have all been thought of; yet I lie 1827. + + I thought of all by turns, and yet I lie 1837. + + I have thought ... 1838. + +[2] 1832. + + ... betwixt ... 1807. + + ... between night and day, MS. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] Compare _The Faerie Queene_, book I. canto i. stanza 41-- + + And more to lulle him in his slumber soft, + A trickling streame from high rock tumbling downe, + And ever-drizling raine upon the loft, + Mixt with a murmuring winde, much like the sowne + Of swarming Bees, did cast him in a swowne. ED. + + + + +TO THE MEMORY OF RAISLEY CALVERT + +Composed 1806.--Published 1807 + + +[This young man, Raisley Calvert, to whom I was so much indebted, died +at Penrith, 1795.--I. F.] + +Classed among the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED. + + + Calvert! it must not be unheard by them + Who may respect my name, that I to thee + Owed many years of early liberty. + This care was thine when sickness did condemn + Thy youth to hopeless wasting, root and stem-- 5 + That I, if frugal and severe, might stray + Where'er I liked; and finally array + My temples with the Muse's diadem. + Hence, if in freedom I have loved the truth; + If there be aught of pure, or good, or great, 10 + In my past verse; or shall be, in the lays + Of higher mood, which now I meditate;-- + It gladdens me, O worthy, short-lived, Youth! + To think how much of this will be thy praise. + + +Raisley Calvert was the son of R. Calvert, steward to the Duke of +Norfolk. Writing to Sir George Beaumont, on the 20th February 1805, +Wordsworth said, "I should have been forced into one of the professions" +(the church or law) "by necessity, had not a friend left me L900. This +bequest was from a young man with whom, though I call him friend, I had +but little connection; and the act was done entirely from a confidence +on his part that I had powers and attainments which might be of use to +mankind.... Upon the interest of the L900, and L100 legacy to my sister, +and L100 more which the 'Lyrical Ballads' have brought me, my sister and +I contrived to live seven years, nearly eight." To his friend Matthews +he wrote, November 7th, 1794, "My friend" (Calvert) "has every symptom +of a confirmed consumption, and I cannot think of quitting him in his +present debilitated state." And in January 1795 he wrote to Matthews +from Penrith (where Calvert was staying), "I have been here for some +time. I am still much engaged with my sick friend; and am sorry to add +that he worsens daily ... he is barely alive." In a letter to Dr. Joshua +Stanger of Keswick, written in the year 1842, Wordsworth referred thus +to Raisley Calvert. Dr. Calvert--a nephew of Raisley, and son of the W. +Calvert whom the poet accompanied to the Isle of Wight and Salisbury in +1793--had just died. "His removal (Dr. Calvert's) has naturally thrown +my mind back as far as Dr. Calvert's grandfather, his father, and sister +(the former of whom was, as you know, among my intimate friends), and +his uncle Raisley, whom I have so much cause to remember with gratitude +for his testamentary remembrance of me, when the greatest part of my +patrimony was kept back from us by injustice. It may be satisfactory to +your wife for me to declare that my friend's bequest enabled me to +devote myself to literary pursuits, independent of any necessity to look +at pecuniary emolument, so that my talents, such as they might be, were +free to take their natural course. Your brothers Raisley and William +were both so well known to me, and I have so many reasons to respect +them, that I cannot forbear saying, that my sympathy with this last +bereavement is deepened by the remembrance that they both have been +taken from you...." On October 1, 1794, Wordsworth wrote from Keswick to +Ensign William Calvert about his brother Raisley. (The year is not given +in the letter, but it must have been 1794.) He tells him that Raisley +was determined to set out for Lisbon; but that he (Wordsworth) could not +brook the idea of his going alone; and that he wished to accompany his +friend and stay with him, till his health was re-established. He adds, +"Reflecting that his return is uncertain, your brother requests me to +inform you that he has drawn out his will, which he means to get +executed in London. The purport of his will is to leave you all his +property, real and personal, chargeable with a legacy of L600 to me, in +case that, on inquiry into the state of our affairs in London, he should +think it advisable to do so. It is at my request that this information +is communicated to you." Calvert did not live to go south; and he +changed the sum left to Wordsworth from L600 to L900. The relationship +of the two men suggests the somewhat parallel one between Spinoza and +Simon de Vries.--ED. + + + + +"METHOUGHT I SAW THE FOOTSTEPS OF A THRONE" + +Composed 1806.--Published 1807 + + +[The latter part of this sonnet was a great favourite with my sister S. +H. When I saw her lying in death, I could not resist the impulse to +compose the Sonnet that follows it.--I. F.] + +One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED. + + + Methought I saw the footsteps of a throne + Which mists and vapours from mine eyes did shroud-- + Nor view of who might sit[1] thereon allowed; + But all the steps and ground about were strown + With sights the ruefullest that flesh and bone 5 + Ever put on; a miserable crowd, + Sick, hale, old, young, who cried before that cloud, + "Thou art our king, O Death! to thee we groan." + Those steps I clomb; the mists before me gave[2] + Smooth way; and I beheld the face of one 10 + Sleeping alone within a mossy cave, + With her face up to heaven; that seemed to have + Pleasing remembrance of a thought foregone; + A lovely Beauty in a summer grave! + + +"The Sonnet that follows," referred to in the Fenwick note, is one +belonging to the year 1836, beginning-- + + Even so for me a Vision sanctified. + +See the note to that sonnet.--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1815. + + ... of him who sate ... 1807. + +[2] 1845. + + I seem'd to mount those steps; the vapours gave 1807. + + Those steps I mounted, as the vapours gave 1837. + + ... while the vapours gave 1838. + + Those steps I clomb; the opening vapours gave + C. and 1840. + + + + +LINES + +Composed at Grasmere, during a walk one Evening, after a stormy day, + the Author having just read in a Newspaper that the dissolution of + Mr. Fox was hourly expected. + +Composed September 1806.--Published 1807 + + +This poem was ranked among the "Epitaphs and Elegiac Pieces."--ED. + + + Loud is the Vale! the Voice is up + With which she speaks when storms are gone, + A mighty unison of streams! + Of all her Voices, One! + + Loud is the Vale;--this inland Depth 5 + In peace is roaring like the Sea; + Yon star upon the mountain-top + Is listening quietly. + + Sad was I, even to pain deprest, + Importunate and heavy load![A] 10 + The Comforter hath found me here, + Upon this lonely road; + + And many thousands now are sad-- + Wait the fulfilment of their fear; + For he must die who is their stay, 15 + Their glory disappear. + + A Power is passing from the earth + To breathless Nature's dark abyss; + But when the great and good depart[1] + What is it more than this-- 20 + + That Man, who is from God sent forth, + Doth yet again to God return?-- + Such ebb and flow must ever be, + Then wherefore should we mourn? + + +Charles James Fox died September 13, 1806. He was Minister for Foreign +Affairs at the time, having assumed office on the 5th February, shortly +after the death of William Pitt. Wordsworth's sadness on this occasion, +his recognition of Fox as great and good, and as "a Power" that was +"passing from the earth," may have been due partly to personal and +political sympathy, but also probably to Fox's appreciation of the +better side of the French Revolution, and to his welcoming the pacific +proposals of Talleyrand, perhaps also to his efforts for the abolition +of slavery. + +The "lonely road" referred to in these _Lines_, was, in all likelihood, +the path from Town-end towards the Swan Inn past the Hollins, Grasmere. +A "mighty unison of streams" may be heard there any autumn evening after +a stormy day, and especially after long continued rain, the sound of +waters from Easdale, from Greenhead Ghyll, and the slopes of Silver How, +blending with that of the Rothay in the valley below. Compare Dorothy +Wordsworth's _Recollections of a Tour made in Scotland_, in 1803, p. 229 +(edition 1874).--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1837. + + But when the Mighty pass away 1807. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] Importuna e grave salma. (Michael Angelo.)--W. W. 1807. + + + + +NOVEMBER, 1806 + +Composed 1806.--Published 1807 + + +Classed among the "Sonnets dedicated to Liberty," re-named in 1845, +"Poems dedicated to National Independence and Liberty."--ED. + + + Another year!--another deadly blow! + Another mighty Empire overthrown! + And We are left, or shall be left, alone; + The last that dare[1] to struggle with the Foe. + 'Tis well! from this day forward we shall know 5 + That in ourselves our safety must be sought; + That by our own right hands it must be wrought; + That we must stand unpropped, or be laid low. + O dastard whom such foretaste[2] doth not cheer! + We shall exult, if they who rule the land 10 + Be men who hold its many blessings dear, + Wise, upright, valiant; not a servile[3] band, + Who are to judge of danger which they fear, + And honour which they do not understand.[A] + + +Napoleon won the battle of Jena on the 14th October 1806, entered +Potsdam on the 25th, and Berlin on the 28th; Prince Hohenlohe laid down +his arms on the 6th November; Bluecher surrendered at Luebeck on the 7th; +Magdeburg was taken on the 8th; on the 14th the French occupied Hanover; +and on the 21st Napoleon issued his Berlin decree for the blockade of +England--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1827. + + ... dares ... 1807. + +[2] 1807. + + ... knowledge ... MS. + +[3] 1820. + + ... venal ... 1807. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] Who are to judge of danger which they fear + And honour which they do not understand. + +These two lines from Lord Brooke's _Life of Sir Philip Sydney_--W. W. +1807. + +"Danger which they fear, and honour which they understand not." Words in +Lord Brooke's _Life of Sir P. Sidney_.--W. W. 1837. + + + + +ADDRESS TO A CHILD + +DURING A BOISTEROUS WINTER EVENING + +BY MY SISTER + +Composed 1806.--Published 1815 + + +[Written at Town-end, Grasmere.--I. F.] + +One of the "Poems referring to the Period of Childhood."--ED. + + + What way does the Wind come? What way does he go? + He rides over the water, and over the snow, + Through wood, and through vale; and, o'er rocky height + Which the goat cannot climb, takes his sounding flight; + He tosses about in every bare tree, 5 + As, if you look up, you plainly may see; + But how he will come, and whither he goes, + There's never a scholar in England knows. + He will suddenly stop in a cunning nook, + And ring[1] a sharp 'larum;--but, if you should look, 10 + There's nothing to see but a cushion of snow + Round as a pillow, and whiter than milk, + And softer than if it were covered with silk. + Sometimes he'll hide in the cave of a rock, + Then whistle as shrill as the buzzard cock; 15 + --Yet seek him,--and what shall you find in the place? + Nothing but silence and empty space; + Save, in a corner, a heap of dry leaves, + That he's left, for a bed, to[2] beggars or thieves! + As soon as 'tis daylight to-morrow, with me 20 + You shall go to the orchard, and then you will see + That he has been there, and made a great rout, + And cracked the branches, and strewn them about; + Heaven grant that he spare but that one upright twig + That looked up at the sky so proud and big 25 + All last summer, as well you know, + Studded with apples, a beautiful show! + Hark! over the roof he makes a pause, + And growls as if he would fix his claws + Right in the slates, and with a huge rattle 30 + Drive them down, like men in a battle: + --But let him range round; he does us no harm, + We build up the fire, we're snug and warm; + Untouched by his breath see the candle shines bright, + And burns with a clear and steady light; 35 + Books have we to read,--but that half-stifled knell, + Alas! tis the sound[3] of the eight o'clock bell. + --Come now we'll to bed! and when we are there + He may work his own will, and what shall we care? + He may knock at the door,--we'll not let him in; 40 + May drive at the windows,--we'll laugh at his din; + Let him seek his own home wherever it be; + Here's a _cozie_ warm house for Edward and me. + + +Wordsworth dated this poem 1806, and said to Miss Fenwick that it was +written at Grasmere. If it was written "during a boisterous winter +evening" in 1806, it could not have been written at Grasmere; because +the Wordsworths spent most of that winter at Coleorton. I am inclined to +believe that the date which the poet gave is wrong, and that the +_Address_ really belongs to the year 1805; but, as it is just possible +that--although referring to winter--it may have been written at Town-end +in the summer of 1806, it is placed among the poems belonging to the +latter year. + +This _Address_ was translated into French by Mme. Amable Tastu, and +published in a popular school-book series of extracts, but Wordsworth's +name is not given along with the translation. + +From 1815 to 1843 the authorship was veiled under the title, "by a +female Friend of the Author." In 1845, it was disclosed, "by my Sister." + +In 1815 Charles Lamb wrote to Wordsworth, "We were glad to see the poems +'by a female friend.' The one of the Wind is masterly, but not new to +us. Being only three, perhaps you might have clapt a D. at the corner, +and let it have past as a printer's mark to the uninitiated, as a +delightful hint to the better instructed. As it is, expect a formal +criticism on the poems of your female friend, and she must expect it." +(_The Letters of Charles Lamb_, edited by Alfred Ainger, vol. i. p. +285.)--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1845. + + ... rings ... 1815. + +[2] 1827. + + ... for ... 1815. + +[3] 1827. + + ... --hush! that half-stifled knell, + Methinks 'tis the sound ... 1815. + + + + +"BROOK! WHOSE SOCIETY THE POET SEEKS" + +Composed 1806?--Published 1815 + + +One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED. + + + Brook! whose society the Poet seeks, + Intent his wasted spirits to renew; + And whom the curious Painter doth pursue + Through rocky passes, among flowery creeks, + And tracks thee dancing down thy water-breaks; 5 + If wish were mine some type of thee to view,[1] + Thee, and not thee thyself, I would not do + Like Grecian Artists, give thee human cheeks, + Channels for tears; no Naiad should'st thou be,-- + Have neither limbs, feet, feathers, joints nor hairs: 10 + It seems the Eternal Soul is clothed in thee + With purer robes than those of flesh and blood, + And hath bestowed on thee a safer good;[2] + Unwearied joy, and life without its cares. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1827. + + If I some type of thee did wish to view, 1815. + +[2] 1845. + + ... a better good; 1815. + + + + +"THERE IS A LITTLE UNPRETENDING RILL" + +Composed 1806?--Published 1820 + + +[This Rill trickles down the hill-side into Windermere, near Low-wood. +My sister and I, on our first visit together to this part of the +country, walked from Kendal, and we rested to refresh ourselves by the +side of the lake where the streamlet falls into it. This sonnet was +written some years after in recollection of that happy ramble, that most +happy day and hour.--I. F.] + +One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED. + + + There is a little unpretending Rill + Of limpid water, humbler far than aught[1] + That ever among Men or Naiads sought + Notice or name!--It quivers down the hill, + Furrowing its shallow way with dubious will; 5 + Yet to my mind this scanty Stream is brought[2] + Oftener than Ganges or the Nile; a thought + Of private recollection sweet and still![3] + Months perish with their moons; year treads on year; + But, faithful Emma! thou with me canst say 10 + That, while ten thousand pleasures disappear, + And flies their memory fast almost as they,[4] + The immortal Spirit of one happy day + Lingers beside that Rill,[5] in vision clear.[6] + + +One of the MS. readings of the ninth line of this sonnet gives the date +of the incident as "now seven years gone"; but I leave the date of +composition undetermined. If we could know accurately the date of the +"first visit" to the district with his sister (referred to in the +Fenwick note), and if we could implicitly trust this MS. reading, it +might be possible to fix it; but we can do neither. Wordsworth visited +the Lake District with his sister as early as 1794, and in December 1799 +he took up his abode with her at Dove Cottage. I have no doubt that the +sonnet belongs to the year 1806, or was composed at an earlier date. As +to the locality of the rill, the late Rev. R. Perceval Graves, of +Dublin, wrote to me:-- + + "It was in 1843, when quitting the parsonage at Bowness, I went to + reside at Dovenest, that, calling one day at Rydal Mount, I was + told by both Mr. and Mrs. Wordsworth, as a fact in which I should + take a special interest, that the 'little unpretending rill' + associated by the poet with 'the immortal spirit of one happy + day,' was the rill which, rising near High Skelgill at the back of + Wansfell, descends steeply down the hill-side, passes behind the + house at Dovenest, and crossing beneath the road, enters the lake + near the gate of the drive which leads up to Dovenest. + + "The authority on which I give this information is decisive of the + question. I have often traced upwards the course of the rill; and + the secluded hollow, which by its source is beautified with fresh + herbage and wild straggling bushes, was a favourite haunt of + mine."--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1820. + + There is a tiny water, neither rill, + Motionless well, nor running brook, nor aught MS. + + There is a noiseless water, neither rill, + Nor spring enclosed in sculptured stone, nor aught MS. + + There is a trickling water, neither rill, + Fountain inclosed, or rivulet, nor aught MS. 1806. + +[2] 1820. + + ... It trickles down the hill, + So feebly, just for love of power and will, + Yet to my mind the nameless thing is brought MS. + + ... It totters down the hill, + So feebly, quite forlorn of power and will; + Yet nameless Thing it to my mind is brought MS. + +[3] 1827. + + Oftener than mightiest Floods, whose path is wrought + Through wastes of sand, and forests dark and chill. + 1820. + +[4] 1827. + + Do thou, even thou, O faithful Anna! say + Why this small Streamlet is to me so dear; + Thou know'st, that while enjoyments disappear + And sweet remembrances like flowers decay, 1820. + +[5] 1827. + + Lingers upon its marge, ... 1820. + +[6] 1820. + + For on that day, now seven years gone, when first + Two glad foot-travellers, through sun and shower + My Love and I came hither, while thanks burst + Out of our hearts ... + We from that blessed water slaked our thirst. MS. + + ... seven years back, ... + + ... hearts to God for that good hour, + Eating a traveller's meal in shady bower, + We ... MS. + + + + +1807 + + +In few instances is it more evident that the dates which Wordsworth +affixed to his poems, in the editions of 1815, 1820, 1836, and +1845,--and those assigned in the Fenwick notes--cannot be absolutely +relied upon, than in the case of the poems referring to Coleorton. +Trusting to these dates, in the absence of contrary evidence, one would +naturally assign the majority of the Coleorton poems to the year 1808. +But it is clear that, while the sonnet _To Lady Beaumont_ may have been +written in 1806, the "Inscription" _For a Seat in the Groves of +Coleorton_, beginning-- + + Beneath yon eastern ridge, the craggy bound, + +was written, not in 1808 (as stated by Wordsworth himself), but in 1811; +and that the other "Inscription" designed for a Niche in the +Winter-garden at Coleorton, belongs (I think) to the same year; a year +in which he also wrote the sonnet on Sir George Beaumont's picture of +Bredon Hill and Cloud Hill, beginning-- + + Praised be the Art whose subtle power could stay. + +When the dates are so difficult to determine, there is a natural fitness +in bringing all the poems referring to Coleorton together, so far as +this can be done without seriously interfering with chronological order. +The two "Inscriptions" intended for the Coleorton grounds, which were +written at Grasmere in 1811, are therefore printed along with the poems +of 1807; the precise date of each being given--so far as it can be +ascertained--underneath its title. + +Several political sonnets, and others, were written in 1807; also the +_Song at the Feast of Brougham Castle_, and the first and larger part of +_The White Doe of Rylstone_, with a few minor fragments. But, for +reasons stated in the notes to _The White Doe of Rylstone_ (see p. +191), I have assigned that poem to the year 1808. The _Song at the Feast +of Brougham Castle_ forms as natural a preface to _The White Doe_, as +_The Force of Prayer, a Tradition of Bolton Abbey_, is its natural +appendix. The latter was written, however, before _The White Doe of +Rylstone_ was finished. + +It would be easier to fix the date of some of the poems written between +the years 1806 and 1808, if we knew the exact month in which the two +volumes of 1807 were published; but this, I fear, it is impossible to +discover now. + +On November 10th, 1806, Wordsworth wrote to Sir George Beaumont from +Coleorton, "In a day or two I mean to send a sheet or two of my intended +volume to the press" (evidently referring to the "Poems" of 1807). On +the following day--11th November 1806--Dorothy Wordsworth wrote to Lady +Beaumont, "William has written two other poems, which you will see when +they are printed. He composes frequently in the grove.... We have not +yet received a sheet from the printer." On the 15th November 1806 she +again wrote to Lady Beaumont (from Coleorton), "My brother works very +hard at his poems, preparing them for the press. Miss Hutchinson is the +transcriber." In a subsequent letter from Coleorton, undated, but +bearing the post-mark February 18, 1807, she is speaking of her +brother's poetical labour, and says, "He must go on, when he begins: and +any interruptions (such as attending to the progress of the workmen and +planning the garden) are of the greatest use to him; for, after a +certain time, the progress is by no means proportioned to the labour in +composition; and if he is called from it by other thoughts, he returns +to it with ten times the pleasure, and the work goes on proportionately +the more rapidly." From this we may infer that the years 1806-7 were +productive ones, but it is disappointing that the dates of the +composition of the poems are so difficult to determine.--ED. + + + + +TO LADY BEAUMONT + +Composed 1807.--Published 1807 + + +[The winter garden of Coleorton, fashioned out of an old quarry, under +the superintendence and direction of Mrs. Wordsworth and my sister +Dorothy, during the winter and spring we resided there.--I. F.] + +One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED. + + + Lady! the songs of Spring were in the grove + While I was shaping beds for[1] winter flowers; + While I was planting green unfading bowers, + And shrubs--to hang upon the warm alcove, + And sheltering wall; and still, as Fancy wove 5 + The dream, to time and nature's blended powers + I gave this paradise for winter hours, + A labyrinth, Lady! which your feet shall rove. + Yes! when the sun of life more feebly shines, + Becoming thoughts, I trust, of solemn gloom 10 + Or of high gladness you shall hither bring; + And these perennial bowers and murmuring pines + Be gracious as the music and the bloom + And all the mighty ravishment of spring. + + +The title, _To Lady Beaumont_, was first given in 1845. In 1807 it was +_To the ----_; in 1815, _To the Lady ----_; and from 1820 to 1843, _To +the Lady Beaumont_. + +This winter garden, fashioned by the Wordsworths out of the old quarry +at Coleorton, during Sir George and Lady Beaumont's absence in 1807, +exists very much as it was at the beginning of the century. The +"perennial bowers and murmuring pines" may still be seen, little altered +since 1807. The late Sir George Beaumont (whose grandfather was +first-cousin to the artist Sir George, Wordsworth's friend), with strong +reverence for the past, and for the traditions of literary men which +have made the district famous since the days of his ancestor Beaumont +the dramatist, and especially for the memorials of Wordsworth's ten +months' residence at Coleorton,--took a pleasure in preserving these +memorials, very much as they were when he entered in possession of the +estates of his ancestors. Such a reverence for the past is not only +consistent with the "improvement" of an estate, and its belongings; it +is a part of it. Wordsworth, and his wife and sister, were adepts in the +laying out of grounds. (See the reference to the poet's joint labour +with Wilkinson at Yanwath, p. 2.) It was the Wordsworths also, I +believe, who designed the grounds of Fox How--Dr. Arnold's residence, +near Ambleside. Similar memorials of the poet survive at Hallsteads, +Ullswater. The following is an extract from the letter of Dorothy +Wordsworth to Lady Beaumont above referred to, and having the post-mark +of February 18, 1807. "For more than a week we have had the most +delightful weather. If William had but waited a few days, it would have +been no anticipation when he said to you, 'the songs of Spring were in +the grove;' for all this week the birds have chanted from morn till +evening, larks, blackbirds, thrushes, and far more than I can name, and +the busy rooks have joined their happy voices." + +Wordsworth, writing to Sir George Beaumont, November 16, 1811, says, "I +remember, Mr. Bowles, the poet, objected to the word 'ravishment' at the +end of the sonnet to the winter-garden; yet it has the authority of all +the first-rate poets, for instance, Milton: + + 'In whose sight all things joy, _with ravishment_, + Attracted by thy beauty still to gaze'...." + ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1837. + + ... framing beds of ... 1807. + + ... for ... 1815. + + + + +A PROPHECY. FEBRUARY, 1807 + +Composed 1807.--Published 1807 + + +Included among the "Sonnets dedicated to Liberty," re-named in 1845, +"Poems dedicated to National Independence and Liberty."--ED. + + + High deeds, O Germans, are to come from you! + Thus in your books the record shall be found, + "A watchword was pronounced, a potent sound-- + ARMINIUS![A]--all the people quaked like dew + Stirred by the breeze; they rose, a Nation, true, 5 + True to herself[1]--the mighty Germany, + She of the Danube and the Northern Sea, + She rose, and off at once the yoke she threw. + All power was given her in the dreadful trance; + Those new-born Kings she withered like a flame."[B] 10 + --Woe to them all! but heaviest woe and shame + To that Bavarian who could[2] first advance + His banner in accursed league with France,[C] + First open traitor to the German name![3] + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1820. + + ... itself ... 1807. + +[2] 1837. + + ... did ... 1807. + +[3] 1837. + + ... to her sacred name! 1807. + + ... to a ... 1820. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] Arminius, or Hermann, the liberator of Germany from the Roman power, +A.D. 9-17. Tacitus says of him, "He was without doubt the deliverer of +Germany; and, unlike other kings and generals, he attacked the Roman +people, not at the commencement, but in the fullness of their power: in +battles he was not always successful, but he was invincible in war. He +still lives in the songs of the barbarians."--ED. + +[B] The "new-born Kings" were the lesser German potentates, united in +the Confederation of the Rhine. By a treaty signed at Paris (July 12th, +1806), by Talleyrand, and the ministers of twelve sovereign houses of +the Empire, these princes declared themselves perpetually severed from +Germany, and united together as the Confederate States of the Rhine, of +which the Emperor of the French was declared Protector.--ED. + +[C] On December 11, 1806, Napoleon concluded a treaty with Frederick +Augustus, the Elector of Saxony--who had been secretly on the side of +France for some time--to whom he gave additional territories, and the +title of King, admitting him into "the Confederation of the Rhine." He +had fallen, as one of the Prussian statesmen put it, into "that lowest +of degradations, to steal at another man's bidding."--ED. + + + + +THOUGHT OF A BRITON ON THE SUBJUGATION OF SWITZERLAND + +Composed 1807.--Published 1807 + + +[This was composed while pacing to and fro between the Hall of +Coleorton, then rebuilding, and the principal Farmhouse of the Estate, +in which we lived for nine or ten months. I will here mention that the +_Song on the Restoration of Lord Clifford_, as well as that on the +_Feast of Brougham Castle_, were produced on the same ground.--I. F.] + +This sonnet was classed among those "dedicated to Liberty," re-named in +1845, "Poems dedicated to National Independence and Liberty."--ED. + + + Two Voices are there; one is of the sea, + One of the mountains; each a mighty Voice: + In both from age to age thou didst rejoice, + They were thy chosen music, Liberty! + There came a Tyrant, and with holy glee 5 + Thou fought'st against him; but hast vainly striven: + Thou from thy Alpine holds at length art driven, + Where not a torrent murmurs heard by thee. + Of one deep bliss thine ear hath been bereft: + Then cleave, O cleave to that which still is left; 10 + For, high-souled Maid, what sorrow would it be + That Mountain floods should thunder as before, + And Ocean bellow from his rocky shore, + And neither awful Voice be heard by thee! + + +In 1807 the whole of the Continent of Europe was prostrate under the +power of Napoleon. It is impossible to say to what special incident, if +to any in particular, Wordsworth refers in the phrase, "with holy glee +thou fought'st against him;" but, as the sonnet was composed at +Coleorton in 1807--after the battles of Austerlitz and Jena, and +Napoleon's practical mastery of Europe--our knowing the particular event +or events in Swiss history to which he refers, would not add much to our +understanding of the poem. + +In the Fenwick note Wordsworth incorrectly separates his _Song on the +Restoration of Lord Clifford_ from the _Feast of Brougham Castle_. They +are the same song.--ED. + + + + +TO THOMAS CLARKSON, ON THE FINAL PASSING OF THE BILL FOR THE ABOLITION + OF THE SLAVE TRADE, MARCH, 1807 + +Composed 1807.--Published 1807 + + +One of the "Poems dedicated to National Independence and Liberty."--ED. + + + Clarkson! it was an obstinate hill to climb: + How toilsome--nay, how dire--it was, by thee + Is known; by none, perhaps, so feelingly: + But thou, who, starting in thy fervent prime, + Didst first lead forth that enterprise[1] sublime, 5 + Hast heard the constant Voice its charge repeat, + Which, out of thy young heart's oracular seat, + First roused thee.--O true yoke-fellow of Time, + Duty's intrepid liegeman, see,[2] the palm + Is won, and by all Nations shall be worn! 10 + The blood-stained Writing is for ever torn; + And thou henceforth wilt have[3] a good man's calm, + A great man's happiness; thy zeal shall find + Repose at length, firm friend of human kind! + + +On the 25th of March 1807, the Royal assent was given to the Bill for +the Abolition of the Slave Trade. The movement for its abolition was +begun by Wilberforce, and carried on by Clarkson. Its abolition was +voted by the House of Lords on the motion of Lord Grenville, and by the +Commons on the motion of Charles James Fox, on the 10th of June 1806. +The bill was read a second time in the Lords on the 5th of February, and +became law on the 25th of March 1807. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1837. + + ... this pilgrimage ... 1807. + +[2] 1837. + + With unabating effort, see, ... 1807. + +[3] 1837. + + The bloody Writing is for ever torn, + And Thou henceforth shalt have ... 1807. + + + + +THE MOTHER'S RETURN + +BY MY SISTER + +Composed 1807.--Published 1815 + + +[Written at Town-end, Grasmere.--I. F.] + +One of the "Poems referring to the Period of Childhood."--ED. + + + A month, sweet Little-ones, is past + Since your dear Mother went away,-- + And she to-morrow will return; + To-morrow is the happy day. + + O blessed tidings! thought of joy! 5 + The eldest heard with steady glee; + Silent he stood; then laughed amain,-- + And shouted, "Mother, come to me!" + + Louder and louder did he shout, + With witless hope to bring her near; 10 + "Nay, patience! patience, little boy! + Your tender mother cannot hear." + + I told of hills, and far-off towns, + And long, long vales to travel through;-- + He listens, puzzled, sore perplexed, 15 + But he submits; what can he do? + + No strife disturbs his sister's breast; + She wars not with the mystery + Of time and distance, night and day; + The bonds of our humanity. 20 + + Her joy is like an instinct, joy + Of kitten, bird, or summer fly; + She dances, runs without an aim, + She chatters in her ecstasy. + + Her brother now takes up the note, 25 + And echoes back his sister's glee; + They hug the infant in my arms, + As if to force his sympathy. + + Then, settling into fond discourse, + We rested in the garden bower; 30 + While sweetly shone the evening sun + In his departing hour. + + We told o'er all that we had done,-- + Our rambles by the swift brook's side + Far as the willow-skirted pool, 35 + Where two fair swans together glide. + + We talked of change, of winter gone, + Of green leaves on the hawthorn spray, + Of birds that build their nests and sing, + And all "since Mother went away!" 40 + + To her these tales they will repeat, + To her our new-born tribes will show, + The goslings green, the ass's colt, + The lambs that in the meadow go. + + --But, see, the evening star comes forth! 45 + To bed the children must depart; + A moment's heaviness they feel, + A sadness at the heart: + + 'Tis gone--and in a merry fit + They run up stairs in gamesome race; 50 + I, too, infected by their mood, + I could have joined the wanton chase. + + Five minutes past--and, O the change! + Asleep upon their beds they lie; + Their busy limbs in perfect rest, 55 + And closed the sparkling eye. + + +The Fenwick note is inaccurate. These lines were written by Dorothy +Wordsworth at Coleorton, on the eve of her brother and sister's return +from London, in the spring of 1807, whither they had gone for a +month--Dorothy remaining at Coleorton, in charge of the children. +Previous to 1845, the poem was attributed to "a female Friend of the +Author."--ED. + + + + +GIPSIES + +Composed 1807.--Published 1807 + + +[Composed at Coleorton. I had observed them, as here described, near +Castle Donnington, on my way to and from Derby.--I. F.] + +One of the "Poems of the Imagination."--ED. + + + Yet are they here the same unbroken knot + Of human Beings, in the self-same spot! + Men, women, children, yea the frame + Of the whole spectacle the same! + Only their fire seems bolder, yielding light, 5 + Now deep and red, the colouring of night; + That on their Gipsy-faces falls, + Their bed of straw and blanket-walls. + --Twelve hours, twelve bounteous hours are gone, while I + Have been a traveller under open sky, 10 + Much witnessing of change and cheer, + Yet as I left I find them here! + The weary Sun betook himself to rest;-- + Then issued Vesper from the fulgent west, + Outshining like a visible God 15 + The glorious path in which he trod. + And now, ascending, after one dark hour + And one night's diminution of her power, + Behold the mighty Moon! this way + She looks as if at them--but they 20 + Regard not her:--oh better wrong and strife + (By nature transient) than this torpid life; + Life which the very stars reprove[A] + As on their silent tasks they move![1][B] + Yet, witness all that stirs in heaven or[2] earth! 25 + In scorn I speak not;--they are what their birth + And breeding suffer[3] them to be; + Wild outcasts of society![4] + + +See S. T. Coleridge's criticism of this poem in his _Biographia +Literaria_, vol. ii. p. 156 (edition 1847).--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1836. + + Regard not her:--oh better wrong and strife + Better vain deeds or evil than such life! + The silent Heavens have goings on;[C] + The stars have tasks--but these have none. 1807. + + ... wrong and strife, + (By nature transient) than such torpid life! + The silent Heavens have goings-on; + The stars have tasks--but these have none! 1820. + + (By nature transient) than such torpid life; + Life which the very stars reprove + As on their silent tasks they move! 1827. + +[2] 1827. + + ... and ... 1820. + +[3] 1836. + + ... suffers ... 1820. + +[4] The last four lines were added in 1820. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] Compare the _Ode to Duty_, l. 47 (vol. iii. p. 41).--ED. + +[B] Compare, in the _Ode to Duty_, l. 48-- + + And the most ancient heavens, through Thee, are fresh and strong.-- + ED. + +[C] Compare, in the Fragment, vol. viii., beginning "No doubt if you in +terms direct had asked," the phrase-- + + ... the goings on + Of earth and sky. ED. + + + + +"O NIGHTINGALE! THOU SURELY ART" + +Composed 1807 (probably).--Published 1807 + + +[Written at Town-end, Grasmere. (Mrs. W. says, in a note,--"At +Coleorton.")--I. F.] + +One of the "Poems of the Imagination."--ED. + + + O Nightingale! thou surely art + A creature of a "fiery heart:"--[A][1] + These notes of thine--they pierce and pierce; + Tumultuous harmony and fierce! + Thou sing'st as if the God of wine 5 + Had helped thee to a Valentine;[B] + A song in mockery and despite + Of shades, and dews, and silent night; + And steady bliss, and all the loves + Now sleeping in these peaceful groves. 10 + + I heard a Stock-dove sing or say + His homely tale, this very day; + His voice was buried among trees, + Yet to be come-at by the breeze: + He did not cease; but cooed--and cooed; 15 + And somewhat pensively he wooed: + He sang of love, with quiet blending, + Slow to begin, and never ending; + Of serious faith, and inward glee; + That was the song--the song for me! 20 + + +Mrs. Wordsworth corrected her husband's note to Miss Fenwick, by adding +in the MS., "at Coleorton"; and at Coleorton the Wordsworths certainly +spent the winter of 1806, the Town-end Cottage at Grasmere being too +small for their increasing household. It is more likely that Wordsworth +wrote the poem at Coleorton than at Grasmere, and it looks as if it had +been an evening impromptu, after hearing both the nightingale and the +stock-dove. There are no nightingales at Grasmere,--they are not heard +further north than the Trent valley,--while they used to abound in the +"peaceful groves" of Coleorton. If the locality was--as Mrs. Wordsworth +states--Coleorton, and if the lines were written after hearing the +nightingale, the year would be 1807, and not 1806 (the poet's own date). +The nightingale is a summer visitor in this country, and could not have +been heard by Wordsworth at Coleorton in 1806, as he did not go south to +Leicestershire till November in that year. But it is quite possible that +it was "the stock-dove's voice" that alone suggested the lines, and that +they were written either in 1806, or (as I think more likely), very +early in 1807. In the month of January Wordsworth was corresponding with +Scott about the poems in this edition of 1807.--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1807. + + A Creature of ebullient heart:-- 1815. + + The text of 1820 returns to that of 1807.[C] + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] See Shakespeare's _King Henry VI._, Part III., act I. scene iv. l. +87.--ED. + +[B] Compare the lines in _The Cuckoo and the Nightingale_, vol. ii. p. +255-- + + I heard the lusty Nightingale so sing, + That her clear voice made a loud rioting, + Echoing through all the green wood wide. ED. + +[C] Henry Crabb Robinson, in his _Diary_ (May 9, 1815), anticipates this +return to the text of 1807.--ED. + + + + +"THOUGH NARROW BE THAT OLD MAN'S CARES, AND NEAR" + +Composed 1807.--Published 1807 + + + ----"gives to airy nothing + A local habitation and a name." + +[Written at Coleorton. This old man's name was Mitchell. He was, in all +his ways and conversation, a great curiosity, both individually and as a +representative of past times. His chief employment was keeping watch at +night by pacing round the house, at that time building, to keep off +depredators. He has often told me gravely of having seen the Seven +Whistlers, and the Hounds as here described. Among the groves of +Coleorton, where I became familiar with the habits and notions of old +Mitchell, there was also a labourer of whom, I regret, I had no personal +knowledge; for, more than forty years after, when he was become an old +man, I learned that while I was composing verses, which I usually did +aloud, he took much pleasure, unknown to me, in following my steps that +he might catch the words I uttered; and, what is not a little +remarkable, several lines caught in this way kept their place in his +memory. My volumes have lately been given to him by my informant, and +surely he must have been gratified to meet in print his old +acquaintances.--I. F.] + +In 1815 this sonnet was one of the "Poems belonging to the Period of Old +Age"; in 1820 it was transferred to the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED. + + + Though narrow be that old Man's cares, and near, + The poor old Man is greater than he seems: + For he hath waking empire, wide as dreams; + An ample sovereignty of eye and ear. + Rich are his walks with supernatural cheer; 5 + The region of his inner spirit teems + With vital sounds and monitory gleams + Of high astonishment and pleasing fear. + He the seven birds hath seen, that never part, + Seen the SEVEN WHISTLERS in their nightly rounds, 10 + And counted them: and oftentimes will start-- + For overhead are sweeping GABRIEL'S HOUNDS[A] + Doomed, with their impious Lord, the flying Hart + To chase for ever, on aerial grounds! + + +To bring all the poems referring to Coleorton together, so far as +possible, this and the next sonnet are transferred from their places in +the chronological list, and placed beside the Coleorton "Inscriptions." + +I am indebted to Mr. William Kelly of Leicester for the following note +on the Leicestershire superstition of the Seven Whistlers. + + "There is an old superstition, which it is not easy to get to the + bottom of, concerning a certain cry or sound heard in the night, + supposed to be produced by the Seven Whistlers. What or who those + whistlers are is an unsolved problem. In some districts they are + popularly believed to be witches, in others ghosts, in others + devils, while in the Midland Counties they are supposed to be + birds, either plovers or martins--some say swifts. In + Leicestershire it is deemed a bad omen to hear the Seven + Whistlers, and our old writers supply many passages illustrative + of the popular credulity. Spenser, in his _Faerie Queene_, book + II. canto xii. stanza 36, speaks of + + The whistler shrill, that whoso hears doth die. + + Sir Walter Scott, in _The Lady of the Lake_, names the bird with + which his character associated the cry-- + + And in the plover's shrilly strain + The signal whistlers heard again. + + "When the colliers of Leicestershire are flush of money, we are + told, and indulge in a drinking bout, they sometimes hear the + warning voice of the Seven Whistlers, get sobered and frightened, + and will not descend the pit again till next day. Wordsworth + speaks of a countryman who + + ... the seven birds hath seen, that never part, + Seen the Seven Whistlers in their nightly rounds, + And counted them. + + "A few years ago, during a thunderstorm which passed over + Leicestershire, and while vivid lightning was darting through the + sky, immense flocks of birds were seen flying about, uttering + doleful, affrighted cries as they passed, and keeping up for a + long time a continual whistling like that made by some kinds of + sea-birds. The number must have been immense, for the local + newspapers mentioned the same phenomenon in different parts of the + neighbouring counties of Northampton, Leicester, and Lincoln. A + gentleman, conversing with a countryman on the following day, + asked him what kind of birds he supposed them to have been. The + man answered, 'They are what we call the Seven Whistlers,' and + added that 'whenever they are heard it is considered a sign of + some great calamity, and that the last time he had heard them was + on the night before the deplorable explosion of fire damp at the + Hartley Colliery.'" + +In _Notes and Queries_ there are several allusions to this local +superstition. In the Fifth Series (vol. ii. p. 264), Oct. 3, 1874, the +editor gives a summary of several notes on the subject in vol. viii. of +the Fourth Series (pp. 68, 134, 196, and 268), with additional +information. He says "record was made of their having been heard in +Leicestershire; and that the develin or martin, the swift, and the +plover were probably of the whistling fraternity that frightened men. At +p. 134 it was shown that Wordsworth had spoken of one who + + ... the seven birds hath seen, that never part, + Seen the Seven Whistlers in their nightly rounds, + And counted them. + +On the same page, the swift is said to be the true whistler (but, as +noted at page 196, the swifts never make nightly rounds), and the +superstition is said to be common in our Midland Counties. At page 268, +Mr. Pearson put on record that in Lancashire the plovers, whistling as +they fly, are accounted heralds of ill, though sometimes of trivial +accident, and that they are there called 'Wandering Jews,' and are said +to be, or to carry with them, the ever-restless souls of those Jews who +assisted at the Crucifixion. At page 336, the whistlers are chronicled +as having been the harbingers of the great Hartley Colliery explosion. A +correspondent, VIATOR, added, that on the Bosphorus there are flocks of +birds, the size of a thrush, which fly up and down the channel, and are +never seen to rest on land or water. The men who rowed Viator's caique +told him that they were the souls of the damned, condemned to perpetual +motion. The Seven Whistlers have not furnished chroniclers with later +circumstances of their tuneful and awful progresses till a week or two +ago.... The whistlers are also heard and feared in Portugal. See _The +New Quarterly_ for July 1874, for a record of some travelling experience +in that country." + +Another extract from _Notes and Queries_ is to the following effect:-- + + "'Your Excellency laughs at ghosts. But there is no lie about the + Seven Whistlers. Many a man besides me has heard them.' + + "'Who are the Seven Whistlers? and have you seen them yourself?' + + "'Not seen, thank Heaven; but I have heard them plenty of times. + Some say they are the ghosts of children unbaptized, who are to + know no rest till the judgment day. Once last winter I was going + with donkeys and a mule to Caia. Just at the moment I stopped by + the river bank to tighten the mule's girth, I heard the accursed + whistlers coming down the wind along the river. I buried my head + under the mule, and never moved till the danger was over; but they + passed very near, for I heard the flap and rustle of their wings.' + + "'What was the danger?' + + "'If a man once sees them, heaven only knows what will not happen + to him--death and damnation at the very least.' + + "'I have seen them many times. I shot, or tried to shoot them!' + + "'Holy Mother of God! you English are an awful people! You shot + the Seven Whistlers?' + + "'Yes; we call them marecos (teal or widgeon) in our country, and + shoot them whenever we can. They are better to eat than wild + ducks.'" + +_Gabriel's Hounds._--"At Wednesbury in Staffordshire, the colliers going +to their pits early in the morning hear the noise of a pack of hounds in +the air, to which they give the name of Gabriel's Hounds, though the +more sober and judicious take them only to be wild geese making this +noise in their flight." Kennet MS., Lansd. 1033. (See Halliwell's +_Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words_, vol. i. p. 388.) The +peculiar cry or cackle, both of the Brent Goose and of the Bean or +Harvest Goose (_Anser Segetum_), has often been likened to that of a +pack of hounds in full cry--especially when the birds are on the wing +during night. For some account of the superstition of "Gabriel's +Hounds," see _Notes and Queries_, First Series, vol. v. pp. 534 and 596; +and vol. xii. p. 470; Second Series, vol. i. p. 80; and Fourth Series, +vol. vii. p. 299. In the last note these hounds are said to be popularly +believed to be "the souls of unbaptized children wandering in the air +till the day of judgment." They are also explained as "a thing in the +air, that is said in these parts (Sheffield) to foretell calamity, +sounding like a great pack of beagles in full cry." This quotation is +from Charles Reade's _Put yourself in his place_, which contains many +scraps of local folk-lore. The following is from the _Statistical +History of Kirkmichael_, by the Rev. John Grant. "In the autumnal +season, when the moon shines from a serene sky, often is the wayfaring +traveller arrested by the music of the hills. Often struck with a more +sober scene, he beholds the visionary hunters engaged in the chase, and +pursuing the deer of the clouds, while the hollow rocks in long +sounding echoes reverberate their cries." "There are several now living +who assert that they have seen and heard this aerial hunting." See the +_Statistical History of Scotland_, edited by Sir J. Sinclair, vol. xii. +pp. 461, 462. Compare note to _An Evening Walk_, vol. i. p. 19.--ED. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] Both these superstitions are prevalent in the midland Counties of +England: that of "Gabriel's Hounds" appears to be very general over +Europe; being the same as the one upon which the German Poet, Buerger, +has founded his Ballad of _The Wild Huntsman_.--W. W. 1807. + + + + +COMPOSED BY THE SIDE OF GRASMERE LAKE. 1807 + +Composed 1806.--Published 1819 + + +This sonnet was first published along with _The Waggoner_ in 1819. In +1820 it was classed among the "Miscellaneous Sonnets," and in 1827 it +was transferred to the "Sonnets dedicated to Liberty." Previous to 1837 +this sonnet had no title.--ED. + + + Clouds, lingering yet, extend[1] in solid bars + Through the grey west; and lo! these waters, steeled + By breezeless air to smoothest polish, yield + A vivid repetition[2] of the stars; + Jove, Venus, and the ruddy crest of Mars 5 + Amid his fellows beauteously revealed + At happy distance from earth's groaning field, + Where ruthless mortals wage incessant wars. + Is it a mirror?--or the nether Sphere + Opening to view the abyss in which she feeds 10 + Her own calm fires?[3]--But list! a voice is near; + Great Pan himself low-whispering through the reeds, + "Be thankful, thou; for, if unholy deeds + Ravage the world, tranquillity is here!" + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1827. + + Eve's lingering clouds extend ... MS. and 1819. + +[2] 1819. + + A bright re-duplication ... MS. + +[3] 1837. + + Opening a vast abyss, while fancy feeds + On the rich show? ... MS. + + Opening its vast abyss, ... 1819. + + Opening to view the abyss in which it feeds + Its own calm fires?-- ... 1827. + + + + +IN THE GROUNDS OF COLEORTON, THE SEAT OF SIR GEORGE BEAUMONT, BART., + LEICESTERSHIRE + +Composed 1808.--Published 1815 + + +[In the grounds of Coleorton these verses are engraved on a stone placed +near the Tree, which was thriving and spreading when I saw it in the +summer of 1841.--I. F.] + +Included among the "Inscriptions."--ED. + + + The embowering rose, the acacia, and the pine, + Will[1] not unwillingly their place resign; + If but the Cedar thrive that near them stands, + Planted by Beaumont's and by Wordsworth's hands. + One wooed the silent Art with studious pains: 5 + These groves have heard the Other's pensive strains; + Devoted thus, their spirits did unite + By interchange of knowledge and delight. + May Nature's kindliest powers sustain the Tree, + And Love protect it from all injury! 10 + And when its potent branches, wide out-thrown, + Darken the brow of this memorial Stone, + [2]Here may some Painter sit in future days, + Some future Poet meditate his lays; + Not mindless of that distant age renowned 15 + When Inspiration hovered o'er this ground, + The haunt of him who sang how spear and shield + In civil conflict met on Bosworth-field; + And of that famous Youth, full soon removed + From earth, perhaps by Shakspeare's self approved, 20 + Fletcher's Associate, Jonson's Friend beloved. + + +About twelve years after the last visit of Wordsworth to Coleorton, +referred to in the Fenwick note--of which the date should, I think, be +1842, not 1841--this cedar tree fell, uprooted during a storm. It was, +however, as the Coleorton gardener who was then on the estate told me, +replanted with much labour, and protected with care; although, the top +branches being injured, it was never quite the same as it had been. +During the night of the great storm on the 13th October 1880, however, +it fell a second time, and perished irretrievably. The memorial stone +remains, injured a good deal by the wear and tear of time; and the +inscription is more than half obliterated. It is in a situation much +more exposed to the elements than the other two inscriptions at +Coleorton. He + + who sang how spear and shield + In civil conflict met on Bosworth-field, + +was Sir John Beaumont, the brother of the dramatist, who wrote a poem on +the battle of Bosworth. (See one of Wordsworth's notes to the _Song at +the Feast of Brougham Castle_, p. 84.) The + + famous Youth, full soon removed + From earth, + +was Francis Beaumont, the dramatist, who wrote in conjunction with +Fletcher. He died at the age of twenty-nine. + +In an undated letter addressed to Sir George Beaumont, Wordsworth wrote, +"I like your ancestor's verses the more, the more I see of them. They +are manly, dignified, and extremely harmonious. I do not remember in any +author of that age such a series of well-tuned couplets." + +In another letter written from Grasmere (probably in 1811) to Sir +George, he says in reference to his own poems, "These inscriptions have +all one fault, they are too long; but I was unable to do justice to the +thoughts in less room. The second has brought Sir John Beaumont and his +brother Francis so livelily to my mind that I recur to the plan of +republishing the former's poems, perhaps in connection with those of +Francis." + +On November 16, 1811, he wrote to him again, "I am glad that the +inscriptions please you. It did always appear to me, that inscriptions, +particularly those in verse, or in a dead language, were never supposed +_necessarily_ to be the composition of those in whose name they +appeared. If a more striking or more dramatic effect could be produced, +I have always thought, that in an epitaph or memorial of any kind, a +father or husband, etc., might be introduced speaking, without any +absolute deception being intended; that is, the reader is understood to +be at liberty to say to himself,--these verses, or this Latin, may be +the composition of some unknown person, and not that of the father, +widow, or friend, from whose hand or voice they profess to proceed.... I +have altered the verses, and I have only to regret that the alteration +is not more happily done. But I never found anything more difficult. I +wished to preserve the expression _patrimonial grounds_,[A] but I found +this impossible, on account of the awkwardness of the pronouns, he and +his, as applied to Reynolds, and to yourself. This, even when it does +not produce confusion, is always inelegant. I was, therefore, obliged to +drop it; so that we must be content, I fear, with the inscription as it +stands below. I hope it will do. I tried a hundred different ways, but +cannot hit upon anything better...."--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1815. + + Shall ... 1820. + + The text of 1827 returns to that of 1815. + +[2] And to a favourite resting-place invite, + For coolness grateful and a sober light; + + Inserted only in the editions of 1815 and 1820, and in a MS. letter + to Sir George Beaumont, 1811. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] See p. 79, l. 13.--ED. + + + + +IN A GARDEN OF THE SAME + +Composed 1811.--Published 1815 + + +[This Niche is in the sandstone-rock in the winter-garden at Coleorton, +which garden, as has been elsewhere said, was made under our direction +out of an old unsightly quarry. While the labourers were at work, Mrs. +Wordsworth, my sister and I used to amuse ourselves occasionally in +scooping this seat out of the soft stone. It is of the size, with +something of the appearance, of a stall in a Cathedral. This inscription +is not engraven, as the former and the two following are, in the +grounds.--I. F.] + +Classed by Wordsworth among his "Inscriptions."--ED. + + + Oft is the medal faithful to its trust + When temples, columns, towers, are laid in dust; + And 'tis a common ordinance of fate + That things obscure and small outlive the great: + Hence, when yon mansion and the flowery trim 5 + Of this fair garden, and its alleys dim, + And all its stately trees, are passed away, + This little Niche, unconscious of decay, + Perchance may still survive. And be it known + That it was scooped within[1] the living stone,-- 10 + Not by the sluggish and ungrateful pains + Of labourer plodding for his daily gains, + But by an industry that wrought in love; + With help from female hands, that proudly strove[2] + To aid the work, what time these walks and bowers 15 + Were shaped to cheer dark winter's lonely hours.[3] + + +This niche is still to be seen, although not quite "unconscious of +decay." The growth of yew-trees, over and around it, has darkened the +seat; and constant damp has decayed the soft stone. The niche having +been scooped out by Mrs. Wordsworth and Dorothy, as well as by +Wordsworth, suggests the cutting of the inscriptions on the Rock of +Names in 1800, in which they all took part. (See vol. iii. pp. 61, 62.) +On his return to Grasmere from Coleorton, Wordsworth wrote thus to Sir +George Beaumont, in an undated letter, about this inscription:--"What +follows I composed yesterday morning, thinking there might be no +impropriety in placing it so as to be visible only to a person sitting +within the niche, which is hollowed out of the sandstone in the +winter-garden. I am told that this is, in the present form of the +niche, impossible; but I shall be most ready, when I come to Coleorton, +to scoop out a place for it, if Lady Beaumont think it worth while." +Then follows the-- + + INSCRIPTION. + + Oft is the medal faithful to its trust. + +On Nov. 16, 1811, writing again to Sir George on this subject of the +"Inscriptions," and evidently referring to this one on the "Niche," he +says, "As to the 'Female,' and 'Male,' I know not how to get rid of it; +for that circumstance gives the recess an appropriate interest.... On +this account, the lines had better be suppressed, for it is not +improbable that the altering of them might cost me more trouble than +writing a hundred fresh ones."--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1815. + + That it was fashioned in ... MS. + +[2] 1815. + + But by prompt hands of Pleasure and of Love, + Female and Male; that emulously strove MS. + +[3] 1827. + + To shape the work, what time these walks and bowers + Were framed to cheer dark winter's lonely hours. 1815. + + ... bleak ... MS. + + + + +WRITTEN AT THE REQUEST OF SIR GEORGE BEAUMONT, BART., AND IN HIS NAME, + FOR AN URN, PLACED BY HIM AT THE TERMINATION OF A NEWLY-PLANTED + AVENUE, IN THE SAME GROUNDS + +Composed 1808.--Published 1815 + + +One of the "Inscriptions."--ED. + + + Ye Lime-trees, ranged before this hallowed Urn, + Shoot forth with lively power at Spring's return; + And be not slow a stately growth to rear + Of pillars, branching off from year to year, + Till they have learned to frame a darksome aisle;-- 5 + That may recal to mind that awful Pile[1] + Where Reynolds, 'mid our country's noblest dead, + In the last sanctity of fame is laid. + --There, though by right the excelling Painter sleep + Where Death and Glory a joint sabbath keep, 10 + Yet not the less his Spirit would hold dear + Self-hidden praise, and Friendship's private tear: + Hence, on my patrimonial grounds, have I + Raised this frail tribute to his memory; + From youth a zealous follower of the Art[2] 15 + That he professed; attached to him in heart; + Admiring, loving, and with grief and pride + Feeling what England lost when Reynolds died. + + +These Lime-trees now form "a stately growth of pillars," "a darksome +aisle"; and the urn remains, as set up in 1807, at the end of the +avenue. + +The "awful Pile," where Reynolds lies, and where-- + + ... Death and Glory a joint sabbath keep, + +is, of course, Westminster Abbey. + +After Wordsworth's return from Coleorton and Stockton to Grasmere, he +wrote thus to Sir George Beaumont:-- + + "MY DEAR SIR GEORGE, + + "Had there been room at the end of the small avenue of lime-trees + for planting a spacious circle of the same trees, the Urn might + have been placed in the centre, with the inscription thus altered, + + "Ye lime-trees ranged around this hallowed urn, + Shoot forth with lively power at spring's return! + And be not slow a stately growth to rear, + Bending your docile boughs from year to year, + Till in a solemn concave they unite; + Like that Cathedral Dome beneath whose height + Reynolds, among our country's noble Dead, + In the last sanctity of fame is laid. + Here may some Painter sit in future days. + Some future poet meditate his lays! + Not mindless of that distant age, renowned, + When inspiration hovered o'er this ground, + The haunt of him who sang, how spear and shield + In civil conflict met on Bosworth field, + And of that famous youth (full soon removed + From earth!) by mighty Shakespeare's self approved, + Fletcher's associate, Jonson's friend beloved. + + "The first couplet of the above, as it before stood, would have + appeared ludicrous, if the stone had remained after the trees + might have been gone. The couplet relating to the household + virtues did not accord with the painter and the poet; the former + being allegorical figures; the latter, living men." + +This letter--which is not now in the Beaumont collection at Coleorton +Hall--seems to imply that Wordsworth thought of combining the first +couplet on the Urn with the last nine lines of the inscription for the +stone behind the Cedar tree. But this was never carried out. The +inscriptions are printed in the text as they were carved at +Coleorton.--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1820. + + Till ye have framed, at length, a darksome aisle, + Like a recess within that sacred pile + + MS. letter to Sir George Beaumont, 1811. + + Till they at length have framed a darksome Aisle;-- + Like a recess within that awful Pile 1815. + +[2] 1815. + + Hence, an obscure Memorial, without blame, + In these domestic Grounds, may bear his name; + Unblamed this votive Urn may oft renew + Some mild sensations to his Genius due + From One--a humble Follower of the Art + + Five lines instead of three in MS. letter to Sir George Beaumont, + 16th November, 1811. + + + + +FOR A SEAT IN THE GROVES OF COLEORTON + +Composed November 19, 1811.--Published 1815 + + +One of the "Inscriptions."--ED. + + + Beneath yon eastern ridge, the craggy bound, + Rugged and high, of Charnwood's forest ground, + Stand yet, but, Stranger! hidden from thy view + The ivied Ruins of forlorn GRACE DIEU; + Erst a religious House, which[1] day and night 5 + With hymns resounded, and the chanted rite: + And when those rites had ceased, the Spot gave birth + To honourable Men of various worth:[2] + There, on the margin of a streamlet wild, + Did Francis Beaumont sport, an eager child; 10 + There, under shadow of the neighbouring rocks, + Sang youthful tales of shepherds and their flocks; + Unconscious prelude to heroic themes, + Heart-breaking tears, and melancholy dreams + Of slighted love, and scorn, and jealous rage, 15 + With which his genius shook[3] the buskined stage. + Communities are lost, and Empires die, + And things of holy use unhallowed lie;[A] + They perish;--but the Intellect can raise,[4] + From airy words alone, a Pile that ne'er decays. 20 + + +Charnwood forest, in Leicestershire, is an almost treeless wold of +between fifteen and sixteen thousand acres. The + + eastern ridge, the craggy bound, + Rugged and high, + +refers probably to High Cadmon. The nunnery of Grace Dieu was a +religious house, in a retired spot near the centre of the forest; and +was built between 1236 and 1242. The English monasteries were suppressed +in 1536; but Grace Dieu, with thirty others of the smaller monasteries, +was allowed to continue some time longer. It was finally suppressed in +1539, when the site of the priory, with the demesne lands, was granted +to Sir Humphrey Foster, who conveyed the whole to John Beaumont. Francis +Beaumont, the dramatic poet, was born at Grace Dieu in 1586. He died in +1615, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. + +"William and I went to Grace Dieu last week. We were enchanted with the +little valley and its nooks, and the rocks of Charnwood upon the +hill."--Dorothy Wordsworth to Lady Beaumont, November 17, 1806. + +This "Inscription" was composed at Grasmere, November 19, 1811, as the +following extract from a letter of Wordsworth's to Lady Beaumont +indicates:--"Grasmere, Wednesday, November 20, 1811.--My Dear Lady +Beaumont--When you see this you will think I mean to overrun you with +inscriptions. I do not mean to tax you with putting them up, only with +reading them. The following I composed yesterday morning in a walk from +Brathay, whither I had been to accompany my sister:-- + + FOR A SEAT IN THE GROVES OF COLEORTON. + + Beneath yon eastern ridge, the craggy bound. + +The thought of writing this inscription occurred to me many years +ago."--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1820. + + ... that ... 1815. + +[2] 1815. + + But, when the formal Mass had long been stilled, + And wise and mighty changes were fulfilled; + That Ground gave birth to men of various Parts + For Knightly Services and liberal Arts. + + MS. letter to Lady Beaumont, 20th November, 1811. + +[3] 1815. + + With which his skill inspired ... MS. + +[4] 1815. + + But Truth and Intellectual Power can raise, + + MS. letter to Lady Beaumont, 20th November, 1811. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] In the editions of 1815 and 1820, Wordsworth appended the following +line from Daniel, as a note to the third last line of this "Inscription"-- + + Strait all that holy was unhallowed lies. + + DANIEL. ED. + + + + +SONG AT THE FEAST OF BROUGHAM CASTLE, + +UPON THE RESTORATION OF LORD CLIFFORD, THE SHEPHERD, TO THE ESTATES AND + HONOURS OF HIS ANCESTORS + +Composed 1807.--Published 1807 + + +[See the note. This poem was composed at Coleorton while I was walking +to and fro along the path that led from Sir George Beaumont's +Farmhouse, where we resided, to the Hall, which was building at that +time.--I. F.] + +One of the "Poems of the Imagination."--ED. + + + High in the breathless Hall the Minstrel sate, + And Emont's murmur mingled with the Song.-- + The words of ancient time I thus translate, + A festal strain that hath been silent long:-- + + "From town to town, from tower to tower, 5 + The red rose is a gladsome flower. + Her thirty years of winter past, + The red rose is revived at last; + She lifts her head for endless spring, + For everlasting blossoming:[A] 10 + Both roses flourish, red and white: + In love and sisterly delight + The two that were at strife are blended, + And all old troubles[1] now are ended.-- + Joy! joy to both! but most to her 15 + Who is the flower of Lancaster! + Behold her how She smiles to-day + On this great throng, this bright array! + Fair greeting doth she send to all + From every corner of the hall; 20 + But chiefly from above the board + Where sits in state our rightful Lord, + A Clifford to his own restored! + + "They came with banner, spear, and shield; + And it was proved in Bosworth-field. 25 + Not long the Avenger was withstood-- + Earth helped him with the cry of blood:[B] + St George was for us, and the might + Of blessed Angels crowned the right. + Loud voice the Land has[2] uttered forth, 30 + We loudest in the faithful north: + Our fields rejoice, our mountains ring, + Our streams proclaim a welcoming; + Our strong-abodes and castles see + The glory of their loyalty.[3] 35 + + "How glad is Skipton at this hour-- + Though lonely, a deserted Tower;[4] + Knight, squire, and yeoman, page and groom:[5] + We have them at the feast of Brough'm. + How glad Pendragon--though the sleep 40 + Of years be on her!--She shall reap + A taste of this great pleasure, viewing + As in a dream her own renewing. + Rejoiced is Brough, right glad I deem + Beside her little humble stream; 45 + And she that keepeth watch and ward + Her statelier Eden's course to guard; + They both are happy at this hour, + Though each is but a lonely Tower:-- + But here is perfect joy and pride 50 + For one fair House by Emont's side, + This day, distinguished without peer + To see her Master and to cheer-- + Him, and his Lady-mother dear! + + "Oh! it was a time forlorn 55 + When the fatherless was born-- + Give her wings that she may fly, + Or she sees her infant die! + Swords that are with slaughter wild + Hunt the Mother and the Child. 60 + Who will take them from the light? + --Yonder is a man in sight-- + Yonder is a house--but where? + No, they must not enter there. + To the caves, and to the brooks, 65 + To the clouds of heaven she looks; + She is speechless, but her eyes + Pray in ghostly agonies. + Blissful Mary, Mother mild, + Maid and Mother undefiled, 70 + Save a Mother and her Child! + + "Now Who is he that bounds with joy + On Carrock's side, a Shepherd-boy? + No thoughts hath he but thoughts that pass + Light as the wind along the grass. 75 + Can this be He who hither came + In secret, like a smothered flame? + O'er whom such thankful tears were shed + For shelter, and a poor man's bread! + God loves the Child; and God hath willed 80 + That those dear words should be fulfilled, + The Lady's words, when forced away + The last she to her Babe did say: + 'My own, my own, thy Fellow-guest + I may not be; but rest thee, rest, 85 + For lowly shepherd's life is best!' + + "Alas! when evil men are strong + No life is good, no pleasure long. + The Boy must part from Mosedale's groves, + And leave Blencathara's rugged coves,[C] 90 + And quit the flowers that summer brings[D] + To Glenderamakin's lofty springs; + Must vanish, and his careless cheer + Be turned to heaviness and fear. + --Give Sir Lancelot Threlkeld praise! 95 + Hear it, good man, old in days! + Thou tree of covert and of rest + For this young Bird that is distrest; + Among thy branches safe he lay, + And he was free to sport and play, 100 + When falcons were abroad for prey. + + "A recreant harp, that sings of fear + And heaviness in Clifford's ear! + I said, when evil men are strong, + No life is good, no pleasure long, 105 + A weak and cowardly untruth! + Our Clifford was a happy Youth, + And thankful through a weary time, + That brought him up to manhood's prime. + --Again he wanders forth at will, 110 + And tends a flock from hill to hill:[6] + His garb is humble; ne'er was seen + Such garb with such a noble mien; + Among the shepherd grooms no mate + Hath he, a Child of strength and state! 115 + Yet lacks not friends for simple[7] glee, + Nor yet for higher sympathy.[8] + To his side the fallow-deer + Came, and rested without fear; + The eagle, lord of land and sea, 120 + Stooped down to pay him fealty;[E] + And both the undying fish that swim + Through Bowscale-tarn did wait on him;[F] + The pair were servants of his eye + In their immortality; 125 + And glancing, gleaming, dark or bright, + Moved to and fro, for his delight.[9] + He knew the rocks which Angels haunt + Upon[10] the mountains visitant; + He hath kenned[11] them taking wing: 130 + And into caves[12] where Faeries sing + He hath entered; and been told + By Voices how men lived of old. + Among the heavens his eye can see + The face of thing[13] that is to be; 135 + And, if that men report him right, + His tongue could whisper words of might.[14] + --Now another day is come, + Fitter hope, and nobler doom; + He hath thrown aside his crook, 140 + And hath buried deep his book; + Armour rusting in his halls + On the blood of Clifford calls;--[G] + 'Quell the Scot,' exclaims the Lance-- + Bear me to the heart of France, 145 + Is the longing of the Shield-- + Tell thy name, thou trembling Field; + Field of death, where'er thou be, + Groan thou with our victory! + Happy day, and mighty hour, 150 + When our Shepherd, in his power, + Mailed and horsed, with lance and sword, + To his ancestors restored + Like a re-appearing Star, + Like a glory from afar, 155 + First shall head the flock of war!" + + Alas! the impassioned minstrel did not know + How, by Heaven's grace, this Clifford's heart was framed: + How he, long forced in humble walks to go,[15] + Was softened into feeling, soothed, and tamed. 160 + + Love had he found in huts where poor men lie; + His daily teachers had been woods and rills, + The silence that is in[16] the starry sky, + The sleep that is among the lonely hills. + + In him the savage virtue of the Race, 165 + Revenge, and all ferocious thoughts were dead: + Nor did he change; but kept in lofty place + The wisdom which adversity had bred. + + Glad were the vales, and every cottage-hearth; + The Shepherd-lord was honoured more and more; 170 + And, ages after he was laid in earth, + "The good Lord Clifford" was the name he bore. + + +The original text of this _Song_ was altered but little in succeeding +editions, and was not changed at all till 1836 and 1845. The following +is Wordsworth's explanatory note, appended to the poem in all the +editions:-- + + "Henry Lord Clifford, etc. etc., who is the subject of this Poem, + was the son of John, Lord Clifford, who was slain at Towton + Field,[H] which John, Lord Clifford, as is known to the Reader of + English History, was the person who after the battle of Wakefield + slew, in the pursuit, the young Earl of Rutland, Son of the Duke + of York who had fallen in the battle, 'in part of revenge' (say + the Authors of the _History of Cumberland and Westmoreland_); 'for + the Earl's Father had slain his.' A deed which worthily blemished + the author (saith Speed); But who, as he adds, 'dare promise any + thing temperate of himself in the heat of martial fury? chiefly, + when it was resolved not to leave any branch of the York line + standing; for so one maketh this Lord to speak.' This, no doubt, I + would observe by the bye, was an action sufficiently in the + vindictive spirit of the times, and yet not altogether so bad as + represented; 'for the Earl was no child, as some writers would + have him, but able to bear arms, being sixteen or seventeen years + of age, as is evident from this (say the Memoirs of the Countess + of Pembroke, who was laudably anxious to wipe away, as far as + could be, this stigma from the illustrious name to which she was + born); that he was the next Child to King Edward the Fourth, which + his mother had by Richard Duke of York, and that King was then + eighteen years of age: and for the small distance betwixt her + Children, see Austin Vincent in his book of Nobility, page 622, + where he writes of them all. It may further be observed, that Lord + Clifford, who was then himself only twenty-five years of age, had + been a leading Man and Commander, two or three years together in + the Army of Lancaster, before this time; and, therefore, would be + less likely to think that the Earl of Rutland might be entitled to + mercy from his youth.--But, independent of this act, at best a + cruel and savage one, the Family of Clifford had done enough to + draw upon them the vehement hatred of the House of York: so that + after the Battle of Towton there was no hope for them but in + flight and concealment. Henry, the subject of the Poem, was + deprived of his estate and honours during the space of twenty-four + years; all which time he lived as a shepherd in Yorkshire, or in + Cumberland, where the estate of his Father-in-law (Sir Lancelot + Threlkeld) lay. He was restored to his estate and honours in the + first year of Henry the Seventh. It is recorded that, 'when called + to parliament, he behaved nobly and wisely; but otherwise came + seldom to London or the Court; and rather delighted to live in the + country, where he repaired several of his Castles, which had gone + to decay during the late troubles.' Thus far is chiefly collected + from Nicholson and Burn; and I can add, from my own knowledge, + that there is a tradition current in the village of Threlkeld and + its neighbourhood, his principal retreat, that, in the course of + his shepherd life, he had acquired great astronomical knowledge. I + cannot conclude this note without adding a word upon the subject + of those numerous and noble feudal Edifices, spoken of in the + Poem, the ruins of some of which are, at this day, so great an + ornament to that interesting country. The Cliffords had always + been distinguished for an honourable pride in these Castles; and + we have seen that after the wars of York and Lancaster they were + rebuilt; in the civil Wars of Charles the First, they were again + laid waste, and again restored almost to their former magnificence + by the celebrated Lady Anne Clifford, Countess of Pembroke, etc. + etc. Not more than twenty-five years after this was done, when the + Estates of Clifford had passed into the Family of Tufton, three of + these Castles, namely Brough, Brougham, and Pendragon, were + demolished, and the timber and other materials sold by Thomas Earl + of Thanet. We will hope that, when this order was issued, the Earl + had not consulted the text of Isaiah, 58th Chap. 12th Verse, to + which the inscription placed over the gate of Pendragon Castle, by + the Countess of Pembroke (I believe his Grandmother) at the time + she repaired that structure, refers the reader. '_And they that + shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt + raise up the foundations of many generations, and thou shalt be + called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell + in._' The Earl of Thanet, the present possessor of the Estates, + with a due respect for the memory of his ancestors, and a proper + sense of the value and beauty of these remains of antiquity, has + (I am told) given orders that they shall be preserved from all + depredations." + +Compare the reference to the "Shepherd-lord" in the first canto of _The +White Doe of Rylstone_, p. 116, and the topographical allusions there, +with this _Song_. Compare also the life of Anne Clifford, in Hartley +Coleridge's _Lives of Distinguished Northerners_. + + _High in the breathless Hall the Minstrel sate, + And Emont's murmur mingled with the Song._ + +Brougham Castle, past which the river Emont flows, is about two miles +out of Penrith, on the Appleby Road. It is now a ruin, but was once a +place of importance. The larger part of it was built by Roger, Lord +Clifford, son of Isabella de Veteripont, who placed over the inner door +the inscription, "This made Roger." His grandson added the eastern part. +The castle was frequently laid waste by the Scottish Bands, and during +the Wars of the Roses. The Earl of Cumberland entertained James I. +within it, in 1617, on the occasion of the king's last return from +Scotland; but it seems to have "layen ruinous" from that date, and to +have suffered much during the civil wars in the reign of Charles I. In +1651-52 it was repaired by Lady Anne Clifford, Countess Dowager of +Pembroke, who wrote thus--"After I had been there myself to direct the +building of it, did I cause my old decayed castle of Brougham to be +repaired, and also the tower called the "Roman Tower," in the same old +castle, and the court-house, for keeping my courts in, with some dozen +or fourteen rooms to be built in it upon the old foundation." (_Pembroke +Memoirs_, i. p. 216.) After the time of the Countess Anne, the castle +was neglected, and much of the stone, timber, and lead disposed of at +public sales: the wainscotting being purchased by the neighbouring +villagers. + + _Her thirty years of winter past, + The red rose is revived at last._ + +This refers to the thirty years interval between 1455 (the first battle +of St. Albans in the wars of the Roses) and 1485 (the battle of Bosworth +and the accession of Henry VII.) + + _Both roses flourish, red and white_, + +Alluding to the marriage of Henry VII. with Elizabeth, which united the +two warring lines of York and Lancaster. + + _And it was proved in Bosworth-field._ + +The battle of Bosworth Field, in Leicestershire, was fought in 1485. + + _Not long the Avenger was withstood-- + Earth helped him with the cry of blood._ + +Henry VII.--who, as Henry, Earl of Richmond, last scion of the line of +Lancaster, had fled to Brittany--returned with Morton, the exiled Bishop +of Ely, landed at Milford, advanced through Wales, and met the royal +army at Bosworth, where Richard was slain, and Henry crowned king on the +battlefield. The "cry of blood" refers, doubtless, to the murder of the +young princes in the Tower. + + _How glad is Skipton at this hour-- + Though lonely, a deserted Tower._ + +Skipton is the "capital" of the Craven district of Yorkshire, as Barrow +is the capital of the Furness district of Lancashire and Westmoreland. +The castle of Skipton was the chief residence of the Cliffords. +Architecturally it is of two periods: the round tower dating from the +reign of Edward II., and the rest from that of Henry VIII. From the time +of Robert de Clifford, who fell at Bannockburn (1314), until the +seventeenth century, the estates of the Cliffords extended from Skipton +to Brougham Castle--seventy miles--with only a short interruption of ten +miles. The "Shepherd-lord" Clifford of this poem was attainted--as +explained in Wordsworth's note--by the triumphant House of York. He was +"committed by his mother to the care of certain shepherds, whose wives +had served her," and who kept him concealed both in Cumberland, and at +Londesborough, in Yorkshire, where his mother's (Lady Margaret Vesci) +own estates lay. The old "Tower" of Skipton Castle was "deserted" during +these years when the "Shepherd-lord" was concealed in Cumberland. + + _How glad Pendragon--though the sleep + Of years be on her!_ + +Pendragon Castle, in a narrow dell in the forest of Mallerstang, near +the source of the Eden, south of Kirkby-Stephen, was another of the +castles of the Cliffords. Its building was traditionally ascribed to +Uter Pendragon, of Stonehenge celebrity, who was fabled to have tried to +make the Eden flow round the castle of Pendragon: hence the distich-- + + Let Uter Pendragon do what he can, + Eden will run where Eden ran. + +In the Countess of Pembroke's _Memoirs_ (vol. i. pp. 22, 228), we are +told that Idonea de Veteripont "made a great part of her residence in +Westmoreland at Brough Castle, near Stanemore, and at Pendragon Castle, +in Mallerstang." The castle was burned and destroyed by Scottish raiders +in 1341, and for 140 years it was in a ruinous state. It is probably to +this that reference is made in the phrase, "though the sleep of years be +on her." During the attainder of Henry Lord Clifford, in the reign of +Edward IV., part of this estate of Mallerstang was granted to Sir +William Parr of Kendal Castle. It was again destroyed during the civil +wars of the Stuarts, and was restored, along with Skipton and Brougham, +by Lady Anne Clifford, in 1660, who put up an inscription "... Repaired +in 1660, so as she came to lye in it herself for a little while in +October 1661, after it had lain ruinous without timber or any other +covering since 1541. Isaiah, chap. lviii. ver. 12." It was again +demolished in 1685. + + _Rejoiced is Brough, right glad I deem + Beside her little humble stream._ + +Brough--the Verterae of the Romans--is called, for distinction's sake, +"Brough-under-Stainmore" (or "Stanemore"). The "little humble stream" is +Hillbeck, formerly Hellebeck--(it was said to derive its name from the +waters rushing or "helleing" down the channel)--which descends from +Warcop Fell, runs through Market Brough, and joins the Eden below it. +The date of the building of the castle of Brough is uncertain, but it is +probably older than the Conquest. It was sacked by the Scottish King +William in 1174. It was "one of the chief residences" of Idonea de +Veteripont (above referred to); for "then it was in its prime." (_Pemb. +Mem._, vol. i. p. 22.) Probably she rebuilt it, and changed it from a +tower--like Pendragon--into a castle. In the _Pembroke Memoirs_ (i. p. +108), we read of its subsequent destruction by fire. "A great misfortune +befell Henry Lord Clifford, some two years before his death, which +happened in 1521; his ancient and great castle of Brough-under-Stanemore +was set on fire by a casual mischance, a little after he had kept a +great Christmas there, so as all the timber and lead were utterly +consumed, and nothing left but the bare walls, which since are more and +more consumed, and quite ruinated." This same Countess Anne Pembroke +began to repair it in April 1660, "at her exceeding great charge and +cost." She put up an inscription over the gate similar to the one which +she inscribed at Pendragon. + + _And she that keepeth watch and ward + Her statelier Eden's course to guard._ + +Doubtless Appleby Castle. Its origin is equally uncertain. Before 1422, +John Lord Clifford, "builded that strong and fine artificial gate-house, +all arched with stone, and decorated with the arms of the Veteriponts, +Cliffords, and Percys, which with several parts of the castle walls was +defaced and broken down in the civil war of 1648." His successor, +Thomas, Lord Clifford, "built the chiefest part of the castle towards +the east, as the hall, the chapel, and the great chamber." This was in +1454. The Countess Anne Pembroke wrote of Appleby Castle thus (_Pemb. +Mem._, vol. i. p. 187): "In 1651 I continued to live in Appleby Castle a +whole year, and spent much time in repairing it and Brougham Castle, to +make them as habitable as I could, though Brougham was very ruinous, and +much out of repair. And in this year, the 21st of April, I helped to lay +the foundation stone of the middle wall of the great tower of Appleby +Castle, called "Caesar's Tower," to the end it might be repaired again, +and made habitable, if it pleased God (Is. lviii. 12), after it had +stood without a roof or covering, or one chamber habitable in it, since +about 1567," etc. etc. + + _One fair House by Emont's side._ + +Brougham Castle. + + _Him, and his Lady-mother dear!_ + +Lady Margaret, daughter and heiress of Lord Vesci, who married John, +Lord Clifford--the Clifford of Shakespeare's _Henry VI._ He was killed +at Ferrybridge near Knottingley in 1461. Their son was Henry, "the +Shepherd-lord." His mother is buried in Londesborough Church, near +Market Weighton. + + _Now Who is he that bounds with joy + On Carrock's side, a Shepherd-boy?_ + +Carrock-fell is three miles south-west from Castle Sowerby, in +Cumberland. + + _The Boy must part from Mosedale's groves, + And leave Blencathara's rugged coves._ + +There are many "Mosedales" in the English Lake District. The one +referred to here is to the north of Blencathara or Saddleback. + + _And quit the flowers that summer brings + To Glenderamakin's lofty springs._ + +The river Glenderamakin rises in the lofty ground to the north of +Blencathara. + + _--Give Sir Lancelot Threlkeld praise!_ + ... + _Thou tree of covert and of rest + For this young Bird that is distrest._ + +It was on Sir Lancelot Threlkeld's estates in Cumberland that the young +Lord was concealed, disguised as a shepherd-boy. He was the "tree of +covert" for the young "Bird" Henry Clifford. Compare _The Waggoner_, ll. +628-39 (vol. iii. p. 100)-- + + And see, beyond that hamlet small, + The ruined towers of Threlkeld-hall, + Lurking in a double shade, + By trees and lingering twilight made! + There, at Blencathara's rugged feet, + Sir Lancelot gave a safe retreat + To noble Clifford; from annoy + Concealed the persecuted boy, + Well pleased in rustic garb to feed + His flock, and pipe on shepherd's reed + Among this multitude of hills, + Crags, woodlands, waterfalls, and rills. + +The old hall of Threlkeld has long been a ruin. Its only habitable part +has been a farmhouse for many years. + + _And both the undying fish that swim + Through Bowscale-tarn did wait on him._ + +Bowscale Tarn is to the north of Blencathara. Its stream joins the +Caldew river. + + _And into caves where Faeries sing + He hath entered._ + +Compare the previous reference to Blencathara's "rugged coves." There +are many such on this mountain. + + _Alas! the impassioned minstrel did not know + How, by Heaven's grace, this Clifford's heart was framed: + How he, long forced in humble walks to go, + Was softened into feeling, soothed, and tamed._ + +After restoration to his ancestral estates, the Shepherd-lord preferred +to live in comparative retirement. He spent most of his time at Barden +Tower (see notes to _The White Doe of Rylstone_), which he enlarged, and +where he lived with a small retinue. He was much at Bolton (which was +close at hand), and there he studied astronomy and alchemy, aided by the +monks. It is to the time when he lived at Threlkeld, however--wandering +as a shepherd-boy, over the ridges and around the coves of Blencathara, +amongst the groves of Mosedale, and by the lofty springs of +Glenderamakin--that Wordsworth refers in the lines, + + _Love had he found in huts where poor men lie; + His daily teachers had been woods and rills, + The silence that is in the starry sky, + The sleep that is among the lonely hills._ + +He was at Flodden in 1513, when nearly sixty years of age, leading there +the "flower of Craven." + + From Penigent to Pendle Hill, + From Linton to long Addingham, + And all that Craven's coasts did till, + They with the lusty Clifford came. + +Compare, in the first canto of _The White Doe of Rylstone_ (p. 117)-- + + when he, with spear and shield, + Rode full of years to Flodden-field. + +He died in 1523, and was buried in the choir of Bolton Priory. + +The following is Sarah Coleridge's criticism of the _Song at the Feast +of Brougham Castle_, in the editorial note to her father's _Biographia +Literaria_ (vol. ii. ch. ix. p. 152, ed. 1847):-- + + "The transitions and vicissitudes in this noble lyric I have + always thought rendered it one of the finest specimens of modern + subjective poetry which our age has seen. The ode commences in a + tone of high gratulation and festivity--a tone not only glad, but + _comparatively_ even jocund and light-hearted. The Clifford is + restored to the home, the honours and estates of his ancestors. + Then it sinks and falls away to the remembrance of + tribulation--times of war and bloodshed, flight and terror, and + hiding away from the enemy--times of poverty and distress, when + the Clifford was brought, a little child, to the shelter of a + northern valley. After a while it emerges from those depths of + sorrow--gradually rises into a strain of elevated tranquillity and + contemplative rapture; through the power of imagination, the + beautiful and impressive aspects of nature are brought into + relationship with the spirit of him, whose fortunes and character + form the subject of the piece, and are represented as gladdening + and exalting it, whilst they keep it _pure and unspotted from the + world_. Suddenly the Poet is carried on with greater animation and + passion: he has returned to the point whence he started--flung + himself back into the tide of stirring life and moving events. + All is to come over again, struggle and conflict, chances and + changes of war, victory and triumph, overthrow and desolation. I + know nothing, in lyric poetry, more beautiful or affecting than + the final transition from this part of the ode, with its rapid + metre, to the slow elegiac stanzas at the end, when, from the + warlike fervour and eagerness, the jubilant strain which has just + been described, the Poet passes back into the sublime silence of + Nature, gathering amid her deep and quiet bosom a more subdued and + solemn tenderness than he had manifested before; it is as if from + the heights of the imaginative intellect, his spirit had retreated + into the recesses of a profoundly thoughtful Christian heart." + +Professor Henry Reed said of this poem--"Had he never written another +ode, this alone would set him at the head of the lyric poets of +England."--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1815. + + ... sorrows ... 1807. + +[2] 1827. + + ... hath ... 1807. + +[3] 1807. + + ... royalty. 1815. + + The text of 1820 returns to that of 1807. + +[4] 1845. + + Though she is but a lonely Tower! + Silent, deserted of her best, + Without an Inmate or a Guest, 1807. + + Deserted, emptied of her best. MS. + + To vacancy and silence left; + Of all her guardian sons bereft-- 1820. + +[5] 1836. + + Knight, Squire, or Yeoman, Page, or Groom; 1807. + +[6] 1807. + + ... on vale and hill: MS. + +[7] 1845. + + ... solemn ... 1807. + +[8] 1845. This line was previously three lines-- + + And a chearful company, + That learn'd of him submissive ways; + And comforted his private days. 1807. + + A spirit-soothing company, 1836. + +[9] 1836. + + They moved about in open sight, + To and fro, for his delight. 1807. + +[10] 1836. + + On ... 1807. + +[11] 1807. + + ... heard ... MS. + +[12] 1836. + + And the Caves ... 1807. + +[13] 1836. + + Face of thing ... 1807. + +[14] C. and 1840. + + And, if Men report him right, + He can whisper words of might. 1807. + + He could whisper ... 1827. + + And, if that men report him right, + He could whisper ... 1836. + +[15] 1845. + + Alas! the fervent Harper did not know + That for a tranquil Soul the Lay was framed, + Who, long compell'd in humble walks to go, 1807. + +[16] 1807. + + ... of ... MS. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] Compare _Hudibras_, part II. canto i. ll. 567-8-- + + That shall infuse Eternal Spring + And everlasting flourishing. ED. + +[B] This line is from _The Battle of Bosworth Field_, by Sir John +Beaumont (Brother to the Dramatist), whose poems are written with so +much spirit, elegance, and harmony, that it is supposed, as the Book is +very scarce, a new edition of it would be acceptable to Scholars and Men +of taste, and, accordingly, it is in contemplation to give one.--W. W. +1807. + +Beaumont's line in _The Battle of Bosworth Field_ is-- + + The earth assists thee with the cry of blood. ED. + +[C] "No three words could better describe the gulfs on the side of +Saddleback." (H. D. Rawnsley.) + +[D] "Rugged patches of Hawkweed, golden rod, and white water ranunculus +in the pools." (H. D. Rawnsley.) + +[E] The eagle nested in Borrowdale as late as 1785.--ED. + +[F] It is imagined by the people of the Country that there are two +immortal Fish, Inhabitants of this Tarn, which lies in the mountains not +far from Threlkeld. Blencathara, mentioned before, is the old and proper +name of the mountain vulgarly called Saddle-back.--W. W. 1807. + +[G] The martial character of the Cliffords is well known to the readers +of English History; but it may not be improper here to say, by way of +comment on these lines and what follows, that, besides several others +who perished in the same manner, the four immediate Progenitors of the +person in whose hearing this is supposed to be spoken, all died in the +Field.--W. W. 1807. + +Compare _The Borderers_, act III. l. 56 (vol. i. p. 173)-- + + They say, Lord Clifford is a savage man. ED. + +[H] He was killed at Ferrybridge the day before the battle of +Towton.--ED. + + + + +1808 + + +The poems referring to Coleorton are all transferred to the year 1807, +and _The Force of Prayer_ was written in that year. Those composed in +1808 were few in number. With the exception of _The White Doe of +Rylstone_--to which additions were made in that year--they include only +the two sonnets _Composed while the Author was engaged in writing a +Tract, occasioned by the Convention of Cintra_, and the fragment on +_George and Sarah Green_. The latter poem Wordsworth gave to De Quincey, +who published it in his "Recollections of Grasmere," which appeared in +_Tait's Edinburgh Magazine_ in September 1839; but it never found a +place in any edition of Wordsworth's own poems. In this edition it is +printed in the appendix to volume viii. + +The reasons which have led me to assign _The White Doe of Rylstone_ to +the year 1808, are stated in a note to the poem (see p. 191). I infer +that it was practically finished in April 1808, because Dorothy +Wordsworth, in a letter to Lady Beaumont, dated April 20, 1808, says, +"The poem is to be published. Longman has consented--in spite of the +odium under which my brother labours as a poet--to give him 100 guineas +for 1000 copies, according to his demand." She gives no indication of +the name of the poem referred to. As it must, however, have been one +which was to be published separately, she can only refer to _The White +Doe_ or to _The Excursion_; but the latter poem was not finished in +1808. + +It is probable, from the remark made in a subsequent letter to Lady +Beaumont, February 1810, that Wordsworth intended either to add to what +he had written in 1808, or to alter some passages before publication; or +by "completing" the poem, he may have meant simply adding the +Dedication, which was not written till 1815. + +All things considered, it seems the best arrangement that the poems of +1808 should begin with _The White Doe of Rylstone_. In the year 1891 I +edited this poem for the Clarendon Press. A few additional details have +come to light since then, and are introduced into the notes. S. T. +Coleridge's criticism of the poem in _Biographia Literaria_, vol. ii. +chap. xxii. p. 176 (edition 1817), should be consulted.--ED. + + + + +THE WHITE DOE OF RYLSTONE; + +OR, THE FATE OF THE NORTONS + +Composed 1807-10.--Published 1815 + + +ADVERTISEMENT + +During the Summer of 1807, I visited, for the first time, the beautiful +country that surrounds Bolton Priory, in Yorkshire; and the Poem of the +WHITE DOE, founded upon a Tradition connected with that place, was +composed at the close of the same year.--W. W.[A] + + +[The earlier half of this poem was composed at Stockton-upon-Tees, when +Mrs. Wordsworth and I were on a visit to her eldest brother, Mr. +Hutchinson, at the close of the year 1807. The country is flat, and the +weather was rough. I was accustomed every day to walk to and fro under +the shelter of a row of stacks, in a field at a small distance from the +town, and there poured forth my verses aloud as freely as they would +come. Mrs. Wordsworth reminds me that her brother stood upon the +punctilio of not sitting down to dinner till I joined the party; and it +frequently happened that I did not make my appearance till too late, so +that she was made uncomfortable. I here beg her pardon for this and +similar transgressions during the whole course of our wedded life. To my +beloved sister the same apology is due. + +When, from the visit just mentioned, we returned to Town-end, Grasmere, +I proceeded with the poem; and it may be worth while to note, as a +caution to others who may cast their eye on these memoranda, that the +skin having been rubbed off my heel by my wearing too tight a shoe, +though I desisted from walking, I found that the irritation of the +wounded part was kept up, by the act of composition, to a degree that +made it necessary to give my constitution a holiday. A rapid cure was +the consequence. Poetic excitement, when accompanied by protracted +labour in composition, has throughout my life brought on more or less +bodily derangement. Nevertheless, I am at the close of my seventy-third +year, in what may be called excellent health; so that intellectual +labour is not necessarily unfavourable to longevity. But perhaps I ought +here to add that mine has been generally carried on out of doors. + +Let me here say a few words of this poem in the way of criticism. The +subject being taken from feudal times has led to its being compared to +some of Walter Scott's poems that belong to the same age and state of +society. The comparison is inconsiderate. Sir Walter pursued the +customary and very natural course of conducting an action, presenting +various turns of fortune, to some outstanding point on which the mind +might rest as a termination or catastrophe. The course I have attempted +to pursue is entirely different. Everything that is attempted by the +principal personages in _The White Doe_ fails, so far as its object is +external and substantial. So far as it is moral and spiritual it +succeeds. The heroine of the poem knows that her duty is not to +interfere with the current of events, either to forward or delay them, +but + + to abide + The shock, and finally secure + O'er pain and grief a triumph pure. + +This she does in obedience to her brother's injunction, as most suitable +to a mind and character that, under previous trials, has been proved to +accord with his. She achieves this not without aid from the +communication with the inferior Creature, which often leads her thoughts +to revolve upon the past with a tender and humanising influence that +exalts rather than depresses her. The anticipated beatification, if I +may so say, of her mind, and the apotheosis of the companion of her +solitude, are the points at which the Poem aims, and constitute its +legitimate catastrophe, far too spiritual a one for instant or +widely-spread sympathy, but not, therefore, the less fitted to make a +deep and permanent impression upon that class of minds who think and +feel more independently, than the many do, of the surfaces of things and +interests transitory, because belonging more to the outward and social +forms of life than to its internal spirit. How insignificant a thing, +for example, does personal prowess appear compared with the fortitude of +patience and heroic martyrdom; in other words, with struggles for the +sake of principle, in preference to victory gloried in for its own +sake.--I. F.] + + + DEDICATION + + I + + In trellised shed with clustering roses gay,[B] + And, MARY! oft beside our blazing fire, + When years of wedded life were as a day + Whose current answers to the heart's desire, + Did we together read in Spenser's Lay 5 + How Una, sad of soul--in sad attire, + The gentle Una, of celestial birth,[1] + To seek her Knight went wandering o'er the earth. + + + II + + Ah, then, Beloved! pleasing was the smart, + And the tear precious in compassion shed 10 + For Her, who, pierced by sorrow's thrilling dart, + Did meekly bear the pang unmerited; + Meek as that emblem of her lowly heart + The milk-white Lamb which in a line she led,--[C] + And faithful, loyal in her innocence, 15 + Like the brave Lion slain in her defence. + + + III + + Notes could we hear as of a faery shell + Attuned to words with sacred wisdom fraught; + Free Fancy prized each specious miracle, + And all its finer inspiration caught; 20 + Till in the bosom of our rustic Cell, + We by a lamentable change were taught + That "bliss with mortal Man may not abide:"[D] + How nearly joy and sorrow are allied! + + + IV + + For us the stream of fiction ceased to flow, 25 + For us the voice of melody was mute. + --But, as soft gales dissolve the dreary snow, + And give the timid herbage leave to shoot, + Heaven's breathing influence failed not to bestow + A timely promise of unlooked-for fruit, 30 + Fair fruit of pleasure and serene content + From blossoms wild of fancies innocent. + + + V + + It soothed us--it beguiled us--then, to hear + Once more of troubles wrought by magic spell; + And griefs whose aery motion comes not near 35 + The pangs that tempt the Spirit to rebel: + Then, with mild Una in her sober cheer, + High over hill and low adown the dell + Again we wandered, willing to partake + All that she suffered for her dear Lord's sake. 40 + + + VI + + Then, too, this Song _of mine_ once more could please, + Where anguish, strange as dreams of restless sleep, + Is tempered and allayed by sympathies + Aloft ascending, and descending deep, + Even to the inferior Kinds; whom forest-trees 45 + Protect from beating sunbeams, and the sweep + Of the sharp winds;--fair Creatures!--to whom Heaven + A calm and sinless life, with love, hath given. + + + VII + + This tragic Story cheered us; for it speaks + Of female patience winning firm repose; 50 + And, of the recompense that[2] conscience seeks, + A bright, encouraging, example shows; + Needful when o'er wide realms the tempest breaks, + Needful amid life's ordinary woes;-- + Hence, not for them unfitted who would bless 55 + A happy hour with holier happiness. + + + VIII + + He serves the Muses erringly and ill, + Whose aim is pleasure light and fugitive: + O, that my mind were equal to fulfil + The comprehensive mandate which they give-- 60 + Vain aspiration of an earnest will! + Yet in this moral Strain a power may live, + Beloved Wife! such solace to impart + As it hath yielded to thy tender heart. + + RYDAL MOUNT, WESTMORELAND, + _April 20, 1815_. + + + "Action is transitory--a step, a blow, 65 + The motion of a muscle--this way or that-- + 'Tis done; and in the after-vacancy + We wonder at ourselves like men betrayed: + Suffering is permanent, obscure and dark, + And has the nature of infinity. 70 + Yet through that darkness (infinite though it seem + And irremovable) gracious openings lie, + By which the soul--with patient steps of thought + Now toiling, wafted now on wings of prayer-- + May pass in hope, and, though from mortal bonds 75 + Yet undelivered, rise with sure ascent + Even to the fountain-head of peace divine."[E] + + + "They that deny a God, destroy Man's nobility: for certainly Man + is of kinn to the Beast by his Body; and if he be not of kinn to + God by his Spirit, he is a base ignoble Creature. It destroys + likewise Magnanimity, and the raising of humane Nature: for take + an example of a Dogg, and mark what a generosity and courage he + will put on, when he finds himself maintained by a Man, who to him + is instead of a God, or Melior Natura. Which courage is manifestly + such, as that Creature without that confidence of a better Nature + than his own could never attain. So Man, when he resteth and + assureth himself upon Divine protection and favour, gathereth a + force and faith which human Nature in itself could not obtain." + + LORD BACON.[F] + + + CANTO FIRST + + From Bolton's old monastic tower[G] + The bells ring loud with gladsome power; + The sun shines[3] bright; the fields are gay + With people in their best array + Of stole and doublet, hood and scarf, 5 + Along the banks of crystal Wharf,[4] + Through the Vale retired and lowly, + Trooping to that summons holy. + And, up among the moorlands, see + What sprinklings of blithe company! 10 + Of lasses and of shepherd grooms, + That down the steep hills force their way, + Like cattle through the budded brooms; + Path, or no path, what care they? + And thus in joyous mood they hie 15 + To Bolton's mouldering Priory.[H] + + What would they there!--full fifty years + That sumptuous Pile, with all its peers, + Too harshly hath been doomed to taste + The bitterness of wrong and waste: 20 + Its courts are ravaged; but the tower + Is standing with a voice of power,[I] + That ancient voice which wont to call + To mass or some high festival; + And in the shattered fabric's heart 25 + Remaineth one protected part; + A Chapel, like a wild-bird's nest, + Closely embowered and trimly drest;[5][J] + And thither young and old repair, + This Sabbath-day, for praise and prayer. 30 + + Fast the church-yard fills;--anon + Look again, and they all are gone; + The cluster round the porch, and the folk + Who sate in the shade of the Prior's Oak![K] + And scarcely have they disappeared 35 + Ere the prelusive hymn is heard:-- + With one consent the people rejoice, + Filling the church with a lofty voice! + They sing a service which they feel: + For 'tis the sunrise now of zeal; 40 + Of a pure faith the vernal prime--[6] + In great Eliza's golden time. + + A moment ends the fervent din, + And all is hushed, without and within; + For though the priest, more tranquilly, 45 + Recites the holy liturgy, + The only voice which you can hear + Is the river murmuring near. + --When soft!--the dusky trees between, + And down the path through the open green, 50 + Where is no living thing to be seen; + And through yon gateway, where is found, + Beneath the arch with ivy bound, + Free entrance to the church-yard ground-- + [7]Comes gliding in with lovely gleam, 55 + Comes gliding in serene and slow, + Soft and silent as a dream, + A solitary Doe! + White she is as lily of June, + And beauteous as the silver moon 60 + When out of sight the clouds are driven + And she is left alone in heaven; + Or like a ship some gentle day + In sunshine sailing far away, + A glittering ship, that hath the plain 65 + Of ocean for her own domain. + + Lie silent in your graves, ye dead! + Lie quiet in your church-yard bed! + Ye living, tend your holy cares; + Ye multitude, pursue your prayers; 70 + And blame not me if my heart and sight + Are occupied with one delight! + 'Tis a work for sabbath hours + If I with this bright Creature go: + Whether she be of forest bowers, 75 + From the bowers of earth below; + Or a Spirit for one day given, + A pledge[8] of grace from purest heaven. + + What harmonious pensive changes + Wait upon her as she ranges 80 + Round and through this Pile of state + Overthrown and desolate! + Now a step or two her way + Leads through[9] space of open day, + Where the enamoured sunny light 85 + Brightens her that was so bright;[L] + Now doth a delicate shadow fall, + Falls upon her like a breath, + From some lofty arch or wall, + As she passes underneath: 90 + Now some gloomy nook partakes + Of the glory that she makes,-- + High-ribbed vault of stone, or cell, + With perfect cunning framed as well + Of stone, and ivy, and the spread 95 + Of the elder's bushy head; + Some jealous and forbidding cell, + That doth the living stars repel, + And where no flower hath leave to dwell. + + The presence of this wandering Doe 100 + Fills many a damp obscure recess + With lustre of a saintly show; + And, reappearing, she no less + Sheds on the flowers that round her blow + A more than sunny liveliness.[10] 105 + But say, among these holy places, + Which thus assiduously she paces, + Comes she with a votary's task, + Rite to perform, or boon to ask? + Fair Pilgrim! harbours she a sense 110 + Of sorrow, or of reverence? + Can she be grieved for quire or shrine, + Crushed as if by wrath divine? + For what survives of house where God + Was worshipped, or where Man abode; 115 + For old magnificence undone; + Or for the gentler work begun + By Nature, softening and concealing, + And busy with a hand of healing?[M] + Mourns she for lordly chamber's hearth 120 + That to the sapling ash gives birth; + For dormitory's length laid bare + Where the wild rose blossoms fair;[N] + Or altar, whence the cross was rent, + Now rich with mossy ornament?[11] 125 + --She sees a warrior carved in stone, + Among the thick weeds, stretched alone;[O] + A warrior, with his shield of pride + Cleaving humbly to his side, + And hands in resignation prest, 130 + Palm to palm, on his tranquil breast; + As little she regards the sight[12] + As a common creature might: + If she be doomed to inward care, + Or service, it must lie elsewhere. 135 + --But hers are eyes serenely bright, + And on she moves--with pace how light! + Nor spares to stoop her head, and taste + The dewy turf with flowers bestrown; + And thus she fares, until at last[13] 140 + Beside the ridge of a grassy grave + In quietness she lays her down; + Gentle[14] as a weary wave + Sinks, when the summer breeze hath died, + Against an anchored vessel's side; 145 + Even so, without distress, doth she + Lie down in peace, and lovingly. + + The day is placid in its going, + To a lingering motion bound, + Like the crystal stream now flowing 150 + With its softest summer sound:[15] + So the balmy minutes pass, + While this radiant Creature lies + Couched upon the dewy grass, + Pensively with downcast eyes. 155 + --But now again the people raise + With awful cheer a voice of praise;[16] + It is the last, the parting song; + And from the temple forth they throng, + And quickly spread themselves abroad, 160 + While each pursues his several road. + But some--a variegated band + Of middle-aged, and old, and young, + And little children by the hand + Upon their leading mothers hung-- 165 + With mute obeisance gladly paid + Turn towards the spot, where, full in view, + The white Doe, to her service true,[17] + Her sabbath couch has made. + + It was a solitary mound; 170 + Which two spears' length of level ground + Did from all other graves divide: + As if in some respect of pride; + Or melancholy's sickly mood, + Still shy of human neighbourhood; 175 + Or guilt, that humbly would express + A penitential loneliness. + + "Look, there she is, my Child! draw near; + She fears not, wherefore should we fear? + She means no harm;"--but still the Boy, 180 + To whom the words were softly said, + Hung back, and smiled, and blushed for joy, + A shamed-faced blush of glowing red! + Again the Mother whispered low, + "Now you have seen the famous Doe; 185 + From Rylstone she hath found her way + Over the hills this sabbath day; + Her work, whate'er it be, is done, + And she will depart when we are gone; + Thus doth she keep, from year to year, 190 + Her sabbath morning, foul or fair." + + [18]Bright was[19] the Creature, as in dreams + The Boy had seen her, yea, more bright; + But is she truly what she seems? + He asks with insecure delight, 195 + Asks of himself, and doubts,--and still + The doubt returns against his will: + Though he, and all the standers-by, + Could tell a tragic history + Of facts divulged, wherein appear 200 + Substantial motive, reason clear, + Why thus the milk-white Doe is found + Couchant beside that lonely mound; + And why she duly loves to pace + The circuit of this hallowed place. 205 + Nor to the Child's inquiring mind + Is such perplexity confined: + For, spite of sober Truth that sees + A world of fixed remembrances + Which to this mystery belong, 210 + If, undeceived, my skill can trace + The characters of every face, + There lack not strange delusion here, + Conjecture vague, and idle fear, + And superstitious fancies strong, 215 + Which do the gentle Creature wrong. + + That bearded, staff-supported Sire-- + Who in his boyhood often fed[20] + Full cheerily on convent-bread + And heard old tales by the convent-fire, 220 + And to his grave will go with scars, + Relics of long and distant wars--[21] + That Old Man, studious to expound + The spectacle, is mounting[22] high + To days of dim antiquity; 225 + When Lady Aaeliza mourned + Her Son,[P] and felt in her despair + The pang of unavailing prayer; + Her Son in Wharf's abysses drowned, + The noble Boy of Egremound.[Q] 230 + From which affliction--when the grace + Of God had in her heart found place--[23] + A pious structure, fair to see, + Rose up, this stately Priory! + The Lady's work;--but now laid low; 235 + To the grief of her soul that doth come and go, + In the beautiful form of this innocent Doe: + Which, though seemingly doomed in its breast to sustain + A softened remembrance of sorrow and pain, + Is spotless, and holy, and gentle, and bright; 240 + And glides o'er the earth like an angel of light. + + Pass, pass who will, yon chantry door;[R] + And, through the chink in the fractured floor + Look down, and see a griesly sight; + A vault where the bodies are buried upright![S] 245 + There, face by face, and hand by hand, + The Claphams and Mauleverers stand; + And, in his place, among son and sire, + Is John de Clapham, that fierce Esquire, + A valiant man, and a name of dread 250 + In the ruthless wars of the White and Red; + Who dragged Earl Pembroke from Banbury church + And smote off his head on the stones of the porch! + Look down among them, if you dare; + Oft does the White Doe loiter there, 255 + Prying into the darksome rent; + Nor can it be with good intent: + So thinks that Dame of haughty air, + Who hath a Page her book to hold, + And wears a frontlet edged with gold. 260 + Harsh thoughts with her high mood agree-- + Who counts among her ancestry[24] + Earl Pembroke, slain so impiously! + + That slender Youth, a scholar pale, + From Oxford come to his native vale, 265 + He also hath his own conceit: + It is, thinks he, the gracious Fairy, + Who loved the Shepherd-lord to meet[T] + In his wanderings solitary: + Wild notes she in his hearing sang, 270 + A song of Nature's hidden powers; + That whistled like the wind, and rang + Among the rocks and holly bowers. + 'Twas said that She all shapes could wear; + And oftentimes before him stood, 275 + Amid the trees of some thick wood, + In semblance of a lady fair; + And taught him signs, and showed him sights, + In Craven's dens, on Cumbrian[25] heights; + When under cloud of fear he lay, 280 + A shepherd clad in homely grey; + Nor left him at his later day. + And hence, when he, with spear and shield, + Rode full of years to Flodden-field, + His eye could see the hidden spring, 285 + And how the current was to flow; + The fatal end of Scotland's King, + And all that hopeless overthrow. + But not in wars did he delight, + _This_ Clifford wished for worthier might; 290 + Nor in broad pomp, or courtly state; + Him his own thoughts did elevate,-- + Most happy in the shy recess + Of Barden's lowly[26] quietness.[U] + And choice of studious friends had he 295 + Of Bolton's dear fraternity; + Who, standing on this old church tower, + In many a calm propitious hour, + Perused, with him, the starry sky; + Or, in their cells, with him did pry 300 + For other lore,--by keen desire + Urged to close toil with chemic fire;[27] + In quest belike of transmutations + Rich as the mine's most bright creations.[28] + But they and their good works are fled, 305 + And all is now disquieted-- + And peace is none, for living or dead! + + Ah, pensive Scholar, think not so, + But look again at the radiant Doe! + What quiet watch she seems to keep, 310 + Alone, beside that grassy heap! + Why mention other thoughts unmeet + For vision so composed and sweet? + While stand the people in a ring, + Gazing, doubting, questioning; 315 + Yea, many overcome in spite + Of recollections clear and bright; + Which yet do unto some impart + An undisturbed repose of heart. + And all the assembly own a law 320 + Of orderly respect and awe; + But see--they vanish one by one, + And last, the Doe herself is gone. + + Harp! we have been full long beguiled + By vague thoughts, lured by fancies wild;[29] 325 + To which, with no reluctant strings, + Thou hast attuned thy murmurings; + And now before this Pile we stand + In solitude, and utter peace: + But, Harp! thy murmurs may not cease-- 330 + A Spirit, with his angelic wings, + In soft and breeze-like visitings, + Has touched thee--and a Spirit's hand:[30] + A voice is with us--a command + To chant, in strains of heavenly glory, 335 + A tale of tears, a mortal story! + + + CANTO SECOND + + The Harp in lowliness obeyed; + And first we sang of the green-wood shade + And a solitary Maid; + Beginning, where the song must end, + With her, and with her sylvan Friend; 5 + The Friend, who stood before her sight, + Her only unextinguished light; + Her last companion in a dearth + Of love, upon a hopeless earth. + + For She it was--this Maid, who wrought[31] 10 + Meekly, with foreboding thought, + In vermeil colours and in gold + An unblest work; which, standing by, + Her Father did with joy behold,-- + Exulting in its[32] imagery; 15 + A Banner, fashioned to fulfil[33] + Too perfectly his headstrong will: + For on this Banner had her hand + Embroidered (such her Sire's command)[34] + The sacred Cross; and figured there 20 + The five dear wounds our Lord did bear; + Full soon to be uplifted high, + And float in rueful company! + + It was the time when England's Queen 24 + Twelve years had reigned, a Sovereign dread;[V] + Nor yet the restless crown had been + Disturbed upon her virgin head; + But now the inly-working North + Was ripe to send its thousands forth, + A potent vassalage, to fight 30 + In Percy's and in Neville's right,[W] + Two Earls fast leagued in discontent, + Who gave their wishes open vent; + And boldly urged a general plea, + The rites of ancient piety 35 + To be triumphantly restored, + By the stern justice of the sword![35] + And that same Banner on whose breast + The blameless Lady had exprest + Memorials chosen to give life 40 + And sunshine to a dangerous strife; + That[36] Banner, waiting for the Call, + Stood quietly in Rylstone-hall. + + It came; and Francis Norton said, + "O Father! rise not in this fray-- 45 + The hairs are white upon your head; + Dear Father, hear me when I say + It is for you too late a day! + Bethink you of your own good name: + A just and gracious queen have we, 50 + A pure religion, and the claim + Of peace on our humanity.-- + 'Tis meet that I endure your scorn; + I am your son, your eldest born; + But not for lordship or for land, 55 + My Father, do I clasp your knees; + The Banner touch not, stay your hand, + This multitude of men disband, + And live at home in blameless[37] ease; + For these my brethren's sake, for me; 60 + And, most of all, for Emily!" + + Tumultuous noises filled the hall;[38] + And scarcely could the Father hear + That name--pronounced with a dying fall--[39][X] + The name of his only Daughter dear, 65 + As on[40] the banner which stood near + He glanced a look of holy pride, + And his moist[41] eyes were glorified; + Then did he seize the staff, and say:[42] + "Thou, Richard, bear'st thy father's name, 70 + Keep thou this ensign till the day + When I of thee require the same: + Thy place be on my better hand;-- + And seven as true as thou, I see, + Will cleave to this good cause and me." 75 + He spake, and eight brave sons straightway + All followed him, a gallant band! + + Thus, with his sons, when forth he came + The sight was hailed with loud acclaim + And din of arms and minstrelsy,[43] 80 + From all his warlike tenantry, + All horsed and harnessed with him to ride,-- + A voice[44] to which the hills replied! + + But Francis, in the vacant hall, + Stood silent under dreary weight,-- 85 + A phantasm, in which roof and wall + Shook, tottered, swam before his sight; + A phantasm like a dream of night! + Thus overwhelmed, and desolate, + He found his way to a postern-gate; 90 + And, when he waked, his languid eye[45] + Was on the calm and silent sky; + With air about him breathing sweet, + And earth's green grass beneath his feet; + Nor did he fail ere long to hear 95 + A sound of military cheer, + Faint--but it reached that sheltered spot; + He heard, and it disturbed him not. + + There stood he, leaning on a lance + Which he had grasped unknowingly, 100 + Had blindly grasped in that strong trance, + That dimness of heart-agony; + There stood he, cleansed from the despair + And sorrow of his fruitless prayer. + The past he calmly hath reviewed: 105 + But where will be the fortitude + Of this brave man, when he shall see + That Form beneath the spreading tree, + And know that it is Emily?[46] + + He saw her where in open view 110 + She sate beneath the spreading yew-- + Her head upon her lap, concealing + In solitude her bitter feeling: + [47]"Might ever son _command_ a sire, + The act were justified to-day." 115 + This to himself--and to the Maid, + Whom now he had approached, he said-- + "Gone are they,--they have their desire; + And I with thee one hour will stay, + To give thee comfort if I may." 120 + + She heard, but looked not up, nor spake; + And sorrow moved him to partake + Her silence; then his thoughts turned round,[48] + And fervent words a passage found. + + "Gone are they, bravely, though misled; 125 + With a dear Father at their head! + The Sons obey a natural lord; + The Father had given solemn word + To noble Percy; and a force + Still stronger, bends him to his course. 130 + This said, our tears to-day may fall + As at an innocent funeral. + In deep and awful channel runs + This sympathy of Sire and Sons; + Untried our Brothers have been loved[49] 135 + With heart by simple nature moved;[50] + And now their faithfulness is proved: + For faithful we must call them, bearing + That soul of conscientious daring. + --There were they all in circle--there 140 + Stood Richard, Ambrose, Christopher, + John with a sword that will not fail, + And Marmaduke in fearless mail, + And those bright Twins were side by side; + And there, by fresh hopes beautified, 145 + Stood He,[51] whose arm yet lacks the power + Of man, our youngest, fairest flower! + I, by the right[52] of eldest born, + And in a second father's place, + Presumed to grapple with[53] their scorn, 150 + And meet their pity face to face; + Yea, trusting in God's holy aid, + I to my Father knelt and prayed; + And one, the pensive Marmaduke, + Methought, was yielding inwardly, 155 + And would have laid his purpose by, + But for a glance of his Father's eye, + Which I myself could scarcely brook. + + "Then be we, each and all, forgiven! + Thou, chiefly thou,[54] my Sister dear, 160 + Whose pangs are registered in heaven-- + The stifled sigh, the hidden tear, + And smiles, that dared to take their place, + Meek filial smiles, upon thy face, + As that unhallowed Banner grew 165 + Beneath a loving old Man's view. + Thy part is done--thy painful part; + Be thou then satisfied in heart! + A further, though far easier, task + Than thine hath been, my duties ask; 170 + With theirs my efforts cannot blend, + I cannot for such cause contend; + Their aims I utterly forswear; + But I in body will be there. + Unarmed and naked will I go, 175 + Be at their side, come weal or woe: + On kind occasions I may wait, + See, hear, obstruct, or mitigate. + Bare breast I take and an empty hand."--[Y] + Therewith he threw away the lance, 180 + Which he had grasped in that strong trance; + Spurned it, like something that would stand + Between him and the pure intent + Of love on which his soul was bent. + + "For thee, for thee, is left the sense 185 + Of trial past without offence + To God or man; such innocence, + Such consolation, and the excess + Of an unmerited distress; + In that thy very strength must lie. 190 + --O Sister, I could prophesy! + The time is come that rings the knell + Of all we loved, and loved so well: + Hope nothing, if I thus may speak + To thee, a woman, and thence weak: 195 + Hope nothing, I repeat; for we + Are doomed to perish utterly: + 'Tis meet that thou with me divide + The thought while I am by thy side, + Acknowledging a grace in this, 200 + A comfort in the dark abyss. + But look not for me when I am gone, + And be no farther wrought upon: + Farewell all wishes, all debate, + All prayers for this cause, or for that! 205 + Weep, if that aid thee; but depend + Upon no help of outward friend; + Espouse thy doom at once, and cleave + To fortitude without reprieve. + For we must fall, both we and ours-- 210 + This Mansion and these pleasant bowers, + Walks, pools, and arbours, homestead, hall-- + Our fate is theirs, will reach them all;[Z] + The young horse must forsake his manger, + And learn to glory in a Stranger; 215 + The hawk forget his perch; the hound + Be parted from his ancient ground: + The blast will sweep us all away-- + One desolation, one decay! + And even this Creature!" which words saying, 220 + He pointed to a lovely Doe, + A few steps distant, feeding, straying; + Fair creature, and more white than snow! + "Even she will to her peaceful woods + Return, and to her murmuring floods, 225 + And be in heart and soul the same + She was before she hither came; + Ere she had learned to love us all, + Herself beloved in Rylstone-hall. + --But thou, my Sister, doomed to be 230 + The last leaf on a blasted tree;[55] + If not in vain we breathed[56] the breath + Together of a purer faith; + If hand in hand we have been led, + And thou, (O happy thought this day!) 235 + Not seldom foremost in the way; + If on one thought our minds have fed, + And we have in one meaning read; + If, when at home our private weal + Hath suffered from the shock of zeal, 240 + Together we have learned to prize + Forbearance and self-sacrifice; + If we like combatants have fared, + And for this issue been prepared; + If thou art beautiful, and youth 245 + And thought endue thee with all truth-- + Be strong;--be worthy of the grace + Of God, and fill thy destined place: + A Soul, by force of sorrows high, + Uplifted to the purest sky 250 + Of undisturbed humanity!" + + He ended,--or she heard no more; + He led her from the yew-tree shade, + And at the mansion's silent door, + He kissed the consecrated Maid; 255 + And down the valley then pursued,[57] + Alone, the armed Multitude. + + + CANTO THIRD + + Now joy for you who from the towers + Of Brancepeth look in doubt and fear,[AA][58] + Telling melancholy hours! + Proclaim it, let your Masters hear + That Norton with his band is near! 5 + The watchmen from their station high + Pronounced the word,--and the Earls descry, + Well-pleased, the armed Company[59] + Marching down the banks of Were. + + Said fearless Norton to the pair 10 + Gone forth to greet[60] him on the plain + "This meeting, noble Lords! looks fair, + I bring with me a goodly train; + Their hearts are with you: hill and dale + Have helped us: Ure we crossed, and Swale, 15 + And horse and harness followed--see + The best part of their Yeomanry! + --Stand forth, my Sons!--these eight are mine, + Whom to this service I commend; + Which way soe'er our fate incline, 20 + These will be faithful to the end; + They are my all"--voice failed him here-- + "My all save one, a Daughter dear! + Whom I have left, Love's mildest birth,[61] + The meekest Child on this blessed earth. 25 + I had--but these are by my side, + These Eight, and this is a day of pride! + The time is ripe. With festive din + Lo! how the people are flocking in,-- + Like hungry fowl to the feeder's hand 30 + When snow lies heavy upon the land." + + He spake bare truth; for far and near + From every side came noisy swarms + Of Peasants in their homely gear; + And, mixed with these, to Brancepeth came 35 + Grave Gentry of estate and name, + And Captains known for worth in arms; + And prayed the Earls in self-defence + To rise, and prove their innocence.-- + "Rise, noble Earls, put forth your might 40 + For holy Church, and the People's right!" + + The Norton fixed, at this demand, + His eye upon Northumberland, + And said; "The Minds of Men will own + No loyal rest while England's Crown 45 + Remains without an Heir, the bait + Of strife and factions desperate; + Who, paying deadly hate in kind + Through all things else, in this can find + A mutual hope, a common mind; 50 + And plot, and pant to overwhelm + All ancient honour in the realm. + --Brave Earls! to whose heroic veins + Our noblest blood is given in trust, + To you a suffering State complains, 55 + And ye must raise her from the dust. + With wishes of still bolder scope + On you we look, with dearest hope; + Even for our Altars--for the prize + In Heaven, of life that never dies; 60 + For the old and holy Church we mourn, + And must in joy to her return. + Behold!"--and from his Son whose stand + Was on his right, from that guardian hand + He took the Banner, and unfurled 65 + The precious folds--"behold," said he, + "The ransom of a sinful world; + Let this your preservation be; + The wounds of hands and feet and side, + And the sacred Cross on which Jesus died! 70 + --This bring I from an ancient hearth, + These Records wrought in pledge of love + By hands of no ignoble birth, + A Maid o'er whom the blessed Dove + Vouchsafed in gentleness to brood 75 + While she the holy work pursued." + "Uplift the Standard!" was the cry + From all the listeners that stood round, + "Plant it,--by this we live or die." + The Norton ceased not for that sound, 80 + But said; "The prayer which ye have heard, + Much injured Earls! by these preferred, + Is offered to the Saints, the sigh + Of tens of thousands, secretly." + "Uplift it!" cried once more the Band, 85 + And then a thoughtful pause ensued: + "Uplift it!" said Northumberland-- + Whereat, from all the multitude + Who saw the Banner reared on high + In all its dread emblazonry, 90 + [62]A voice of uttermost joy brake out: + The transport was rolled down the river of Were, + And Durham, the time-honoured Durham, did hear, + And the towers of Saint Cuthbert were stirred by the shout![BB] + + Now was the North in arms:--they shine 95 + In warlike trim from Tweed to Tyne, + At Percy's voice: and Neville sees + His Followers gathering in from Tees, + From Were, and all the little rills + Concealed among the forked hills-- 100 + Seven hundred Knights, Retainers all + Of Neville, at their Master's call + Had sate together in Raby Hall![CC] + Such strength that Earldom held of yore; + Nor wanted at this time rich store 105 + Of well-appointed chivalry. + --Not both the sleepy lance to wield, + And greet the old paternal shield, + They heard the summons;--and, furthermore, + Horsemen and Foot of each degree,[63] 110 + Unbound by pledge of fealty, + Appeared, with free and open hate + Of novelties in Church and State; + night, burgher, yeoman, and esquire; + And Romish priest,[64] in priest's attire. 115 + And thus, in arms, a zealous Band + Proceeding under joint command, + To Durham first their course they bear; + And in Saint Cuthbert's ancient seat + Sang mass,--and tore the book of prayer,-- 120 + And trod the bible beneath their feet. + + Thence marching southward smooth and free + "They mustered their host at Wetherby, + Full sixteen thousand fair to see;"[DD] + The Choicest Warriors of the North! 125 + But none for beauty and for worth[65] + Like those eight Sons--who, in a ring,[66] + (Ripe men, or blooming in life's spring)[67] + Each with a lance, erect and tall, + A falchion, and a buckler small, 130 + Stood by their Sire, on Clifford-moor,[EE] + [68]To guard the Standard which he bore. + On foot they girt their Father round; + And so will keep the appointed ground + Where'er their march: no steed will he[69] 135 + Henceforth bestride;--triumphantly, + He stands upon the grassy sod,[70] + Trusting himself to the earth, and God. + Rare sight to embolden and inspire! + Proud was the field of Sons and Sire; 140 + Of him the most; and, sooth to say, + No shape of man in all the array + So graced the sunshine of that day. + The monumental pomp of age + Was with this goodly Personage; 145 + A stature undepressed in size, + Unbent, which rather seemed to rise, + In open victory o'er the weight + Of seventy years, to loftier[71] height; + Magnific limbs of withered state; 150 + A face to fear and venerate; + Eyes dark and strong; and on his head + Bright[72] locks of silver hair, thick spread, + Which a brown morion half-concealed, + Light as a hunter's of the field; 155 + And thus, with girdle round his waist, + Whereon the Banner-staff might rest + At need, he stood, advancing high + The glittering, floating Pageantry. + + Who sees him?--thousands see,[73] and One 160 + With unparticipated gaze; + Who, 'mong those[74] thousands, friend hath none, + And treads in solitary ways. + He, following wheresoe'er he might, + Hath watched the Banner from afar, 165 + As shepherds watch a lonely star, + Or mariners the distant light + That guides them through[75] a stormy night. + And now, upon a chosen plot + Of rising ground, yon heathy spot! 170 + He takes alone[76] his far-off stand, + With breast unmailed, unweaponed hand. + Bold is his aspect; but his eye + Is pregnant with anxiety, + While, like a tutelary Power, 175 + He there stands fixed from hour to hour: + Yet sometimes in more humble guise, + Upon the turf-clad height he lies + Stretched, herdsman-like, as if to bask + In sunshine were his only task,[77] 180 + Or by his mantle's help to find + A shelter from the nipping wind: + And thus, with short oblivion blest, + His weary spirits gather rest. + Again he lifts his eyes; and lo! 185 + The pageant glancing to and fro; + And hope is wakened by the sight, + He[78] thence may learn, ere fall of night, + Which way the tide is doomed to flow. + + To London were the Chieftains bent; 190 + But what avails the bold intent? + A Royal army is gone forth + To quell the RISING OF THE NORTH; + They march with Dudley at their head, + And, in seven days' space, will to York be led!-- + Can such a mighty Host be raised 196 + Thus suddenly, and brought so near? + The Earls upon each other gazed, + And Neville's cheek grew pale with fear; + For, with a high and valiant name, 200 + He bore a heart of timid frame;[79] + And bold if both had been, yet they + "Against so many may not stay."[FF] + Back therefore will they hie to seize[80] + A strong Hold on the banks of Tees; 205 + There wait a favourable hour, + Until Lord Dacre with his power + From Naworth come;[81][GG] and Howard's aid + Be with them openly displayed. + + While through the Host, from man to man, 210 + A rumour of this purpose ran, + The Standard trusting[82] to the care + Of him who heretofore did bear + That charge, impatient Norton sought + The Chieftains to unfold his thought, 215 + And thus abruptly spake;--"We yield + (And can it be?) an unfought field!-- + How oft has strength, the strength of heaven,[83] + To few triumphantly been given! + Still do our very children boast 220 + Of mitred Thurston--what a Host + He conquered![HH]--Saw we not the Plain + (And flying shall behold again) + Where faith was proved?--while to battle moved + The Standard, on the Sacred Wain 225 + That bore it, compassed round by a bold + Fraternity of Barons old; + And with those grey-haired champions stood, + Under the saintly ensigns three, + The infant Heir of Mowbray's blood-- 230 + All confident of victory!--[84] + Shall Percy blush, then, for his name? + Must Westmoreland be asked with shame + Whose were the numbers, where the loss, + In that other day of Neville's Cross?[II] 235 + When the Prior of Durham with holy hand + Raised, as the Vision gave command, + Saint Cuthbert's Relic--far and near + Kenned on the point of a lofty spear; + While the Monks prayed in Maiden's Bower 240 + To God descending in his power.[85] + Less would not at our need be due + To us, who war against the Untrue;-- + The delegates of Heaven we rise, + Convoked the impious to chastise: 245 + We, we, the sanctities of old + Would re-establish and uphold: + Be warned"--His zeal the Chiefs confounded,[86] + But word was given, and the trumpet sounded: + Back through the melancholy Host 250 + Went Norton, and resumed his post. + Alas! thought he, and have I borne + This Banner raised with joyful pride,[87] + This hope of all posterity, + By those dread symbols sanctified;[88] 255 + Thus to become at once the scorn + Of babbling winds as they go by, + A spot of shame to the sun's bright eye, + To the light[89] clouds a mockery! + --"Even these poor eight of mine would stem"-- + Half to himself, and half to them 261 + He spake--"would stem, or quell, a force + Ten times their number, man and horse; + This by their own unaided might, + Without their father in their sight, 265 + Without the Cause for which they fight; + A Cause, which on a needful day + Would breed us thousands brave as they." + --So speaking, he his reverend head + Raised towards that Imagery once more:[90] 270 + But the familiar prospect shed + Despondency unfelt before: + A shock of intimations vain, + Dismay,[91] and superstitious pain, + Fell on him, with the sudden thought 275 + Of her by whom the work was wrought:-- + Oh wherefore was her countenance bright + With love divine and gentle light? + She would not, could not, disobey,[92] + But her Faith leaned another way. 280 + Ill tears she wept; I saw them fall, + I overheard her as she spake + Sad words to that mute Animal, + The White Doe, in the hawthorn brake; + She steeped, but not for Jesu's sake, 285 + This Cross in tears: by her, and One + Unworthier far we are undone-- + Her recreant Brother--he prevailed + Over that tender Spirit--assailed + Too oft alas! by her whose head[93] 290 + In the cold grave hath long been laid: + She first, in reason's dawn beguiled + Her docile, unsuspecting Child:[94] + Far back--far back my mind must go + To reach the well-spring of this woe! 295 + + While thus he brooded, music sweet + Of border tunes was played to cheer + The footsteps of a quick retreat; + But Norton lingered in the rear, + Stung with sharp thoughts; and ere the last 300 + From his distracted brain was cast, + Before his Father, Francis stood, + And spake in firm and earnest mood.[95] + + "Though here I bend a suppliant knee + In reverence, and unarmed, I bear 305 + In your indignant thoughts my share; + Am grieved this backward march to see + So careless and disorderly. + I scorn your Chiefs--men who would lead, + And yet want courage at their need: 310 + Then look at them with open eyes! + Deserve they further sacrifice?-- + If--when they shrink, nor dare oppose + In open field their gathering foes, + (And fast, from this decisive day, 315 + Yon multitude must melt away;) + If now I ask a grace not claimed + While ground was left for hope; unblamed + Be an endeavour that can do + No injury to them or you.[96] 320 + My Father! I would help to find + A place of shelter, till the rage + Of cruel men do like the wind + Exhaust itself and sink to rest; + Be Brother now to Brother joined! 325 + Admit me in the equipage + Of your misfortunes, that at least, + Whatever fate remain[97] behind, + I may bear witness in my breast + To your nobility of mind!" 330 + + "Thou Enemy, my bane and blight! + Oh! bold to fight the Coward's fight + Against all good"--but why declare, + At length, the issue of a prayer + Which love had prompted, yielding scope 335 + Too free to one bright moment's hope?[98] + Suffice it that the Son, who strove + With fruitless effort to allay + That passion, prudently gave way;[99] + Nor did he turn aside to prove 340 + His Brothers' wisdom or their love-- + But calmly from the spot withdrew; + His best endeavours[100] to renew, + Should e'er a kindlier time ensue. + + + CANTO FOURTH + + 'Tis night: in silence looking down, + The Moon, from cloudless ether, sees[101] + A Camp, and a beleaguered Town, + And Castle like a stately crown + On the steep rocks of winding Tees;-- 5 + And southward far, with moor between, + Hill-top, and flood, and forest green,[102] + The bright Moon sees that valley small + Where Rylstone's old sequestered Hall + A venerable image yields 10 + Of quiet to the neighbouring fields; + While from one pillared chimney breathes + The smoke, and mounts in silver wreaths.[103] + --The courts are hushed;--for timely sleep + The grey-hounds to their kennel creep; 15 + The peacock in the broad ash tree + Aloft is roosted for the night, + He who in proud prosperity + Of colours manifold and bright + Walked round, affronting the daylight; 20 + And higher still, above the bower + Where he is perched, from yon lone Tower + The hall-clock in the clear moonshine + With glittering finger points at nine. + + Ah! who could think that sadness here 25 + Hath[104] any sway? or pain, or fear? + A soft and lulling sound is heard + Of streams inaudible by day;[JJ] + The garden pool's dark surface, stirred + By the night insects in their play, 30 + Breaks into dimples small and bright; + A thousand, thousand rings of light + That shape themselves and disappear + Almost as soon as seen:--and lo! + Not distant far, the milk-white Doe-- 35 + The same who quietly was feeding + On the green herb, and nothing heeding, + When Francis, uttering to the Maid[105] + His last words in the yew-tree shade, + Involved whate'er by love was brought 40 + Out of his heart, or crossed his thought, + Or chance presented to his eye, + In one sad sweep of destiny--[106] + The same fair Creature, who hath found + Her way into forbidden ground; 45 + Where now--within this spacious plot + For pleasure made, a goodly spot, + With lawns and beds of flowers, and shades + Of trellis-work in long arcades, + And cirque and crescent framed by wall 50 + Of close-clipt foliage green and tall, + Converging walks, and fountains gay, + And terraces in trim array-- + Beneath yon cypress spiring high, + With pine and cedar spreading wide 55 + Their darksome boughs on either side, + In open moonlight doth she lie; + Happy as others of her kind, + That, far from human neighbourhood, + Range unrestricted as the wind, 60 + Through park, or chase, or savage wood. + + But see the consecrated Maid + Emerging from a cedar shade[107] + To open moonshine, where the Doe + Beneath the cypress-spire is laid; 65 + Like a patch of April snow-- + Upon a bed of herbage green, + Lingering in a woody glade + Or behind a rocky screen-- + Lonely relic! which, if seen 70 + By the shepherd, is passed by + With an inattentive eye. + Nor more regard doth She bestow + Upon the uncomplaining Doe[108] + Now couched at ease, though oft this day 75 + Not unperplexed nor free from pain, + When she had tried, and tried in vain, + Approaching in her gentle way, + To win some look of love, or gain + Encouragement to sport or play; 80 + Attempts which still the heart-sick Maid + Rejected, or with slight repaid.[109] + + Yet Emily is soothed;--the breeze + Came fraught with kindly sympathies. + As she approached yon rustic Shed[110] 85 + Hung with late-flowering woodbine, spread + Along the walls and overhead, + The fragrance of the breathing flowers + Revived[111] a memory of those hours + When here, in this remote alcove, 90 + (While from the pendent woodbine came + Like odours, sweet as if the same) + A fondly-anxious Mother strove + To teach her salutary fears + And mysteries above her years. 95 + Yes, she is soothed: an Image faint, + And yet not faint--a presence bright + Returns to her--that blessed Saint[112] + Who with mild looks and language mild + Instructed here her darling Child, 100 + While yet a prattler on the knee, + To worship in simplicity + The invisible God, and take for guide + The faith reformed and purified. + + 'Tis flown--the Vision, and the sense 105 + Of that beguiling influence; + "But oh! thou Angel from above, + Mute Spirit[113] of maternal love, + That stood'st before my eyes, more clear + Than ghosts are fabled to appear 110 + Sent upon embassies of fear; + As thou thy presence hast to me + Vouchsafed, in radiant ministry + Descend on Francis; nor forbear + To greet him with a voice, and say;-- 115 + 'If hope be a rejected stay, + Do thou, my Christian Son, beware + Of that most lamentable snare, + The self-reliance of despair!'"[114] + + Then from within the embowered retreat 120 + Where she had found a grateful seat + Perturbed she issues. She will go! + Herself will follow to the war, + And clasp her Father's knees;--ah, no! + She meets the insuperable bar, 125 + The injunction by her Brother laid; + His parting charge--but ill obeyed-- + That interdicted all debate, + All prayer for this cause or for that; + All efforts that would turn aside 130 + The headstrong current of their fate: + _Her duty is to stand and wait_;[115][KK] + In resignation to abide + The shock, AND FINALLY SECURE + O'ER PAIN AND GRIEF A TRIUMPH PURE.[115] 135 + --She feels it, and her pangs are checked.[116] + But now, as silently she paced + The turf, and thought by thought was chased, + Came One who, with sedate respect, + Approached, and, greeting her, thus spake;[117] 140 + "An old man's privilege I take: + Dark is the time--a woeful day! + Dear daughter of affliction, say + How can I serve you? point the way." + + "Rights have you, and may well be bold: 145 + You with my Father have grown old + In friendship--strive--for his sake go-- + Turn from us all the coming woe:[118] + This would I beg; but on my mind + A passive stillness is enjoined. 150 + On you, if room for mortal aid + Be left, is no restriction laid;[119] + You not forbidden to recline + With hope upon the Will divine." + + "Hope," said the old Man, "must abide 155 + With all of us, whate'er betide.[120] + In Craven's Wilds is many a den, + To shelter persecuted men:[LL] + Far under ground is many a cave, + Where they might lie as in the grave, 160 + Until this storm hath ceased to rave: + Or let them cross the River Tweed, + And be at once from peril freed!" + + "Ah tempt me not!" she faintly sighed; + "I will not counsel nor exhort, 165 + With my condition satisfied; + But you, at least, may make report + Of what befals;--be this your task-- + This may be done;--'tis all I ask!" + + She spake--and from the Lady's sight 170 + The Sire, unconscious of his age, + Departed promptly as a Page + Bound on some errand of delight. + --The noble Francis--wise as brave, + Thought he, may want not skill[121] to save. 175 + With hopes in tenderness concealed, + Unarmed he followed to the field; + Him will I seek: the insurgent Powers + Are now besieging Barnard's Towers,--[MM] + "Grant that the Moon which shines this night 180 + May guide them in a prudent flight!" + + But quick the turns of chance and change, + And knowledge has a narrow range; + Whence idle fears, and needless pain, + And wishes blind, and efforts vain.-- 185 + The Moon may shine, but cannot be + Their guide in flight--already she[122] + Hath witnessed their captivity. + She saw the desperate assault + Upon that hostile castle made;-- 190 + But dark and dismal is the vault + Where Norton and his sons are laid! + Disastrous issue!--he had said + "This night yon faithless[123] Towers must yield, + Or we for ever quit the field. 195 + --Neville is utterly dismayed, + For promise fails of Howard's aid; + And Dacre to our call replies + That _he_[124] is unprepared to rise. + My heart is sick;--this weary pause 200 + Must needs be fatal to our cause.[125] + The breach is open--on the wall, + This night,--the Banner shall be planted!" + --'Twas done: his Sons were with him--all; + They belt him round with hearts undaunted 205 + And others follow;--Sire and Son + Leap down into the court;--"'Tis won"-- + They shout aloud--but Heaven decreed + That with their joyful shout should close + The triumph of a desperate deed[126] 210 + Which struck with terror friends and foes! + The friend shrinks back--the foe recoils + From Norton and his filial band; + But they, now caught within the toils, + Against a thousand cannot stand;-- 215 + The foe from numbers courage drew, + And overpowered that gallant few. + "A rescue for the Standard!" cried + The Father from within the walls; + But, see, the sacred Standard falls!-- 220 + Confusion through the Camp spread[127] wide: + Some fled; and some their fears detained: + But ere the Moon had sunk to rest + In her pale chambers of the west, + Of that rash levy nought remained. 225 + + + CANTO FIFTH + + High on a point of rugged ground + Among the wastes of Rylstone Fell + Above the loftiest ridge or mound + Where foresters or shepherds dwell, + An edifice of warlike frame 5 + Stands single--Norton Tower its name--[NN] + It fronts all quarters, and looks round + O'er path and road, and plain and dell, + Dark moor, and gleam of pool and stream + Upon a prospect without bound. 10 + + The summit of this bold ascent-- + Though bleak and bare, and seldom free[128] + As Pendle-hill or Pennygent + From wind, or frost, or vapours wet-- + Had often heard the sound of glee 15 + When there the youthful Nortons met, + To practice games and archery: + How proud and happy they! the crowd + Of Lookers-on how pleased and proud! + And from the scorching noon-tide sun,[129] 20 + From showers, or when the prize was won, + They to the Tower withdrew, and there[130] + Would mirth run round, with generous fare; + And the stern old Lord of Rylstone-hall, + Was happiest, proudest,[131] of them all! 25 + + But now, his Child, with anguish pale, + Upon the height walks to and fro; + 'Tis well that she hath heard the tale, + Received the bitterness of woe: + [132]For she _had_[133] hoped, had hoped and feared, 30 + Such rights did feeble nature claim; + And oft her steps had hither steered, + Though not unconscious of self-blame; + For she her brother's charge revered, + His farewell words; and by the same, 35 + Yea by her brother's very name, + Had, in her solitude, been cheered. + + Beside the lonely watch-tower stood[134] + That grey-haired Man of gentle blood, + Who with her Father had grown old 40 + In friendship; rival hunters they, + And fellow warriors in their day: + To Rylstone he the tidings brought; + Then on this height the Maid had sought, + And, gently as he could, had told 45 + The end of that dire Tragedy,[135] + Which it had been his lot to see. + + To him the Lady turned; "You said + That Francis lives, _he_ is not dead?" + + "Your noble brother hath been spared; 50 + To take his life they have not dared; + On him and on his high endeavour + The light of praise shall shine for ever! + Nor did he (such Heaven's will) in vain + His solitary course maintain; 55 + Not vainly struggled in the might + Of duty, seeing with clear sight; + He was their comfort to the last, + Their joy till every pang was past. + + "I witnessed when to York they came-- 60 + What, Lady, if their feet were tied; + They might deserve a good Man's blame; + But marks of infamy and shame-- + These were their triumph, these their pride; + Nor wanted 'mid the pressing crowd 65 + Deep feeling, that found utterance loud,[136] + 'Lo, Francis comes,' there were who cried,[137] + 'A Prisoner once, but now set free! + 'Tis well, for he the worst defied + Through force of[138] natural piety; 70 + He rose not in this quarrel, he, + For concord's sake and England's good, + Suit to his Brothers often made + With tears, and of his Father prayed-- + And when he had in vain withstood 75 + Their purpose--then did he divide,[139] + He parted from them; but at their side + Now walks in unanimity. + Then peace to cruelty and scorn, + While to the prison they are borne, 80 + Peace, peace to all indignity!' + + "And so in Prison were they laid-- + Oh hear me, hear me, gentle Maid, + For I am come with power to bless, + By scattering gleams,[140] through your distress, 85 + Of a redeeming happiness. + Me did a reverent pity move + And privilege of ancient love; + And, in your service, making bold, + Entrance I gained to that strong-hold.[141] 90 + + "Your Father gave me cordial greeting; + But to his purposes, that burned + Within him, instantly returned: + He was commanding and entreating, + And said--'We need not stop, my Son! 95 + Thoughts press, and time is hurrying on'--[142] + And so to Francis he renewed + His words, more calmly thus pursued. + + "'Might this our enterprise have sped, + Change wide and deep the Land had seen, 100 + A renovation from the dead, + A spring-tide of immortal green: + The darksome altars would have blazed + Like stars when clouds are rolled away; + Salvation to all eyes that gazed, 105 + Once more the Rood had been upraised + To spread its arms, and stand for aye. + Then, then--had I survived to see + New life in Bolton Priory; + The voice restored, the eye of Truth 110 + Re-opened that inspired my youth; + To see[143] her in her pomp arrayed-- + This Banner (for such vow I made) + Should on the consecrated breast + Of that same Temple have found rest: 115 + I would myself have hung it high, + Fit[144] offering of glad victory! + + "'A shadow of such thought remains + To cheer this sad and pensive time; + A solemn fancy yet sustains 120 + One feeble Being--bids me climb + Even to the last--one effort more + To attest my Faith, if not restore. + + "'Hear then,' said he, 'while I impart, + My Son, the last wish of my heart. 125 + The Banner strive thou to regain; + And, if the endeavour prove not[145] vain, + Bear it--to whom if not to thee + Shall I this lonely thought consign?-- + Bear it to Bolton Priory, 130 + And lay it on Saint Mary's shrine; + To wither in the sun and breeze + 'Mid those decaying sanctities. + There let at least the gift be laid, + The testimony there displayed; 135 + Bold proof that with no selfish aim, + But for lost Faith and Christ's dear name, + I helmeted a brow though white, + And took a place in all men's sight; + Yea offered up this noble[146] Brood, 140 + This fair unrivalled Brotherhood, + And turned away from thee, my Son! + And left--but be the rest unsaid, + The name untouched, the tear unshed;-- + My wish is known, and I have done: 145 + Now promise, grant this one request, + This dying prayer, and be thou blest!' + + "Then Francis answered--'Trust thy Son, + For, with God's will, it shall be done!'--[147] + + "The pledge obtained, the solemn word[148] 150 + Thus scarcely given, a noise was heard, + And Officers appeared in state + To lead the prisoners to their fate. + They rose, oh! wherefore should I fear + To tell, or, Lady, you to hear? 155 + They rose--embraces none were given-- + They stood like trees when earth and heaven + Are calm; they knew each other's worth, + And reverently the Band went forth. + They met, when they had reached the door, 160 + One with profane and harsh intent + Placed there--that he might go before + And, with that rueful Banner borne + Aloft in sign of taunting scorn,[149] + Conduct them to their punishment: 165 + So cruel Sussex, unrestrained + By human feeling, had ordained. + The unhappy Banner Francis saw, + And, with a look of calm command + Inspiring universal awe, 170 + He took it from the soldier's hand; + And all the people that stood round[150] + Confirmed the deed in peace profound. + --High transport did the Father shed + Upon his Son--and they were led, 175 + Led on, and yielded up their breath; + Together died, a happy death!-- + But Francis, soon as he had braved + That insult, and the Banner saved, + Athwart the unresisting tide[151] 180 + Of the spectators occupied + In admiration or dismay, + Bore instantly[152] his Charge away." + + These things, which thus had in the sight + And hearing passed of Him who stood 185 + With Emily, on the Watch-tower height, + In Rylstone's woeful neighbourhood, + He told; and oftentimes with voice + Of power to comfort[153] or rejoice; + For deepest sorrows that aspire, 190 + Go high, no transport ever higher. + "Yes--God is rich in mercy," said + The old Man to the silent Maid, + "Yet, Lady! shines, through this black night, + One star of aspect heavenly bright;[154] 195 + Your Brother lives--he lives--is come + Perhaps already to his home; + Then let us leave this dreary place." + She yielded, and with gentle pace, + Though without one uplifted look, 200 + To Rylstone-hall her way she took. + + + CANTO SIXTH + + Why comes not Francis?--From the doleful City + He fled,--and, in his flight, could hear + The death-sounds of the Minster-bell:[155] + That sullen stroke pronounced farewell + To Marmaduke, cut off from pity! 5 + To Ambrose that! and then a knell + For him, the sweet half-opened Flower! + For all--all dying in one hour! + --Why comes not Francis? Thoughts of love + Should bear him to his Sister dear 10 + With the fleet motion of a dove;[156] + Yea, like a heavenly messenger + Of speediest wing, should he appear.[157] + Why comes he not?--for westward fast + Along the plain of York he past; 15 + Reckless of what impels or leads, + Unchecked he hurries on;--nor heeds + The sorrow, through the Villages, + Spread by triumphant cruelties[158] + Of vengeful military force, 20 + And punishment without remorse. + He marked not, heard not, as he fled; + All but the suffering heart was dead + For him abandoned to blank awe, + To vacancy, and horror strong:[159] 25 + And the first object which he saw, + With conscious sight, as he swept along-- + It was the Banner in his hand! + He felt--and made a sudden stand. + + He looked about like one betrayed: 30 + What hath he done? what promise made? + Oh weak, weak moment! to what end + Can such a vain oblation tend, + And he the Bearer?--Can he go + Carrying this instrument of woe, 35 + And find, find any where, a right + To excuse him in his Country's sight? + No; will not all men deem the change + A downward course, perverse and strange? + Here is it;--but how? when? must she, 40 + The unoffending Emily, + Again this piteous object see? + + Such conflict long did he maintain, + Nor liberty nor rest could gain:[160] + His own life into danger brought 45 + By this sad burden--even that thought, + Exciting self-suspicion strong, + Swayed the brave man to his wrong.[161] + And how--unless it were the sense + Of all-disposing Providence, 50 + Its will unquestionably shown-- + How has the Banner clung so fast + To a palsied, and unconscious hand; + Clung to the hand to which it passed + Without impediment? And why 55 + But that Heaven's purpose might be known, + Doth now no hindrance meet his eye, + No intervention, to withstand + Fulfilment of a Father's prayer + Breathed to a Son forgiven, and blest 60 + When all resentments were at rest, + And life in death laid the heart bare?-- + Then, like a spectre sweeping by, + Rushed through his mind the prophecy + Of utter desolation made 65 + To Emily in the yew-tree shade: + He sighed, submitting will and power + To the stern embrace of that grasping hour.[162] + "No choice is left, the deed is mine-- + Dead are they, dead!--and I will go, 70 + And, for their sakes, come weal or woe, + Will lay the Relic on the shrine." + + So forward with a steady will + He went, and traversed plain and hill; + And up the vale of Wharf his way 75 + Pursued;--and, at the dawn of day, + Attained a summit whence his eyes[163] + Could see the Tower of Bolton rise. + There Francis for a moment's space + Made halt--but hark! a noise behind 80 + Of horsemen at an eager pace! + He heard, and with misgiving mind. + --'Tis Sir George Bowes who leads the Band: + They come, by cruel Sussex sent; + Who, when the Nortons from the hand 85 + Of death had drunk their punishment, + Bethought him, angry and ashamed, + How Francis, with the Banner claimed + As his own charge, had disappeared,[164] + By all the standers-by revered. 90 + His whole bold carriage (which had quelled + Thus far the Opposer, and repelled + All censure, enterprise so bright + That even bad men had vainly striven + Against that overcoming light) 95 + Was then reviewed, and prompt word given, + That to what place soever fled + He should be seized, alive or dead. + + The troop of horse have gained the height + Where Francis stood in open sight. 100 + They hem him round--"Behold the proof," + They cried, "the Ensign in his hand![165] + _He_ did not arm, he walked aloof! + For why?--to save his Father's land;-- + Worst Traitor of them all is he, 105 + A Traitor dark and cowardly!" + + "I am no Traitor," Francis said, + "Though this unhappy freight I bear; + And must not part with. But beware;-- + Err not, by hasty zeal misled,[166] 110 + Nor do a suffering Spirit wrong, + Whose self-reproaches are too strong!" + At this he from the beaten road + Retreated towards a brake of thorn, + That[167] like a place of vantage showed; 115 + And there stood bravely, though forlorn. + In self-defence with warlike brow[168] + He stood,--nor weaponless was now; + He from a Soldier's hand had snatched + A spear,--and, so protected, watched 120 + The Assailants, turning round and round; + But from behind with treacherous wound + A Spearman brought him to the ground. + The guardian lance, as Francis fell, + Dropped from him; but his other hand 125 + The Banner clenched; till, from out the Band, + One, the most eager for the prize, + Rushed in; and--while, O grief to tell! + A glimmering sense still left, with eyes + Unclosed the noble Francis lay-- 130 + Seized it, as hunters seize their prey; + But not before the warm life-blood + Had tinged more deeply, as it flowed, + The wounds the broidered Banner showed, + Thy fatal work, O Maiden, innocent as good![169] 135 + + Proudly the Horsemen bore away + The Standard; and where Francis lay[170] + There was he left alone, unwept, + And for two days unnoticed slept. + For at that time bewildering fear 140 + Possessed the country, far and near; + But, on the third day, passing by + One of the Norton Tenantry + Espied the uncovered Corse; the Man + Shrunk as he recognised the face, 145 + And to the nearest homesteads ran + And called the people to the place. + --How desolate is Rylstone-hall! + This was the instant thought of all; + And if the lonely Lady there 150 + Should be; to her they cannot bear + This weight of anguish and despair. + So, when upon sad thoughts had prest + Thoughts sadder still, they deemed it best + That, if the Priest should yield assent 155 + And no one hinder their intent,[171] + Then, they, for Christian pity's sake, + In holy ground a grave would make; + And straightway[172] buried he should be + In the Church-yard of the Priory. 160 + + Apart, some little space, was made + The grave where Francis must be laid. + In no confusion or neglect + This did they,--but in pure respect + That he was born of gentle blood; 165 + And that there was no neighbourhood + Of kindred for him in that ground: + So to the Church-yard they are bound, + Bearing the body on a bier; + And psalms they sing--a holy sound 170 + That hill and vale with sadness hear.[173] + + But Emily hath raised her head, + And is again disquieted; + She must behold!--so many gone, + Where is the solitary One? 175 + And forth from Rylstone-hall stepped she, + To seek her Brother forth she went, + And tremblingly her course she bent + Toward[174] Bolton's ruined Priory. + She comes, and in the vale hath heard 180 + The funeral dirge;--she sees the knot + Of people, sees them in one spot-- + And darting like a wounded bird + She reached the grave, and with her breast + Upon the ground received the rest,-- 185 + The consummation, the whole ruth + And sorrow of this final truth! + + + CANTO SEVENTH + + "Powers there are + That touch each other to the quick--in modes + Which the gross world no sense hath to perceive, + No soul to dream of."[OO] + + Thou Spirit, whose angelic hand + Was to the harp a strong command, + Called the submissive strings to wake + In glory for this Maiden's sake, + Say, Spirit! whither hath she fled 5 + To hide her poor afflicted head? + What mighty forest in its gloom + Enfolds her?--is a rifted tomb + Within the wilderness her seat? + Some island which the wild waves beat-- 10 + Is that the Sufferer's last retreat? + Or some aspiring rock, that shrouds + Its perilous front in mists and clouds? + High-climbing rock, low[175] sunless dale, + Sea, desert, what do these avail? 15 + Oh take her anguish and her fears + Into a deep[176] recess of years! + + 'Tis done;--despoil and desolation + O'er Rylstone's fair domain have blown;[PP] + Pools, terraces, and walks are sown[177] 20 + With weeds; the bowers are overthrown, + Or have given way to slow mutation, + While, in their ancient habitation + The Norton name hath been unknown. + The lordly Mansion of its pride 25 + Is stripped; the ravage hath spread wide + Through park and field, a perishing + That mocks the gladness of the Spring! + And, with this silent gloom agreeing, + Appears[178] a joyless human Being, 30 + Of aspect such as if the waste + Were under her dominion placed. + Upon a primrose bank, her throne + Of quietness, she sits alone; + [179]Among the ruins of a wood, 35 + Erewhile a covert bright and green, + And where full many a brave tree stood, + That used to spread its boughs, and ring + With the sweet bird's carolling. + Behold her, like a virgin Queen, 40 + Neglecting in imperial state + These outward images of fate, + And carrying inward a serene + And perfect sway, through many a thought + Of chance and change, that hath been brought 45 + To the subjection of a holy, + Though stern and rigorous, melancholy! + The like authority, with grace + Of awfulness, is in her face,-- + There hath she fixed it; yet it seems 50 + To o'ershadow by no native right + That face, which cannot lose the gleams, + Lose utterly the tender gleams, + Of gentleness and meek delight, + And loving-kindness ever bright: 55 + Such is her sovereign mien:--her dress + (A vest with woollen cincture tied, + A hood of mountain-wool undyed) + Is homely,--fashioned to express + A wandering Pilgrim's humbleness. 60 + + And she _hath_ wandered, long and far, + Beneath the light of sun and star; + Hath roamed in trouble and in grief, + Driven forward like a withered leaf, + Yea like a ship at random blown 65 + To distant places and unknown. + But now she dares to seek a haven + Among her native wilds of Craven; + Hath seen again her Father's roof, + And put her fortitude to proof; 70 + The mighty sorrow hath[180] been borne, + And she is thoroughly forlorn: + Her soul doth in itself stand fast, + Sustained by memory of the past + And strength of Reason; held above 75 + The infirmities of mortal love; + Undaunted, lofty, calm, and stable, + And awfully impenetrable. + + And so--beneath a mouldered tree, + A self-surviving leafless oak 80 + By unregarded age from stroke + Of ravage saved--sate Emily. + There did she rest, with head reclined, + Herself most like a stately flower, + (Such have I seen) whom chance of birth 85 + Hath separated from its kind, + To live and die in a shady bower, + Single on the gladsome earth. + + When, with a noise like distant thunder, + A troop of deer came sweeping by; 90 + And, suddenly, behold a wonder! + For One, among those rushing deer,[181] + A single One, in mid career + Hath stopped, and fixed her[182] large full eye + Upon the Lady Emily; 95 + A Doe most beautiful, clear-white, + A radiant creature, silver-bright! + + Thus checked, a little while it stayed; + A little thoughtful pause it made; + And then advanced with stealth-like pace, 100 + Drew softly near her, and more near-- + Looked round--but saw no cause for fear; + So to her feet the Creature came,[183] + And laid its head upon her knee, + And looked into the Lady's face, 105 + A look of pure benignity, + And fond unclouded memory. + It is, thought Emily, the same, + The very Doe of other years!-- + The pleading look the Lady viewed, 110 + And, by her gushing thoughts subdued, + She melted into tears-- + A flood of tears, that flowed apace, + Upon the happy Creature's face. + + Oh, moment ever blest! O Pair 115 + Beloved of Heaven, Heaven's chosen[184] care, + This was for you a precious greeting; + And may it prove a fruitful meeting![185] + Joined are they, and the sylvan Doe + Can she depart? can she forego 120 + The Lady, once her playful peer, + And now her sainted Mistress dear? + And will not Emily receive + This lovely chronicler of things + Long past, delights and sorrowings? 125 + Lone Sufferer! will not she believe + The promise in that speaking face; + And welcome, as a gift of grace,[186] + The saddest thought the Creature brings?[187] + + That day, the first of a re-union 130 + Which was to teem with high communion, + That day of balmy April weather, + They tarried in the wood together. + And when, ere fall of evening dew, + She from her[188] sylvan haunt withdrew, 135 + The White Doe tracked with faithful pace + The Lady to her dwelling-place; + That nook where, on paternal ground, + A habitation she had found, + The Master of whose humble board 140 + Once owned her Father for his Lord; + A hut, by tufted trees defended, + Where Rylstone brook with Wharf is blended.[QQ] + + When Emily by morning light + Went forth, the Doe stood there[189] in sight. 145 + She shrunk:--with one frail shock of pain + Received and followed by a prayer, + She saw the Creature once again;[190] + Shun will she not, she feels, will bear;-- + But, wheresoever she looked round, 150 + All now was trouble-haunted ground; + And therefore now she deems it good + Once more this restless neighbourhood[191] + To leave. Unwooed, yet unforbidden, + The White Doe followed up the vale, 155 + Up to another cottage, hidden + In the deep fork of Amerdale;[RR] + And there may Emily restore + Herself, in spots unseen before. + --Why tell of mossy rock, or tree, 160 + By lurking Dernbrook's pathless side,[SS] + Haunts of a strengthening amity + That calmed her, cheered, and fortified? + For she hath ventured now to read + Of time, and place, and thought, and deed-- 165 + Endless history that lies + In her silent Follower's eyes; + Who with a power like human reason + Discerns the favourable season, + Skilled to approach or to retire,-- 170 + From looks conceiving her desire; + From look, deportment, voice, or mien, + That vary to the heart within. + If she too passionately wreathed[192] + Her arms, or over-deeply breathed, 175 + Walked quick or slowly, every mood + In its degree was understood; + Then well may their accord be true, + And kindliest[193] intercourse ensue. + --Oh! surely 'twas a gentle rousing 180 + When she by sudden glimpse espied + The White Doe on the mountain browsing, + Or in the meadow wandered wide! + How pleased, when down the Straggler sank + Beside her, on some sunny bank! 185 + How soothed, when in thick bower enclosed, + They, like a nested pair, reposed! + Fair Vision! when it crossed the Maid + Within some rocky cavern laid, + The dark cave's portal gliding by, 190 + White as whitest[194] cloud on high + Floating through the[195] azure sky. + --What now is left for pain or fear? + That Presence, dearer and more dear, + While they, side by side, were straying, 195 + And the shepherd's pipe was playing, + Did now a very gladness yield + At morning to the dewy field,[196] + And with a deeper peace endued + The hour of moonlight solitude. 200 + + With her Companion, in such frame + Of mind, to Rylstone back she came; + And, ranging[197] through the wasted groves, + Received the memory of old loves, + Undisturbed and undistrest, 205 + Into a soul which now was blest + With a soft spring-day of holy, + Mild, and grateful, melancholy:[198] + Not sunless gloom or unenlightened, + But by tender fancies brightened. 210 + + When the bells of Rylstone played + Their sabbath music--"=God us ayde!="[TT] + That was the sound they seemed to speak; + Inscriptive legend which I ween + May on those holy bells be seen, 215 + That legend and her Grandsire's name; + And oftentimes the Lady meek + Had in her childhood read the same; + Words which she slighted at that day; + But now, when such sad change was wrought, 220 + And of that lonely name she thought, + The bells of Rylstone seemed to say, + While she sate listening in the shade, + With vocal music, "=God us ayde;=" + And all the hills were glad to bear 225 + Their part in this effectual prayer. + + Nor lacked she Reason's firmest power; + But with the White Doe at her side + Up would she climb to Norton Tower, + And thence look round her far and wide, 230 + Her fate there measuring;--all is stilled,-- + The weak One hath subdued her heart;[199] + Behold the prophecy fulfilled, + Fulfilled, and she sustains her part! + But here her Brother's words have failed; 235 + Here hath a milder doom prevailed; + That she, of him and all bereft, + Hath yet this faithful Partner left; + This one Associate[200] that disproves + His words, remains for her, and loves. 240 + If tears are shed, they do not fall + For loss of him--for one, or all; + Yet, sometimes, sometimes doth she weep + Moved gently in her soul's soft sleep; + A few tears down her cheek descend 245 + For this her last and living Friend. + + Bless, tender Hearts, their mutual lot, + And bless for both this savage spot; + Which Emily doth sacred hold + For reasons dear and manifold-- 250 + Here hath she, here before her sight, + Close to the summit of this height, + The grassy rock-encircled Pound[UU] + In which the Creature first was found. + So beautiful the timid Thrall 255 + (A spotless Youngling white as foam) + Her youngest Brother brought it home; + The youngest, then a lusty boy, + Bore it, or led, to Rylstone-hall + With heart brimful of pride and joy![201] 260 + + But most to Bolton's sacred Pile, + On favouring nights, she loved to go; + There ranged through cloister, court, and aisle, + Attended by the soft-paced Doe; + Nor feared she in the still moonshine[202] 265 + To look upon Saint Mary's shrine;[VV] + Nor on the lonely turf that showed + Where Francis slept in his last abode. + For that she came; there oft she sate + Forlorn, but not disconsolate:[203] 270 + And, when she from the abyss returned + Of thought, she neither shrunk nor mourned; + Was happy that she lived to greet + Her mute Companion as it lay + In love and pity at her feet; 275 + How happy in its[204] turn to meet + The[205] recognition! the mild glance + Beamed from that gracious countenance; + Communication, like the ray + Of a new morning, to the nature 280 + And prospects of the inferior Creature! + + A mortal Song we sing,[206] by dower + Encouraged of celestial power; + Power which the viewless Spirit shed + By whom we were first visited; 285 + Whose voice we heard, whose hand and wings + Swept like a breeze the conscious strings, + When, left in solitude, erewhile + We stood before this ruined Pile, + And, quitting unsubstantial dreams, 290 + Sang in this Presence kindred themes; + Distress and desolation spread + Through human hearts, and pleasure dead,-- + Dead--but to live again on earth, + A second and yet nobler birth; 295 + Dire overthrow, and yet how high + The re-ascent in sanctity! + From fair to fairer; day by day + A more divine and loftier way! + Even such this blessed Pilgrim trod, 300 + By sorrow lifted towards her God; + Uplifted to the purest sky + Of undisturbed mortality. + Her own thoughts loved she; and could bend + A dear look to her lowly Friend; 305 + There stopped; her thirst was satisfied + With what this innocent spring supplied: + Her sanction inwardly she bore, + And stood apart from human cares: + But to the world returned no more, 310 + Although with no unwilling mind + Help did she give at need, and joined + The Wharfdale peasants in their prayers. + At length, thus faintly, faintly tied + To earth, she was set free, and died. 315 + Thy soul, exalted Emily, + Maid of the blasted family, + Rose to the God from whom it came! + --In Rylstone Church her mortal frame + Was buried by her Mother's side. 320 + + Most glorious sunset! and a ray + Survives--the twilight of this day-- + In that fair Creature whom the fields + Support, and whom the forest shields; + Who, having filled a holy place, 325 + Partakes, in her degree, Heaven's grace; + And bears a memory and a mind + Raised far above the law of kind;[WW] + Haunting the spots with lonely cheer + Which her dear Mistress once held dear: 330 + Loves most what Emily loved most-- + The enclosure of this church-yard ground; + Here wanders like a gliding ghost, + And every sabbath here is found; + Comes with the people when the bells 335 + Are heard among the moorland dells, + Finds entrance through yon arch, where way + Lies open on the sabbath-day; + Here walks amid the mournful waste + Of prostrate altars, shrines defaced, 340 + And floors encumbered with rich show + Of fret-work imagery laid low; + Paces softly, or makes halt, + By fractured cell, or tomb, or vault; + By plate of monumental brass 345 + Dim-gleaming among weeds and grass, + And sculptured Forms of Warriors brave: + But chiefly by that single grave, + That one sequestered hillock green, + The pensive visitant is seen. 350 + There doth the gentle Creature lie + With those adversities unmoved; + Calm spectacle, by earth and sky + In their benignity approved! + And aye, methinks, this hoary Pile, 355 + Subdued by outrage and decay, + Looks down upon her with a smile, + A gracious smile, that seems to say-- + "Thou, thou art not a Child of Time, + But Daughter of the Eternal Prime!" 360 + + +The following is the full text of the first "note" to _The White Doe of +Rylstone_, published in the quarto edition of 1815. The other notes to +that edition are printed in this, at the foot of the pages where they +occur:-- + + "The Poem of _The White Doe of Rylstone_ is founded on a local + tradition, and on the Ballad in Percy's Collection, entitled _The + Rising of the North_. The tradition is as follows: 'About this + time,' not long after the Dissolution, 'a White Doe, say the aged + people of the neighbourhood, long continued to make a weekly + pilgrimage from Rylstone over the fells of Bolton, and was + constantly found in the Abbey Church-yard during divine service; + after the close of which she returned home as regularly as the + rest of the congregation.'--Dr. WHITAKER'S _History of the Deanery + of Craven_.--Rylstone was the property and residence of the + Nortons, distinguished in that ill-advised and unfortunate + Insurrection, which led me to connect with this tradition the + principal circumstances of their fate, as recorded in the Ballad + which I have thought it proper to annex. + + _The Rising in the North._ + + "The subject of this ballad is the great Northern Insurrection in + the 12th year of Elizabeth, 1569, which proved so fatal to Thomas + Percy, the seventh Earl of Northumberland. + + "There had not long before been a secret negociation entered into + between some of the Scottish and English nobility, to bring about + a marriage between Mary Q. of Scots, at that time a prisoner in + England, and the Duke of Norfolk, a nobleman of excellent + character. This match was proposed to all the most considerable of + the English nobility, and among the rest to the Earls of + Northumberland and Westmoreland, two noblemen very powerful in the + North. As it seemed to promise a speedy and safe conclusion of the + troubles in Scotland, with many advantages to the crown of + England, they all consented to it, provided it should prove + agreeable to Queen Elizabeth. The Earl of Leicester (Elizabeth's + favourite) undertook to break the matter to her, but before he + could find an opportunity, the affair had come to her ears by + other hands, and she was thrown into a violent flame. The Duke of + Norfolk, with several of his friends, was committed to the Tower, + and summons were sent to the Northern Earls instantly to make + their appearance at court. It is said that the Earl of + Northumberland, who was a man of a mild and gentle nature,[XX] was + deliberating with himself whether he should not obey the message, + and rely upon the Queen's candour and clemency, when he was forced + into desperate measures by a sudden report at midnight, Nov. 14, + that a party of his enemies were come to seize his person. The + Earl was then at his house at Topcliffe in Yorkshire. When, rising + hastily out of bed, he withdrew to the Earl of Westmoreland at + Brancepeth, where the country came in to them, and pressed them to + take up arms in their own defence. They accordingly set up their + standards, declaring their intent was to restore the ancient + Religion, to get the succession of the crown firmly settled, and + to prevent the destruction of the ancient nobility, etc. Their + common banner (on which was displayed the cross, together with the + five wounds of Christ) was borne by an ancient gentleman, Richard + Norton, Esquire, who, with his sons (among whom, Christopher, + Marmaduke, and Thomas, are expressly named by Camden), + distinguished himself on this occasion. Having entered Durham, + they tore the Bible, etc., and caused mass to be said there; they + then marched on to Clifford-moor near Wetherby, where they + mustered their men.... The two Earls, who spent their large + estates in hospitality, and were extremely beloved on that + account, were masters of little ready money; the E. of + Northumberland bringing with him only 8000 crowns, and the E. of + Westmoreland nothing at all, for the subsistence of their forces, + they were not able to march to London, as they had at first + intended. In these circumstances, Westmoreland began so visibly to + despond, that many of his men slunk away, though Northumberland + still kept up his resolution, and was master of the field till + December 13, when the Earl of Sussex, accompanied with Lord + Hunsden and others, having marched out of York at the head of a + large body of forces, and being followed by a still larger army + under the command of Ambrose Dudley, Earl of Warwick, the + insurgents retreated northward towards the borders, and there + dismissing their followers, made their escape into Scotland. + Though this insurrection had been suppressed with so little + bloodshed, the Earl of Sussex and Sir George Bowes, marshal of the + army, put vast numbers to death by martial law, without any + regular trial. The former of these caused at Durham sixty-three + constables to be hanged at once. And the latter made his boast, + that for sixty miles in length, and forty in breadth, betwixt + Newcastle and Wetherby, there was hardly a town or village wherein + he had not executed some of the inhabitants. This exceeds the + cruelties practised in the West after Monmouth's rebellion. + + "Such is the account collected from Stow, Speed, Camden, Guthrie, + Carte, and Rapin; it agrees, in most particulars, with the + following Ballad, apparently the production of some northern + minstrel.-- + + + "Listen, lively lordings all, + Lithe and listen unto mee, + And I will sing of a noble earle, + The noblest earle in the north countrie. + + Earle Percy is into his garden gone, + And after him walks his fair leddie: + I heard a bird sing in mine ear, + That I must either fight, or flee. + + Now heaven forefend, my dearest lord, + That ever such harm should hap to thee: + But goe to London to the court, + And fair fall truth and honestie. + + Now nay, now nay, my ladye gay, + Alas! thy counsell suits not mee; + Mine enemies prevail so fast, + That at the court I may not bee. + + O goe to the court yet, good my lord, + And take thy gallant men with thee; + If any dare to do you wrong, + Then your warrant they may bee. + + Now nay, now nay, thou ladye faire, + The court is full of subtiltie: + And if I goe to the court, ladye, + Never more I may thee see. + + Yet goe to the court, my lord, she sayes, + And I myselfe will ryde wi' thee: + At court then for my dearest lord, + His faithful borrowe I will bee. + + Now nay, now nay, my ladye deare; + Far lever had I lose my life, + Than leave among my cruell foes + My love in jeopardy and strife. + + But come thou hither, my little foot-page, + Come thou hither unto mee, + To Maister Norton thou must goe + In all the haste that ever may bee. + + Commend me to that gentleman, + And beare this letter here fro mee; + And say that earnestly I praye, + He will ryde in my companie. + + One while the little foot-page went, + And another while he ran; + Untill he came to his journey's end, + The little foot-page never blan. + + When to that gentleman he came, + Down he kneeled on his knee; + And took the letter betwixt his hands, + And lett the gentleman it see. + + And when the letter it was redd, + Affore that goodlye companie, + I wis if you the truthe wold know, + There was many a weeping eye. + + He sayd, Come thither, Christopher Norton, + A gallant youth thou seem'st to bee; + What dost thou counsell me, my sonne, + Now that good earle's in jeopardy? + + Father, my counselle's fair and free; + That erle he is a noble lord, + And whatsoever to him you hight, + I would not have you breake your word. + + Gramercy, Christopher, my sonne, + Thy counsell well it liketh mee, + And if we speed and 'scape with life, + Well advanced shalt thou bee. + + Come you hither, my nine good sonnes, + Gallant men I trowe you bee: + How many of you, my children deare, + Will stand by that good erle and mee? + + Eight of them did answer make, + Eight of them spake hastilie, + O Father, till the day we dye + We'll stand by that good erle and thee. + + Gramercy, now, my children deare, + You shew yourselves right bold and brave, + And whethersoe'er I live or dye, + A father's blessing you shall have. + + But what say'st thou, O Francis Norton, + Thou art mine eldest sonne and heire: + Somewhat lies brooding in thy breast; + Whatever it bee, to mee declare. + + Father, you are an aged man, + Your head is white, your beard is gray; + It were a shame at these your years + For you to ryse in such a fray. + + Now fye upon thee, coward Francis, + Thou never learned'st this of mee; + When thou wert young and tender of age, + Why did I make soe much of thee? + + But, father, I will wend with you, + Unarm'd and naked will I bee; + And he that strikes against the crowne, + Ever an ill death may he dee. + + Then rose that reverend gentleman, + And with him came a goodlye band + To join with the brave Earle Percy, + And all the flower o' Northumberland. + + With them the noble Nevill came, + The erle of Westmoreland was hee; + At Wetherbye they mustered their host, + Thirteen thousand fair to see. + + Lord Westmorland his ancyent raisde, + The Dun Bull he rays'd on hye, + And three Dogs with golden collars + Were there set out most royallye. + + Erle Percy there his ancyent spread, + The Halfe Moone shining all soe faire; + The Nortons ancyent had the Crosse, + And the five wounds our Lord did beare. + + Then Sir George Bowes he straitwaye rose, + After them some spoile to make: + Those noble erles turned back againe, + And aye they vowed that knight to take. + + That baron he to his castle fled, + To Barnard castle then fled hee. + The uttermost walles were eathe to win. + The earles have wonne them presentlie. + + The uttermost walles were lime and bricke; + But though they won them soon anone, + Long ere they wan their innermost walles, + For they were cut in rocke and stone. + + Then news unto leeve London came + In all the speed that ever might bee, + And word is brought to our royall queene + Of the rysing in the North countrie. + + Her grace she turned her round about, + And like a royall queene shee swore, + I will ordayne them such a breakfast, + As never was in the North before. + + Shee caused thirty thousand men be rays'd, + With horse and harneis faire to see; + She caused thirty thousand men be raised + To take the earles i' th' North countrie. + + Wi' them the false Erle Warwicke went, + The Erle Sussex and the Lord Hunsden, + Untill they to York castle came + I wiss they never stint ne blan. + + Now spred thy ancyent, Westmoreland, + Thy dun Bull faine would we spye: + And thou, the Erle of Northumberland, + Now rayse thy Halfe Moone on hye. + + But the dun bulle is fled and gone, + And the halfe moone vanished away: + The Erles, though they were brave and bold, + Against soe many could not stay. + + Thee, Norton, wi' thine eight good sonnes, + They doomed to dye, alas! for ruth! + Thy reverend lockes thee could not save, + Nor them their faire and blooming youthe. + + Wi' them full many a gallant wight + They cruellye bereav'd of life: + And many a child made fatherlesse, + And widowed many a tender wife. + + + "'Bolton Priory,' says Dr. Whitaker in his excellent book--_The + History and Antiquities of the Deanery of Craven_--'stands upon a + beautiful curvature of the Wharf, on a level sufficiently elevated + to protect it from inundations, and low enough for every purpose + of picturesque effect. + + "'Opposite to the East window of the Priory Church, the river + washes the foot of a rock nearly perpendicular, and of the richest + purple, where several of the mineral beds, which break out, + instead of maintaining their usual inclination to the horizon, are + twisted by some inconceivable process, into undulating and spiral + lines. To the South all is soft and delicious; the eye reposes + upon a few rich pastures, a moderate reach of the river, + sufficiently tranquil to form a mirror to the sun, and the + bounding hills beyond, neither too near nor too lofty to exclude, + even in winter, any portion of his rays. + + "'But, after all, the glories of Bolton are on the North. Whatever + the most fastidious taste could require to constitute a perfect + landscape is not only found here, but in its proper place. In + front, and immediately under the eye, is a smooth expanse of + park-like enclosure, spotted with native elm, ash, etc. of the + finest growth: on the right a skirting oak wood, with jutting + points of grey rock; on the left a rising copse. Still forward are + seen the aged groves of Bolton Park, the growth of centuries; and + farther yet, the barren and rocky distances of Simon-seat and + Barden Fell contrasted with the warmth, fertility, and luxuriant + foliage of the valley below. + + "'About half a mile above Bolton the Valley closes, and either + side of the Wharf is overhung by solemn woods, from which huge + perpendicular masses of grey rock jut out at intervals. + + "'This sequestered scene was almost inaccessible till of late, + that ridings have been cut on both sides of the River, and the + most interesting points laid open by judicious thinnings in the + woods. Here a tributary stream rushes from a waterfall, and bursts + through a woody glen to mingle its waters with the Wharf: there + the Wharf itself is nearly lost in a deep cleft in the rock, and + next becomes a horned flood enclosing a woody island--sometimes it + reposes for a moment, and then resumes its native character, + lively, irregular, and impetuous. + + "'The cleft mentioned above is the tremendous STRID. This chasm, + being incapable of receiving the winter floods, has formed, on + either side, a broad strand of naked gritstone full of + rock-basons, or "pots of the Linn," which bear witness to the + restless impetuosity of so many Northern torrents. But, if here + Wharf is lost to the eye, it amply repays another sense by its + deep and solemn roar, like "the Voice of the angry Spirit of the + Waters," heard far above and beneath, amidst the silence of the + surrounding woods. + + "'The terminating object of the landscape is the remains of Barden + Tower, interesting from their form and situation, and still more + so from the recollections which they excite.'" + + * * * * * + +_The White Doe of Rylstone_ has been assigned chronologically to the +year 1808; although part of it--probably the larger half--was written +during the autumn of the previous year, and it remained unfinished in +1810, while the Dedication was not written till 1815. In the Fenwick +note, Wordsworth tells us that the "earlier half" was written at +Stockton-on-Tees "at the close" of 1807, and "proceeded with" at Dove +Cottage, after his return to Grasmere, which was in April 1808. But on +the 28th February, 1810, Dorothy Wordsworth, writing from Allan Bank to +Lady Beaumont, says, "Before my brother turns to any other labour, I +hope he will have finished three books of _The Recluse_. He seldom +writes less than 50 lines every day. After this task is finished he +hopes to complete _The White Doe_, and proud should we all be if it +should be honoured by a frontispiece from the pencil of Sir George +Beaumont. Perhaps this is not impossible, if you come into the north +next summer." + +A frontispiece was drawn by Sir George Beaumont for the quarto edition +of 1815. + +When part of the poem was finished, Wordsworth showed it to Southey; and +Southey, writing to Walter Scott, in February 1808, said,-- + + "Wordsworth has just completed a most masterly poem upon the fate + of the Nortons; two or three lines in the old ballad of _The + Rising of the North_ gave him the hint. The story affected me more + deeply than I wish to be affected; younger readers, however, will + not object to the depth of the distress, and nothing was ever more + ably treated. He is looking, too, for a narrative subject, pitched + in a lower key." + +One of the most interesting letters of S. T. Coleridge to Wordsworth is +an undated one, sent from London in the spring of 1808, containing a +characteristic criticism of _The White Doe_. The Wordsworth family had +asked Coleridge to discuss the subject of the publication of the poem +with the Longmans' firm. It is more than probable that it was +Coleridge's criticism of the structural defects in the poem, that led +Wordsworth to postpone its publication. The following is part of the +letter:-- + + "... In my reperusals of the poem, it seemed always to strike on + my feeling as well as judgment, that if there were any serious + defect, it consisted in a disproportion of the Accidents to the + spiritual Incidents; and, closely connected with this,--if it be + not indeed the same,--that Emily is indeed talked of, and once + appears, but neither speaks nor acts, in all the first + three-fourths of the poem. Then, as the outward interest of the + poem is in favour of the old man's religious feelings, and the + filial heroism of his band of sons, it seemed to require something + in order to place the two protestant malcontents of the family in + a light that made them beautiful as well as virtuous. In short, to + express it far more strongly than I mean or think, in order (in + the present anguish of my spirits) to be able to express it at + all, that three-fourths of the work is everything rather _than_ + Emily; and then, the last--almost a separate and doubtless an + exquisite poem--wholly _of_ Emily. The whole of the rest, and the + delivering up of the family by Francis, I never ceased to find, + not only comparatively heavy, but to me quite obscure as to + Francis's motives. On the few, to whom, within my acquaintance, + the poem has been read, either by yourself or me (I have, I + believe, read it only at the Beaumonts'), it produced the same + effect. + + "Now I have conceived two little incidents, the introduction of + which, joined to a little abridgment, and lyrical precipitation of + the last half of the third, I had thought would have removed this + defect, so seeming to me, and bring to a finer balance the + _business_ with the _action_ of the tale. But after my receipt of + your letter, concerning Lamb's censures, I felt my courage fail, + and that what I deemed a harmonizing would disgust you as a + _materialization_ of the plan, and appear to you like + insensibility to the power of the history in the mind. Not that I + should have shrunk back from the mere fear of giving transient + pain, and a temporary offence, from the want of sympathy of + feeling and coincidence of opinions. I rather envy than blame that + deep interest in a production, which is inevitable perhaps, and + certainly not dishonourable to such as feel poetry their calling + and their duty, and which no man would find much fault with if the + object, instead of a poem, were a large estate or a title. It + appears to me to become a foible only when the poet denies, or is + unconscious of its existence, but I did not deem myself in such a + state of mind as to entitle me to rely on my own opinion when + opposed to yours, from the heat and bustle of these disgusting + lectures." + + . . . . . + + "From most of these causes I was suffering, so as not to allow me + any rational confidence in my opinions when contrary to yours, + which had been formed in calmness and on long reflection. Then I + received your sister's letter, stating the wish that I would give + up the thought of proposing the means of correction, and merely + point out the things to be corrected, which--as they could be of + no great consequence--you might do in a day or two, and the + publication of the poem--for the immediacy of which she expressed + great anxiety--be no longer retarded. The merely verbal + _alteranda_ did appear to me very few and trifling. From your + letter on L----, I concluded that you would not have the incidents + and action interfered with, and therefore I sent it off; but soon + retracted it, in order to note down the single words and phrases + that I disliked in the books, after the two first, as there would + be time to receive your opinion of them during the printing of the + two first, in which I saw nothing amiss, except the one passage we + altered together, and the two lines which I scratched out, because + you yourself were doubtful. Mrs. Shepherd told me that she had + felt them exactly as I did--namely, as interrupting the spirit of + the continuous tranquil motion of _The White Doe_." + +It will be seen from this letter that Wordsworth had gone over the poem +with Coleridge, and that they had altered some passages "together"; that +Coleridge had read a copy of it sent to the Beaumonts, doubtless at +Dunmow in Essex; that he had thought of a plan by which the poem could +be immensely improved, both by addition and subtraction; but that +hearing from Wordsworth, or more probably from his sister Dorothy, that +Charles Lamb had also criticised its structure, he gave up his intention +of sending to his friend suggestions, which evidently implied a radical +alteration of "the incidents and action" of the tale. It would have been +extremely interesting to know how the author of _Christabel_ and _The +Ancient Mariner_ proposed to recast _The White Doe of Rylstone_. It is, +alas! impossible for posterity to know this, although it is not +difficult to conjecture the line which the alterations would take. +Wordsworth's genius was not great in construction, as in imagination; +and he valued a story only as giving him a "point of departure" for a +flight of fancy or of idealization. Early in 1808 he wrote to Walter +Scott asking him for facts about the Norton family. Scott supplied him +with them, and the following was Wordsworth's reply. + + "GRASMERE, May 14, 1808. + + "MY DEAR SCOTT--Thank you for the interesting particulars about + the Nortons. I like them much for their own sakes; but so far from + being serviceable to my poem, they would stand in the way of it, + as I have followed (as I was in duty bound to do) the traditionary + and common historic account. Therefore I shall say, in this case, + a plague upon your industrious antiquarians, that have put my fine + story to confusion." + +From the "advertisement" which Wordsworth prefixed to his edition of +1815, I infer that the larger part of the poem was written at Stockton. +In it he says that "the Poem of _The White Doe_ was composed at the +close of the year" (1807). This is an illustration of the vague manner +in which he was in the habit of assigning dates. The Fenwick note, and +the evidence of his sister's letter, is conclusive; although the fact +that _The Force of Prayer_--written in 1807--is called in the Fenwick +note "an appendage to _The White Doe_," is further confirmation of the +belief that the principal part of the latter poem was finished in 1807. +All things considered, _The White Doe of Rylstone_ may be most +conveniently placed after the poems belonging to the year 1807, and +before those known to have been written in 1808; while _The Force of +Prayer_ naturally follows it. + +The poem--first published in quarto in 1815--was scarcely altered in the +editions of 1820, 1827, and 1832. In 1837, however, it was revised +throughout, and in that year the text was virtually settled; the +subsequent changes being few and insignificant, while those introduced +in 1837 were numerous and important. A glance at the foot-notes will +show that many passages were entirely rewritten in that year, and that a +good many lines of the earlier text were altogether omitted. All the +poems were subjected to minute revision in 1836-37; but few, if any, +were more thoroughly recast, and improved, in that year than _The White +Doe of Rylstone_. As a sample of the best kind of changes--where a new +thought was added to the earlier text with admirable felicity--compare +the lines in canto vii., as it stood in 1815, when the Lady Emily first +saw the White Doe at the old Hall of Rylstone, after her terrible losses +and desolation-- + + Lone Sufferer! will not she believe + The promise in that speaking face, + And take this gift of Heaven with grace? + +with the additional thought conveyed in the version of 1837-- + + Lone Sufferer! will not she believe + The promise in that speaking face; + And welcome, as a gift of grace, + The saddest thought the Creature brings? + +In the "Reminiscences" of Wordsworth--written by the Hon. Mr. Justice +Coleridge for the late Bishop of Lincoln's _Memoirs_ of his uncle--the +following occurs. (See vol. ii. p. 311.) "His conversation was on +critical subjects, arising out of his attempts to alter his poems. He +said he considered _The White Doe_ as, in conception, the highest work +he had ever produced. The mere physical action was all unsuccessful: but +the true action of the poem was spiritual--the subduing of the will, and +all inferior fancies, to the perfect purifying and spiritualizing of the +intellectual nature; while the Doe, by connection with Emily, is raised +as it were from its mere animal nature into something mysterious and +saint-like. He said he should devote much labour to perfecting the +execution of it in the mere business parts, in which, from anxiety 'to +get on' with the more important parts, he was sensible that +imperfections had crept in which gave the style a feebleness of +character." + +From this conversation--which took place in 1836--it will be seen that +Wordsworth knew very well that there were feeble passages in the earlier +editions; and that, in the thorough revision which he gave to all his +poems in 1836-37, this one was specially singled out for "much labour." +The result is seen by a glance at the changes of the text. + +The notes appended by Wordsworth to the edition of 1815 explain some of +the historical and topographical allusions in the poem. To these the +following editorial notes may be added-- + + + I. (See pp. 106, 107.) + + _... Bolton's mouldering Priory._ + ... + _... the tower + Is standing with a voice of power,_ + ... + _And in the shattered fabric's heart + Remaineth one protected part; + A Chapel, like a wild-bird's nest, + Closely embowered and trimly drest._ + +In 1153, the canons of the Augustinian Priory at Embsay, near Skipton, +were removed to Bolton, by William Fitz Duncan, and his wife, Cecilia de +Romille, who granted it by charter in exchange for the Manors of Skibdem +and Stretton. The establishment at Bolton consisted of a prior and about +15 canons, over 200 persons (including servants and lay brethren) being +supported at Bolton. During the Scottish raids of the fourteenth +century, the prior and canons had frequently to retreat to Skipton for +safety. In 1542 the site of the priory and demesnes were sold to Harry +Clifford, first Earl of Cumberland. From the last Earl of Cumberland it +passed to the second Earl of Cork, and then to the Devonshire family, to +which it still belongs. The following is part of the excellent account +of the Priory, given in Murray's _Yorkshire_:-- + + "The chief relic of the Priory is the church, the nave of which + after the Dissolution was retained as the chapel of this so-called + 'Saxon-Cure.' This nave remains perfect, but the rest of the + church is in complete ruin. The lower walls of the choir are + Trans-Norman, and must have been built immediately after (if not + before) the removal from Embsay. The upper walls and windows (the + tracery of which is destroyed) are decorated. The nave is early + English, and decorated; and the original west front remains with + an elaborate Perpendicular front of excellent design, intended as + the base of a western tower, which was never finished.... The nave + (which has been restored under the direction of Crace)--the + + "'One protected part + In the shattered fabric's heart,' + + is Early English on the south side, and Decorated on the north.... + At the end of the nave aisle, enclosed by a Perpendicular screen, + is a chantry, founded by the Mauleverers; and below it is the + vault, in which, according to tradition, the Claphams of Beamsley + and their ancestors the Mauleverers were interred upright-- + + "'Pass, pass who will, yon chantry door; + And, through the chink in the fractured floor + Look down, and see a griesly sight; + A vault where the bodies are buried upright! + There, face by face, and hand by hand, + The Claphams and Mauleverers stand.' + + "Whitaker, however, could never see this 'griesly sight' through + the chink in the floor; and it is perhaps altogether traditional. + The ruined portion of the church is entirely Decorated, with the + exception of the lower walls of the choir. The transepts had + eastern aisles. The north transept is nearly perfect: the south + retains only its western wall, in which are two decorated windows. + The piers of a central tower remain; but at what period it was + destroyed, or if it was ever completed, is uncertain. The choir is + long and aisleless. Some fragments of tracery remain in the south + window, which was a very fine one. Below the window runs a + Transitional Norman arcade. Some portions of tomb-slabs remain in + the choir.... The church-yard lies on the north side of the ruins. + This has been made classic ground by Wordsworth's poem." + + + II. (See p. 118.) + + _... the shy recess + Of Barden's lowly quietness._ + +Compare the poem _The Force of Prayer, or the Founding of Bolton +Priory_, p. 204. Whitaker writes thus of the district of Upper +Wharfedale at Barden. "Grey tower-like projections of rock, stained with +the various hues of lichens, and hung with loose and streaming canopies +of ling, start out at intervals." Before the restoration of Henry +Clifford, the Shepherd-lord, to the estates of his ancestors--on the +accession of Henry VII.--there was only a keeper's lodge or tower at +Barden, "one of six which existed in different parts of Barden Forest. +The Shepherd-lord, whose early life among the Cumberland Fells led him +to seek quiet and retirement after his restoration, preferred Barden to +his greater castles, and enlarged (or rather rebuilt) it so as to +provide accommodation for a moderate train of attendants." + + + III. (See p. 121.) + + _It was the time when England's Queen + Twelve years had reigned, a Sovereign dread;_ + ... + _But now the inly-working North + Was ripe to send its thousands forth, + A potent vassalage, to fight + In Percy's and in Neville's right_, etc. + +The circumstances which led to the Rising in the North, and the chief +incidents of that unfortunate episode in English history, are traced in +detail by Mr. Froude, in the fifty-third chapter of his _History of +England_. They are also summarized, in a lecture on _The White Doe of +Rylstone_, by the late Principal Shairp, in his _Aspects of Poetry_, +from which the following passage is an extract (pp. 346-48). + + "The incidents on which the _White Doe_ is founded belong to the + year 1569, the twelfth of Queen Elizabeth. + + "It is well known that as soon as Queen Mary of Scotland was + imprisoned in England, she became the centre around which gathered + all the intrigues which were then on foot, not only in England but + throughout Catholic Europe, to dethrone the Protestant Queen + Elizabeth. Abroad, the Catholic world was collecting all its + strength to crush the heretical island. The bigot Pope, Pius V., + with the dark intriguer, Philip II. of Spain, and the savage Duke + of Alva, were ready to pour their forces on the shores of England. + + "At home, a secret negotiation for a marriage between Queen Mary + and the Duke of Norfolk had received the approval of many of the + chief English nobles. The Queen discovered the plot, threw Norfolk + and some of his friends into the Tower, and summoned Percy, Earl + of Northumberland, and Neville, Earl of Westmoreland, immediately + to appear at court. These two earls were known to be holding + secret communications with Mary, and longing to see the old faith + restored. + + "On receiving the summons, Northumberland at once withdrew to + Brancepeth Castle, a stronghold of the Earl of Westmoreland. + Straightway all their vassals rose, and gathered round the two + great earls. The whole of the North was in arms. A proclamation + went forth that they intended to restore the ancient religion, to + settle the succession to the crown, and to prevent the destruction + of the old nobility. As they marched forward they were joined by + all the strength of the Yorkshire dales, and, among others, by a + gentleman of ancient name, Richard Norton, accompanied by eight + brave sons. He came bearing the common banner, called the Banner + of the Five Wounds, because on it was displayed the Cross with the + five wounds of our Lord. The insurgents entered Durham, tore the + Bible, caused mass to be said in the cathedral, and then set + forward as for York. Changing their purpose on the way, they + turned aside to lay siege to Barnard Castle, which was held by Sir + George Bowes for the Queen. While they lingered there for eleven + days, Sussex marched against them from York, and the earls, losing + heart, retired towards the Border, and disbanded their forces, + which were left to the vengeance of the enemy, while they + themselves sought refuge in Scotland. Northumberland, after a + confinement of several years in Loch Leven Castle, was betrayed by + the Scots to the English, and put to death. Westmoreland died an + exile in Flanders, the last of the ancient house of the Nevilles, + earls of Westmoreland. Norton, with his eight sons, fell into the + hands of Sussex, and all suffered death at York. It is the fate of + this ancient family on which Wordsworth's poem is founded." + +This statement as to the fate of Norton's sons, however, is not borne +out by the historians. Mr. Froude says (_History of England_, chap. 53), +"Two sons of old Norton and two of his brothers, after long and close +cross-questioning in the Tower, were tried and convicted at Westminster. +Two of these Nortons were afterwards pardoned. Two, one of whom was +Christopher, the poor youth who had been bewildered by the fair eyes of +the Queen of Scots at Bolton, were put to death at Tyburn, with the +usual cruelties." + + + IV. (See p. 127.) + + _For we must fall, both we and ours-- + This Mansion and these pleasant bowers, + Walks, pools, and arbours, homestead, hall-- + Our fate is theirs, will reach them all._ + +Little now remains of Rylstone Hall but the site. "Some garden flowers +still, as when Whitaker wrote, mark the site of the pleasaunce. The +house fell into decay immediately after the attainder of the Nortons; +and, with the estates here, remained in the hands of the Crown until the +second year of James I., when they were granted to the Earl of +Cumberland. Although Wordsworth makes the Nortons raise their famous +banner here, they assembled their followers in fact at Ripon (November +18, 1569), but their Rylstone tenants rose with them." + + + V. (See p. 137.) + + _Until Lord Dacre with his power + From Naworth come; and Howard's aid + Be with them openly displayed._ + +Naworth Castle, at the head of the vale of Llanercort, in the Gilsland +district of Cumberland, was the seat of the Dacres from the reign of +Edward III. George, Lord Dacre, the last heir-male of that family, was +killed in 1559; and Lord William Howard (the third son of Thomas, Duke +of Norfolk), who was made Warden of the Borders by Queen Elizabeth, and +did much to introduce order and good government into the district, +married the heiress of the Dacre family, and succeeded to the castle and +estate of Naworth. The arms over the entrance of the castle are the +Howard's and Dacre's quartered. + + + VI. (See p. 137.) + + _... mitred Thurston--what a Host + He conquered!..._ + _... while to battle moved + The Standard, on the Sacred Wain + That bore it...._ + +The Battle of the Standard was fought in 1137. + + "One gleam of national glory broke the darkness of the time. King + David of Scotland stood first among the partizans of his kinswoman + Matilda, and on the accession of Stephen his army crossed the + border to enforce her claim. The pillage and cruelties of the wild + tribes of Galloway and the Highlands roused the spirit of the + north; baron and freeman gathered at York round Archbishop + Thurstan, and marched to the field of Northallerton to await the + foe. The sacred banners of St. Cuthbert of Durham, St. Peter of + York, St. John of Beverley, and St. Wilfrid of Ripon, hung from a + pole fixed in a four-wheeled car, which stood in the centre of the + host. 'I who wear no armour,' shouted the chief of the Galwegians, + 'will go as far this day as any one with breastplate of mail;' his + men charged with wild shouts of 'Albin, Albin,' and were followed + by the Norman knighthood of the Lowlands. The rout, however, was + complete; the fierce hordes dashed in vain against the close + English ranks around the Standard, and the whole army fled in + confusion to Carlisle." (J. R. Green's _Short History of the + English People_, p. 99.) + + + VII. (See p. 153.) + + _High on a point of rugged ground + Among the wastes of Rylstone Fell + Above the loftiest ridge or mound + Where foresters or shepherds dwell, + An edifice of warlike frame + Stands single--Norton Tower its name-- + It fronts all quarters, and looks round + O'er path and road, and plain and dell, + Dark moor, and gleam of pool and stream + Upon a prospect without bound._ + + "Some mounds near the tower are thought to have been used as butts + for archers; and there are traces of a strong wall, running from + the tower to the edge of a deep glen, whence a ditch runs to + another ravine. This was once a pond, used by the Nortons for + detaining the red deer within the township of Rylstone, which they + asserted was not within the forest of Skipton, and consequently + that the Cliffords had no right to hunt therein. The Cliffords + eventually became lords of all the Norton lands here." + + * * * * * + +In January 1816, Wordsworth wrote thus to his friend Archdeacon +Wrangham. + + "Of _The White Doe_ I have little to say, but that I hope it will + be acceptable to the intelligent, for whom alone it is written. It + starts from a high point of imagination, and comes round, through + various wanderings of that faculty, to a still higher--nothing + less than the apotheosis of the animal who gives the first of the + two titles to the poem. And as the poem thus begins and ends with + pure and lofty imagination, every motive and impetus that actuates + the persons introduced is from the same source; a kindred spirit + pervades, and is intended to harmonise, the whole. Throughout + objects (the banner, for instance) derive their influence, not + from properties inherent in them, not from what they _are_ + actually in themselves, but from such as are _bestowed_ upon them + by the minds of those who are conversant with, or affected by, + these objects. Thus the poetry, if there be any in the work, + proceeds, as it ought to do, from the _soul of man_, communicating + its creative energies to the images of the external world." + +The following is from a letter to Southey in the same year:--"Do you +know who reviewed _The White Doe_ in the 'Quarterly'? After having +asserted that Mr. W. uses his words without any regard to their sense, +the writer says that on no other principle can he explain that Emily is +_always_ called 'the consecrated Emily.' Now, the name Emily occurs just +fifteen times in the poem; and out of these fifteen, the epithet is +attached to it _once_, and that for the express purpose of recalling the +scene in which she had been consecrated by her brother's solemn +adjuration, that she would fulfil her destiny, and become a soul, + + "'By force of sorrows high + Uplifted to the purest sky + Of undisturbed mortality.' + +The point upon which the whole moral interest of the piece hinges, when +that speech is closed, occurs in this line,-- + + "'He kissed the consecrated Maid;' + +And to bring back this to the reader, I repeated the epithet." + +In a letter to Wordsworth about _The Waggoner_, Charles Lamb wrote, June +7, 1819, "I re-read _The White Doe of Rylstone_; the title should be +always written at length, as Mary Sabilla Novello, a very nice woman of +our acquaintance, always signs hers at the bottom of the shortest +note.... Manning had just sent it home, and it came as fresh to me as +the immortal creature it speaks of. M. sent it home with a note, having +this passage in it: 'I cannot help writing to you while I am reading +Wordsworth's poem.... 'Tis broad, noble, poetical, with a masterly +scanning of human actions, absolutely above common readers.'" (See _The +Letters of Charles Lamb_, edited by Alfred Ainger, vol. ii. pp. 25, 26.) + +Henry Crabb Robinson's judgment, as given in his _Diary_, June 1815, is +interesting. (See vol. i. p. 484.) + +The following is from Principal Shairp's estimate of _The White Doe of +Rylstone_ in his Oxford Lectures, _Aspects of Poetry_ (chapter xii. pp. +373-76). "What is it that gives to it" (the poem) "its chief power and +charm? Is it not the imaginative use which the poet has made of the +White Doe? With her appearance the poem opens, with her re-appearance it +closes. And the passages in which she is introduced are radiant with the +purest light of poetry. A mere floating tradition she was, which the +historian of Craven had preserved. How much does the poet bring out of +how little! It was a high stroke of genius to seize on this slight +traditionary incident, and make it the organ of so much. What were the +objects which he had to describe and blend into one harmonious whole. +They were these: + +"1. The last expiring gleam of feudal chivalry, ending in the ruin of an +ancient race, and the desolation of an ancestral home. + +"2. The sole survivor, purified and exalted by the sufferings she had to +undergo. + +"3. The pathos of the decaying sanctities of Bolton, after wrong and +outrage, abandoned to the healing of nature and time. + +"4. Lastly, the beautiful scenery of pastoral Wharfdale, and of the +fells around Bolton, which blend so well with these affecting memories. + +"All these were before him--they had melted into his imagination, and +waited to be woven into one harmonious creation. He takes the White Doe, +and makes her the exponent, the symbol, the embodiment of them all. The +one central aim--to represent the beatification of the heroine--how was +this to be attained? Had it been a drama, the poet would have made the +heroine give forth in speeches, her hidden mind and character. But this +was a romantic narrative. Was the poet to make her soliloquise, analyse +her own feelings, lay bare her heart in metaphysical monologue? This +might have been done by some modern poets, but it was not Wordsworth's +way of exhibiting character, reflective though he was. When he analyses +feelings they are generally his own, not those of his characters. To +shadow forth that which is invisible, the sanctity of Emily's chastened +soul, he lays hold of this sensible image--a creature, the purest, most +innocent, most beautiful in the whole realm of nature--and makes her the +vehicle in which he embodies the saintliness which is a thing invisible. +It is the hardest of all tasks to make spiritual things sensuous, +without degrading them. I know not where this difficulty has been more +happily met; for we are made to feel that, before the poem closes, the +Doe has ceased to be a mere animal, or a physical creature at all, but +in the light of the poet's imagination, has been transfigured into a +heavenly apparition--a type of all that is pure, and affecting, and +saintly. And not only the chastened soul of her mistress, but the +beautiful Priory of Bolton, the whole Vale of Wharfe, and all the +surrounding scenery, are illumined by the glory which she makes; her +presence irradiates them all with a beauty and an interest more than the +eye discovers. Seen through her as an imaginative transparency, they +become spiritualized; in fact, she and they alike become the symbol and +expression of the sentiment which pervades the poem--a sentiment broad +and deep as the world. And yet, any one who visits these scenes, in a +mellow autumnal day, will feel that she is no alien or adventitious +image, imported by the caprice of the poet, but altogether native to the +place, one which gathers up and concentrates all the undefined spirit +and sentiment which lie spread around it. She both glorifies the scenery +by her presence, and herself seems to be a natural growth of the +scenery, so that it finds in her its most appropriate utterance. This +power of imagination to divine and project the very corporeal image +which suits and expresses the image of a scene, Wordsworth has many +times shown.... + +"And so the poem has no definite end, but passes off, as it were, into +the illimitable. It rises out of the perturbations of time and +transitory things, and, passing upward itself, takes our thoughts with +it to calm places and eternal sunshine."--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1837. + + ... born of heavenly birth, 1815. + +[2] 1837. + + ... which ... 1815. + +[3] 1837. + + ... is ... 1815. + +[4] 1820. + + ... of the crystal Wharf, 1815. + +[5] 1837. + + A rural Chapel, neatly drest, + In covert like a little nest; 1815. + +[6] 1837. + + And faith and hope are in their prime, 1815. + +[7] + + And right across the verdant sod + Towards the very house of God; + + Inserted in the editions of 1815 to 1832. + +[8] 1837. + + A gift ... 1815. + +[9] 1837. + + Is through ... 1815. + +[10] 1837. + + ... she no less + To the open day gives blessedness. 1815. + +[11] 1837. + + ... hand of healing,-- + The altar, whence the cross was rent, + Now rich with mossy ornament,-- + The dormitory's length laid bare, + Where the wild-rose blossoms fair; + And sapling ash, whose place of birth + Is that lordly chamber's hearth? 1815. + + For altar, ... 1827. + + Or dormitory's length ... 1827. + +[12] 1837. + + Methinks she passeth by the sight, 1815. + +[13] 1827. + + And in this way she fares, till at last 1815. + +[14] 1845. + + Gently ... 1815. + +[15] 1837. + + Like the river in its flowing; + Can there be a softer sound? 1815. + +[16] 1837. + + --When now again the people rear + A voice of praise, with awful chear! 1815. + +[17] 1837. + + Turn, with obeisance gladly paid, + Towards the spot, where, full in view, + The lovely Doe of whitest hue, 1815. + +[18] + + This whisper soft repeats what he + Had known from early infancy. + + In the editions of 1815 to 1832 the paragraph begins with these + lines. + +[19] 1837. + + ... is ... 1815. + +[20] 1837. + + Who in his youth had often fed 1815. + + ... hath ... 1827. + +[21] 1837. + + And lately hath brought home the scars + Gathered in long and distant wars-- 1815. + +[22] 1837. + + ... hath mounted ... 1815. + +[23] 1837. + + ... when God's grace + At length had in her heart found place, 1815. + +[24] 1837. + + Well may her thoughts be harsh; for she + Numbers among her ancestry 1815. + +[25] 1827. + + ... Cumbria's ... 1815. + +[26] 1837. + + ... humble ... 1815. + +[27] 1837. + + ... through strong desire + Searching the earth with chemic fire: 1815. + +[28] These two lines were added in the edition of 1837. + +[29] 1837. + + By busy dreams, and fancies wild; 1815. + +[30] 1840. + + Thou hast breeze-like visitings; + For a Spirit with angel wings + Hath touched thee, ... 1815. + + A Spirit, with angelic wings, + In soft and breeze-like visitings, + Has touched thee-- ... 1837. + + A Spirit, with his angelic wings, C. + +[31] 1827. + + ... --'twas She who wrought 1815. + +[32] 1837. + + ... the ... 1815. + +[33] 1837. + + ... one that did fulfil 1815. + +[34] 1837. + + ... (such was the command) 1815. + +[35] 1845. + + To be by force of arms renewed; + Glad prospect for the multitude! 1815. + + To be triumphantly restored; + By the dread justice of the sword! 1820. + +[36] 1827. + + This ... 1815. + +[37] 1827. + + ... blissful ... 1815. + +[38] 1837. + + Loud noise was in the crowded hall, 1815. + +[39] 1837. + + ... which had a dying fall, 1815. + +[40] 1837. + + And on ... 1815. + +[41] 1820. + + ... wet ... 1815. + +[42] 1837. + + Then seized the staff, and thus did say: 1815. + +[43] 1837. + + Forth when Sire and Sons appeared + A gratulating shout was reared, + With din ... 1815. + +[44] 1837. + + --A shout ... 1815. + +[45] 1837. + + And, when he waked at length, his eye 1815. + +[46] + + Oh! hide them from each other, hide, + Kind Heaven, this pair severely tried! + + Inserted in the editions of 1815 to 1832. + +[47] + + How could he chuse but shrink or sigh? + He shrunk, and muttered inwardly, + + Inserted in the editions of 1815 to 1832. + +[48] 1837. + + He paused, her silence to partake, + And long it was before he spake: + Then, all at once, his thoughts turned round, 1815. + +[49] 1837. + + ... were beloved, 1815. + +[50] This line was added in 1837. + +[51] 1827. + + Was He, ... 1815. + +[52] 1820. + + I, in the right ... 1815. + +[53] 1827. + + ... to stand against ... 1815. + +[54] 1837. + + Thee, chiefly thee, ... 1815. + +[55] 1837. + + The last leaf which by heaven's decree + Must hang upon a blasted tree; 1815. + +[56] 1827. + + ... we have breathed ... 1815. + +[57] 1837. + + ... he pursued, 1815. + +[58] 1837. + + Now joy for you and sudden chear, + Ye Watchmen upon Brancepeth Towers; + Looking forth in doubt and fear, 1815. + +[59] 1837. + + Forthwith the armed Company 1815. + +[60] 1837. + + ... hail ... 1815. + +[61] 1837. + + ... the mildest birth, 1815. + +[62] + + With tumult and indignant rout + + Inserted in the editions of 1815 to 1832. + +[63] 1827. + + Came Foot and Horse-men of each degree, 1815. + +[64] 1827. + + And the Romish Priest, ... 1815. + +[65] 1827. + + But none for undisputed worth 1815. + +[66] 1815. + + Like those eight Sons--embosoming + Determined thoughts--who, in a ring 1827. + + The text of 1837 returns to that of 1815. + +[67] This line was added in 1837. + +[68] In youthful beauty flourishing, + + Inserted in the editions of 1815 and 1820. + +[69] 1837. + + --With feet that firmly pressed the ground + They stood, and girt their Father round; + Such was his choice,--no Steed will he 1815. + +[70] 1845. + + He stood upon the verdant sod, 1815. + + ... grassy sod, 1820. + +[71] 1837. + + ... higher ... 1815. + +[72] 1827. + + Rich ... 1815. + +[73] 1837. + + ... --many see, ... 1815. + +[74] 1837. + + ... these ... 1815. + +[75] 1837. + + ... on ... 1815. + +[76] 1837. + + He takes this day ... 1815. + +[77] 1837. + + Stretched out upon the ground he lies,-- + As if it were his only task + Like Herdsman in the sun to bask, 1815. + +[78] 1820. + + That he ... 1815. + +[79] 1837. + + And Neville was opprest with fear; + For, though he bore a valiant name, + His heart was of a timid frame, 1815. + +[80] 1837. + + And therefore will retreat to seize 1815. + +[81] 1837. + + ... comes; ... 1815. + +[82] 1837. + + ... giving ... 1815. + +[83] 1837. + + --How often hath the strength of heaven 1815. + +[84] 1837. + + ... on the sacred wain, + On which the grey-haired Barons stood, + And the infant Heir of Mowbray's blood. + Beneath the saintly Ensigns three, + Their confidence and victory! 1815. + + Stood confident of victory! 1820. + +[85] 1837. + + When, as the Vision gave command, + The Prior of Durham with holy hand + Saint Cuthbert's Relic did uprear + Upon the point of a lofty spear, + And God descended in his power, + While the Monks prayed in Maiden's Bower. 1815. + +[86] 1837. + + ... and uphold."-- + --The Chiefs were by his zeal confounded, 1815. + +[87] 1837. + + ... raised so joyfully, 1815. + +[88] This line was added in 1837. + +[89] 1837. + + ... frail ... 1815. + +[90] 1827. + + --So speaking, he upraised his head + Towards that Imagery once more; 1815. + +[91] 1827. + + Blank fear, ... 1815. + +[92] 1837. + + She did in passiveness obey, 1815. + +[93] 1837. + + Her Brother was it who assailed + Her tender spirit and prevailed. + Her other Parent, too, whose head 1815. + +[94] 1837. + + From reason's earliest dawn beguiled + The docile, unsuspecting Child: 1815. + +[95] 1837. + + ... music sweet + Was played to chear them in retreat; + But Norton lingered in the rear: + Thought followed thought--and ere the last + Of that unhappy train was past, + Before him Francis did appear. 1815. + +[96] 1837. + + "Now when 'tis not your aim to oppose," + Said he, "in open field your Foes; + Now that from this decisive day + Your multitude must melt away, + An unarmed Man may come unblamed; + To ask a grace, that was not claimed + Long as your hopes were high, he now + May hither bring a fearless brow; + When his discountenance can do + No injury,--may come to you. + Though in your cause no part I bear, + Your indignation I can share; + Am grieved this backward march to see, + How careless and disorderly! + I scorn your Chieftains, Men who lead, + And yet want courage at their need; + Then look at them with open eyes! + Deserve they further sacrifice? + My Father!..." 1815. + +[97] 1837. + + ... remains ... 1815. + +[98] 1837. + + At length, the issue of this prayer? + Or how, from his depression raised, + The Father on his Son had gazed; 1815. + +[99] 1845. + + Suffice it that the Son gave way, + Nor strove that passion to allay, 1815. + +[100] 1837. + + The like endeavours 1815. + +[101] 1837. + + From cloudless ether looking down, + The Moon, this tranquil evening, sees 1815. + +[102] 1837. + + ... with moors between, + Hill-tops, and floods, and forests green, 1815. + +[103] 1827. + + The silver smoke, and mounts in wreaths. 1815. + +[104] 1827. + + Had ... 1815. + +[105] 1837. + + The same fair Creature which was nigh + Feeding in tranquillity, + When Francis uttered to the Maid 1815. + + ... who was nigh 1820. + +[106] Lines 40-43 were added in 1837. + +[107] 1836. + + But where at this still hour is she, + The consecrated Emily? + Even while I speak, behold the Maid + Emerging from the cedar shade 1815. + +[108] In the editions of 1815 to 1832, the paragraph ends with +this line. The remaining nine lines in these editions are added to the +following paragraph. + +[109] 1837. + + Yet the meek Creature was not free, + Erewhile, from some perplexity: + For thrice hath she approached, this day, + The thought-bewildered Emily; + Endeavouring, in her gentle way, + Some smile or look of love to gain,-- + Encouragement to sport or play; + Attempts which by the unhappy Maid + Have all been slighted or gainsaid. 1815. + +[110] 1837. + + --O welcome to the viewless breeze! + 'Tis fraught with acceptable feeling, + And instantaneous sympathies + Into the Sufferer's bosom stealing;-- + Ere she hath reached yon rustic Shed 1815. + + Yet is she soothed: the viewless breeze + Comes fraught with kindlier sympathies: + Ere she hath reached yon rustic Shed 1827. + + Ere she had reached ... 1832. + +[111] 1837. + + Revives ... 1815. + +[112] 1837. + + ... --'tis that bless'd Saint 1815. + +[113] 1837. + + Thou Spirit ... 1815. + +[114] 1837. + + Descend on Francis:--through the air + Of this sad earth to him repair, + Speak to him with a voice, and say, + "That he must cast despair away!" 1815. + +[115] _Italics_ and capitals were first used in the edition of 1820. + +[116] 1837. + + --She knows, she feels it, and is cheared; + At least her present pangs are checked. 1815. + +[117] 1837. + + --And now an ancient Man appeared, + Approaching her with grave respect. + Down the smooth walk which then she trod + He paced along the silent sod, + And greeting her thus gently spake, 1815. + + --But now ... 1827. + +[118] 1837. + + In friendship;--go--from him--from me-- + Strive to avert this misery. 1815. + +[119] 1837. + + --If prudence offer help or aid, + On _you_ is no restriction laid; 1815. + +[120] 1837. + + "Hope," said the Sufferer's zealous Friend, + "Must not forsake us till the end.-- 1815. + +[121] 1837. + + ... may have the skill ... 1815. + +[122] 1837. + + Their flight the fair Moon may not see; + For, from mid-heaven, already she 1815. + +[123] 1837. + + ... haughty ... 1815. + +[124] _Italics_ were first used in 1837. + +[125] 1837. + + ... to the cause. 1815. + +[126] 1837. + + They shout aloud--but Heaven decreed + Another close + To that brave deed + Which struck ... 1815. + +[127] 1820. + + ... spreads ... 1815. + +[128] 1820. + + ... and as seldom free 1815. + +[129] 1820. + + And from the heat of the noon-tide sun, 1815. + +[130] 1837. + + They to the Watch-tower did repair, + Commodious Pleasure-house! and there 1815. + +[131] 1837. + + He was the proudest ... 1815. + +[132] + + Dead are they, they were doomed to die; + The Sons and Father all are dead, + All dead save One; and Emily + No more shall seek this Watch-tower high, + To look far forth with anxious eye,-- + She is relieved from hope and dread, + Though suffering in extremity. + + Inserted only in the edition of 1815. + +[133] _Italics_ were first used in 1820. + +[134] 1837. In the editions of 1815-32 the following passage took the +place of this line:-- + + She turned to him, who with his eye + Was watching her while on the height + She sate, or wandered restlessly, + O'erburdened by her sorrow's weight; + To him who this dire news had told, + And now beside the Mourner stood; + +[135] 1837. + + Then on this place the Maid had sought: + And told, as gently as could be, + The end of that sad Tragedy, 1815. + +[136] These two lines were added in 1827. + +[137] 1827. + + ... the people cried, 1815. + +[138] 1837. + + For sake of ... 1815. + +[139] 1837. + + He rose not in this quarrel, he + His Father and his Brothers wooed, + Both for their own and Country's good, + To rest in peace--he did divide, 1815. + +[140] 1820. + + To scatter gleams ... 1815. + +[141] 1837. + + ... of ancient love, + But most, compassion for your fate, + Lady! for your forlorn estate, + Me did these move, and I made bold, + And entrance gained to that strong-hold. 1815. + + ... of ancient love; + And, in your service, I made bold-- + And entrance gained to that strong-hold. 1820. + +[142] 1837. + + ... 'We need not stop, my Son! + But I will end what is begun; + 'Tis matter which I do not fear + To entrust to any living ear.' 1815. + +[143] 1820. + + Had seen ... 1815. + +[144] 1837. + + Glad ... 1815. + +[145] 1837. + + ... be not ... 1815. + +[146] 1837. + + ... beauteous ... 1815. + +[147] 1837. + + Then Francis answered fervently, + "If God so will, the same shall be." 1815. + +[148] 1837. + + Immediately, this solemn word 1815. + +[149] 1837. + + ... had reached the door, + The Banner which a Soldier bore, + One marshalled thus with base intent + That he in scorn might go before, + And, holding up this monument, 1815. + +[150] 1837. + + ... that were round 1815. + +[151] 1837. + + This insult, and the Banner saved, + That moment, from among the tide 1815. + +[152] 1837. + + Bore unobserved ... 1815. + +[153] 1820. + + ... to encourage ... 1815. + +[154] 1837. + + "Yet, yet in this affliction," said + The old Man to the silent Maid, + "Yet, Lady! heaven is good--the night + Shews yet a Star which is most bright; 1815. + +[155] 1837. + + Why comes not Francis?--Joyful chear + In that parental gratulation, + And glow of righteous indignation, + Went with him from the doleful City:-- + He fled--yet in his flight could hear + The death-sound of the Minster-bell; 1815. + +[156] 1837. + + With motion fleet as winged Dove; 1815. + + ... as a winged Dove; 1832. + +[157] 1837. + + An Angel-guest, should he appear. 1815. + +[158] 1837. + + Along the plain of York he passed; + The Banner-staff was in his hand, + The Imagery concealed from sight, + And cross the expanse, in open flight, + Reckless of what impels or leads, + Unchecked he hurries on;--nor heeds + The sorrow of the Villages; + From the triumphant cruelties 1815. + + Spread by triumphant cruelties 1827. + + The sorrow through the Villages, 1832. + +[159] 1827. + + And punishment without remorse, + Unchecked he journies--under law + Of inward occupation strong; + And the first ... 1815. + +[160] 1837. + + ... did he maintain + Within himself, and found no rest; + Calm liberty he could not gain; + And yet the service was unblest. 1815. + +[161] 1820. + + Raised self-suspicion which was strong, + Swaying the brave Man to his wrong: 1815. + +[162] 1837. + + Of all-disposing Providence, + Its will intelligibly shewn, + Finds he the Banner in his hand, + Without a thought to such intent, + Or conscious effort of his own? + And no obstruction to prevent + His Father's wish and last command! + And, thus beset, he heaved a sigh; + Remembering his own prophecy + Of utter desolation, made + To Emily in the yew-tree shade: + He sighed, submitting to the power, + The might of that prophetic hour. 1815. + +[163] 1837. + + ... and, on the second day, + He reached a summit whence his eyes 1815. + +[164] 1837. + + How Francis had the Banner claimed, + And with that charge had disappeared; 1815. + +[165] 1837. + + Behold the Ensign in his hand! 1815. + +[166] 1837. + + ... freight I bear; + It weakens me, my heart hath bled + Till it is weak--but you beware, + Nor do ... 1815. + +[167] 1837. + + Which ... 1815. + +[168] 1820. + + ... with a Warrior's brow 1815. + +[169] 1845. + + ... had snatched + A spear,--and with his eyes he watched + Their motions, turning round and round:-- + His weaker hand the Banner held; + And straight by savage zeal impelled + Forth rushed a Pikeman, as if he, + Not without harsh indignity, + Would seize the same:--instinctively-- + To smite the Offender--with his lance + Did Francis from the brake advance; + But, from behind, a treacherous wound + Unfeeling, brought him to the ground, + A mortal stroke:--oh, grief to tell! + Thus, thus, the noble Francis fell: + There did he lie of breath forsaken; + The Banner from his grasp was taken, + And borne exultingly away; + And the Body was left on the ground where it lay. 1815. + + But not before the warm life-blood + Had tinged with searching overflow, + More deeply tinged the embroidered show + Of His whose side was pierced upon the Rood! 1837. + + The text of 1837 is otherwise identical with the final version of + 1845. + +[170] These two lines were added in 1837. + +[171] 1837. + + Two days, as many nights, he slept + Alone, unnoticed, and unwept; + For at that time distress and fear + Possessed the Country far and near; + The third day, One, who chanced to pass, + Beheld him stretched upon the grass. + A gentle Forester was he, + And of the Norton Tenantry; + And he had heard that by a Train + Of Horsemen Francis had been slain. + Much was he troubled--for the Man + Hath recognized his pallid face; + And to the nearest Huts he ran, + And called the People to the place. + --How desolate is Rylstone-hall! + Such was the instant thought of all; + And if the lonely Lady there + Should be, this sight she cannot bear! + Such thought the Forester express'd, + And all were swayed, and deemed it best + That, if the Priest should yield assent + And join himself to their intent, 1815. + +[172] 1837. + + That straightway ... 1815. + +[173] 1840. + + ... on a bier + In decency and humble chear; + And psalms are sung with holy sound. 1815. + + And psalms they sung--a holy sound + That hill and vale with sadness hear. 1837. + +[174] 1827. + + Tow'rds ... 1815. + +[175] 1820. + + ... deep ... 1815. + +[176] 1820. + + ... calm ... 1815. + +[177] 1845. + + The walks and pools neglect hath sown 1815. + +[178] 1837. + + There is ... 1815. + +[179] + + There seated, may this Maid be seen, + + Inserted in the editions of 1815-1832. + +[180] 1827. + + ... has ... 1815. + +[181] 1837. + + For, of that band of rushing Deer, 1815. + +[182] 1837. + + ... its ... 1815. + + ... his ... 1832. + +[183] 1837. + + ... and more near, + Stopped once again;--but, as no trace + Was found of any thing to fear, + Even to her feet the Creature came, 1815. + +[184] 1837. + + ... choicest ... 1815. + +[185] 1837. + + For both a bounteous, fruitful meeting. 1815. + +[186] 1837. + + And take this gift of Heaven with grace? 1815. + +[187] This line was added in 1837. + +[188] 1837. + + ... this ... 1815. + +[189] 1837. + + ... was there ... 1815. + +[190] 1837. + + Did she behold--saw once again; 1815. + +[191] 1837. + + So doth the Sufferer deem it good + Even once again this neighbourhood 1815. + +[192] 1827. + + ... writhed 1815. + +[193] 1837. + + ... kindly ... 1815. + +[194] 1827. + + ... as the whitest ... 1815. + +[195] 1815. + + ... through an ... 1827. + + The text of 1837 returns to that of 1815. + +[196] 1837. + + Did now a very gladness yield + At morning to the dewy field, + While they side by side were straying, + And the Shepherd's pipe was playing; 1815. + +[197] 1837. + + ... wandering ... 1815. + +[198] 1845. + + Mild, delicious melancholy: 1815. + +[199] 1837. + + Up doth she climb to Norton Tower, + And thence looks round her far and wide. + Her fate there measures,--all is stilled,-- + The feeble hath subdued her heart; 1815. + +[200] 1837. + + This single Creature ... 1815. + +[201] 1837. + + So beautiful the spotless Thrall, + (A lovely Youngling white as foam,) + That it was brought to Rylstone-hall; + Her youngest Brother led it home, + The youngest, then a lusty Boy, + Brought home the prize--and with what joy! 1815. + +[202] 1827. + + Nor did she fear in the still moonshine 1815. + + ... in still moonshine 1820. + +[203] 1837. + + For that she came; there oft and long + She sate in meditation strong: 1815. + +[204] 1820. + + ... her ... 1815. + +[205] 1837. + + That ... 1815. + +[206] 1837. + + ... we frame, ... 1815. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] This is the final form of the "Advertisement" to _The White Doe of +Rylstone_. The variations from it, which occur in earlier editions, from +1815 onwards, need not be noted. The poem was placed in the 1820 edition +in volume iii., in 1827 in volume iv., in 1832 in volume iii., and in +1836-37 and afterwards in volume iv. of the Collected Works.--ED. + +[B] _I.e._, in the small bower in the orchard of Dove Cottage, +Grasmere.--ED. + +[C] Compare _The Faerie Queene_, book I. canto i. stanza iv. l. 9-- + + And by her, in a line, a milkewhite lambe she lad. ED. + +[D] See _The Faerie Queene_, book I. canto viii. stanza xliv. l. 9-- + + That blisse may not abide in state of mortall men. ED. + +[E] The above extract, which, in 1837 and subsequent editions, follows +the Dedication of the poem to Mrs. Wordsworth, is taken from the tragedy +of _The Borderers_, act III. line 405 (vol. i. p. 187). In the prefatory +note to _The Borderers_--published in 1842--Wordsworth says he would not +have made use of these lines in _The White Doe of Rylstone_ if he could +have foreseen the time when he would be induced to publish the tragedy. +It is signed M. S. in the 1837-43 editions. + +In a note to the edition of 1837, he says, "'Action is transitory,' etc. +This and the five lines that follow were either read or recited by me, +more than thirty years since, to the late Mr. Hazlitt, who quoted some +expressions in them (imperfectly remembered) in a work of his published +several years ago." + +In the quarto edition of 1815 the following lines precede the extract +from Lord Bacon; and in the edition of 1820 they follow it. In 1827 they +were transferred to the "Miscellaneous Sonnets." + + _"Weak is the will of Man, his judgement blind; + Remembrance persecutes, and Hope betrays; + Heavy is woe;--and joy, for human kind, + A mournful thing, so transient is the blaze!"-- + Thus might he paint our lot of mortal days + Who wants the glorious faculty, assigned + To elevate the more-than-reasoning Mind, + And colour life's dark cloud with orient rays. + Imagination is that sacred power, + Imagination lofty and refined: + 'Tis her's to pluck the amaranthine Flower + Of Faith, and round the Sufferer's temples bind + Wreaths that endure affliction's heaviest shower, + And do not shrink from sorrow's keenest wind._ ED. + +[F] See his _Essays_, XVI., "Of Atheism." Wordsworth's quotation is not +quite accurate.--ED. + +[G] It is to be regretted that at the present day Bolton Abbey wants +this ornament: but the Poem, according to the imagination of the Poet, +is composed in Queen Elizabeth's time. "Formerly," says Dr. Whitaker, +"over the Transept was a tower. This is proved not only from the mention +of bells at the Dissolution, when they could have had no other place, +but from the pointed roof of the choir, which must have terminated +westward, in some building of superior height to the ridge."--W. W. +1815. + +[H] See note I. at the end of the poem, p. 196.--ED. + +[I] See note I. at the end of the poem, p. 196.--ED. + +[J] The Nave of the Church having been reserved at the Dissolution, for +the use of the Saxon Cure, is still a parochial Chapel; and, at this +day, is as well kept as the neatest English Cathedral.--W. W. 1815. + +[K] "At a small distance from the great gateway stood the Prior's Oak, +which was felled about the year 1720, and sold for 70_l._ According to +the price of wood at that time, it could scarcely have contained less +than 1400 feet of timber."--W. W. 1815. + +This note is quoted from Whitaker.--ED. + +The place where this Oak tree grew is uncertain. Whitaker says it stood +"at a small distance from the great gateway." This old entrance or +gateway to the Abbey was through a part of the modern and now inhabited +structure of Bolton Hall, under the Tower; and the old sexton at the +Abbey told me that the tree stood near that gateway, at some distance +from the ruins of the Abbey.--ED. + +[L] Of Wharfedale at Bolton, Henry Crabb Robinson says, in his _Diary_ +(September 1818), "This valley has been very little adorned, and it +needs no other accident to grace it than sunshine."--ED. + +[M] Compare the lines in the sonnet _At Furness Abbey_ (composed in +1844)-- + + A soothing spirit follows in the way + That Nature takes, her counter-work pursuing. ED. + +[N] Roses still grow plentifully among the ruins, although they are not +abundant in the district.--ED. + +[O] This is not topographical. No "warrior carved in stone" is now to be +seen among the ruins of Bolton Abbey, whatever may have been the case in +1807; nor can Francis Norton's grave be discovered in the Abbey +grounds.--ED. + +[P] The detail of this tradition may be found in Dr. Whitaker's book, +and in the Poem, _The Force of Prayer_, etc. [p. 204].--W. W. 1815. + +[Q] Compare _The Boy of Egremond_, by Samuel Rogers.--ED. + +[R] "At the East end of the North aisle of Bolton Priory Church is a +chantry belonging to Bethmesly Hall, and a vault, where, according to +tradition, the Claphams" (who inherited this estate, by the female line +from the Mauliverers) "were interred upright." John de Clapham, of whom +this ferocious act is recorded, was a name of great note in his time; +"he was a vehement partisan of the House of Lancaster, in whom the +spirit of his chieftains, the Cliffords, seemed to survive."--W. W. +1815. + +This quotation is from Dr. Whitaker's _History of the Deanery of +Craven_.--ED. + +[S] In 1868, when this chapel was under restoration, a vault was +discovered at the eastern end of the north aisle, with evident signs of +several bodies having been buried upright. On the site of this vault the +organ is now placed. The chapel was restored by the late Duke of +Devonshire.--ED. + +[T] In the second volume of Poems published by the author, will be found +one, entitled, _Song at the Feast of Brougham Castle, upon the +Restoration of Lord Clifford, the Shepherd, to the Estates and Honours +of his Ancestors_. To that Poem is annexed an account of this personage +[p. 89], chiefly extracted from Burn's and Nicholson's History of +Cumberland and Westmoreland. It gives me pleasure to add these further +particulars concerning him from Dr. Whitaker, who says, "he retired to +the solitude of Barden, where he seems to have enlarged the tower out of +a common keeper's lodge, and where he found a retreat equally favourable +to taste, to instruction, and to devotion. The narrow limits of his +residence shew that he had learned to despise the pomp of greatness, and +that a small train of servants could suffice him, who had lived to the +age of thirty a servant himself. I think this nobleman resided here +almost entirely when in Yorkshire, for all his charters which I have +seen are dated at Barden. + +"His early habits, and the want of those artificial measures of time +which even shepherds now possess, had given him a turn for observing the +motions of the heavenly bodies, and, having purchased such an apparatus +as could then be procured, he amused and informed himself by those +pursuits, with the aid of the Canons of Bolton, some of whom are said to +have been well versed in what was then known of the science. + +"I suspect this nobleman to have been sometimes occupied in a more +visionary pursuit, and probably in the same company. + +"For, from the family evidences, I have met with two MSS. on the subject +of Alchemy, which, from the character, spelling, etc., may almost +certainly be referred to the reign of Henry the Seventh. If these were +originally deposited with the MSS. of the Cliffords, it might have been +for the use of this nobleman. If they were brought from Bolton at the +Dissolution, they must have been the work of those Canons whom he almost +exclusively conversed with. + +"In these peaceful employments Lord Clifford spent the whole reign of +Henry the Seventh, and the first years of his son. But in the year 1513, +when almost sixty years old, he was appointed to a principal command +over the army which fought at Flodden, and shewed that the military +genius of the family had neither been chilled in him by age, nor +extinguished by habits of peace. + +"He survived the battle of Flodden ten years, and died April 23d, 1523, +aged about 70. I shall endeavour to appropriate to him a tomb, vault, +and chantry, in the choir of the church of Bolton, as I should be sorry +to believe that he was deposited when dead at a distance from the place +which in his life-time he loved so well. + +"By his last will he appointed his body to be interred at Shap if he +died in Westmoreland; or at Bolton if he died in Yorkshire." + +With respect to the Canons of Bolton, Dr. Whitaker shews from MSS. that +not only alchemy but astronomy was a favourite pursuit with them.--W. W. +1815. + +[U] Barden Tower is on the western bank of the Wharfe, fully two miles +north-west of Bolton Priory, above the Strid. At the time of the +restoration of the Shepherd-lord, Barden Tower was only a keeper's +forest lodge. It is so hidden in trees, and so retired, that the +situation is most accurately described as + + the shy recess + Of Barden's lowly quietness. ED. + +[V] The year 1569.--ED. + +[W] Percy, Earl of Northumberland, and Neville, Earl of Westmoreland--the +two peers who joined in support of the Duke of Norfolk's marriage with +Queen Mary, with a view to the restoration of Catholicism in England. +See note III. p. 198.--ED. + +[X] Compare _Twelfth Night_, act I. scene i. l. 4-- + + That strain again! it had a dying fall. ED. + +[Y] See the Old Ballad,--_The Rising of the North_.--W. W. 1827. + +This Ballad is printed in Wordsworth's note, p. 186. The reference here +is to the lines-- + + But, father, I will wend with you, + Unarm'd and naked will I bee. ED. + +[Z] The site of Rylstone Hall is still recognisable, but the building is +gone. It was not at Rylstone, but at Ripon, that the Nortons raised +their banner in November 1569; but their tenantry at Rylstone rose with +them at the same time.--ED. + +[AA] Brancepeth Castle stands near the river Were, a few miles from the +city of Durham. It formerly belonged to the Nevilles, Earls of +Westmoreland. See Dr. Percy's account.--W. W. 1815. + +[BB] The tower of the Cathedral of Durham, of which St. Cuthbert is the +patron saint.--ED. + +[CC] Now Raby Castle, a seat of the Duke of Cleveland in the county of +Durham.--ED. + +[DD] From the old Ballad.--W. W. 1820. + +The lines are-- + + At Wetherbye they mustered their host, + Thirteen thousand fair to see. ED. + +[EE] The village of Clifford is three miles from Wetherby, where the +host was mustered.--ED. + +[FF] From the old Ballad.--W. W. 1820. + +The line referred to is-- + + Against soe many could not stay. ED. + +[GG] See note V. p. 200.--ED. + +[HH] See the Historians for the account of this memorable battle, +usually denominated the Battle of the Standard.--W. W. 1815. + +It was fought at Northallerton in 1137, under Archbishop Thurston of +York. See note VI. p. 200.--ED. + +[II] "In the night before the battle of Durham was strucken and begun, +the 17th day of October, _anno_ 1346, there did appear to John Fosser, +then Prior of the abbey of Durham, a Vision, commanding him to take the +holy Corporax-cloth, wherewith St. Cuthbert did cover the chalice when +he used to say mass, and to put the same holy relique like to a +banner-cloth upon the point of a spear, and the next morning to go and +repair to a place on the west side of the city of Durham, called the Red +Hills, where the Maid's Bower wont to be, and there to remain and abide +till the end of the battle. To which vision, the Prior obeying, and +taking the same for a revelation of God's grace and mercy by the +mediation of holy St. Cuthbert, did accordingly the next morning, with +the monks of the said abbey, repair to the said Red Hills, and there +most devoutly humbling and prostrating themselves in prayer for the +victory in the said battle: (a great multitude of the Scots running and +pressing by them, with intention to have spoiled them, yet had no power +to commit any violence under such holy persons, so occupied in prayer, +being protected and defended by the mighty Providence of Almighty God, +and by the mediation of Holy St. Cuthbert, and the presence of the holy +relique). And, after many conflicts and warlike exploits there had and +done between the English men and the King of Scots and his company, the +said battle ended, and the victory was obtained, to the great overthrow +and confusion of the Scots, their enemies: And then the said Prior and +monks, accompanied with Ralph Lord Nevil, and John Nevil his son, and +the Lord Percy, and many other nobles of England, returned home and went +to the abbey church, there joining in hearty prayer and thanksgiving to +God and holy St. Cuthbert for the victory atchieved that day." + +This battle was afterwards called the Battle of Neville's Cross from the +following circumstance:-- + +"On the west side of the city of Durham, where two roads pass each +other, a most notable, famous, and goodly cross of stone-work was +erected, and set up to the honour of God for the victory there obtained +in the field of battle, and known by the name of Nevil's Cross, and +built at the sole cost of the Lord Ralph Nevil, one of the most +excellent and chief persons in the said battle." The Relique of St. +Cuthbert afterwards became of great importance in military events. For +soon after this battle, says the same author, "The prior caused a goodly +and sumptuous banner to be made, (which is then described at great +length,) and in the midst of the same banner-cloth was the said holy +relique and corporax-cloth enclosed, etc. etc., and so sumptuously +finished, and absolutely perfected, this banner was dedicated to holy +St. Cuthbert, of intent and purpose, that for the future it should be +carried to any battle, as occasion should serve; and was never carried +and shewed at any battle but by the especial grace of God Almighty, and +the mediation of holy St. Cuthbert, it brought home victory; which +banner-cloth, after the dissolution of the abbey, fell into the +possession of Dean WHITTINGHAM, whose wife was called KATHARINE, being a +French woman, (as is most credibly reported by eye-witnesses,) did most +injuriously burn the same in her fire, to the open contempt and disgrace +of all ancient and goodly reliques."--Extracted from a book entitled, +_Durham Cathedral, as it stood before the Dissolution of the Monastery_. +It appears, from the old metrical History, that the above-mentioned +banner was carried by the Earl of Surrey to Flodden Field.--W. W. 1815. + +[JJ] Compare _An Evening Walk_, ll. 365, 366 (vol. i. p. 31)-- + + The song of mountain-streams, unheard by day, + Now hardly heard, beguiles my homeward way. + +Also _The Excursion_ (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 todeskuehn gebeut? + Ist etwa Tell's Geist aus der Ewigkeit + Gekehrt, zu wecken die verlor'ne Welt? + + Er kommt wie Phoebus aus dem Morgenzelt, + Wenn sich die Finsterniss der Nacht zerstreut, + Und doch, wie schlicht! Ein Falkenschweif nur dreut + Von seinem Hut und fuellt sein Wappenfeld. + + O Freiheit! Wie der Feind erbebt in Ruecken + Und Front und gerne floeh' in ~einer~ Fluth, + Waer' er nicht halb bedeckt von Felsenstuecken, + Gewaelzt von dieses Kaempfers Goettermuth! + Geeint sind Berg, Wald, Wildbach, zu erdruecken + Hohnlachend den Tyrann und seine Wuth. + + + 2[B] + + Freiheit, ersteig aus deinem Heimatsland + Tirol! du Maedchen ernst und unzaehmbar + Und lieblich doch, der Berge Kind fuerwahr! + Ein Echo zwischen Fels und Alpenwand. + + Und ueber Gletschern bist du festgebannt; + Ein Echo, das die Jagd im Morgengrau + Vom Schlaf' aufscheucht, dass Berg und Wald und Au + Und Hoehle droehnen, wo's unsichtbar stand, + + Sein Spiel verkuendend. So urploetzlich strahl', + Du hehre Macht, hervor im Siegeslauf + Durch Wolkenwust, von Klippenknauf zu Knauf, + Durch Almenhuetten, durch das gruene Thal; + In dir dann jauchzen alle Alpen auf + Hier, dort und ueberall mit ~einem~ Mal! + + + 3 + + Gefuehle 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 ~muessen~ thun, was moeglich, im Gefecht: + Sieh' dies Gebot im Kindesauge leben, + Von Frauenlippen, aus dem Aether schweben; + Ihr Vaeter 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' Haeuflein zieh'n wir aus, + Die Waffen in den Haenden, Muth im Blick, + Der Tugend treu, die Menschheit zu befreien." + + + 4 + + Was nuetzt, ach! langes sittenkluges Streiten, + Das man aus "gut" und "boese" presst mit Mueh'; + Was dummer Fleiss, zu hoeh'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? Erroethen sollen + Die hohen Schulen! Muessen wir nicht sagen: + Mehr wussten wenig Regeln, starkes Wollen + Durch schlichte Alpenhirten auszufuehren + Fuer's Menschenwohl in diesen Unglueckstagen, + Als alles stolze Metaphysiciren? + + + 5 + + Auf die schliessliche Unterwerfung der Tiroler. + + Ist einer ~guten~ Sache galt ihr Schlagen; + Wie haetten bei der Throne Niederfahrt + Sonst sie, die armen Schaefer, sich bewahrt + Begeisternd hohen Sinn und kraeftig Wagen? + + Auch hat ihr Kampf fuer's Gute Frucht getragen: + Weckt nicht ihr Ruhm, die grosse Denkungsart + Auch uns den Muth, mit Rechtsgefuehl gepaart, + Der nicht zu kaufen ist, nicht zu zernagen? + + Schlaft, Kaempfer! Unter euren Bergen ruht! + Dem strengsten Richter kann es nicht entgehen: + Nie kannte euer ~Herz~ das Retiriren. + Und bricht in hoechster Pein und Rachewuth + Europa los, so sollt ihr auferstehen, + ~Ganz~ ueber 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, BELOVED FRIENDS! NOR LET THE AIR" + + Published 1837 + + + Weep not, beloved 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 Booetes. 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 beloved 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 blessed 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 naive +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 Cynoscephalae. +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 +Aetolians 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 Aetolians 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 Aetolians 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 Aetolians against the Macedonian garrison; but +the gates of the city were not opened to admit the Aetolian volunteers +till Flamininus arrived. Then in the battle at the heights of +Cynoscephalae, where the Macedonian army was routed, the Aetolian +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 Aetolians aimed subsequently at +exciting suspicion against the sincerity of Flamininus. In the second +sonnet, Wordsworth's sympathy seems to have been with the Aetolians, 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 aerial 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_, book vi. ll. 235-36-- + + and when to close + The ridges of grim war. ED. + +[B] Viriatus, for eight or fourteen years leader of the Lusitanians in +the war with the Romans in the middle of the second century B.C. He +defeated many of the Roman generals, including Q. Pompeius. Some of the +historians say that he was originally a shepherd, and then a robber or +guerilla chieftain. (See Livy, books 52 and 54.)--ED. + +[C] "Whilst the chief force of the French was occupied in Portugal and +Andalusia, and there remained in the interior of Spain only a few weak +corps, the Guerilla system took deep root, and in the course of 1811 +attained its greatest perfection. Left to itself the boldest and most +enterprising of its members rose to command, and the mode of warfare +best adapted to their force and habits was pursued. Each province +boasted of a hero, in command of a formidable band--Old Castile, Don +Julian Sanches; Aragon, Longa; Navarre, Esprez y Mina, ... with +innumerable others, whose deeds spread a lustre over every part of the +kingdom.... Mina and Longa headed armies of 6000 or 8000 men with +distinguished ability, and displayed manoeuvres oftentimes for months +together, in baffling the pursuit of more numerous bodies of French, +which would reflect credit on the most celebrated commanders." Mina had +been trained for clerical life. (See _Account of the War in Spain and +Portugal, and in the south of France, from 1808 to 1814 inclusive_, by +Lieut.-Colonel John T. Jones. London, 1818.)--ED. + +[D] Sertorius.--W. W. 1827. See note to _The Prelude_ book i. vol. iii. +p. 138.--ED. + + + + +"THE POWER OF ARMIES IS A VISIBLE THING" + +Composed 1811.--Published 1815 + + +One of the "Sonnets dedicated to Liberty." + + + The power of Armies is a visible thing,[A] + Formal, and circumscribed in time and space;[1] + But who the limits of that power shall trace[2] + Which a brave People into light can bring + Or hide, at will,--for freedom combating 5 + By just revenge inflamed? No foot may chase,[3] + No eye can follow, to a fatal[4] place + That power, that spirit, whether on the wing + Like the strong wind, or sleeping like the wind + Within its awful caves.--From year to year 10 + Springs this indigenous produce far and near; + No craft this subtle element can bind, + Rising like water from the soil, to find + In every nook a lip that it may cheer. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1827. + + ... and place; 1815. + +[2] 1827. + + ... can trace 1815. + +[3] 1827. + + ... can chase, 1815. + +[4] The word "fatal" was _italicised_ in the editions of 1815-43. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] Compare Aubrey de Vere's _Picturesque Sketches of Greece and +Turkey_, vol. i. chap. viii. p. 204.--ED. + + + + +"HERE PAUSE: THE POET CLAIMS AT LEAST THIS PRAISE" + +Composed 1811.--Published 1815 + + +Included among the "Sonnets dedicated to Liberty." In 1815 it was called +_Conclusion_, as ending this series of poems in that edition. In all +editions it was headed by the date _1811_.--ED. + + + Here pause: the poet claims at least this praise, + That virtuous Liberty hath been the scope + Of his pure song, which did not shrink from hope + In the worst moment of these evil days; + From hope, the paramount _duty_ that Heaven lays, 5 + For its own honour, on man's suffering heart.[A] + Never may from our souls one truth depart-- + That an accursed[1] thing it is to gaze + On prosperous tyrants with a dazzled eye; + Nor--touched with due abhorrence of _their_ guilt 10 + For whose dire ends tears flow, and blood is spilt, + And justice labours in extremity-- + Forget thy weakness, upon which is built, + O wretched man, the throne of tyranny! + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] The word "accursed" was _italicised_ in the editions of 1815-43. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] Compare _The Excursion_ (book iv. l. 763)-- + + We live by Admiration, Hope, and Love, + +and S. T. C. in _The Friend_ (vol. i. p. 172). "What an awful duty, what +a nurse of all others, the fairest virtues, does not Hope become! We are +bad ourselves, because we despair of the goodness of others."--ED. + + + + +EPISTLE TO SIR GEORGE HOWLAND BEAUMONT, BART. + +FROM THE SOUTH-WEST COAST OF CUMBERLAND.--1811 + +Composed 1811.--Published 1842 + + +[This poem opened, when first written, with a paragraph that has been +transferred as an introduction to the first series of my Scotch +Memorials. The journey, of which the first part is here described, was +from Grasmere to Bootle on the south-west coast of Cumberland, the whole +among mountain roads through a beautiful country; and we had fine +weather. The verses end with our breakfast at the head of Yewdale in a +yeoman's house, which, like all the other property in that sequestered +vale, has passed or is passing into the hands of Mr. James Marshall of +Monk Coniston--in Mr. Knott's, the late owner's, time called Waterhead. +Our hostess married a Mr. Oldfield, a lieutenant in the Navy. They lived +together for some time at Hacket, where she still resides as his widow. +It was in front of that house, on the mountain side, near which stood +the peasant who, while we were passing at a distance, saluted us, waving +a kerchief in her hand as described in the poem.[A] (This matron and her +husband were then residing at the Hacket. The house and its inmates are +referred to in the fifth book of _The Excursion_, in the passage +beginning-- + + You behold, + High on the breast of yon dark mountain, dark + With stony barrenness, a shining speck.--J. C.)[B] + +The dog which we met with soon after our starting belonged to Mr. +Rowlandson, who for forty years was curate of Grasmere in place of the +rector who lived to extreme old age in a state of insanity. Of this Mr. +R. much might be said, both with reference to his character, and the way +in which he was regarded by his parishioners. He was a man of a robust +frame, had a firm voice and authoritative manner, of strong natural +talents, of which he was himself conscious, for he has been heard to say +(it grieves me to add) with an oath--"If I had been brought up at +college I should have been a bishop." Two vices used to struggle in him +for mastery, avarice and the love of strong drink; but avarice, as is +common in like cases, always got the better of its opponent; for, though +he was often intoxicated, it was never I believe at his own expense. As +has been said of one in a more exalted station, he would take any +_given_ quantity. I have heard a story of him which is worth the +telling. One summer's morning, our Grasmere curate, after a night's +carouse in the vale of Langdale, on his return home, having reached a +point near which the whole of the vale of Grasmere might be seen with +the lake immediately below him, stepped aside and sat down on the turf. +After looking for some time at the landscape, then in the perfection of +its morning beauty, he exclaimed--"Good God, that I should have led so +long such a life in such a place!" This no doubt was deeply felt by him +at the time, but I am not authorised to say that any noticeable +amendment followed. Penuriousness strengthened upon him as his body grew +feebler with age. He had purchased property and kept some land in his +own hands, but he could not find in his heart to lay out the necessary +hire for labourers at the proper season, and consequently he has often +been seen in half-dotage working his hay in the month of November by +moonlight, a melancholy sight which I myself have witnessed. +Notwithstanding all that has been said, this man, on account of his +talents and superior education, was looked up to by his parishioners, +who without a single exception lived at that time (and most of them upon +their own small inheritances) in a state of republican equality, a +condition favourable to the growth of kindly feelings among them, and +in a striking degree exclusive to temptations to gross vice and +scandalous behaviour. As a pastor their curate did little or nothing for +them; but what could more strikingly set forth the efficacy of the +Church of England through its Ordinances and Liturgy than that, in spite +of the unworthiness of the minister, his church was regularly attended; +and, though there was not much appearance in the flock of what might be +called animated piety, intoxication was rare, and dissolute morals +unknown. With the Bible they were for the most part well acquainted; +and, as was strikingly shown when they were under affliction, must have +been supported and comforted by habitual belief in those truths which it +is the aim of the Church to inculcate. _Loughrigg Tarn._--This beautiful +pool and the surrounding scene are minutely described in my little Book +upon the Lakes. Sir G. H. Beaumont, in the earlier part of his life, was +induced, by his love of nature and the art of painting, to take up his +abode at Old Brathay, about three miles from this spot, so that he must +have seen it under many aspects; and he was so much pleased with it that +he purchased the Tarn with a view to build, near it, such a residence as +is alluded to in this Epistle. Baronets and knights were not so common +in that day as now, and Sir Michael le Fleming, not liking to have a +rival in that kind of distinction so near him, claimed a sort of +Lordship over the territory, and showed dispositions little in unison +with those of Sir G. Beaumont, who was eminently a lover of peace. The +project of building was in consequence given up, Sir George retaining +possession of the Tarn. Many years afterwards a Kendal tradesman born +upon its banks applied to me for the purchase of it, and accordingly it +was sold for the sum that had been given for it, and the money was laid +out under my direction upon a substantial oak fence for a certain number +of yew trees to be planted in Grasmere church-yard; two were planted in +each enclosure, with a view to remove, after a certain time, the one +which throve least. After several years, the stouter plant being left, +the others were taken up and placed in other parts of the same +church-yard, and were adequately fenced at the expense and under the +care of the late Mr. Barber, Mr. Greenwood, and myself: the whole eight +are now thriving, and are already an ornament to a place which, during +late years, has lost much of its rustic simplicity by the introduction +of iron palisades to fence off family burying-grounds, and by numerous +monuments, some of them in very bad taste; from which this place of +burial was in my memory quite free. See the lines in the sixth book of +_The Excursion_ beginning--"Green is the church-yard, beautiful and +green." The _Epistle_ to which these notes refer, though written so far +back as 1804,[C] was carefully revised so late as 1842, previous to its +publication. I am loth to add, that it was never seen by the person to +whom it is addressed. So sensible am I of the deficiencies in all that I +write, and so far does everything I attempt fall short of what I wish it +to be, that even private publication, if such a term may be allowed, +requires more resolution than I can command. I have written to give vent +to my own mind, and not without hope that, some time or other, kindred +minds might benefit by my labours: but I am inclined to believe I should +never have ventured to send forth any verses of mine to the world if it +had not been done on the pressure of personal occasions. Had I been a +rich man, my productions, like this _Epistle_, the tragedy of _The +Borderers_, etc., would most likely have been confined to +manuscript.--I. F.] + +Included among the "Miscellaneous Poems."--ED. + + + Far from our home by Grasmere's quiet Lake, + From the Vale's peace which all her fields partake, + Here on the bleakest point of Cumbria's shore + We sojourn stunned by Ocean's ceaseless roar; + While, day by day, grim neighbour! huge Black Comb + Frowns deepening visibly his native gloom, 6 + Unless, perchance rejecting in despite + What on the Plain _we_ have of warmth and light, + In his own storms he hides himself from sight. + Rough is the time; and thoughts, that would be free 10 + From heaviness, oft fly, dear Friend, to thee; + Turn from a spot where neither sheltered road + Nor hedge-row screen invites my steps abroad; + Where one poor Plane-tree, having as it might + Attained a stature twice a tall man's height, 15 + Hopeless of further growth, and brown and sere + Through half the summer, stands with top cut sheer, + Like an unshifting weathercock which proves + How cold the quarter that the wind best loves, + Or like a Centinel[1] that, evermore 20 + Darkening the window, ill defends the door + Of this unfinished house--a Fortress bare, + Where strength has been the Builder's only care; + Whose rugged walls may still for years demand + The final polish of the Plasterer's hand. 25 + --This Dwelling's Inmate more than three weeks' space + And oft a Prisoner in the cheerless place, + I--of whose touch the fiddle would complain, + Whose breath would labour at the flute in vain, + In music all unversed, nor blessed with skill 30 + A bridge to copy, or to paint a mill, + Tired of my books, a scanty company! + And tired of listening to the boisterous sea-- + Pace between door and window muttering rhyme, + An old resource to cheat a froward time! 35 + Though these dull hours (mine is it, or their shame?) + Would tempt me to renounce that humble aim. + --But if there be a Muse who, free to take + Her seat upon Olympus, doth forsake + Those heights (like Phoebus when his golden locks 40 + He veiled, attendant on Thessalian flocks) + And, in disguise, a Milkmaid with her pail + Trips down the pathways of some winding dale; + Or, like a Mermaid, warbles on the shores + To fishers mending nets beside their doors; 45 + Or, Pilgrim-like, on forest moss reclined, + Gives plaintive ditties to the heedless wind, + Or listens to its play among the boughs + Above her head and so forgets her vows-- + If such a Visitant of Earth there be 50 + And she would deign this day to smile on me + And aid my verse, content with local bounds + Of natural beauty and life's daily rounds, + Thoughts, chances, sights, or doings, which we tell + Without reserve to those whom we love well-- 55 + Then haply, Beaumont! words in current clear + Will flow, and on a welcome page appear + Duly before thy sight, unless they perish here. + + What shall I treat of? News from Mona's Isle? + Such have we, but unvaried in its style; 60 + No tales of Runagates fresh landed, whence + And wherefore fugitive or on what pretence; + Of feasts, or scandal, eddying like the wind + Most restlessly alive when most confined. + Ask not of me, whose tongue can best appease 65 + The mighty tumults of the HOUSE OF KEYS; + The last year's cup whose Ram or Heifer gained, + What slopes are planted, or what mosses drained: + An eye of fancy only can I cast + On that proud pageant now at hand or past, 70 + When full five hundred boats in trim array, + With nets and sails outspread and streamers gay, + And chanted hymns and stiller voice of prayer, + For the old Manx-harvest to the Deep repair, + Soon as the herring-shoals at distance shine 75 + Like beds of moonlight shifting on the brine. + + Mona from our Abode is daily seen, + But with a wilderness of waves between; + And by conjecture only can we speak + Of aught transacted there in bay or creek; 80 + No tidings reach us thence from town or field, + Only faint news her mountain sunbeams yield, + And some we gather from the misty air, + And some the hovering clouds, our telegraph, declare. + But these poetic mysteries I withhold; 85 + For Fancy hath her fits both hot and cold, + And should the colder fit with You be on + When You might read, my credit would be gone. + + Let more substantial themes the pen engage, + And nearer interests culled from the opening stage 90 + Of our migration.--Ere the welcome dawn + Had from the east her silver star withdrawn, + The Wain stood ready, at our Cottage-door, + Thoughtfully freighted with a various store; + And long or ere the uprising of the Sun 95 + O'er dew-damped dust our journey was begun, + A needful journey, under favouring skies, + Through peopled Vales; yet something in the guise + Of those old Patriarchs when from well to well + They roamed through Wastes where now the tented Arabs 100 + dwell. + + Say first, to whom did we the charge confide, + Who promptly undertook the Wain to guide + Up many a sharply-twining road and down, + And over many a wide hill's craggy crown, + Through the quick turns of many a hollow nook, 105 + And the rough bed of many an unbridged brook? + A blooming Lass--who in her better hand + Bore a light switch, her sceptre of command + When, yet a slender Girl, she often led, + Skilful and bold, the horse and burthened _sled_[D] 110 + From the peat-yielding Moss on Gowdar's head. + What could go wrong with such a Charioteer + For goods and chattels, or those Infants dear, + A Pair who smilingly sat side by side, + Our hope confirming that the salt-sea tide, 115 + Whose free embraces we were bound to seek, + Would their lost strength restore and freshen the pale cheek? + Such hope did either Parent entertain + Pacing behind along the silent lane. + + Blithe hopes and happy musings soon took flight, 120 + For lo! an uncouth melancholy sight-- + On a green bank a creature stood forlorn + Just half protruded to the light of morn, + Its hinder part concealed by hedge-row thorn. + The Figure called to mind a beast of prey 125 + Stript of its frightful powers by slow decay, + And, though no longer upon rapine bent, + Dim memory keeping of its old intent. + We started, looked again with anxious eyes, + And in that griesly object recognise 130 + The Curate's Dog--his long-tried friend, for they, + As well we knew, together had grown grey. + The Master died, his drooping servant's grief + Found at the Widow's feet some sad relief;[2] + Yet still he lived in pining discontent, 135 + Sadness which no indulgence could prevent; + Hence whole day wanderings, broken nightly sleeps + And lonesome watch that out of doors he keeps; + Not oftentimes, I trust, as we, poor brute! + Espied him on his legs sustained, blank, mute, 140 + And of all visible motion destitute, + So that the very heaving of his breath + Seemed stopt, though by some other power than death. + Long as we gazed upon the form and face, + A mild domestic pity kept its place, 145 + Unscared by thronging fancies of strange hue + That haunted us in spite of what we knew. + Even now I sometimes think of him as lost + In second-sight appearances, or crost + By spectral shapes of guilt, or to the ground, 150 + On which he stood, by spells unnatural bound, + Like a gaunt shaggy Porter forced to wait + In days of old romance at Archimago's gate. + + Advancing Summer, Nature's law fulfilled, + The choristers in every grove had stilled; 155 + But we, we lacked not music of our own, + For lightsome Fanny had thus early thrown, + Mid the gay prattle of those infant tongues, + Some notes prelusive, from the round of songs + With which, more zealous than the liveliest bird 160 + That in wild Arden's brakes was ever heard, + Her work and her work's partners she can cheer, + The whole day long, and all days of the year. + + Thus gladdened from our own dear Vale we pass + And soon approach Diana's Looking-glass! 165 + To Loughrigg-tarn, round, clear, and bright as heaven, + Such name Italian fancy would have given, + Ere on its banks the few grey cabins rose + That yet disturb not its concealed repose + More than the feeblest wind that idly blows. 170 + + Ah, Beaumont! when an opening in the road + Stopped me at once by charm of what it showed, + The encircling region vividly exprest + Within the mirror's depth, a world at rest-- + Sky streaked with purple, grove and craggy _bield_,[E] 175 + And the smooth green of many a pendent field, + And, quieted and soothed, a torrent small, + A little daring would-be waterfall, + One chimney smoking and its azure wreath, + Associate all in the calm Pool beneath, 180 + With here and there a faint imperfect gleam + Of water-lilies veiled in misty steam-- + What wonder at this hour of stillness deep, + A shadowy link 'tween wakefulness and sleep, + When Nature's self, amid such blending, seems 185 + To render visible her own soft dreams, + If, mixed with what appeared of rock, lawn, wood, + Fondly embosomed in the tranquil flood, + A glimpse I caught of that Abode, by Thee + Designed to rise in humble privacy, 190 + A lowly Dwelling, here to be outspread, + Like a small Hamlet, with its bashful head + Half hid in native trees. Alas 'tis not, + Nor ever was; I sighed, and left the spot + Unconscious of its own untoward lot, 195 + And thought in silence, with regret too keen, + Of unexperienced joys that might have been; + Of neighbourhood and intermingling arts, + And golden summer days uniting cheerful hearts. + But time, irrevocable time, is flown, 200 + And let us utter thanks for blessings sown + And reaped--what hath been, and what is, our own. + + Not far we travelled ere a shout of glee, + Startling us all, dispersed my reverie; + Such shout as many a sportive echo meeting 205 + Oft-times from Alpine _chalets_ sends a greeting. + Whence the blithe hail? behold a Peasant stand + On high, a kerchief waving in her hand! + Not unexpectant that by early day + Our little Band would thrid this mountain way, 210 + Before her cottage on the bright hill side + She hath advanced with hope to be descried. + Right gladly answering signals we displayed, + Moving along a tract of morning shade, + And vocal wishes sent of like good will 215 + To our kind Friend high on the sunny hill-- + Luminous region, fair as if the prime + Were tempting all astir to look aloft or climb; + Only the centre of the shining cot + With door left open makes a gloomy spot, 220 + Emblem of those dark corners sometimes found + Within the happiest breast on earthly ground. + + Rich prospect left behind of stream and vale, + And mountain-tops, a barren ridge we scale; + Descend and reach, in Yewdale's depths, a plain 225 + With haycocks studded, striped with yellowing grain-- + An area level as a Lake and spread + Under a rock too steep for man to tread, + Where sheltered from the north and bleak north-west + Aloft the Raven hangs a visible nest, 230 + Fearless of all assaults that would her brood molest. + Hot sunbeams fill the steaming vale; but hark, + At our approach, a jealous watch-dog's bark, + Noise that brings forth no liveried Page of state, + But the whole household, that our coming wait. 235 + With Young and Old warm greetings we exchange, + And jocund smiles, and toward the lowly Grange + Press forward by the teasing dogs unscared. + Entering, we find the morning meal prepared: + So down we sit, though not till each had cast 240 + Pleased looks around the delicate repast-- + Rich cream, and snow-white eggs fresh from the nest, + With amber honey from the mountain's breast; + Strawberries from lane or woodland, offering wild + Of children's industry, in hillocks piled; 245 + Cakes for the nonce,[3] and butter fit to lie + Upon a lordly dish; frank hospitality + Where simple art with bounteous nature vied, + And cottage comfort shunned not seemly pride. + + Kind Hostess! Handmaid also of the feast, 250 + If thou be lovelier than the kindling East, + Words by thy presence unrestrained may speak + Of a perpetual dawn from brow and cheek + Instinct with light whose sweetest promise lies, + Never retiring, in thy large dark eyes, 255 + Dark but to every gentle feeling true, + As if their lustre flowed from ether's purest blue. + + Let me not ask what tears may have been wept + By those bright eyes, what weary vigils kept, + Beside that hearth what sighs may have been heaved 260 + For wounds inflicted, nor what toil relieved + By fortitude and patience, and the grace + Of heaven in pity visiting the place. + Not unadvisedly those secret springs + I leave unsearched: enough that memory clings, 265 + Here as elsewhere, to notices that make + Their own significance for hearts awake, + To rural incidents, whose genial powers + Filled with delight three summer morning hours. + + More could my pen report of grave or gay 270 + That through our gipsy travel cheered the way; + But, bursting forth above the waves, the Sun + Laughs at my pains, and seems to say, "Be done." + Yet, Beaumont, thou wilt not, I trust, reprove + This humble offering made by Truth to Love, 275 + Nor chide the Muse that stooped to break a spell + Which might have else been on me yet:-- + FAREWELL. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1845. + + Or stedfast Centinel ... 1842. + +[2] + + Until the Vale she quitted, and their door + Was closed, to which she will return no more; + But first old Faithful to a neighbour's care + Was given in charge; nor lacked he dainty fare, + And in the chimney nook was free to lie + And doze, or, if his hour were come, to die. + + Inserted only in the edition of 1842. + +[3] The phrase "for the nonce" was _italicised_ in 1842. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] In the MS. of these Fenwick notes, the following is written in +pencil, the passage referred to beginning with "Our hostess," and ending +at "the poem." "Revise this sentence. Here is something involved."--ED. + +[B] _i.e._ John Carter, Wordsworth's confidential clerk, who saw the +edition of 1857 through the press. The sentence enclosed within brackets +and signed J. C. is his.--ED. + +[C] See the note dealing with this date (p. 269). It should be 1811.--ED. + +[D] A local word for Sledge.--W. W. 1842. + +[E] A word common in the country, signifying shelter, as in Scotland.--W. +W. 1842. + + + + +UPON PERUSING THE FOREGOING EPISTLE THIRTY YEARS AFTER ITS COMPOSITION + +Composed 1841.--Published 1842 + + +Included among the "Miscellaneous Poems."--ED. + + + Soon did the Almighty Giver of all rest + Take those dear young Ones to a fearless nest; + And in Death's arms has long reposed the Friend + For whom this simple Register was penned. + Thanks to the moth that spared it for our eyes; 5 + And Strangers even the slighted Scroll may prize, + Moved by the touch of kindred sympathies. + For--save the calm, repentance sheds o'er strife + Raised by remembrances of misused life, + The light from past endeavours purely willed 10 + And by Heaven's favour happily fulfilled; + Save hope that we, yet bound to Earth, may share + The joys of the Departed--what so fair + As blameless pleasure, not without some tears, + Reviewed through Love's transparent veil of years?[A] 15 + + + The mighty tumults of the HOUSE OF KEYS; + +The Isle of Man has a constitution of its own, independent of the +Imperial Parliament. The House of twenty-four Keys is the popular +assembly, corresponding to the British House of Commons; the +Lieutenant-Governor and Council constitute the Upper House. All +legislative measures must be first considered and passed by both +branches, and afterwards transmitted to the English Sovereign for the +Royal Assent before becoming law. + + Mona from our Abode is daily seen, + But with a wilderness of waves between; + +In a letter written from Bootle to Sir George Beaumont on the 28th +August 1811, Wordsworth says:-- + + "This is like most others, a bleak and treeless coast, but + abounding in corn fields, and with a noble beach, which is + delightful either for walking or riding. The Isle of Man is right + opposite our window; and though in this unsettled weather often + invisible, its appearance has afforded us great amusement. One + afternoon above the whole length of it was stretched a body of + clouds, shaped and coloured like a magnificent grove in winter, + when whitened with snow and illuminated, by the morning sun, + which, having melted the snow in part, has intermingled black + masses among the brightness. The whole sky was scattered over with + fleecy dark clouds, such as any sunshiny day produces, and which + were changing their shapes and positions every moment. But this + line of clouds was immovably attached to the island, and + manifestly took their shape from the influence of its mountains. + There appeared to be just span enough of sky to allow the hand to + slide between the top of Snafell, the highest peak in the island, + and the base of this glorious forest, in which little change was + noticeable for more than the space of half an hour." + +In the Fenwick note, Wordsworth tells us that this _Epistle_ was written +in 1804; and by referring to the note prefixed to the first poem in the +"Memorials of a Tour in Scotland," 1803, (see vol. ii. p. 377), it will +be seen that the lines entitled _Departure from the Vale of Grasmere, +August, 1803_, beginning-- + + The gentlest Shade that walked Elysian plains, + +were "not actually written for the occasion, but transplanted from my +_Epistle to Sir George Beaumont_." + +It does not follow from this, however, that the lines belong to the year +1803 or 1804; because they were not published along with the earlier +"Memorials" of the Scotch Tour, but appeared for the first time in the +edition of 1827. It is certain that Wordsworth travelled down with his +household from the Grasmere Parsonage to Bootle in August 1811--mainly +to get some sea-air for his invalid children--and that he lived there +for some time during the autumn of that year. He _may_ have also gone +down to the south-west coast of Cumberland in 1804, and then written a +part of the poem; but we have no direct evidence of this; and I rather +think that the mention of the year 1804 to Miss Fenwick is just another +instance in which Wordsworth's memory failed him while dictating these +memoranda. If the poem was not written at different times, but was +composed as a whole in 1811, we may partly account for the date he gave +to Miss Fenwick, when we remember that in the year 1827 he transferred +a part of it (viz. the introduction) to these "Memorials" of the Scotch +Tour of 1803. + + Up many a sharply-twining road and down, + And over many a wide hill's craggy crown, + Through the quick turns of many a hollow nook, + And the rough bed of many an unbridged brook. + +Their route would be from Grasmere by Red Bank, over by High Close to +Elter Water, by Colwith into Yewdale, on to Waterhead; then probably, +from Coniston over Walna Scar, into Duddondale, and thence to Bootle. + + Like a gaunt shaggy Porter forced to wait + In days of old romance at Archimago's gate. + +See Spenser's _Faerie Queene_, book i. canto i. stanza 8. + + ... the liveliest bird + That in wild Arden's brakes was ever heard. + +Compare _As you like it_, act II. scene 5. + + And soon approach Diana's Looking-glass! + To Loughrigg-tarn, etc. + +See the note appended by Wordsworth to the sequel to this poem. + + A glimpse I caught of that Abode, by Thee + Designed to rise in humble privacy. + +He imagines the house which Sir George Beaumont intended to build at +Loughrigg Tarn, but which he never erected, to be really built by his +friend, very much as in the sonnet named _Anticipation, October, 1803_, +he supposes England to have been invaded, and the battle fought in which +"the Invaders were laid low." + + ... behold a Peasant stand + On high, a kerchief waving in her hand! + +See the Fenwick note preceding the poem. + + ... a barren ridge we scale; + Descend and reach, in Yewdale's depths, a plain. + +They went up Little Langdale, I think, past the Tarn to Fell Foot, and +crossed over the ridge of Tilberthwaite, into Yewdale by the copper +mines. + + Under a rock too steep for man to tread, + Where sheltered from the north and bleak north-west + Aloft the Raven hangs a visible nest, + Fearless of all assaults that would her brood molest. + +There is a Raven crag in Yewdale, evidently the one referred to in this +passage, and also in the passage in the first book of _The Prelude_ (see +vol. iii. p. 142), beginning-- + + Oh! when I have hung + Above the raven's nest, by knots of grass + And half-inch fissures in the slippery rock + But ill sustained, etc. + + ... toward the lowly Grange + Press forward, + +To Waterhead at the top of Coniston Lake. + +In connection with Loughrigg Tarn, compare the note to the poem +beginning-- + + So fair, so sweet, withal so sensitive, + +and also the Biographical Sketch of Professor Archer Butler, prefixed to +his _Sermons_, vol. i.--ED. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] LOUGHRIGG TARN, alluded to in the foregoing _Epistle_, resembles, +though much smaller in compass, the Lake Nemi, or _Speculum Dianae_ as it +is often called, not only in its clear waters and circular form, and the +beauty immediately surrounding it, but also as being overlooked by the +eminence of Langdale Pikes as Lake Nemi is by that of Monte Calvo. Since +this _Epistle_ was written Loughrigg Tarn has lost much of its beauty by +the felling of many natural clumps of wood, relics of the old forest, +particularly upon the farm called "The Oaks" from the abundance of that +tree which grew there. + +It is to be regretted, upon public grounds, that Sir George Beaumont did +not carry into effect his intention of constructing here a Summer +Retreat in the style I have described; as his Taste would have set an +example how buildings, with all the accommodations modern society +requires, might be introduced even into the most secluded parts of this +country without injuring their native character. The design was not +abandoned from failure of inclination on his part, but in consequence of +local untowardnesses which need not be particularised.--W. W. 1842. + + + + +UPON THE SIGHT OF A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE, + +PAINTED BY SIR G. H. BEAUMONT, BART. + +Composed 1811.--Published 1815 + + +[This was written when we dwelt in the Parsonage at Grasmere. The +principal features of the picture are Bredon Hill and Cloud Hill near +Coleorton. I shall never forget the happy feeling with which my heart +was filled when I was impelled to compose this Sonnet. We resided only +two years in this house, and during the last half of the time, which was +after this poem had been written, we lost our two children, Thomas and +Catherine. Our sorrow upon these events often brought it to my mind, and +cast me upon the support to which the last line of it gives expression-- + + "The appropriate calm of blest eternity." + +It is scarcely necessary to add that we still possess the Picture.--I.F.] + +Included among the "Miscellaneous Sonnets." In 1815 the title was simply +_Upon the Sight of a Beautiful Picture_.--ED. + + + Praised be the Art whose subtle power could stay + Yon cloud, and fix it in that glorious shape; + Nor would permit the thin smoke to escape,[A] + Nor those bright sunbeams to forsake the day; + Which stopped that band of travellers on their way, 5 + Ere they were lost within the shady wood; + And showed the Bark upon the glassy flood + For ever anchored in her sheltering bay. + Soul-soothing Art! whom[1] Morning, Noon-tide, Even, + Do serve with all their changeful pageantry; 10 + Thou, with ambition modest yet sublime, + Here, for the sight of mortal man, hast given + To one brief moment caught from fleeting time + The appropriate calm of blest eternity,[B] + + +Compare the _Elegiac Stanzas, suggested by a picture of Peele Castle, in +a Storm, painted by Sir George Beaumont_--especially the first three, +and the fifth, sixth, and seventh stanzas. (See vol. iii. p. 54.) + +In the letter written to Sir George Beaumont from Bootle, in +1811--partly quoted in the note to the previous poem (p. +268)--Wordsworth says, "A few days after I had enjoyed the pleasure of +seeing, in different moods of mind, your Coleorton landscape from my +fireside, it _suggested_ to me the following sonnet, which--having +walked out to the side of Grasmere brook, where it murmurs through the +meadows near the Church--I composed immediately-- + + Praised be the Art.... + +"The images of the smoke and the travellers are taken from your picture; +the rest were added, in order to place the thought in a clear point of +view, and for the sake of variety."--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] C. and 1838. + + ... which ... 1815. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] Compare, in Pope's _Moral Essays_, ii. 19-- + + Choose a firm cloud before it fall, and in it + Catch, ere she change, the Cynthia of this minute. ED. + +[B] Compare, in the _Elegiac Stanzas, suggested by a Picture of Peele +Castle, in a Storm_ (vol. iii. p. 55)-- + + Elysian quiet, without toil or strife. ED. + + + + +TO THE POET, JOHN DYER + +Composed 1811.--Published 1815 + + +Classed among the "Miscellaneous Sonnets." In the edition of 1815 the +title was, _To the Poet, Dyer_.--ED. + + + Bard of the Fleece, whose skilful genius made + That work a living landscape fair and bright; + Nor hallowed less with musical delight + Than those soft scenes through which thy childhood strayed, + Those southern tracts of Cambria, deep embayed, 5 + With green hills fenced, with[1] ocean's murmur lull'd;[A] + Though hasty Fame hath many a chaplet culled + For worthless brows, while in the pensive shade + Of cold neglect she leaves thy head ungraced, + Yet pure and powerful minds, hearts meek and still, 10 + A grateful few, shall love thy modest Lay, + Long as the shepherd's bleating flock shall stray + O'er naked Snowdon's wide aerial waste; + Long as the thrush shall pipe on Grongar Hill! + + +John Dyer, author of _Grongar Hill_ (1726), and _The Fleece_ (1757), was +born at Aberglasney, in Caermarthenshire, in 1698, and died in 1758. +Both Akenside and Gray, before Wordsworth's time, had signalised his +merit, in opposition to the dicta of Johnson and Horace Walpole. The +passage which Wordsworth quotes is from _The Fleece_, in which Dyer is +referring to his own ancestors, who were weavers, and "fugitives from +superstition's rage," and who brought the art of weaving "from Devon" to + + that soft tract + Of Cambria, deep-embayed, Dimetian land, + By green hills fenced, by ocean's murmur lulled. + +It will be observed that Wordsworth quotes this last line of Dyer +accurately in the edition of 1815, but changed it in 1827. + +This sonnet was possibly written before 1811, as in a letter to Lady +Beaumont, dated November 20, 1811, he speaks of it as written "some time +ago." In that letter Wordsworth writes thus of Dyer:--"His poem is in +several places dry and heavy, but its beauties are innumerable, and of a +high order. In point of _imagination_ and purity of style, I am not sure +that he is not superior to any writer of verse since the time of +Milton." He then transcribes his sonnet, and adds--"In the above is one +whole line from _The Fleece_, and also other expressions. When you read +_The Fleece_, you will recognise them."--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1827. + + By green hills fenced, by ... 1815. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] Compare Dyer's _Fleece_, book iii.--ED. + + + + +1812 + + +The years 1812 and 1813 were poetically even less productive than 1811 +had been. The first of them was saddened by domestic losses, which +deprived the poet, for a time, of the power of work, and almost of any +interest in the labour to which his life was devoted. Three short pieces +are all that belong to 1812 and 1813 respectively.--ED. + + + + +SONG FOR THE SPINNING WHEEL + +FOUNDED UPON A BELIEF PREVALENT AMONG THE PASTORAL VALES OF WESTMORELAND + +Composed 1812.--Published 1820 + + +[The belief on which this is founded I have often heard expressed by an +old neighbour of Grasmere.--I. F.] + +One of the "Poems of the Fancy."--ED. + + + Swiftly turn the murmuring wheel! + Night has brought the welcome hour, + When the weary fingers feel + Help, as if from faery power; + Dewy night o'ershades the ground; 5 + Turn the swift wheel round and round! + + Now, beneath the starry sky, + Couch[1] the widely-scattered sheep;-- + Ply the pleasant labour, ply! + For the spindle, while they sleep, 10 + Runs with speed more smooth and fine, + Gathering[2] up a trustier line. + + Short-lived likings may be bred + By a glance from fickle eyes; + But true love is like the thread 15 + Which the kindly wool supplies, + When the flocks are all at rest + Sleeping on the mountain's breast. + + +It was for Sarah Hutchinson that this _Song_ was written. She lived, for +the most part, either at Brinsop Court Herefordshire, or at Rydal Mount +Westmoreland, or at Greta Hall Keswick. When living at Greta Hall, she +acted as Southey's amanuensis. She also frequently transcribed poems for +Wordsworth, at Grasmere, Coleorton, and Rydal Mount. + +Compare the sonnet addressed _To S. H._ in the "Miscellaneous Sonnets," +I. xx.--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1827. + + Rest ... 1820. + +[2] 1832. + + With a motion smooth and fine + Gathers ... 1820. + + Runs with motion smooth and fine, + Gathering ... 1827. + + + + +COMPOSED ON THE EVE OF THE MARRIAGE OF A FRIEND IN THE VALE OF + GRASMERE, 1812 + +Composed 1812.--Published 1815 + + +Classed among the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED. + + + What need of clamorous bells, or ribands gay, + These humble nuptials to proclaim or grace? + Angels of love, look down upon the place; + Shed on the chosen vale a sun-bright day! + Yet no proud gladness would the Bride display 5 + Even for such promise:[1]--serious is her face, + Modest her mien; and she, whose thoughts keep pace + With gentleness, in that becoming way + Will thank you. Faultless does the Maid appear; + No disproportion in her soul, no strife: 10 + But, when the closer view of wedded life + Hath shown that nothing human can be clear + From frailty, for that insight may the Wife + To her indulgent Lord become more dear. + + +This refers to the marriage of Thomas Hutchinson (Mrs. Wordsworth's +brother) to Mary Monkhouse, sister of the Mr. Monkhouse with whom +Wordsworth afterwards travelled on the Continent. The marriage took +place on November 1, 1812. They lived at Nadnorth for eighteen years, +and afterwards at Brinsop Court, Herefordshire, for twenty-one years. To +their son--the Rev. Thomas Hutchinson of Kimbolton, Leominster, +Herefordshire--and to their daughter--Miss Elizabeth Hutchinson of Rock +Villa, West Malvern--I am indebted for much information in reference to +their uncle and aunts. The portrait of Wordsworth in his forty-seventh +year, by Richard Carruthers, is in Mr. Hutchinson's possession at the +Rectory, Kimbolton.--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1827. + + Even for such omen would the Bride display + No mirthful gladness:-- 1815. + + + + +WATER-FOWL[A] + +Composed 1812.--Published 1827 + + + "Let me be allowed the aid of verse to describe the evolutions + which these visitants sometimes perform, on a fine day towards the + close of winter."--_Extract from the Author's Book on the + Lakes._--W. W. 1827. + +[Observed frequently over the lakes of Rydal and Grasmere.--I. F.] + +Placed among the "Poems of the Imagination."--ED. + + + Mark how the feathered tenants of the flood, + With grace of motion that might scarcely seem[B] + Inferior to angelical, prolong + Their curious pastime! shaping in mid air + (And sometimes with ambitious wing that soars 5 + High as the level of the mountain-tops) + A circuit ampler than the lake beneath-- + Their own domain; but ever, while intent + On tracing and retracing that large round, + Their jubilant activity evolves 10 + Hundreds of curves and circlets, to and fro, + Upward and downward, progress intricate + Yet unperplexed, as if one spirit swayed + Their indefatigable flight. 'Tis done-- + Ten times, or more, I fancied it had ceased; 15 + But lo! the vanished company again + Ascending; they approach--I hear their wings, + Faint, faint at first; and then an eager sound, + Past in a moment--and as faint again! + They tempt the sun to sport amid their plumes; 20 + They tempt the water, or the gleaming ice, + To show them a fair image; 'tis themselves, + Their own fair forms, upon the glimmering plain, + Painted more soft and fair as they descend + Almost to touch;--then up again aloft, 25 + Up with a sally and a flash of speed, + As if they scorned both resting-place and rest! + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] This is part of the canto of _The Recluse_, entitled "Home at +Grasmere."--ED. + +[B] For the original text, which differs from this, see _The Recluse_, +vol. viii. of this edition.--ED. + + + + +1813 + + +See the note to the previous year, 1812.--ED. + + + + +VIEW FROM THE TOP OF BLACK COMB + +Composed 1813.--Published 1815 + + +Black Comb stands at the southern extremity of Cumberland: its base +covers a much greater extent of ground than any other mountain in these +parts; and, from its situation, the summit commands a more extensive +view than any other point in Britain.--W. W. 1827. + +[Mrs. Wordsworth and I, as mentioned in the _Epistle to Sir G. +Beaumont_, lived sometime under its shadow.--I. F.] + +Included among the "Poems of the Imagination." (See the editorial note +to the following poem.)--ED. + + + This Height a ministering Angel might select: + For from the summit of BLACK COMB (dread name + Derived from clouds and storms!) the amplest range + Of unobstructed prospect may be seen + That British ground commands:--low dusky tracts, 5 + Where Trent is nursed, far southward! Cambrian hills + To the south-west, a multitudinous show; + And, in a line of eye-sight linked with these, + The hoary peaks of Scotland that give birth + To Tiviot's stream, to Annan, Tweed, and Clyde:-- 10 + Crowding the quarter whence the sun comes forth + Gigantic mountains rough with crags; beneath, + Right at the imperial station's western base + Main ocean, breaking audibly, and stretched + Far into silent regions blue and pale;-- 15 + And visibly engirding Mona's Isle + That, as we left the plain, before our sight + Stood like a lofty mount, uplifting slowly + (Above the convex of the watery globe) + Into clear view the cultured fields that streak 20 + Her[1] habitable shores, but now appears + A dwindled object, and submits to lie + At the spectator's feet.--Yon azure ridge, + Is it a perishable cloud? Or there + Do we behold the line[2] of Erin's coast?[A] 25 + Land sometimes by the roving shepherd-swain + (Like the bright confines of another world) + Not doubtfully perceived.--Look homeward now! + In depth, in height, in circuit, how serene + The spectacle, how pure!--Of Nature's works, 30 + In earth, and air, and earth-embracing sea, + A revelation infinite it seems; + Display august of man's inheritance, + Of Britain's calm felicity and power![B] + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1827. + + Its ... 1815. + +[2] 1832. + + ... the frame ... 1815. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] The Irish coast can be seen from Black Comb, but it is seldom +visible till after sundown.--ED. + +[B] Compare, in _The Minstrels of Winandermere_, by Charles Farish, p. +33-- + + Close by the sea, lone sentinel, + Black Comb his forward station keeps; + He breaks the sea's tumultuous swell, + And ponders o'er the level deeps. ED. + + + + +WRITTEN WITH A SLATE PENCIL ON A STONE, ON THE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN OF + BLACK COMB + +Composed 1813.--Published 1815 + + +[The circumstance, alluded to at the conclusion of these verses, was +told me by Dr. Satterthwaite, who was Incumbent of Bootle, a small town +at the foot of Black Comb. He had the particulars from one of the +engineers who was employed in making trigonometrical surveys of that +region.--I. F.] + +Included among the "Inscriptions."--ED. + + + Stay, bold Adventurer; rest awhile thy limbs + On this commodious Seat! for much remains + Of hard ascent before thou reach the top + Of this huge Eminence,--from blackness named, + And, to far-travelled storms of sea and land, 5 + A favourite spot of tournament and war! + But thee may no such boisterous visitants + Molest; may gentle breezes fan thy brow; + And neither cloud conceal, nor misty air + Bedim, the grand terraqueous spectacle, 10 + From centre to circumference, unveiled! + Know, if thou grudge not to prolong thy rest, + That on the summit whither thou art bound, + A geographic Labourer pitched his tent, + With books supplied and instruments of art, 15 + To measure height and distance; lonely task, + Week after week pursued!--To him was given + Full many a glimpse (but sparingly bestowed + On timid man) of Nature's processes + Upon the exalted hills. He made report 20 + That once, while there he plied his studious work + Within that canvass Dwelling, colours, lines, + And the whole surface of the out-spread map,[1] + Became invisible: for all around + Had darkness fallen--unthreatened, unproclaimed-- 25 + As if the golden day itself had been + Extinguished in a moment; total gloom, + In which he sate alone, with unclosed eyes, + Upon the blinded mountain's silent top! + + +In the editions of 1815 and 1820, the note to the previous poem, _View +from the top of Black Comb_, was appended to this one. In 1827 it was +transferred to its appropriate and permanent place.--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1837. + + Within that canvass Dwelling, suddenly + The many-coloured map before his eyes 1815. + + + + +NOVEMBER, 1813 + +Composed November 1813.--Published 1815 + + +Included among the "Sonnets dedicated to Liberty."--ED. + + + Now that all hearts are glad, all faces bright, + Our aged Sovereign sits, to the ebb and flow + Of states and kingdoms, to their joy or woe, + Insensible. He sits deprived of sight, + And lamentably wrapped in twofold night, 5 + Whom no weak hopes deceived; whose mind ensued, + Through perilous war, with regal fortitude, + Peace that should claim respect from lawless Might. + Dread King of Kings, vouchsafe a ray divine + To his forlorn condition! let thy grace 10 + Upon his inner[1] soul in mercy shine; + Permit his heart to kindle, and to embrace[2] + (Though it were[3] only for a moment's space) + The triumphs of this hour; for they are THINE! + + +The reference is to the rejoicings on the Leipzig victory of the Allied +Forces, October 16 to 19, 1813. Napoleon crossed the Rhine on the 2nd +November, and returned to Paris with the wreck of his army. George III. +was English Sovereign; but, owing to his illness, the Prince of Wales +had been appointed Regent, and assumed executive power in January 1811. +The King died at Windsor in 1820, being eighty-two years of age. He had +been entirely blind for some years before his death. The "twofold night" +referred to in the sonnet is sufficiently obvious.--ED. + + +VARIANTS: + +[1] 1815. + + ... inmost ... 1838. + + The text of 1840 returns to that of 1815. + +[2] C. and 1838. + + ... and embrace, 1815. + +[3] 1832. + + (Though were it ...) 1815. + + +END OF VOL. IV + +_Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, LIMITED, _Edinburgh_. + + + + + * * * * * + + + + +Transcriber's note: + + +1. The Tyrolese Sonnets in German were originally printed in the + Fraktur Black Letter font and are unmarked. Within these sonnets + several words appear in gesperrt (s p a c e d), these words have been + surrounded by ~tilde signs~. + +2. A full line ellipsis in poetry is represented by a single "..." and + a full line ellipsis in quoted text is represented by a row of spaced + periods, " . . . . . " + +3. Minor punctuation errors have been corrected. + +4. All footnotes have been moved to the chapter or sub-chapter ends + EXCEPTING the footnote at the end of Tyrolese Sonnet VI which has + been placed immediately after the sonnet though the chapter continues + and other succeeding footnotes appear at the end. + + Numbered footnotes are "variants" of words or phrases changed by Mr. + Wordsworth in various published versions of his work. Lettered + footnotes are those of the Editor Mr. Knight. + + In the original text the printer used multiple periods to push + single and multiple word "Variants" into the place in the notes where + they occured in the poem. In this e-text a single ellipsis (...) is + used to represent positioning of preceeding and succeeding words. + The variant anchor point indicates the relative position of the word + variant in the poem. + + In footnote [A] to the poem "In the Grounds of Coleorton", p. 79 "l. + 7." has been changed to p. 79 "l. 13." While the note correctly + identifies the 7th line of the text of the poem printed on p. 79, it + is actually l. 13. of the poem. + +5. All poetry line markers have been retained as placed and numbered + by the printer at 5, 4 or 6 line intervals. + +6. No spelling alterations have been made. A number of alternate and/or + inconsistent spellings appear in this text, including but not limited + to: + + "achieves" and "atchieved" + + "antient", "ancyent", and "ancient" + + "beloved" and "beloved" + + "birthplace" (by ED.) and "birth-place" (in poetry and notes) + + "blessed" and "blessed" + + "Buonaparte" and "Buonaparte" + + "cheer(ed)(ful)" and "chear(ed)(ful)" + + "eye-sight" and "eyesight" + + "farm-house" and "farmhouse" + + "Mauleverers" and "Mauliverers" + + "negociation" and "negotiation" + + "out-spread" and "outspread" + + "re-appearing" and "reappearing" + + "recognised" and "recognized" + + "Shakspeare('s)" (3) and "Shakespeare('s)" (3) + + "Stockton-on-Tees" and "Stockton-upon-Tees" + + "strong-hold" (in poetry) and "stronghold" (in letter) + + "winged" and "winged" + + "wreathed" and "wreathed" + +Printers error corrections: + +7. Pg. 5. "in" to "on" (befell him on the way.) + +8. Pg. 197, Note II. corrected p. 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