XXXVIII. THE RIVER EDEN, CUMBERLAND. EDEN! till now thy beauty had I viewed pay To my life's neighbour dues of neighbourhood; But I have traced thee on thy winding way 11 With pleasure sometimes by this thought restrained For things far off we toil, while many a good Not sought, because too near, is never gained. XXXIX. MONUMENT OF MRS. HOWARD, In Wetheral Church, near Corby, on the banks of the Eden. STRETCHED on the dying Mother's lap, lies dead Her new-born Babe; dire ending of bright hope! But Sculpture here, with the divinest scope head So patiently; and through one hand has spread A touch so tender for the insensate Child- 6 (Earth's lingering love to parting reconciled, Brief parting, for the spirit is all but fled)— That we, who contemplate the turns of life Feel with the Mother, think the severed Wife And own that Art, triumphant over strife XL. SUGGESTED BY THE FOREGOING. TRANQUILLITY! the sovereign aim wert thou The Tragic Muse thee served with thoughtful 5 And what of hope Elysium could allow grace From shadowy fountains of the Infinite IO XLI. NUNNERY. THE floods are roused, and will not soon be weary; Down from the Pennine Alps' how fiercely sweeps 1 The chain of Crossfell. CROGLIN, the stately Eden's tributary! airy, 5 That voice which soothed the Nuns while on the steeps They knelt in prayer, or sang to blissful Mary. That union ceased: then, cleaving easy walks Through crags, and smoothing paths beset with danger, Came studious Taste; and many a pensive stranger ΙΟ Dreams on the banks, and to the river talks. What change shall happen next to Nunnery Dell? Canal, and Viaduct, and Railway, tell! XLII. 5 STEAMBOATS, VIADUCTS, AND RAILWAYS. MOTIONS and Means, on land and sea at war With old poetic feeling, not for this, Shall ye, by Poets even, be judged amiss! Nor shall your presence, howsoe'er it mar The loveliness of Nature, prove a bar To the Mind's gaining that prophetic sense Of future change, that point of vision, whence May be discovered what in soul ye are. In spite of all that beauty may disown In your harsh features, Nature doth embrace 10 Her lawful offspring in Man's art; and Time, Pleased with your triumphs o'er his brother Space, Accepts from your bold hands the proffered crown Of hope, and smiles on you with cheer sublime. XLIII. THE MONUMENT COMMONLY CALLED LONG MEG A WEIGHT of awe, not easy to be borne, Speak Thou, whose massy strength and stature scorn The power of years-pre-eminent, and placed Apart, to overlook the circle vast 5 Speak, Giant-mother! tell it to the Morn Let the Moon hear, emerging from a cloud; 10 XLIV. LOWTHER. LOWTHER! in thy majestic Pile are seen And charters won and guarded by the sword 5 And will maintain, if God his help afford. 1 See Note. ΙΟ The strength of backward-looking thoughts is scorned. Fall if ye must, ye Towers and Pinnacles, XLV. TO THE EARL OF LONSDALE. "Magistratus indicat virum." 5 LONSDALE! it were unworthy of a Guest, ΙΟ That searching test thy public course has stood; XLVI. THE SOMNAMBULIST. LIST, ye who pass by Lyulph's Tower1 Doth Aira-force, that torrent hoarse, 1 See Note. 2 A pleasure-house built by the late Duke of Norfolk upon the banks of Ullswater. FORCE is the word used in the Lake District for Water-fall. |