My sorrow; for I brought with me the A conflict of sensations without name, 209 Oh! much have they to account for, wa could tear, By violence, at one decisive rent, From the best youth in England the dear pride, Their joy, in England; this, too, at a time In which worst losses easily might wear Flowers out of any hedge-row to compe On some grey rock-its birthplace-so A chaplet in contempt of his grey had I Wantoned, fast rooted on the ancient tower Of my beloved country, wishing not 280 A happier fortune than to wither there: Now was I from that pleasant station torn And tossed about in whirlwind. I rejoiced, Yea, afterwards-truth most painful to record! locks 330 Domestic carnage now filled the whole Head after head, and never heads enough For those that bade them fall. They found their joy, They made it proudly, eager as a child, In France, the men, who, for their (If like desires of innocent little ones 365 desperate ends, Had plucked up mercy by the roots, were glad Of this new enemy. before May with such heinous appetites be com pared), Pleased in some open field to exercise Tyrants, strong A toy that mimics with revolving wings The motion of a wind-mill; though the air In wicked pleas, were strong as demons Do of itself blow fresh, and make the 370 Spin in his eyesight, that contents him not, But, with the plaything at arm's length, he sets And thus, on every side beset with foes, front against the blast, and runs amain, The sternness of the just, the faith of That it may whirl the faster. those Who doubted not that Providence had times 340 Of vengeful retribution, theirs who throned The human Understanding paramount And made of that their God, the hopes of men Who were content to barter short-lived For a paradise of ages, the blind rage 345 Amid the depth Of those enormities, even thinking minds Forgot, at seasons, whence they had their being; 376 Forgot that such a sound was ever heard name. 380 The illustrious wife of Roland, in the Of her composure, felt that agony, It was a lamentable time for man, Her wisdom stifled, and her justice scared, The shock; most woeful for those few Her frenzy only active to extol Past outrages, and shape the way for new, who still Were flattered, and had trust in human kind: Through months, through years, long after Guarded within the bosom of Thy will. Therefore to serve was high beatitude; Tumult was therefore gladness, and the fear Ennobling, venerable; sleep secure, 435 And waking thoughts more rich that happiest dreams. But as the ancient Prophets, borne aloft In vision, yet constrained by natural laws With them to take a troubled human heart, Wanted not consolations, nor a creed 4 Of reconcilement, then when they de nounced, On towns and cities, wallowing in the abyss Of their offences, punishment to come: So, with devout humility be it said, ness saw Glimpses of retribution, terrible, Survived, but daring sympathies with Under worst trials, was I driven to think Of the glad times when first I traversed power, Motions not treacherous or profane, else why Within the folds of no ungentle breast Their dread vibration to this hour prolonged? 460 Wild blasts of music thus could find their way Into the midst of turbulent events; So that worst tempests might be listened to. A youthful pilgrim; above all reviewed Triumphal pomp for liberty confirmed, Then was the truth received into my Issued, on delegation to sustain heart, That, under heaviest sorrow earth can bring, 465 If from the affliction somewhere do not grow Humanity and right, that Robespierre, 500 Honour which could not else have been, To outrun the rest in exultation, groaned a faith, Under the vengeance of her cruel son, 506 As Lear reproached the winds-I could almost Have quarrelled with that blameless For lingering yet an image in my mind That neither passed away nor changed, Of a dilapidated structure, once I gazed Enrapt; but brightest things are wont to Said matins at the hour that suited those draw Who crossed the sands with ebb of morning tide. Not far from that still ruin all the Lay spotted with a variegated crowd In loose procession through the shallow stream And on the stone were graven by his Of inland waters; the great sea mear With sound of voice and countenance of After strict question, left within 5 mind the Man, Came back upon me, so that some few That he and his supporters all were! tears fallen. 1 1 |