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.