_The Author describes his travels with the Wanderer, whose
character is further illustrated--Morning scene, and view of a
Village Wake--Wanderer's account of a Friend whom he purposes to
visit--View, from an eminence, of the Valley which his Friend
had chosen for his retreat[100]--Sound of singing from below--A
funeral procession--Descent into the Valley--Observations drawn
from the Wanderer at sight of a book accidentally discovered
in a recess in the Valley--Meeting with the Wanderer's friend,
the Solitary--Wanderer's description of the mode of burial
in this mountainous district--Solitary contrasts with this,
that of the individual carried a few minutes before from the
cottage[101]--The cottage entered--Description of the Solitary's
apartment--Repast there--View, from the window, of two mountain
summits; and the Solitary's description of the companionship
they afford him--Account of the departed inmate of the
cottage--Description of a grand spectacle upon the mountains,
with its effect upon the Solitary's mind--Leave[102] the house._
In days of yore how fortunately fared
The Minstrel! wandering on from hall to hall,
Baronial court or royal; cheered with gifts
Munificent, and love, and ladies' praise;
Now meeting on his road an armed knight, 5
Now resting with a pilgrim by the side
Of a clear brook;--beneath an abbey's roof
One evening sumptuously lodged; the next,
Humbly in a religious hospital;
Or with some merry outlaws of the wood; 10
Or haply shrouded in a hermit's cell.
Him, sleeping or awake, the robber spared;
He walked--protected from the sword of war
By virtue of that sacred instrument
His harp, suspended at the traveller's side; 15
His dear companion wheresoe'er he went
Opening from land to land an easy way
By melody, and by the charm of verse.
Yet not the noblest of that honoured Race
Drew happier, loftier, more empassioned, thoughts 20
From his long journeyings and eventful life,
Than this obscure Itinerant had skill
To gather, ranging through the tamer ground[103]
Of these our unimaginative days;
Both while he trod the earth in humblest guise 25
Accoutred with his burthen and his staff;
And now, when free to move with lighter pace.
What wonder, then, if I, whose favourite school
Hath been the fields, the roads, and rural lanes,
[104]Looked on this guide with reverential love? 30
Each with the other pleased, we now pursued
Our journey, under[105] favourable skies.
Turn wheresoe'er we would, he was a light
Unfailing: not a hamlet could we pass,
Rarely a house, that[106] did not yield to him 35
Remembrances; or from his tongue call forth
Some way-beguiling tale. Nor less regard
Accompanied those strains of apt discourse,
Which nature's various objects might inspire;[107]
And in the silence of his face I read 40
His overflowing spirit. Birds and beasts,
And the mute fish that glances in the stream,
And harmless reptile coiling in the sun,
And gorgeous insect hovering in the air,
The fowl domestic, and the household dog-- 45
In his capacious mind, he loved them all:
Their rights acknowledging he felt for all.
Oft was occasion given me to perceive
How the calm pleasures of the pasturing herd
To happy contemplation soothed his walk; 50
[108]How the poor brute's condition, forced to run
Its course of suffering in the public road,
Sad contrast! all too often smote his heart
With unavailing pity. Rich in love
And sweet humanity, he was, himself, 55
To the degree that he desired, beloved.
Smiles of good-will from faces that he knew
Greeted us all day long;[109] we took our seats
By many a cottage-hearth, where he received
The welcome of an Inmate from afar,[110] 60
And I at once forgot, I was a Stranger.[111]
--Nor was he loth to enter ragged huts,
Huts where his charity[112] was blest; his voice
Heard as the voice of an experienced friend. 64
And, sometimes--where the poor man held dispute
With his own mind, unable to subdue
Impatience through inaptness to perceive
General distress in his particular lot;
Or cherishing resentment, or in vain
Struggling against it; with a soul perplexed, 70
And finding in herself[113] no steady power
To draw the line of comfort that divides
Calamity, the chastisement of Heaven,
From the injustice of our brother men--
To him appeal was made as to a judge; 75
Who, with an understanding heart, allayed
The perturbation; listened to the plea;
Resolved the dubious point; and sentence gave
So grounded, so applied, that it was heard
With softened spirit, even when it condemned. 80
Such intercourse I witnessed, while we roved,
Now as his choice directed, now as mine;
Or both, with equal readiness of will,
Our course submitting to the changeful breeze
Of accident. But when the rising sun 85
Had three times called us to renew our walk,
My Fellow-traveller, with earnest voice,
As if the thought were but a moment old,
Claimed absolute dominion for the day.[114]
We started--and he led me toward the hills,[115] 90
Up through an ample vale, with higher hills
Before us, mountains stern and desolate;[BJ]
But, in the majesty of distance, now
Set off, and to our ken appearing fair
Of aspect, with aërial softness clad, 95
And beautified with morning's purple beams.
The wealthy, the luxurious, by the stress
Of business roused, or pleasure, ere their time,
May roll in chariots, or provoke the hoofs
Of the fleet coursers they bestride, to raise 100
From earth the dust of morning, slow to rise;
And they, if blest with health and hearts at ease,
Shall lack not their enjoyment:--but how faint
Compared with ours! who, pacing side by side,
Could, with an eye of leisure, look on all 105
That we beheld; and lend the listening sense
To every grateful sound of earth and air;
Pausing at will--our spirits braced, our thoughts
Pleasant as roses in the thickets blown,
And pure as dew bathing their crimson leaves. 110
Mount slowly, sun! that we may journey long,
By this dark hill protected from thy beams![116]
Such is the summer pilgrim's frequent wish;
But quickly from among our morning thoughts[117]
'Twas chased away: for, toward[118] the western side
Of the broad vale, casting a casual glance, 116
We saw a throng of people;--wherefore met?
Blithe notes of music, suddenly let loose
On the thrilled ear, and flags uprising, yield[119]
Prompt answer; they proclaim the annual Wake,[BK] 120
Which the bright season favours.--Tabor and pipe
In purpose join to hasten or[120] reprove
The laggard Rustic; and repay with boons
Of merriment a party-coloured knot,
Already formed upon the village-green. 125
--Beyond the limits of the shadow cast
By the broad hill,[BL] glistened upon our sight
That gay assemblage. Round them and above,
Glitter, with dark recesses interposed,
Casement, and cottage-roof, and stems of trees 130
Half-veiled in vapoury cloud, the silver steam
Of dews fast melting on their leafy boughs
By the strong sunbeams smitten. Like a mast
Of gold, the Maypole shines; as if the rays
Of morning, aided by exhaling dew, 135
With gladsome influence could re-animate
The faded garlands dangling from its sides.
Said I, "The music and the sprightly scene
Invite us; shall we quit our road, and join
These festive matins?"--He replied, "Not loth 140
To linger I would here[121] with you partake,
Not one hour merely, but till evening's close,
The simple pastimes of the day and place.
By the fleet Racers, ere the sun be set,
The turf of yon large pasture will be skimmed; 145
There, too, the lusty Wrestlers shall[122] contend:
But know we not that he, who intermits
The appointed task and duties of the day,
Untunes full oft the pleasures of the day;
Checking the finer spirits that refuse 150
To flow, when purposes are lightly changed?
A length of journey yet remains untraced:
Let us proceed."[123] Then, pointing with his staff
Raised toward those craggy summits,[124] his intent
He thus imparted:--
"In a spot that lies 155
Among yon mountain fastnesses concealed,[BM]
You will receive, before the hour of noon,
Good recompense, I hope, for this day's toil,
From sight of One who lives secluded there,
Lonesome and lost: of whom, and whose past life, 160
(Not to forestall such knowledge as may be
More faithfully collected from himself)
This brief communication shall suffice.
"Though now sojourning there, he, like myself,
Sprang from a stock of lowly parentage 165
Among the wilds of Scotland, in a tract
Where many a sheltered and well-tended plant,
Bears, on the humblest ground of social life,
Blossoms of piety and innocence.[125]
Such grateful promises his youth displayed: 170
And, having shown in study forward zeal,
He to the Ministry was duly called;
And straight, incited by a curious mind
Filled with vague hopes, he undertook the charge[126]
Of Chaplain to a military troop[BN] 175
Cheered by the Highland bagpipe, as they marched
In plaided vest,--his fellow-countrymen.
This office filling, yet[127] by native power
And force of native inclination made
An intellectual ruler in the haunts 180
Of social vanity, he walked the world,
Gay, and affecting graceful gaiety;
Lax, buoyant--less a pastor with his flock
Than a soldier among soldiers--lived and roamed 184
Where Fortune led:--and Fortune, who oft proves
The careless wanderer's friend, to him made known
A blooming Lady--a conspicuous flower,
Admired for beauty, for her sweetness praised;
Whom he had sensibility to love,
Ambition to attempt, and skill to win. 190
"For this fair Bride, most rich in gifts of mind,
Nor sparingly endowed with worldly wealth,
His office he relinquished; and retired
From the world's notice to a rural home.
Youth's season yet with him was scarcely past, 195
And she was in youth's prime. How free their love,
How full their joy! 'Till, pitiable doom![128]
In the short course of one undreaded year,
Death blasted all. Death suddenly o'erthrew
Two lovely Children--all that they possessed! 200
The Mother followed:--miserably bare
The one Survivor stood; he wept, he prayed
For his dismissal, day and night, compelled
To hold communion with the grave, and face
With pain the regions of eternity.[129] 205
An uncomplaining apathy displaced
This anguish; and, indifferent to delight,
To aim and purpose, he consumed his days,
To private interest dead, and public care.
So lived he; so he might have died.
"But now, 210
To the wide world's astonishment, appeared
A[130] glorious opening, the unlooked-for dawn,
That promised everlasting joy to France![BO]
Her voice of social transport[131] reached even him!
He broke from his contracted bounds, repaired 215
To the great City, an emporium then
Of golden expectations, and receiving
Freights every day from a new world of hope.
Thither his popular talents he transferred;
And, from the pulpit, zealously maintained 220
The cause of Christ and civil liberty,
As one, and moving to one glorious end.
Intoxicating service! I might say
A happy service; for he was sincere
As vanity and fondness for applause, 225
And new and shapeless wishes, would allow.
"That righteous cause (such power hath freedom) bound,
For one hostility, in friendly league,[132]
Ethereal natures and the worst of slaves;
Was served by rival advocates that came 230
From regions opposite as heaven and hell.
One courage seemed to animate them all:
And, from the dazzling conquests daily gained
By their united efforts, there arose
A proud and most presumptuous confidence 235
In the transcendent wisdom of the age,
And her[133] discernment; not alone in rights,
And in the origin and bounds of power
Social and temporal; but in laws divine,
Deduced by reason, or to faith revealed. 240
An overweening trust was raised; and fear
Cast out, alike of person and of thing.
Plague from this union spread, whose subtle bane
The strongest did not easily escape;
And He, what wonder! took a mortal taint. 245
How shall I trace the change, how bear to tell
That he broke faith with them[134] whom he had laid
In earth's dark chambers, with a Christian's hope!
An infidel contempt of holy writ
Stole by degrees upon his mind; and hence 250
Life, like that Roman Janus, double-faced;
Vilest hypocrisy--the laughing, gay
Hypocrisy, not leagued with fear, but pride.
Smooth words he had to wheedle simple souls;
But, for disciples of the inner school, 255
Old freedom was old servitude, and they
The wisest whose opinions stooped the least
To known restraints; and who most boldly drew
Hopeful prognostications from a creed,
That,[135] in the light of false philosophy, 260
Spread like a halo round a misty moon,
Widening its circle as the storms advance.
"His sacred function was at length renounced;
And every day and every place enjoyed
The unshackled layman's natural liberty; 265
Speech, manners, morals, all without disguise.
I do not wish to wrong him; though the course
Of private life licentiously displayed
Unhallowed actions--planted like a crown
Upon the insolent aspiring brow 270
Of spurious notions--worn as open signs
Of prejudice subdued--still he[136] retained,
'Mid much[137] abasement, what he had received
From nature, an intense and glowing mind.
Wherefore, when humbled Liberty grew weak, 275
And mortal sickness on her face appeared,
He coloured objects to his own desire
As with a lover's passion. Yet his moods
Of pain were keen as those of better men,
Nay keener, as his fortitude was less: 280
And he continued, when worse days were come,
To deal about his sparkling eloquence,
Struggling against the strange reverse with zeal
That showed like happiness. But, in despite
Of all this outside bravery, within, 285
He neither felt encouragement nor hope:
For moral dignity, and strength of mind,
Were wanting; and simplicity of life;
And reverence for himself; and, last and best,
Confiding thoughts, through[138] love and fear of Him
Before whose sight the troubles of this world 291
Are vain, as billows in a tossing sea.
"The glory of the times fading away--
The splendour, which had given a festal air
To self-importance, hallowed it, and veiled 295
From his own sight--this gone, he forfeited[139]
All joy in human nature; was consumed,
And vexed, and chafed, by levity and scorn,
And fruitless indignation; galled by pride;
Made desperate by contempt of men who throve 300
Before his sight in power or fame, and won,
Without desert, what he desired; weak men,
Too weak even for his envy or his hate!
Tormented thus, after a wandering course
Of discontent, and inwardly opprest[140] 305
With malady--in part, I fear, provoked
By weariness of life--he fixed his home,
Or, rather say, sate down by very chance,
Among these rugged hills; where now he dwells,
And wastes the sad remainder of his hours, 310
Steeped in a self-indulging spleen, that wants not[141]
Its own voluptuousness;--on this resolved,
With this content, that he will live and die
Forgotten,--at safe distance from 'a world
Not moving to his mind.'"[BP]
These serious words 315
Closed the preparatory notices
That served my Fellow-traveller to beguile[142]
The way, while we advanced up that wide vale.[BQ]
Diverging now (as if his quest had been[143]
Some secret of the mountains, cavern, fall 320
Of water, or some lofty eminence,[144]
Renowned for splendid prospect far and wide)
We scaled, without a track to ease our steps,
A steep ascent;[BR] and reached a dreary plain,[145][BS]
With a tumultuous waste of huge hill tops 325
Before us;[BT] savage region! which I paced
Dispirited:[146] when, all at once, behold!
Beneath our feet, a little lowly vale,[BU]
A lowly vale, and yet uplifted high
Among the mountains; even as if the spot 330
Had been from eldest time by wish of theirs
So placed, to be shut out from all the world!
Urn-like it was in shape, deep as an urn;[BU]
With rocks encompassed, save that to the south 334
Was one small opening,[BV] where a heath-clad ridge
Supplied a boundary less abrupt and close;
A quiet treeless nook, with two green fields,[BW]
A liquid pool that glittered in the sun,[BX]
And one bare dwelling; one abode, no more![BY]
It seemed the home of poverty and toil, 340
Though not of want: the little fields, made green
By husbandry of many thrifty years,
Paid cheerful tribute to the moorland house.
--There crows the cock, single in his domain:
The small birds find in spring no thicket there 345
To shroud them; only from the neighbouring vales
The cuckoo, straggling up to the hill tops,
Shouteth faint tidings of some gladder place.
Ah! what a sweet Recess, thought I, is here!
Instantly throwing down my limbs at ease 350
Upon a bed of heath;--full many a spot
Of hidden beauty have I chanced to espy
Among the mountains; never one like this;
So lonesome, and so perfectly secure;
Not melancholy--no, for it is green, 355
And bright, and fertile, furnished in itself
With the few needful things that[147] life requires.
--In rugged arms how softly does it lie,[148]
How tenderly protected! Far and near
We have an image of the pristine earth, 360
The planet in its nakedness: were this
Man's only dwelling, sole appointed seat,
First, last, and single, in the breathing world,
It could not be more quiet: peace is here
Or nowhere; days unruffled by the gale 365
Of public news or private; years that pass
Forgetfully; uncalled upon to pay
The common penalties of mortal life,
Sickness, or accident, or grief, or pain.
On these and kindred thoughts intent I lay 370
In silence musing by my Comrade's side,[149]
He also silent; when from out the heart
Of that profound abyss a solemn voice,
Or several voices in one solemn sound,
Was heard ascending; mournful, deep, and slow 375
The cadence, as of psalms--a funeral dirge![BZ]
We listened, looking down upon the hut,[150]
But seeing no one: meanwhile from below
The strain continued, spiritual as before;
And now distinctly could I recognise 380
These words:--'_Shall in the grave thy love be known,_
_In death thy faithfulness?_'--"God rest his soul!"[151]
Said the old man,[152] abruptly breaking silence,--
"He is departed, and finds peace at last!"
This scarcely spoken, and those holy strains 385
Not ceasing, forth appeared in view a band
Of rustic persons, from behind the hut
Bearing a coffin in the midst, with which
They shaped their course along the sloping side
Of that small valley, singing as they moved;[CA] 390
A sober company and few, the men
Bare-headed, and all decently attired!
Some steps when they had thus advanced, the dirge
Ended; and, from the stillness that ensued
Recovering, to my Friend I said, "You spake, 395
Methought, with apprehension that these rites
Are paid to Him upon whose shy retreat
This day we purposed to intrude."--"I did so,
But let us hence, that we may learn the truth:
Perhaps it is not he[153] but some one else 400
For whom this pious service is performed;
Some other tenant of the solitude."
So, to a steep and difficult descent
Trusting ourselves, we wound from crag to crag,
Where passage could be won;[CB] and, as the last 405
Of the mute train, behind[154] the heathy top
Of that off-sloping outlet,[CC] disappeared,
I, more impatient in my downward course,[155]
Had landed upon easy ground; and there
Stood waiting for my Comrade. When behold 410
An object that enticed my steps aside!
A narrow, winding, entry opened out[156]
Into a platform--that lay, sheepfold-wise,
Enclosed between an upright[157] mass of rock
And one old moss-grown wall;--a cool recess, 415
And fanciful! For where the rock and wall
Met in an angle, hung a penthouse, framed
By thrusting two rude staves into the wall[158]
And overlaying them with mountain sods;
To weather-fend a little turf-built seat 420
Whereon a full-grown man might rest, nor dread
The burning sunshine, or a transient shower;
But the whole plainly wrought by children's hands![CD]
Whose skill had thronged the floor with a proud show[159]
Of baby-houses, curiously arranged; 425
Nor wanting ornament of walks between,
With mimic trees inserted in the turf,
And gardens interposed. Pleased with the sight,
I could not choose but beckon to my Guide, 429
Who, entering, round him threw a careless glance,
Impatient to pass on, when I exclaimed,[160]
"Lo! what is here?" and, stooping down, drew forth
A book, that, in the midst of stones and moss
And wreck of party-coloured earthen-ware,[CE]
Aptly disposed, had lent its help to raise 435
One of those petty structures. "His it must be!"
Exclaimed the Wanderer, "cannot but be his,[161]
And he is gone!"[162] The book, which in my hand
Had opened of itself (for it was swoln
With searching damp, and seemingly had lain 440
To the injurious elements exposed
From week to week,) I found to be a work
In the French tongue, a Novel of Voltaire,
His famous Optimist. "Unhappy Man!" 444
Exclaimed my Friend: "here then has been to him
Retreat within retreat, a sheltering-place
Within how deep a shelter! He had fits,
Even to the last, of genuine tenderness,
And loved the haunts of children: here, no doubt,
Pleasing and pleased, he shared their simple sports,
Or sate companionless; and here the book, 451
Left and forgotten in his careless way,
Must by the cottage-children have been found:[163]
Heaven bless them, and their inconsiderate work!
To what odd purpose have the darlings turned 455
This sad memorial of their hapless friend!"
"Me," said I, "most doth it surprise, to find
Such book in such a place!"--" A book it is,"
He answered,"to the Person suited well,
Though little suited to surrounding things: 460
'Tis strange, I grant; and stranger still had been
To see the Man who owned it, dwelling here,[164]
With one poor shepherd, far from all the world!--
Now, if our errand hath been thrown away,
As from these intimations I forebode, 465
Grieved shall I be--less for my sake than yours,
And least of all for him who is no more."
By this, the book was in the old Man's hand;
And he continued, glancing on the leaves 469
An eye of scorn:--"The lover," said he, "doomed
To love when hope hath failed him--whom no depth
Of privacy is deep enough to hide,
Hath yet his bracelet or his lock of hair,
And that is joy to him. When change of times
Hath summoned kings to scaffolds, do but give 475
The faithful servant, who must hide his head
Henceforth in whatsoever nook he may,
A kerchief sprinkled with his master's blood,
And he too hath his comforter. How poor,
Beyond all poverty how destitute, 480
Must that Man have been left, who, hither driven,
Flying or seeking, could yet bring with him
No dearer relique, and no better stay,
Than this dull product of a scoffer's pen,[CF]
Impure conceits discharging from a heart 485
Hardened by impious pride!--I did not fear
To tax you with this journey;"--mildly said
My venerable Friend, as forth we stepped
Into the presence of the cheerful light--
"For I have knowledge that you do not shrink 490
From moving spectacles;--but let us on."
So speaking, on he went, and at the word
I followed, till he made a sudden stand:
For full in view, approaching through a[165] gate
That opened from the enclosure of green fields 495
Into the rough uncultivated ground,[CG]
Behold the Man whom he had fancied dead!
I knew from his deportment, mien, and dress,[166]
That it could be no other; a pale face,
A meagre person, tall, and in a garb[167] 500
Not rustic--dull and faded like himself!
He saw us not, though distant but few steps;
For he was busy, dealing, from a store
Upon a broad leaf carried, choicest strings
Of red ripe currants;[168] gift by which he strove, 505
With intermixture of endearing words,
To soothe a Child, who walked beside him, weeping
As if disconsolate.--"They to the grave
Are bearing him, my Little-one," he said,
"To the dark pit; but he will feel no pain; 510
His body is at rest, his soul in heaven."
More might have followed--but my honoured Friend
Broke in upon the Speaker with a frank
And cordial greeting.--Vivid was the light 514
That flashed and sparkled from the other's eyes;[169][CH]
He was all fire: no shadow on his brow
Remained, nor sign of sickness on his face.[170]
Hands joined he with his Visitant,--a grasp,
An eager grasp; and many moments' space--
When the first glow of pleasure was no more, 520
And, of the sad appearance which at once
Had vanished, much was come and coming back--[171]
An amicable smile retained the life
Which it had unexpectedly received,
Upon his hollow cheek. "How kind," he said, 525
"Nor could your coming have been better timed;
For this, you see, is in our narrow[172] world
A day of sorrow. I have here a charge"--
And, speaking thus, he patted tenderly
The sun-burnt forehead of the weeping child-- 530
"A little mourner, whom it is my task
To comfort;--but how came ye?--if yon track
(Which doth at once befriend us and betray)
Conducted hither your most welcome feet,
Ye could not miss the funeral train--they yet 535
Have scarcely disappeared." "This blooming Child,"
Said the old Man, "is of an age to weep
At any grave or solemn spectacle,
Inly distressed or overpowered with awe,
He knows not wherefore;--but the boy to-day, 540
Perhaps is shedding orphan's tears; you also[173]
Must have sustained a loss."--"The hand of Death,"
He answered, "has been here; but could not well
Have fallen more lightly, if it had not fallen
Upon myself."--The other left these words 545
Unnoticed, thus continuing--
"From yon crag,
Down whose steep sides we dropped into the vale,
We heard the hymn they sang--a solemn sound
Heard any where; but in a place like this
'Tis more than human! Many precious rites 550
And customs of our rural ancestry
Are gone, or stealing from us; this, I hope,
Will last for ever.[CI] Oft on my way have I
Stood still, though but a casual passenger,
So much I felt the awfulness of life,[174] 555
In that one moment when the corse is lifted
In silence, with a hush of decency;
Then from the threshold moves with song of peace,
And confidential yearnings, tow'rds its home,
Its final home on earth.[175] What traveller--who-- 560
(How far soe'er a stranger) does not own
The bond of brotherhood, when he sees them go,
A mute procession on the houseless road;
Or passing by some single tenement
Or clustered dwellings, where again they raise 565
The monitory voice? But most of all
It touches, it confirms, and elevates,
Then, when the body, soon to be consigned
Ashes to ashes, dust bequeathed to dust,
Is raised from the church-aisle, and forward borne 570
Upon the shoulders of the next in love,
The nearest in affection or in blood;
Yea, by the very mourners who had knelt
Beside the coffin, resting on its lid
In silent grief their unuplifted heads,[CJ] 575
And heard meanwhile the Psalmist's mournful plaint,
And that most awful scripture which declares
We shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed!
--Have I not seen--ye likewise may have seen--
Son, husband, brothers--brothers side by side, 580
And son and father also side by side,
Rise from that posture:--and in concert move,
On the green turf following the vested Priest,
Four dear supporters of one senseless weight,
From which they do not shrink, and under which 585
They faint not, but advance towards the open grave[176]
Step after step--together, with their firm
Unhidden faces: he that suffers most,
He outwardly, and inwardly perhaps,
The most serene, with most undaunted eye!-- 590
Oh! blest are they who live and die like these,
Loved with such love, and with such sorrow mourned!"
"That poor Man taken hence to-day," replied
The Solitary, with a faint sarcastic smile
Which did not please me, "must be deemed, I fear,
Of the unblest; for he will surely sink 596
Into his mother earth without such pomp
Of grief, depart without occasion given
By him for such array of fortitude.
Full seventy winters hath he lived, and mark! 600
This simple Child will mourn his one short hour,
And I shall miss him; scanty tribute! yet,
This wanting, he would leave the sight of men,
If love were his sole claim upon their care,
Like a ripe date which in the desert falls 605
Without a hand to gather it."
At this
I interposed, though loth to speak, and said,
"Can it be thus among so small a band
As ye must needs be here? in such a place
I would not willingly, methinks, lose sight 610
Of a departing cloud."--"'Twas not for love"
Answered the sick Man with a careless voice--
"That I came hither; neither have I found
Among associates who have power of speech,
Nor in such other converse as is here, 615
Temptation so prevailing as to change
That mood, or undermine my first resolve."
Then, speaking in like careless sort, he said
To my benign Companion,--"Pity 'tis
That fortune did not guide you to this house 620
A few days earlier; then would you have seen
What stuff the Dwellers in a solitude,
That seems by Nature hollowed out to be
The seat and bosom of pure innocence,[177]
Are made of, an ungracious matter this! 625
Which, for truth's sake, yet in remembrance too
Of past discussions with this zealous friend
And advocate of humble life, I now
Will force upon his notice; undeterred
By the example of his own pure course, 630
And that respect and deference which a soul
May fairly claim, by niggard age enriched
In what she most doth value, love of God[178]
And his frail creature Man;--but ye shall hear.
I talk--and ye are standing in the sun 635
Without refreshment!"
Quickly had he spoken,
And, with light steps still quicker than his words,
Led toward the Cottage. Homely was the spot;[179]
And, to my feeling, ere we reached the door,
Had almost a forbidding nakedness; 640
Less fair, I grant, even painfully less fair,
Than it appeared when from the beetling rock[180]
We had looked down upon it. All within,
As left by the[181] departed company,
Was silent; save the solitary clock 645
That on mine ear ticked with a mournful sound.--[182]
Following our Guide, we clomb the cottage-stairs
And reached a small apartment dark and low,
Which was no sooner entered than our Host
Said gaily, "This is my domain, my cell, 650
My hermitage, my cabin, what you will--
I love it better than a snail his house.
But now ye shall be feasted with our best."[CK]
So, with more ardour than an unripe girl
Left one day mistress of her mother's stores, 655
He went about his hospitable task.
My eyes were busy, and my thoughts no less,
And pleased I looked upon my grey-haired Friend,
As if to thank him; he returned that look,
Cheered, plainly, and yet serious. What a wreck 660
Had we about us![183] scattered was the floor,
And, in like sort, chair, window-seat, and shelf,
With books, maps, fossils, withered plants and flowers,
And tufts of mountain moss. Mechanic tools
Lay intermixed with scraps of paper, some[184] 665
Scribbled with verse: a broken angling-rod
And shattered telescope, together linked
By cobwebs, stood within a dusty nook;
And instruments of music, some half-made,
Some in disgrace, hung dangling from the walls. 670
But speedily the promise was fulfilled;
A feast before us, and a[185] courteous Host
Inviting us in glee to sit and eat.
A napkin, white as foam of that rough brook
By which it had been bleached, o'erspread the board;
And was itself half-covered with a store[186] 676
Of dainties,--oaten bread, curd,[187] cheese, and cream;
And cakes of butter curiously embossed,
Butter that had imbibed from meadow-flowers
A golden hue, delicate as their own 680
Faintly reflected in a lingering stream."[188]
Nor lacked, for more delight on that warm day,
Our table small parade of garden fruits,
And whortle-berries from the mountain side.
The Child, who long ere this had stilled his sobs, 685
Was now[189] a help to his late comforter,
And moved, a willing Page, as he was bid,
Ministering to our need.
In genial mood,
While at our pastoral banquet thus we sate
Fronting the window of that little cell, 690
I could not, ever and anon, forbear
To glance an upward look on two huge Peaks,
That from some other vale peered into this.[CL]
"Those lusty twins," exclaimed our host, "if here
It were your lot to dwell, would soon become[190] 695
Your prized companions.--Many are the notes
Which, in his tuneful course, the wind draws forth
From rocks, woods, caverns, heaths, and dashing shores;
And well those lofty brethren bear their part
In the wild concert--chiefly when the storm 700
Rides high; then all the upper air they fill
With roaring sound, that ceases not to flow,
Like smoke, along the level of the blast,
In mighty current; theirs, too, is the song
Of stream and headlong flood that seldom fails; 705
And, in the grim and breathless hour of noon,
Methinks that I have heard them echo back
The thunder's greeting. Nor have nature's laws
Left them ungifted with a power to yield
Music of finer tone;[191] a harmony, 710
So do I call it, though it be the hand
Of silence, though there be no voice;--the clouds,
The mist, the shadows, light of golden suns,
Motions of moonlight, all come thither--touch,
And have an answer--thither come, and shape 715
A language not unwelcome to sick hearts
And idle spirits:--there the sun himself,
At the calm close of summer's longest day,[CM]
Rests his substantial orb;--between those heights
And on the top of either pinnacle, 720
More keenly than elsewhere in night's blue vault,
Sparkle the stars, as of their station proud.
Thoughts are not busier in the mind of man
Than the mute agents stirring there:--alone
Here do I sit and watch."--[CN]
A fall of voice, 725
Regretted like the nightingale's last note,
Had scarcely closed this high-wrought strain of rapture
Ere with inviting smile the Wanderer said:[192]
"Now for the tale with which you threatened us!"
"In truth the threat escaped me unawares: 730
Should the tale tire you, let this challenge stand
For my excuse. Dissevered from mankind,
As to your eyes and thoughts we must have seemed[193]
When ye looked down upon us from the crag,
Islanders mid[194] a stormy mountain sea, 735
We are not so;--perpetually we touch
Upon the vulgar ordinances[195] of the world;
And he, whom this our cottage hath to-day
Relinquished, lived[196] dependent for his bread
Upon the laws of public charity. 740
The Housewife, tempted by such slender gains
As might from that occasion be distilled,
Opened, as she before had done for me,
Her doors to admit this homeless Pensioner;
The portion gave of coarse but wholesome fare 745
Which appetite required--a blind dull nook,
Such as she had, the _kennel_ of his rest!
This, in itself not ill, would yet have been
Ill borne in earlier life; but his was now
The still contentedness of seventy years. 750
Calm did he sit under[197] the wide-spread tree
Of his old age: and yet less calm and meek,
Winningly meek or venerably calm,
Than slow and torpid; paying in this wise
A penalty, if penalty it were, 755
For spendthrift feats, excesses of his prime.
I loved the old Man, for I pitied him!
A task it was, I own, to hold discourse
With one so slow in gathering up his thoughts,
But he was a cheap pleasure to my eyes; 760
Mild, inoffensive, ready in _his_ way,
And helpful[198] to his utmost power: and there
Our housewife knew full well what she possessed
He was her vassal of all labour, tilled
Her garden, from the pasture fetched her kine; 765
And, one among the orderly array
Of hay-makers, beneath the burning sun
Maintained his place; or heedfully pursued
His course, on errands bound, to other vales,
Leading sometimes an inexperienced child 770
Too young for any profitable task.
So moved he like a shadow that performed
Substantial service.[CO] Mark me now, and learn
For what reward!--The moon her monthly round
Hath not completed since our dame, the queen 775
Of this one cottage and this lonely dale,
Into my little sanctuary rushed--
Voice to a rueful treble humanised,
And features in deplorable dismay.
I treat the matter lightly, but, alas! 780
It is most serious: persevering rain[199]
Had fallen in torrents; all the mountain tops
Were hidden, and black vapours coursed their sides;
This had I seen, and saw; but, till she spake,
Was wholly ignorant that my ancient Friend-- 785
Who at her bidding, early and alone,
Had clomb aloft to delve the moorland[200] turf
For winter fuel--to his noontide meal
Returned not, and now, haply, on the heights[201]
Lay at the mercy of this raging storm. 790
'Inhuman!'--said I, 'was an old Man's life
Not worth the trouble of a thought?--alas!
This notice comes too late.' With joy I saw
Her husband enter--from a distant vale.
We sallied forth together; found the tools 795
Which the neglected veteran had dropped,
But through all quarters looked for him in vain.
We shouted--but no answer! Darkness fell
Without remission of the blast or shower,
And fears for our own safety drove us home. 800
"I, who weep little, did, I will confess,
The moment I was seated here alone,
Honour my little cell with some few tears
Which anger and[202] resentment could not dry.
All night the storm endured; and, soon as help 805
Had been collected from the neighbouring vale,
With morning we renewed our quest: the wind
Was fallen, the rain abated, but the hills
Lay shrouded in impenetrable mist;
And long and hopelessly we sought in vain: 810
'Till, chancing on that[203] lofty ridge to pass
A heap of ruin--almost without walls
And wholly without roof (the bleached remains
Of a small chapel, where, in ancient time,
The peasants of these lonely valleys used 815
To meet for worship on that central height)--
We there espied the object of our search,[204]
Lying full three parts buried among tufts
Of heath-plant, under and above him strewn,
To baffle, as he might, the watery storm: 820
And there we found him breathing peaceably,
Snug as a child that hides itself in sport
'Mid a green hay-cock in a sunny field.
We spake--he made reply, but would not stir
At our entreaty; less from want of power 825
Than apprehension and bewildering thoughts.[CP]
"So was he lifted gently from the ground,
And with their freight homeward the shepherds[205] moved
Through the dull mist, I following--when a step,
A single step, that freed me from the skirts 830
Of the blind vapour, opened to my view
Glory beyond all glory ever seen
By waking sense or by the dreaming soul!
The appearance,[206] instantaneously disclosed,
Was of a mighty city--boldly say 835
A wilderness of building, sinking far
And self-withdrawn into a boundless[207] depth,
Far sinking into splendour--without end!
Fabric it seemed of diamond and of gold,
With alabaster domes, and silver spires, 840
And blazing terrace upon terrace, high
Uplifted; here, serene pavilions bright,
In avenues disposed; there, towers begirt
With battlements that on their restless fronts
Bore stars--illumination of all gems! 845
By earthly nature had the effect been wrought
Upon the dark materials of the storm
Now pacified; on them, and on the coves
And mountain-steeps and summits, whereunto
The vapours had receded, taking there 850
Their station under a cerulean sky.
Oh, 'twas an unimaginable sight!
Clouds, mists, streams, watery rocks and emerald turf,
Clouds of all tincture, rocks and sapphire sky,
Confused, commingled, mutually inflamed, 855
Molten together, and composing thus,
Each lost in each, that marvellous array
Of temple, palace, citadel, and huge
Fantastic pomp of structure without name,
In fleecy folds voluminous, enwrapped. 860
Right in the midst, where interspace appeared
Of open court, an object like a throne
Under[208] a shining canopy of state
Stood fixed; and fixed resemblances were seen
To implements of ordinary use, 865
But vast in size, in substance glorified;
Such as by Hebrew Prophets were beheld
In vision[CQ]--forms uncouth of mightiest power
For admiration and mysterious awe.
This little Vale, a dwelling-place of Man,[209] 870
Lay low beneath my feet; 'twas visible--
I saw not, but I felt that it was there.
That which I _saw_ was the revealed abode
Of Spirits in beatitude: my heart 874
Swelled in my breast.--'I have been dead,' I cried,
'And now I live! Oh! wherefore _do_ I live?'
And with that pang I prayed to be no more!--
--But I forget our Charge, as utterly
I then forgot him:--there I stood and gazed:
The apparition faded not away, 880
And I descended.[CR]
"Having reached the house,
I found its rescued inmate safely lodged,
And in serene possession of himself,
Beside a fire whose genial warmth seemed met
By a faint shining from the heart, a gleam 885
Of comfort, spread over his pallid face.[210]
Great show of joy the housewife made, and truly
Was glad to find her conscience set at ease;
And not less glad, for sake of her good name,
That the poor Sufferer had escaped with life. 890
But, though he seemed at first to have received
No harm, and uncomplaining as before
Went through his usual tasks, a silent change
Soon showed itself: he lingered three short weeks;
And from the cottage hath been borne to-day. 895
"So ends my dolorous tale, and glad I am
That it is ended." At these words he turned--
And, with blithe air of open fellowship,
Brought from the cupboard wine and stouter cheer,
Like one who would be merry. Seeing this, 900
My grey-haired Friend said courteously--"Nay, nay,
You have regaled us as a hermit ought;
Now let us forth into the sun!"--Our Host
Rose, though reluctantly, and forth we went.