Yet are they here?—the same unbroken knot Of human Beings, in the self-same spot! Men, Women, Children, yea the frame Of the whole Spectacle the same! Only their fire seems bolder, yielding light: Now deep and red, the colouring of night; That on their Gipsy-faces falls, Their bed of straw and blanket-walls. —Twelve hours, twelve bounteous hours, are gone while I Have been a Traveller under open sky, 10 Much witnessing of change and chear, Yet as I left I find them here!
The weary Sun betook himself to rest. —Then issued Vesper from the fulgent West, Outshining like a visible God The glorious path in which he trod. And now, ascending, after one dark hour, And one night's diminution of her power, Behold the mighty Moon! this way She looks as if at them—but they 20 Regard not her:—oh better wrong and strife, Better vain deeds or evil than such life! The silent Heavens have goings on; The stars have tasks—but these have none.
11. TO THE CUCKOO.
O blithe New-comer! I have heard, I hear thee and rejoice: O Cuckoo! shall I call thee Bird, Or but a wandering Voice?
While I am lying on the grass, I hear thy restless shout: From hill to hill it seems to pass, About, and all about!
To me, no Babbler with a tale Of sunshine and of flowers, 10 Thou tellest, Cuckoo! in the vale Of visionary hours.
Thrice welcome, Darling of the Spring! Even yet thou art to me No Bird; but an invisible Thing, A voice, a mystery.
The same whom in my School-boy days I listen'd to; that Cry Which made me look a thousand ways; In bush, and tree, and sky. 20
To seek thee did I often rove Through woods and on the green; And thou wert still a hope, a love; Still long'd for, never seen!
And I can listen to thee yet; Can lie upon the plain. And listen, till I do beget That golden time again.
O blessed Bird! the earth we pace Again appears to be 30 An unsubstantial, faery place; That is fit home for Thee!
12. TO A BUTTERFLY.
I've watch'd you now a full half hour, Self-pois'd upon that yellow flower; And, little Butterfly! indeed I know not if you sleep, or feed. How motionless! not frozen seas More motionless! and then What joy awaits you, when the breeze Hath found you out among the trees, And calls you forth again!
This plot of Orchard-ground is ours; 10 My trees they are, my Sister's flowers; Stop here whenever you are weary, And rest as in a sanctuary! Come often to us, fear no wrong; Sit near us on the bough! We'll talk of sunshine and of song; And summer days, when we were young, Sweet childish days, that were as long As twenty days are now!
13.
It is no Spirit who from Heaven hath flown, And is descending on his embassy; Nor Traveller gone from Earth the Heavens to espy! 'Tis Hesperus—there he stands with glittering crown, First admonition that the sun is down! For yet it is broad day-light: clouds pass by; A few are near him still—and now the sky, He hath it to himself—'tis all his own. O most ambitious Star! an inquest wrought Within me when I recognised thy light; A moment I was startled at the sight: And, while I gazed, there came to me a thought That I might step beyond my natural race As thou seem'st now to do; might one day trace Some ground not mine; and, strong her strength above, My Soul, an Apparition in the place, Tread there, with steps that no one shall reprove!
THE BLIND HIGHLAND BOY; WITH OTHER POEMS.
THE BLIND HIGHLAND BOY. (A Tale told by the Fire-side.)
Now we are tired of boisterous joy, We've romp'd enough, my little Boy! Jane hangs her head upon my breast, And you shall bring your Stool and rest, This corner is your own.
There! take your seat, and let me see That you can listen quietly; And as I promised I will tell That strange adventure which befel A poor blind Highland Boy. 10
A Highland Boy!—why call him so? Because, my Darlings, ye must know, In land where many a mountain towers, Far higher hills than these of ours! He from his birth had liv'd.
He ne'er had seen one earthly sight; The sun, the day; the stars, the night; Or tree, or butterfly, or flower, Or fish in stream, or bird in bower, Or woman, man, or child. 20
And yet he neither drooped nor pined, Nor had a melancholy mind; For God took pity on the Boy, And was his friend; and gave him joy Of which we nothing know.
His Mother, too, no doubt, above Her other Children him did love: For, was she here, or was she there, She thought of him with constant care, And more than Mother's love. 30
And proud she was of heart, when clad In crimson stockings, tartan plaid, And bonnet with a feather gay, To Kirk he on the sabbath day Went hand in hand with her.
A Dog, too, had he; not for need, But one to play with and to feed; Which would have led him, if bereft Of company or friends, and left Without a better guide. 40
And then the bagpipes he could blow; And thus from house to house would go, And all were pleas'd to hear and see; For none made sweeter melody Than did the poor blind Boy.
Yet he had many a restless dream; Both when he heard the Eagles scream, And when he heard the torrents roar, And heard the water beat the shore Near which their Cottage stood. 50
Beside a lake their Cottage stood, Not small like ours, a peaceful flood; But one of mighty size, and strange; That, rough or smooth, is full of change, And stirring in its bed.
For to this Lake, by night and day, The great Sea-water finds its way Through long, long windings of the hills; And drinks up all the pretty rills And rivers large and strong: 60
Then hurries back the road it came— Returns, on errand still the same; This did it when the earth was new; And this for evermore will do, As long as earth shall last.
And, with the coming of the Tide, Come Boats and Ships, that sweetly ride, Between the woods and lofty rocks; And to the Shepherds with their Flocks Bring tales of distant Lands. 70
And of those tales, whate'er they were, The blind Boy always had his share; Whether of mighty Towns, or Vales With warmer suns and softer gales, Or wonders of the Deep.
Yet more it pleased him, more it stirr'd, When from the water-side he heard The shouting, and the jolly cheers, The bustle of the mariners In stillness or in storm. 80
But what do his desires avail? For He must never handle sail; Nor mount the mast, nor row, nor float In Sailor's ship or Fisher's boat Upon the rocking waves.
His Mother often thought, and said, What sin would be upon her head If she should suffer this: "My Son, Whate'er you do, leave this undone; The danger is so great." 90
Thus lived he by Loch Levin's side Still sounding with the sounding tide, And heard the billows leap and dance, Without a shadow of mischance, Till he was ten years old.
When one day (and now mark me well, You soon shall know how this befel) He's in a vessel of his own, On the swift water hurrying down Towards the mighty Sea. 100
In such a vessel ne'er before Did human Creature leave the shore: If this or that way he should stir, Woe to the poor blind Mariner! For death will be his doom.
Strong is the current; but be mild, Ye waves, and spare the helpless Child! If ye in anger fret or chafe, A Bee-hive would be ship as safe As that in which he sails. 110
But say, what was it? Thought of fear! Well may ye tremble when ye hear! —A Household Tub, like one of those Which women use to wash their clothes, This carried the blind Boy.
Close to the water he had found This Vessel, push'd it from dry ground, Went into it; and, without dread, Following the fancies in his head, He paddled up and down. 120
A while he stood upon his feet; He felt the motion—took his seat; And dallied thus, till from the shore The tide retreating more and more Had suck'd, and suck'd him in.
And there he is in face of Heaven! How rapidly the Child is driven! The fourth part of a mile I ween He thus had gone, ere he was seen By any human eye. 130
But when he was first seen, oh me! What shrieking and what misery! For many saw; among the rest His Mother, she who loved him best, She saw her poor blind Boy.
But for the Child, the sightless Boy, It is the triumph of his joy! The bravest Traveller in balloon, Mounting as if to reach the moon, Was never half so bless'd. 140
And let him, let him go his way, Alone, and innocent, and gay! For, if good Angels love to wait On the forlorn unfortunate, This Child will take no harm.
But now the passionate lament, Which from the crowd on shore was sent, The cries which broke from old and young In Gaelic, or the English tongue, Are stifled—all is still. 150
And quickly with a silent crew A Boat is ready to pursue; And from the shore their course they take, And swiftly down the running Lake They follow the blind Boy.
With sound the least that can be made They follow, more and more afraid, More cautious as they draw more near; But in his darkness he can hear, And guesses their intent. 160
"Lei-gha—Lei-gha"—then did he cry "Lei-gha—Lei-gha"—most eagerly; Thus did he cry, and thus did pray, And what he meant was, "Keep away, And leave me to myself!"
Alas! and when he felt their hands— You've often heard of magic Wands, That with a motion overthrow A palace of the proudest shew, Or melt it into air. 170
So all his dreams, that inward light With which his soul had shone so bright, All vanish'd;—'twas a heartfelt cross To him, a heavy, bitter loss, As he had ever known.
But hark! a gratulating voice With which the very hills rejoice: 'Tis from the crowd, who tremblingly Had watch'd the event, and now can see That he is safe at last. 180
And then, when he was brought to land, Full sure they were a happy band, Which gathering round did on the banks Of that great Water give God thanks, And welcom'd the poor Child.
And in the general joy of heart The blind Boy's little Dog took part; He leapt about, and oft did kiss His master's hands in sign of bliss, With sound like lamentation. 190
But most of all, his Mother dear, She who had fainted with her fear, Rejoiced when waking she espies The Child; when she can trust her eyes, And touches the blind Boy.
She led him home, and wept amain, When he was in the house again: Tears flow'd in torrents from her eyes, She could not blame him, or chastise: She was too happy far. 200
Thus, after he had fondly braved The perilous Deep, the Boy was saved; And, though his fancies had been wild, Yet he was pleased, and reconciled To live in peace on shore.
The May is come again:—how sweet To sit upon my Orchard-seat! And Birds and Flowers once more to greet, My last year's Friends together: My thoughts they all by turns employ; A whispering Leaf is now my joy, And then a Bird will be the toy That doth my fancy tether.
One have I mark'd, the happiest Guest In all this covert of the blest: 10 Hail to Thee, far above the rest In joy of voice and pinion, Thou, Linnet! in thy green array, Presiding Spirit here to-day, Dost lead the revels of the May, And this is thy dominion.
While Birds, and Butterflies, and Flowers Make all one Band of Paramours, Thou, ranging up and down the bowers, Art sole in thy employment; 20 A Life, a Presence like the Air, Scattering thy gladness without care, Too bless'd with any one to pair, Thyself thy own enjoyment.
Upon yon tuft of hazel trees, That twinkle to the gusty breeze, Behold him perch'd in ecstasies, Yet seeming still to hover; There! where the flutter of his wings Upon his back and body flings 30 Shadows and sunny glimmerings, That cover him all over.
While thus before my eyes he gleams, A Brother of the Leaves he seems; When in a moment forth he teems His little song in gushes: As if it pleas'd him to disdain And mock the Form which he did feign, While he was dancing with the train Of Leaves among the bushes. 40
TO A YOUNG LADY, Who had been reproached for taking long Walks in the Country.
Dear Child of Nature, let them rail! —There is a nest in a green dale, A harbour and a hold, Where thou a Wife and Friend, shalt see Thy own delightful days, and be A light to young and old.
There, healthy as a Shepherd-boy, As if thy heritage were joy, And pleasure were thy trade, Thou, while thy Babes around thee cling, Shalt shew us how divine a thing A Woman may be made.
Thy thoughts and feelings shall not die, Nor leave thee, when grey hairs are nigh, A melancholy slave But an old age, alive and bright, And lovely as a Lapland night, Shall lead thee to thy grave. "—Pleasure is spread through the earth In stray gifts to be claim'd by whoever shall find."
* * * * *
By their floating Mill, Which lies dead and still, Behold yon Prisoners three! The Miller with two Dames, on the breast of the Thames; The Platform is small, but there's room for them all; And they're dancing merrily.
From the shore come the notes To their Mill where it floats, To their House and their Mill tether'd 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.
In sight of the Spires All alive with the fires Of the Sun going down to his rest, 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 their's; And if they had care it has scattered their cares, While they dance, crying, "Long as ye please!"
They dance not for me, Yet mine is their glee! Thus pleasure is spread through the earth In stray gifts to be claim'd by whoever shall find; Thus a rich loving-kindness, redundantly kind, Moves all nature to gladness and mirth. 30
The Showers of the Spring Rouze the Birds and they sing; If the Wind do but stir for his proper delight, Each Leaf, that and this, his neighbour will kiss, Each Wave, one and t'other, speeds after his Brother; They are happy, for that is their right!
STAR GAZERS.
What crowd is this? what have we here! we must not pass it by; A Telescope upon its frame, and pointed to the sky: Long is it as a Barber's Poll, or Mast of little Boat, Some little Pleasure-Skiff, that doth on Thames's waters float.
The Show-man chuses well his place, 'tis Leicester's busy Square; And he's as happy in his night, for the heavens are blue and fair; Calm, though impatient is the Crowd; Each is ready with the fee, And envies him that's looking—what an insight must it be!
Yet, Show-man, where can lie 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 this 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, Do they betray us when they're seen? and are they but a name?
Or is it rather that Conceit rapacious is and strong, And bounty never yields 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? 20
Or must we be constrain'd to think that these Spectators rude, Poor in estate, of manners base, men of the multitude, Have souls which never yet have ris'n, and therefore prostrate lie? No, no, this cannot be—Men thirst for power and majesty!
Does, then, a deep and earnest thought the blissful mind employ Of him who gazes, or has gazed? a grave and steady joy, That doth reject all shew of pride, admits no outward sign, Because not of this noisy world, but silent and divine!
Whatever be the cause, 'tis sure that they who pry & pore Seem to meet with little gain, seem less happy than before: 30 One after One they take their turns, nor have I one espied That doth not slackly go away, as if dissatisfied.
POWER OF MUSIC.
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, 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 cheared, 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 center of light; It gleams on the face, there, of dusky-faced Jack, 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 News-man is stopped, though he stops on the fret, And the half-breathless Lamp-lighter 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;— If a Thief could be here he might pilfer at ease; She sees the Musician, 'tis all that she sees!
He stands, back'd 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 Of the pleasure it spreads through so thankful a Band; 30 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! The music stirs in him like wind through a tree.
There's a Cripple who leans on his Crutch; like a Tower That long has lean'd forward, leans hour after hour!— Mother, 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, or what ye pursue!
TO THE DAISY. The two following Poems were overflowings of the mind in composing the one which stands first in the first Volume.
With little here to do or see Of things that in the great world be, Sweet Daisy! oft I talk to thee, For thou art worthy, Thou unassuming Common-place Of Nature, with that homely face, And yet with something of a grace, Which Love makes for thee!
Oft do I sit by thee at ease, And weave a web of similies, 10 Loose types of Things through all degrees, Thoughts of thy raising: And many a fond and idle name I give to thee, for praise or blame, As is the humour of the game, While I am gazing.
A Nun demure of lowly port, Or sprightly Maiden of Love's Court, In thy simplicity the sport Of all temptations; 20 A Queen in crown of rubies drest, A Starveling in a scanty vest, Are all, as seem to suit thee best, Thy appellations.
A little Cyclops, with one eye Staring to threaten and defy, That thought comes next—and instantly The freak is over, The shape will vanish, and behold! A silver Shield with boss of gold, 30 That spreads itself, some Faery bold In fight to cover.
I see thee glittering from afar;— And then thou art a pretty Star, Not quite so fair as many are In heaven above thee! Yet, like a star, with glittering crest, Self-poised in air thou seem'st to rest;— May peace come never to his nest, Who shall reprove thee! 40
Sweet Flower! for by that name at last, When all my reveries are past, I call thee, and to that cleave fast, Sweet silent Creature! That breath'st with me in sun and air, Do thou, as thou art wont, repair My heart with gladness, and a share Of thy meek nature!
TO THE SAME FLOWER.
Bright Flower, whose home is every where! A Pilgrim bold in Nature's care, And all the long year through the heir Of joy or sorrow, Methinks that there abides in thee Some concord with humanity, Given to no other Flower I see The forest thorough!
Is it that Man is soon deprest? A thoughtless Thing! who, once unblest, 10 Does little on his memory rest, Or on his reason, And Thou would'st teach him how to find A shelter under every wind. A hope for times that are unkind And every season?
Thou wander'st the wide world about, Uncheck'd by pride or scrupulous doubt, With friends to greet thee, or without, Yet pleased and willing; 20 Meek, yielding to the occasion's call, And all things suffering from all, Thy function apostolical In peace fulfilling.
INCIDENT, Characteristic of a favourite Dog, which belonged to a Friend of the Author.
On his morning rounds the Master Goes to learn how all things fare; Searches pasture after pasture, Sheep and Cattle eyes with care; And, for silence or for talk, He hath Comrades in his walk; Four Dogs, each pair of different breed, Distinguished two for scent, and two for speed.
See, a Hare before him started! —Off they fly in earnest chace; 10 Every Dog is eager-hearted, All the four are in the race! And the Hare whom they pursue Hath an instinct what to do; Her hope is near: no turn she makes; But, like an arrow, to the River takes.
Deep the River was, and crusted Thinly by a one night's frost; But the nimble Hare hath trusted To the ice, and safely crost; 20 She hath crost, and without heed All are following at full speed, When, lo! the ice, so thinly spread, Breaks—and the Greyhound, DART, is over head!
Better fate have PRINCE and SWALLOW— See them cleaving to the sport! Music has no heart to follow, Little Music, she stops short. She hath neither wish nor heart. Her's is now another part: 30 A loving Creature she, and brave! And doth her best her struggling Friend to save.
From the brink her paws she stretches, Very hands as you would say! And afflicting moans she fetches, As he breaks the ice away. For herself she hath no fears, Him alone she sees and hears, Makes efforts and complainings; nor gives o'er Until her Fellow sunk, and reappear'd no more. 40
TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF THE SAME DOG.
Lie here sequester'd:—be this little mound For ever thine, and be it holy ground! Lie here, without a record of thy worth, Beneath the covering of the common earth! It is not from unwillingness to praise, Or want of love, that here no Stone we raise; More thou deserv'st; but this Man gives to Man, Brother to Brother, this is all we can. Yet they to whom thy virtues made thee dear Shall find thee through all changes of the year: 10 This Oak points out thy grave; the silent Tree Will gladly stand a monument of thee.
I pray'd for thee, and that thy end were past; And willingly have laid thee here at last: For thou hadst liv'd, till every thing that chears In thee had yielded to the weight of years; Extreme old age had wasted thee away, And left thee but a glimmering of the day; Thy ears were deaf; and feeble were thy knees,— saw thee stagger in the summer breeze, 20 Too weak to stand against its sportive breath, And ready for the gentlest stroke of death. It came, and we were glad; yet tears were shed; Both Man and Woman wept when Thou wert dead; Not only for a thousand thoughts that were, Old household thoughts, in which thou hadst thy share; But for some precious boons vouchsafed to thee, Found scarcely any where in like degree!
For love, that comes to all; the holy sense, Best gift of God, in thee was most intense; 30 A chain of heart, a feeling of the mind, A tender sympathy, which did thee bind Not only to us Men, but to thy Kind: Yea, for thy Fellow-brutes in thee we saw The soul of Love, Love's intellectual law:— Hence, if we wept, it was not done in shame; Our tears from passion and from reason came, And, therefore, shalt thou be an honoured name!
SONNET.
ADMONITION, (Intended more particularly for the Perusal of those who may have happened to be enamoured of some beautiful Place of Retreat, in the Country of the Lakes.)
Yes, there is holy pleasure in thine eye! —The lovely Cottage in the guardian nook Hath stirr'd thee deeply; with its own dear brook, Its own small pasture, almost its own sky! But covet not th' Abode—oh! do not sigh, As many do, repining while they look, Sighing a wish to tear from Nature's Book This blissful leaf, with worst impiety. Think what the home would be if it were thine, Even thine, though few thy wants!—Roof, window, door, The very flowers are sacred to the Poor, The roses to the porch which they entwine: Yea, all, that now enchants thee, from the day On which it should be touch'd, would melt, and melt away!
SONNET.
… "gives to airy nothing A local habitation and a name."
Though narrow be that Old Man's cares, and near The poor Old Man is greater than he seems: For he hath waking empire, wide as dreams; An ample sovereignty of eye and ear. Rich are his walks with supernatural chear; The region of his inner spirit teems With vital sounds, and monitory gleams Of high astonishment and pleasing fear. He the seven birds hath seen that never part, Seen the SEVEN WHISTLERS in their nightly rounds, And counted them: and oftentimes will start— For overhead are sweeping GABRIEL'S HOUNDS, Doom'd, with their impious Lord, the flying Hart To chase for ever, on aerial grounds.
SONNET.
A PROPHECY. Feb. 1807.
High deeds, O Germans, are to come from you! Thus in your Books the record shall be found, "A Watchword was pronounced, a potent sound, ARMINIUS!—all the people quaked like dew Stirr'd by the breeze—they rose, a Nation, true, True to itself—the mighty Germany, She of the Danube and the Northern sea, She rose,—and off at once the yoke she threw. All power was given her in the dreadful trance— Those new-born Kings she wither'd like a flame." —Woe to them all! but heaviest woe and shame To that Bavarian, who did first advance His banner in accursed league with France, First open Traitor to her sacred name!
SONNET, TO THOMAS CLARKSON, On the final passing of the Bill for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, March, 1807.
Clarkson! it was an obstinate Hill to climb; How toilsome, nay how dire it was, by Thee Is known,—by none, perhaps, so feelingly; But Thou, who, starting in thy fervent prime, Didst first lead forth this pilgrimage sublime, Hast heard the constant Voice its charge repeat, Which, out of thy young heart's oracular seat, First roused thee.—O true yoke-fellow of Time With unabating effort, see, the palm Is won, and by all Nations shall be worn! The bloody Writing is for ever torn, And Thou henceforth shalt have a good Man's calm, A great Man's happiness; thy zeal shall find Repose at length, firm Friend of human kind!
* * * * *
Once in a lonely Hamlet I sojourn'd In which a Lady driv'n from France did dwell; The big and lesser griefs, with which she mourn'd, In friendship she to me would often tell.
This Lady, dwelling upon English ground, Where she was childless, daily did repair To a poor neighbouring Cottage; as I found, For sake of a young Child whose home was there.
Once did I see her clasp the Child about, And take it to herself; and I, next day, 10 Wish'd in my native tongue to fashion out Such things as she unto this Child might say: And thus, from what I knew, had heard, and guess'd, My song the workings of her heart express'd.
"Dear Babe, thou Daughter of another, One moment let me be thy Mother! An Infant's face and looks are thine; And sure a Mother's heart is mine: Thy own dear Mother's far away, At labour in the harvest-field: 20 Thy little Sister is at play;— What warmth, what comfort would it yield To my poor heart, if Thou wouldst be One little hour a child to me!"
"Across the waters I am come, And I have left a Babe at home: A long, long way of land and sea! Come to me—I'm no enemy: I am the same who at thy side Sate yesterday, and made a nest 30 For thee, sweet Baby!—thou hast tried. Thou know'st, the pillow of my breast: Good, good art thou; alas! to me Far more than I can be to thee."
"Here little Darling dost thou lie; An Infant Thou, a Mother I! Mine wilt thou be, thou hast no fears; Mine art thou—spite of these my tears. Alas! before I left the spot, My Baby and its dwelling-place; 40 The Nurse said to me, 'Tears should not Be shed upon an Infant's face, It was unlucky'—no, no, no; No truth is in them who say so!"
"My own dear Little-one will sigh, Sweet Babe! and they will let him die. 'He pines,' they'll say, 'it is his doom, And you may see his hour is come.' Oh! had he but thy chearful smiles, Limbs stout as thine, and lips as gay, 50 Thy looks, thy cunning, and thy wiles, And countenance like a summer's day, They would have hopes of him—and then I should behold his face again!"
"'Tis gone—forgotten—let me do My best—there was a smile or two, I can remember them, I see The smiles, worth all the world to me. Dear Baby! I must lay thee down; Thou troublest me with strange alarms; 60 Smiles hast Thou, sweet ones of thy own; I cannot keep thee in my arms, For they confound me: as it is, I have forgot those smiles of his."
"Oh! how I love thee! we will stay Together here this one half day. My Sister's Child, who bears my name, From France across the Ocean came; She with her Mother cross'd the sea; The Babe and Mother near me dwell: 70 My Darling, she is not to me What thou art! though I love her well: Rest, little Stranger, rest thee here; Never was any Child more dear!"
"—I cannot help it—ill intent I've none, my pretty Innocent! I weep—I know they do thee wrong, These tears—and my poor idle tongue. Oh what a kiss was that! my cheek How cold it is! but thou art good; 80 Thine eyes are on me—they would speak, I think, to help me if they could. Blessings upon that quiet face, My heart again is in its place!"
"While thou art mine, my little Love, This cannot be a sorrowful grove; Contentment, hope, and Mother's glee. I seem to find them all in thee: Here's grass to play with, here are flowers; I'll call thee by my Darling's name; 90 Thou hast, I think, a look of ours, Thy features seem to me the same; His little Sister thou shalt be; And, when once more my home I see, I'll tell him many tales of Thee."
FORESIGHT. Or the Charge of a Child to his younger Companion.
That is work which I am rueing— Do as Charles and I are doing! Strawberry-blossoms, one and all, We must spare them—here are many: Look at it—the Flower is small, Small and low, though fair as any: Do not touch it! summers two I am older, Anne, than you.
Pull the Primrose, Sister Anne! Pull as many as you can. 10 —Here are Daisies, take your fill; Pansies, and the Cuckow-flower: Of the lofty Daffodil Make your bed, and make your bower; Fill your lap, and fill your bosom; Only spare the Strawberry-blossom!
Primroses, the Spring may love them— Summer knows but little of them: Violets, do what they will, Wither'd on the ground must lie; 20 Daisies will be daisies still; Daisies they must live and die: Fill your lap, and fill your bosom, Only spare the Strawberry-blossom!
A COMPLAINT.
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 Of its own bounty, or my need.
What happy moments did I count! Bless'd was I then all bliss above! Now, for this consecrated Fount Of murmuring, sparkling, living love, 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 In silence and obscurity. —Such change, and at the very door Of my fond Heart, hath made me poor.
* * * * *
I am not One who much or oft delight To season my fireside with personal talk, About Friends, who live within an easy walk, Or Neighbours, daily, weekly, in my sight: And, for my chance-acquaintance, Ladies bright, Sons, Mothers, Maidens withering on the stalk, These all wear out of me, like Forms, with chalk Painted on rich men's floors, for one feast-night. Better than such discourse doth silence long, Long, barren silence, square with my desire; 10 To sit without emotion, hope, or aim, By my half-kitchen my half-parlour fire, And listen to the flapping of the flame, Or kettle, whispering its faint undersong.
"Yet life," you say, "is life; we have seen and see, And with a living pleasure we describe; And fits of sprightly malice do but bribe The languid mind into activity. Sound sense, and love itself, and mirth and glee, Are foster'd by the comment and the gibe." 20 Even be it so: yet still among your tribe, Our daily world's true Worldlings, rank not me! Children are blest, and powerful; their world lies More justly balanced; partly at their feet, And part far from them:—sweetest melodies Are those that are by distance made more sweet; Whose mind is but the mind of his own eyes He is a Slave; the meanest we can meet!
Wings have we, and as far as we can go We may find pleasure: wilderness and wood, 30 Blank ocean and mere sky, support that mood Which with the lofty sanctifies the low: Dreams, books, are each a world; and books, we know, Are a substantial world, both pure and good: Round these, with tendrils strong as flesh and blood, Our pastime and our happiness will grow. There do I find a never-failing store Of personal themes, and such as I love best; Matter wherein right voluble I am: Two will I mention, dearer than the rest; 40 The gentle Lady, married to the Moor; And heavenly Una with her milk-white Lamb.
Nor can I not believe but that hereby Great gains are mine: for thus I live remote From evil-speaking; rancour, never sought, Comes to me not; malignant truth, or lie. Hence have I genial seasons, hence have I Smooth passions, smooth discourse, and joyous thought: And thus from day to day my little Boat Rocks in its harbour, lodging peaceably. 50 Blessings be with them, and eternal praise, Who gave us nobler loves, and nobler cares, The Poets, who on earth have made us Heirs Of truth and pure delight by heavenly lays! Oh! might my name be numbered among theirs, Then gladly would I end my mortal days.
* * * * *
Yes! full surely 'twas the Echo, Solitary, clear, profound, Answering to Thee, shouting Cuckoo! Giving to thee Sound for Sound.
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;
Like the voice through earth and sky By the restless Cuckoo sent; 10 Like her ordinary cry, Like—but oh how different!
Hears not also mortal Life? Hear not we, unthinking Creatures! Slaves of Folly, Love, or Strife, Voices of two different Natures?
Have not We too? Yes we have Answers, and we know not whence; Echoes from beyond the grave, Recogniz'd intelligence? 20
Such within ourselves we hear Oft-times, ours though sent from far; Listen, ponder, hold them dear; For of God, of God they are!
TO THE SPADE OF A FRIEND, (AN AGRICULTURIST.) Composed while we were labouring together in his Pleasure-Ground.
Spade! with which Wilkinson hath till'd his Lands, And shap'd 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; Long hast Thou serv'd a Man to reason true; Whose life combines the best of high and low, The toiling many and the resting few;
Health, quiet, meekness, ardour, hope secure, 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 Is yet uncheer'd by other minstrelsy.
Who shall inherit Thee when Death hath laid Low in the darksome Cell thine own dear Lord? That Man will have a trophy, humble, Spade! More noble than the noblest Warrior's sword. 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!
With Thee he will not dread a toilsome day, His powerful Servant, his inspiring Mate! And, when thou art past service, worn away, Thee a surviving soul shall consecrate.
His thrift thy uselessness will never scorn; An Heir-loom in his cottage wilt thou be:— 30 High will he hang thee up, and will adorn His rustic chimney with the last of Thee!
SONG, AT THE FEAST OF BROUGHAM CASTLE, Upon the RESTORATION OF LORD CLIFFORD, the SHEPHERD, to the Estates and Honours of his Ancestors.
High in the breathless Hall the Minstrel sate. And Emont's murmur mingled with the Song.— The words of ancient time I thus translate, A festal Strain that hath been silent long.
From Town to Town, from Tower to Tower, The Red Rose is a gladsome Flower. Her thirty years of Winter past; The Red Rose is revived at last;
She lifts her head for endless spring, For everlasting blossoming! 10 Both Roses flourish, Red and White. In love and sisterly delight The two that were at strife are blended, And all old sorrows now are ended.— Joy! joy to both! but most to her Who is the Flower of Lancaster! Behold her how She smiles to day On this great throng, this bright array! Fair greeting doth she send to all From every corner of the Hall; 20 But, chiefly, from above the Board Where sits in state our rightful Lord, A Clifford to his own restored.
They came with banner, spear, and shield; And it was proved in Bosworth-field. Not long the Avenger was withstood, Earth help'd him with the cry of blood: St. George was for us, and the might Of blessed Angels crown'd the right. Loud voice the Land hath utter'd forth, 30 We loudest in the faithful North: Our Fields rejoice, our Mountains ring, Our Streams proclaim a welcoming; Our Strong-abodes and Castles see The glory of their loyalty. How glad is Skipton at this hour Though she is but a lonely Tower! Silent, deserted of her best, Without an Inmate or a Guest, Knight, Squire, or Yeoman, Page, or Groom; 40 We have them at the Feast of Brough'm. How glad Pendragon though the sleep Of years be on her!—She shall reap A taste of this great pleasure, viewing As in a dream her own renewing. Rejoiced is Brough, right glad I deem Beside her little humble Stream; And she that keepeth watch and ward Her statelier Eden's course to guard; They both are happy at this hour, 50 Though each is but a lonely Tower:— But here is perfect joy and pride For one fair House by Emont's side, This day distinguished without peer To see her Master and to cheer; Him, and his Lady Mother dear.
Oh! it was a time forlorn When the Fatherless was born— Give her wings that she may fly, Or she sees her Infant die! 60 Swords that are with slaughter wild Hunt the Mother and the Child. Who will take them from the light? —Yonder is a Man in sight— Yonder is a House—but where? No, they must not enter there. To the Caves, and to the Brooks, To the Clouds of Heaven she looks; She is speechless, but her eyes Pray in ghostly agonies. 70 Blissful Mary, Mother mild, Maid and Mother undefiled, Save a Mother and her Child!
Now Who is he that bounds with joy On Carrock's side, a Shepherd Boy? No thoughts hath he but thoughts that pass Light as the wind along the grass. Can this be He who hither came In secret, like a smothered flame? O'er whom such thankful tears were shed 80 For shelter, and a poor Man's bread? God loves the Child; and God hath will'd That those dear words should be fulfill'd, The Lady's words, when forc'd away, The last she to her Babe did say, "My own, my own, thy Fellow-guest I may not be; but rest thee, rest, For lowly Shepherd's life is best!"
Alas! when evil men are strong No life is good, no pleasure long. 90 The Boy must part from Mosedale's Groves, And leave Blencathara's rugged Coves, And quit the Flowers that Summer brings To Glenderamakin's lofty springs; Must vanish, and his careless cheer Be turned to heaviness and fear. —Give Sir Lancelot Threlkeld praise! Hear it, good Man, old in days! Thou Tree of covert and of rest For this young Bird that is distrest, 100 Among thy branches safe he lay, And he was free to sport and play, When Falcons were abroad for prey.
A recreant Harp, that sings of fear And heaviness in Clifford's ear! I said, when evil Men are strong, No life is good, no pleasure long, A weak and cowardly untruth! Our Clifford was a happy Youth, And thankful through a weary time, 110 That brought him up to manhood's prime. —Again he wanders forth at will, And tends a Flock from hill to hill: His garb is humble; ne'er was seen Such garb with such a noble mien; Among the Shepherd-grooms no Mate Hath he, a Child of strength and state! Yet lacks not friends for solemn glee, And a chearful company, That learn'd of him submissive ways; 120 And comforted his private days. To his side the Fallow-deer Came, and rested without fear; The Eagle, Lord of land and sea, Stoop'd down to pay him fealty; And both the undying Fish that swim Through Bowscale-Tarn did wait on him, The pair were Servants of his eye In their immortality, They moved about in open sight, 130 To and fro, for his delight. He knew the Rocks which Angels haunt On the Mountains visitant; He hath kenn'd them taking wing: And the Caves where Faeries sing He hath entered; and been told By Voices how Men liv'd of old. Among the Heavens his eye can see Face of thing that is to be; And, if Men report him right, 140 He can whisper words of might. —Now another day is come, Fitter hope, and nobler doom: He hath thrown aside his Crook, And hath buried deep his Book; Armour rusting in his Halls On the blood of Clifford calls;—
"Quell the Scot," exclaims the Lance, "Bear me to the heart of France, Is the longing of the Shield— 150 Tell thy name, thou trembling Field; Field of death, where'er thou be, Groan thou with our victory! Happy day, and mighty hour, When our Shepherd, in his power, Mail'd and hors'd, with lance and sword, To his Ancestors restored, Like a reappearing Star, Like a glory from afar, First shall head the Flock of War!" 160
Alas! the fervent Harper did not know That for a tranquil Soul the Lay was framed, Who, long compell'd in humble walks to go, Was softened into feeling, sooth'd, and tamed. Love had he found in huts where poor Men lie, His daily Teachers had been Woods and Rills, The silence that is in the starry sky, The sleep that is among the lonely hills.
In him the savage Virtue of the Race, Revenge, and all ferocious thoughts were dead: 170 Nor did he change; but kept in lofty place The wisdom which adversity had bred.
Glad were the Vales, and every cottage hearth; The Shepherd Lord was honour'd more and more: And, ages after he was laid in earth, "The Good Lord Clifford" was the name he bore.
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.
Loud is the Vale! the Voice is up With which she speaks when storms are gone, A mighty Unison of streams! Of all her Voices, One!
Loud is the Vale;—this inland Depth In peace is roaring like the Sea; Yon Star upon the mountain-top Is listening quietly.
Sad was I, ev'n to pain depress'd, Importunate and heavy load! 10 The Comforter hath found me here, Upon this lonely road;
And many thousands now are sad, Wait the fulfilment of their fear; For He must die who is their Stay, Their Glory disappear.
A Power is passing from the earth To breathless Nature's dark abyss; But when the Mighty pass away What is it more than this, 20
That Man, who is from God sent forth, Doth yet again to God return?— Such ebb and flow must ever be, Then wherefore should we mourn?
ELEGIAC STANZAS, Suggested by a Picture of PEELE CASTLE, in a Storm, painted BY SIR GEORGE BEAUMONT.
I was thy Neighbour once, thou rugged Pile! Four summer weeks I dwelt in sight of thee: I saw thee every day; and all the while Thy Form was sleeping on a glassy sea.
So pure the sky, so quiet was the air! So like, so very like, was day to day! Whene'er I look'd, thy Image still was there; It trembled, but it never pass'd away.
How perfect was the calm! it seem'd no sleep; No mood, which season takes away, or brings: 10 I could have fancied that the mighty Deep Was even the gentlest of all gentle Things.
Ah! THEN, if mine had been the Painter's hand, To express what then I saw; and add the gleam, The light that never was, on sea or land, The consecration, and the Poet's dream;
I would have planted thee, thou hoary Pile! Amid a world how different from this! Beside a sea that could not cease to smile; On tranquil land, beneath a sky of bliss: 20
Thou shouldst have seem'd a treasure-house, a mine Of peaceful years; a chronicle of heaven:— Of all the sunbeams that did ever shine The very sweetest had to thee been given.
A Picture had it been of lasting ease, Elysian quiet, without toil or strife; No motion but the moving tide, a breeze, Or merely silent Nature's breathing life.
Such, in the fond delusion of my heart, Such Picture would I at that time have made: 30 And seen the soul of truth in every part; A faith, a trust, that could not be betray'd.
So once it would have been,—'tis so no more; I have submitted to a new controul: A power is gone, which nothing can restore; A deep distress hath humaniz'd my Soul.
Not for a moment could I now behold A smiling sea and be what I have been: The feeling of my loss will ne'er be old; This, which I know, I speak with mind serene. 40
Then, Beaumont, Friend! who would have been the Friend, If he had lived, of Him whom I deplore, This Work of thine I blame not, but commend; This sea in anger, and that dismal shore.
Oh 'tis a passionate Work!—yet wise and well; Well chosen is the spirit that is here; That Hulk which labours in the deadly swell, This rueful sky, this pageantry of fear!
And this huge Castle, standing here sublime, I love to see the look with which it braves, 50 Cased in the unfeeling armour of old time, The light'ning, the fierce wind, and trampling waves.
Farewell, farewell the Heart that lives alone, Hous'd in a dream, at distance from the Kind! Such happiness, wherever it be known, Is to be pitied; for 'tis surely blind.
But welcome fortitude, and patient chear, And frequent sights of what is to be born! Such sights, or worse, as are before me here.— Not without hope we suffer and we mourn. 60
Paulo majora canamus.
ODE.
There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream, The earth, and every common sight, To me did seem Apparell'd in celestial light, The glory and the freshness of a dream. It is not now as it has been of yore;— Turn wheresoe'er I may, By night or day, The things which I have seen I now can see no more.
The Rainbow comes and goes, 10 And lovely is the Rose, The Moon doth with delight Look round her when the heavens are bare; Waters on a starry night Are beautiful and fair; The sunshine is a glorious birth; But yet I know, where'er I go, That there hath pass'd away a glory from the earth.
Now, while the Birds thus sing a joyous song, And while the young Lambs bound 20 As to the tabor's sound, To me alone there came a thought of grief: A timely utterance gave that thought relief, And I again am strong. The Cataracts blow their trumpets from the steep, No more shall grief of mine the season wrong; I hear the Echoes through the mountains throng, The Winds come to me from the fields of sleep,
And all the earth is gay, Land and sea 30 Give themselves up to jollity, And with the heart of May Doth every Beast keep holiday, Thou Child of Joy Shout round me, let me hear thy shouts, thou happy Shepherd Boy!
Ye blessed Creatures, I have heard the call Ye to each other make; I see The heavens laugh with you in your jubilee; My heart is at your festival, My head hath its coronal, 40 The fullness of your bliss, I feel—I feel it all. Oh evil day! if I were sullen While the Earth herself is adorning, This sweet May-morning, And the Children are pulling, On every side, In a thousand vallies far and wide, Fresh flowers; while the sun shines warm, And the Babe leaps up on his mother's arm:— I hear, I hear, with joy I hear! 50 —But there's a Tree, of many one, A single Field which I have look'd upon, Both of them speak of something that is gone: The Pansy at my feet Doth the same tale repeat: Whither is fled the visionary gleam? Where is it now, the glory and the dream?
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting: The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star, Hath had elsewhere its setting, 60 And cometh from afar: Not in entire forgetfulness, And not in utter nakedness, But trailing clouds of glory do we come From God, who is our home; Heaven lies about us in our infancy! Shades of the prison-house begin to close Upon the growing Boy, But He beholds the light, and whence it flows, He sees it in his joy; 70 The Youth, who daily farther from the East Must travel, still is Nature's Priest, And by the vision splendid Is on his way attended; At length the Man perceives it die away, And fade into the light of common day.
Earth fills her lap with pleasures of her own; Yearnings she hath in her own natural kind, And, even with something of a Mother's mind, And no unworthy aim, 80 The homely Nurse doth all she can To make her Foster-child, her Inmate Man, Forget the glories he hath known, And that imperial palace whence he came.
Behold the Child among his new-born blisses, A four year's Darling of a pigmy size! See, where mid work of his own hand he lies, Fretted by sallies of his Mother's kisses, With light upon him from his Father's eyes! See, at his feet, some little plan or chart, 90 Some fragment from his dream of human life, Shap'd by himself with newly-learned art; A wedding or a festival, A mourning or a funeral; And this hath now his heart, And unto this he frames his song: Then will he fit his tongue To dialogues of business, love, or strife;
But it will not be long Ere this be thrown aside, 100 And with new joy and pride The little Actor cons another part, Filling from time to time his "humourous stage" With all the Persons, down to palsied Age, That Life brings with her in her Equipage; As if his whole vocation Were endless imitation.
Thou, whose exterior semblance doth belie Thy Soul's immensity; Thou best Philosopher, who yet dost keep 110 Thy heritage, thou Eye among the blind, That, deaf and silent, read'st the eternal deep, Haunted for ever by the eternal mind,— Mighty Prophet! Seer blest! On whom those truths do rest, Which we are toiling all our lives to find; Thou, over whom thy Immortality
Broods like the Day, a Master o'er a Slave, A Presence which is not to be put by; To whom the grave 120 Is but a lonely bed without the sense or sight Of day or the warm light, A place of thought where we in waiting lie; Thou little Child, yet glorious in the might Of untam'd pleasures, on thy Being's height, Why with such earnest pains dost thou provoke The Years to bring the inevitable yoke, Thus blindly with thy blessedness at strife? Full soon thy Soul shall have her earthly freight, And custom lie upon thee with a weight, 130 Heavy as frost, and deep almost as life!
O joy! that in our embers Is something that doth live, That nature yet remembers What was so fugitive!
The thought of our past years in me doth breed Perpetual benedictions: not indeed For that which is most worthy to be blest; Delight and liberty, the simple creed Of Childhood, whether fluttering or at rest, 140 With new-born hope for ever in his breast:— Not for these I raise The song of thanks and praise; But for those obstinate questionings Of sense and outward things, Fallings from us, vanishings; Blank misgivings of a Creature Moving about in worlds not realiz'd, High instincts, before which our mortal Nature Did tremble like a guilty Thing surpriz'd: 150 But for those first affections, Those shadowy recollections, Which, be they what they may, Are yet the fountain light of all our day, Are yet a master light of all our seeing; Uphold us, cherish us, and make Our noisy years seem moments in the being Of the eternal Silence: truths that wake, To perish never; Which neither listlessness, nor mad endeavour, 160 Nor Man nor Boy, Nor all that is at enmity with joy, Can utterly abolish or destroy! Hence, in a season of calm weather, Though inland far we be, Our Souls have sight of that immortal sea Which brought us hither, Can in a moment travel thither, And see the Children sport upon the shore, And hear the mighty waters rolling evermore. 170
Then, sing ye Birds, sing, sing a joyous song! And let the young Lambs bound As to the tabor's sound! We in thought will join your throng, Ye that pipe and ye that play, Ye that through your hearts to day Feel the gladness of the May! What though the radiance which was once so bright Be now for ever taken from my sight, Though nothing can bring back the hour 180 Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower; We will grieve not, rather find Strength in what remains behind, In the primal sympathy Which having been must ever be, In the soothing thoughts that spring Out of human suffering, In the faith that looks through death, In years that bring the philosophic mind.
And oh ye Fountains, Meadows, Hills, and Groves, 190 Think not of any severing of our loves! Yet in my heart of hearts I feel your might; I only have relinquish'd one delight To live beneath your more habitual sway. I love the Brooks which down their channels fret, Even more than when I tripp'd lightly as they; The innocent brightness of a new-born Day Is lovely yet; The Clouds that gather round the setting sun Do take a sober colouring from an eye 200 That hath kept watch o'er man's mortality; Another race hath been, and other palms are won. Thanks to the human heart by which we live, Thanks to its tenderness, its joys, and fears, To me the meanest flower that blows can give Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.
NOTES to the SECOND VOLUME.
NOTES.
NOTE I.
PAGE 4 (177); line 2.—"And wondrous length and strength of arm." The people of the neighbourhood of Loch Ketterine, in order to prove the extraordinary length of their Hero's arm, tell you that "he could garter his Tartan Stockings below the knee when standing upright." According to their account he was a tremendous Swordsman; after having sought all occasions of proving his prowess, he was never conquered but once, and this not till he was an Old Man.
NOTE II.
PAGE 11 (185).—The solitary Reaper. This Poem was suggested by a beautiful sentence in a MS Tour in Scotland written by a Friend, the last line being taken from it verbatim.
NOTE III.
PAGE 65 (239).—THE BLIND HIGHLAND BOY. The incident upon which this Poem is founded was related to me by an eye witness.
NOTE IV.
PAGE 106 (280); line 10.—"Seen the Seven Whistlers, &c." Both these superstitions are prevalent in the midland Counties of England: that of "Gabriel's Hounds" appears to be very general over Europe; being the same as the one upon which the German Poet, Burger, has founded his Ballad of the Wild Huntsman.
NOTE V.
PAGE 128 (302).—Song, at the Feast of Brougham Castle. Henry Lord Clifford, &c. &c., who is the subject of this Poem, was the son of John, Lord Clifford, who was slain at Towton Field, which John, Lord Clifford, as is known to the Reader of English History, was the person who after the battle of Wakefield slew, in the pursuit, the young Earl of Rutland, Son of the Duke of York who had fallen in the battle, "in part of revenge" (say the Authors of the History of Cumberland and Westmorland); "for the Earl's Father had slain his." A deed which worthily blemished the author (saith Speed); But who, as he adds, "dare promise any thing temperate of himself in the heat of martial fury? chiefly, when it was resolved not to leave any branch of the York line standing; for so one maketh this Lord to speak." This, no doubt, I would observe by the bye, was an action sufficiently in the vindictive spirit of the times, and yet not altogether so bad as represented; for the Earl was no child, as some writers would have him, but able to bear arms, being sixteen or seventeen years of age, as is evident from this (say the Memoirs of the Countess of Pembroke, who was laudably anxious to wipe away, as far as could be, this stigma from the illustrious name to which she was born); that he was the next Child to King Edward the Fourth, which his mother had by Richard Duke of York, and that King was then eighteen years of age: and for the small distance betwixt her Children, see Austin Vincent in his book of Nobility, page 622, where he writes of them all. It may further be observed, that Lord Clifford, who was then himself only twenty-five years of age, had been a leading Man and Commander, two or three years together in the Army of Lancaster, before this time; and, therefore, would be less likely to think that the Earl of Rutland might be entitled to mercy from his youth.—But, independent of this act, at best a cruel and savage one, the Family of Clifford had done enough to draw upon them the vehement hatred of the House of York: so that after the Battle of Towton there was no hope for them but in flight and concealment. Henry, the subject of the Poem, was deprived of his estate and honours during the space of twenty-four years; all which time he lived as a shepherd in Yorkshire, or in Cumberland, where the estate of his Father-in-law (Sir Lancelot Threlkeld) lay. He was restored to his estate and honours in the first year of Henry the Seventh. It is recorded that, "when called to parliament, he behaved nobly and wisely; but otherwise came seldom to London or the Court; and rather delighted to live in the country, where he repaired several of his Castles, which had gone to decay during the late troubles." Thus far is chiefly collected from Nicholson and Burn; and I can add, from my own knowledge, that there is a tradition current in the village of Threlkeld and its neighbourhood, his principal retreat, that, in the course of his shepherd life, he had acquired great astronomical knowledge. I cannot conclude this note without adding a word upon the subject of those numerous and noble feudal Edifices, spoken of in the Poem, the ruins of some of which are, at this day, so great an ornament to that interesting country. The Cliffords had always been distinguished for an honorable pride in these Castles; and we have seen that after the wars of York and Lancaster they were rebuilt; in the civil Wars of Charles the First, they were again laid waste, and again restored almost to their former magnificence by the celebrated Lady Anne Clifford, Countess of Pembroke, &c. &c. Not more than 25 years after this was done, when the Estates of Clifford had passed into the family of Tufton, three of these Castles, namely Brough, Brougham, and Pendragon, were demolished, and the timber and other materials sold by Thomas Earl of Thanet. We will hope that, when this order was issued, the Earl had not consulted the text of Isaiah, 58th Chap. 12th Verse, to which the inscription placed over the gate of Pendragon Castle, by the Countess of Pembroke (I believe his Grandmother) at the time she repaired that structure, refers the reader. "And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations, and thou shalt be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in." The Earl of Thanet, the present possessor of the Estates, with a due respect for the memory of his ancestors, and a proper sense of the value and beauty of these remains of antiquity, has (I am told) given orders that they shall be preserved from all depredations.
NOTE VI.
PAGE 130 (304); line 2.—"Earth helped him with the cry of blood." This line is from The Battle of Bosworth Field by Sir John Beaumont (Brother to the Dramatist), whose poems are written with so much spirit, elegance, and harmony, that it is supposed, as the Book is very scarce, a new edition of it would be acceptable to Scholars and Men of taste, and, accordingly, it is in contemplation to give one.
NOTE VII.
PAGE 135 (309); line 15.—
"And both the undying Fish that swim Through Bowscale-Tarn," &c.
It is imagined by the people of the Country that there are two immortal Fish, Inhabitants of this Tarn, which lies in the mountains not far from Threlkeld.—Blencathara, mentioned before, is the old and proper name of the mountain vulgarly called Saddle-back.
NOTE VIII.
PAGE 136 (310); lines 17 and 18.—
"Armour rusting in his Halls On the blood of Clifford calls."
The martial character of the Cliffords is well known to the readers of English History; but it may not be improper here to say, by way of comment on these lines and what follows, that, besides several others who perished in the same manner, the four immediate Progenitors of the person in whose hearing this is supposed to be spoken, all died in the Field.
