V. Him, only him, the shield of Jove defends, But Shapes, that come not at an earthly Whose means are fair and spotless as his 90 call, Will not depart when mortal voices bid; Lords of the visionary eye whose lid, Once raised, remains aghast, and will not fall! Ye Gods, thought He, that servile Implement 95 Obeys a mystical intent! Your Minister would brush away The spots that to my soul adhere; But should she labour night and day, They will not, cannot disappear; Whence angry perturbations,—and that ends." XXXIII. THE PASS OF KIRKSTONE. [Composed 1817.-Published 1820.] I. WITHIN the mind strong fancies work, Ill-fated Chief! there are whose hopes are And left as if by earthquake strewn, ΙΟ 15 Or from the Flood escaped: On which four thousand years have gazed! II. 20 Ye ploughshares sparkling on the slopes! Ye trees, that may to-morrow fall 25 fields, All that the fertile valley shields; So were the hopeless troubles, that in- Wages of folly-baits of crime, 35 85 And, slighting sails and scorning oars, With infant shout; and often sweep, II. What though this ancient Earth be trod For philosophic Sage; or high-souled Who, for thy service trained in lonely Mounting from glorious deed to deed 45 Hath fed on pageants floating through As thou from clime to clime didst lead; With awe, receives the hallowed veil, A soft and tender Heroine Vowed to severer discipline; Inflamed by thee, the blooming Boy the air, The aspiring Virgin kneels; and, pale 55 If there be movements in the Patriot's soul, Makes of the whistling shrouds a toy, 60 And in due season send the mandate And of the ocean's dismal breast 65 A play-ground,—or a couch of rest; Among the monsters of the Deep; 70 75 Soon to be swallowed by the briny surge; Or cast, for lingering death, on unknown strands; 80 Or caught amid a whirl of desert sands More humble favours may obtain And a record of commotion 1 "Choral", edd. 1820, 1827; "coral", 18321849.-ED. High as the level of the mountain-tops) ΙΟ [Composed 1801 (?).-Published Morning Post, Yet unperplexed, as if one spirit swayed February 11, 1802; ed. 1807.] DEAR Child of Nature, let them rail! A harbour and a hold; Where thou, a Wife and Friend, shalt see There, healthy as a shepherd boy, And treading among flowers of joy Which at no season fade, 5 16 Their indefatigable flight. 'Tis doneTen times, or more, I fancied it had ceased; But lo! the vanished company again Ascending; they approach--I hear their wings, Faint, faint at first; and then an eager Thou, while thy babes around thee cling, 10 They tempt the water, or the gleaming ice, Shalt show us how divine a thing Thy thoughts and feelings shall not die, But an old age serene and bright, And lovely as a Lapland night, XXXVII. WATER FOWL. 15 To show them a fair image; 'tis themselves, Their own fair forms, upon the glimmer ing plain, Painted more soft and fair as they descend XXXVIII. VIEW FROM THE TOP OF BLACK COMB 2. [Composed 1813.-Published 1815.] THIS Height a ministering Angel might select: For from the summit of BLACK COMB (dread name 2 Black Comb stands at the southern extremity of Cumberland: its base covers a much greater extent of ground than any other mountain in those parts; and, from its situation, the summit commands a more extensive view than any other point in Britain. |