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.