towards the close of winter." - Extract from the Author's Book on the Lakes.-W. W. 1827.
[Observed frequently over the lakes of Rydal and Grasmere. -I. F.]
Placed among the "Poems of the Imagination."-ED.
MARK how the feathered tenants of the flood,
With grace of motion that might scarcely seem *
Inferior to angelical, prolong
Their curious pastime ! shaping in mid air
(And sometimes with ambitious wing that soars
High as the level of the mountain-tops)
A circuit ampler than the lake beneath-
Their own domain; but ever, while intent
On tracing and retracing that large round,
Their jubilant activity evolves
Hundreds of curves and circlets, to and fro,
Upward and downward, progress intricate
Yet unperplexed, as if one spirit swayed
Their indefatigable flight. 'Tis done-
Ten 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 sound,
Past in a moment—and as faint again!
They tempt the sun to sport amid their plumes ;
They tempt the water, or the gleaming ice,
To show them a fair image; 'tis themselves,
Their own fair forms, upon the glimmering plain,
Painted more soft and fair as they descend
Almost to touch; then up again aloft,
Up with a sally and a flash of speed,
As if they scorned both resting-place and rest!
* For the original text, which differs from this, see The Recluse, vol. viii. of this edition.-ED.
See the note to the previous year, 1812.-ED.
VIEW FROM THE TOP OF BLACK COMB
Composed 1813.-Published 1815
Black Comb stands at the southern extremity of Cumberland : its base covers a much greater extent of ground than any other mountain in these parts; and, from its situation, the summit commands a more extensive view than any other point in Britain. W. W. 1827.
[Mrs. Wordsworth and I, as mentioned in the Epistle to Sir G. Beaumont, lived sometime under its shadow. - I. F.]
Included among the "Poems of the Imagination." (See the editorial note to the following poem.)-ED.
THIS Height a ministering Angel might select :
For from the summit of BLACK COMB (dread name
Derived from clouds and storms!) the amplest range
Of unobstructed prospect may be seen
That British ground commands:-low dusky tracts,
Where Trent is nursed, far southward! Cambrian hills
To the south-west, a multitudinous show;
And, in a line of eye-sight linked with these,
The hoary peaks of Scotland that give birth
To Tiviot's stream, to Annan, Tweed, and Clyde :-
Crowding the quarter whence the sun comes forth
Gigantic mountains rough with crags; beneath,
Right at the imperial station's western base
Main ocean, breaking audibly, and stretched
Far into silent regions blue and pale ;-
And visibly engirding Mona's Isle
That, as we left the plain, before our sight
Stood like a lofty mount, uplifting slowly
(Above the convex of the watery globe)
Into clear view the cultured fields that streak
Her 1 habitable shores, but now appears
A dwindled object, and submits to lie
At the spectator's feet. -Yon azure ridge,
Is it a perishable cloud? Or there
Do we behold the line 2 of Erin's coast? *
Land sometimes by the roving shepherd-swain
(Like the bright confines of another world)
Not doubtfully perceived. Look homeward now !
In depth, in height, in circuit, how serene
The spectacle, how pure !-— Of Nature's works,
In earth, and air, and earth-embracing sea,
A revelation infinite it seems ;
* The Irish coast can be seen from Black Comb, but it is seldom visible till after sundown.-ED.
† Compare, in The Minstrels of Winandermere, by Charles Farish, p. 33
Close by the sea, lone sentinel,
Black Comb his forward station keeps;
He breaks the sea's tumultuous swell,
And ponders o'er the level deeps.
WRITTEN WITH A SLATE PENCIL ON A STONE, ON THE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN OF BLACK COMB
Composed 1813. - Published 1815
[The circumstance, alluded to at the conclusion of these verses, was told me by Dr. Satterthwaite, who was Incumbent of Bootle, a small town at the foot of Black Comb. He had the particulars from one of the engineers who was employed in making trigonometrical surveys of that region. I. F.]
Included among the "Inscriptions."-ED.
STAY, bold Adventurer; rest awhile thy limbs
On this commodious Seat! for much remains
Of hard ascent before thou reach the top
Of this huge Eminence, from blackness named,
And, to far-travelled storms of sea and land,
A favourite spot of tournament and war!
But thee may no such boisterous visitants
Molest; may gentle breezes fan thy brow ;
And neither cloud conceal, nor misty air
Bedim, the grand terraqueous spectacle,
From centre to circumference, unveiled!
Know, if thou grudge not to prolong thy rest,
That on the summit whither thou art bound,
A geographic Labourer pitched his tent,
With books supplied and instruments of art,
To measure height and distance; lonely task,
Week after week pursued !-To him was given
Full many a glimpse (but sparingly bestowed
On timid man) of Nature's processes
Upon the exalted hills. He made report
That once, while there he plied his studious work
Within that canvass Dwelling, colours, lines,
And the whole surface of the out-spread map,1
Became invisible: for all around
Had darkness fallen-unthreatened, unproclaimed
As if the golden day itself had been
Extinguished in a moment; total gloom,
In which he sate alone, with unclosed eyes,
Upon the blinded mountain's silent top!
In the editions of 1815 and 1820, the note to the previous poem, View from the top of Black Comb, was appended to this one. In 1827 it was transferred to its appropriate and permanent place. -ED.
NOVEMBER, 1813
Composed November 1813.-Published 1815
Included among the "Sonnets dedicated to Liberty."-ED.
Now that all hearts are glad, all faces bright,
Our aged Sovereign sits, to the ebb and flow
Of states and kingdoms, to their joy or woe,
Insensible. He sits deprived of sight,
And lamentably wrapped in twofold night,
Whom no weak hopes deceived; whose mind ensued,
Through perilous war, with regal fortitude,
Peace that should claim respect from lawless Might.
Dread King of Kings, vouchsafe a ray divine
To his forlorn condition ! let thy grace
Upon his inner 2 soul in mercy shine;
Permit his heart to kindle, and to embrace 3
|