And, in that Mansion, Children of his own, Or Kindred, gathered round him. As a Tree That falls and dissappears, the House is gone; And, through improvidence or want of love For ancient worth and honorable things,
The spear and shield are vanished, which the Knight Hung in his rustic Hall. One ivied arch
Myself have seen, a gateway, last remains
Of that Foundation in domestic care
Raised by his hands. And now no trace is left Of the mild-hearted Champion, save this Stone, Faithless memorial! and his family name Borne by yon clustering cottages, that sprang From out the ruins of his stately lodge: These, and the name and title at full length, SIR ALFRED IRTHING, with appropriate words Accompanied, still extant, in a wreath Or posy - girding round the several fronts Of three clear-sounding and harmonious bells, That in the steeple hang, his pious gift."
"So fails, so languishes, grows dim, and dies," The gray-haired Wanderer pensively exclaimed, "All that this World is proud of. From their spheres The stars of human glory are cast down; Perish the roses and the flowers of Kings, Princes, and Emperors, and the crowns and palms Of all the Mighty, withered and consumed! Nor is power given to lowliest Innocence Long to protect her own. The Man himself Departs; and soon is spent the Line of those Who, in the bodily image, in the mind, In heart or soul, in station or pursuit, Did most resemble him. Degrees and Ranks. Fraternities and Orders-heaping high
New wealth upon the burthen of the old, And placing trust in privilege confirmed And reconfirmed are scoffed at with a smile Of greedy foretaste, from the secret stand Of Desolation, aimed: to slow decline These yield, and these to sudden overthrow; Their virtue, service, happiness, and state, Expire; and Nature's pleasant robe of green, Humanity's appointed shroud, enwraps
Their monuments and their memory. The vast Frame Of social Nature changes evermore,
Her organs and her members with decay Restless, and restless generation, powers And functions dying and produced at need, – And by this law the mighty Whole subsists: With an ascent and progress in the main; Yet, oh! how disproportioned to the hopes And expectations of self-flattering minds!
The courteous Knight, whose bones are here interred, Lived in an age conspicuous as our own
For strife and ferment in the minds of men; Whence altercation, in the forms of things, Various and vast. A memorable age!
Which did to him assign a pensive lot
To linger 'mid the last of those bright Clouds, That, on the steady breeze of honor, sailed In long procession calm and beautiful.
He who had seen his own bright Order fade, And its devotion gradually decline, (While War, relinquishing the lance and shield, Her temper changed, and bowed to other laws) Had also witnessed, in his morn of life, That violent Commotion, which o'erthrew, In town, and city, and sequestered glen, Altar, and Cross, and Church of solemn roof,
And old religious House - Pile after Pile; And shook the Tenants out into the fields, Like wild Beasts without home! Their hour was come But why no softening thought of gratitude, No just remembrance, scruple, or wise doubt? Benevolence is mild; nor borrows help,
Save at worst need, from bold impetuous force, Fitliest allied to anger and revenge. But Human-kind rejoices in the might Of Mutability, and airy Hopes, Dancing around her, hinder and disturb Those meditations of the soul that feed The retrospective Virtues. Festive songs Break from the maddened Nations at the sight Of sudden overthrow; and cold neglect
Is the sure consequence of slow decay.
- Even," said the Wanderer, "as that courteous Knight, Bound by his vow to labor for redress Of all who suffer wrong, and to enact By sword and lance the law of gentleness, (If I may venture of myself to speak, Trusting that not incongruously I blend Low things with lofty) I too shall be doomed To outlive the kindly use and fair esteem Of the poor calling which my Youth embraced With no unworthy prospect. But enough;
Thoughts crowd upon me and 'twere seemlier
To stop, and yield our gracious Teacher thanks For the pathetic Records which his voice Hath here delivered; words of heartfelt truth, Tending to patience when Affliction strikes ; To hope and love; to confident repose
In God; and reverence for the dust of Man."
Pastor's apprehensions that he might have detained his Auditors too long - Invitation to his House - Solitary disinclined to complyRallies the Wanderer; and somewhat playfully draws a comparison between his itinerant profession and that of the Knight-errant, which leads to Wanderer's giving an account of changes in the Country from the manufacturing spirit - Favorable effects- The other side of the picture, and chiefly as it has affected the humbler classesWanderer asserts the hollowness of all national grandeur if unsupported by moral worth - Gives Instances - Physical science unable to support itself— Lamentations over an excess of manufacturing industry among the humbler Classes of Society - Picture of a Child employed in a Cotton-mill-Ignorance and degradation of Children among the agricultural Population reviewed-Conversation brokea off by a renewed Invitation from the Pastor-- Path leading to his House- Its appearance described His Daughter - His WifeHis Son (a Boy) enters with his Companion-Their happy appear -The Wanderer how affected by the sight of them.
THE pensive Sceptic of the lonely Vale To those acknowledgments subscribed his own, With a sedate compliance, which the Priest Failed not to notice, inly pleased, and said,
"If Ye, by whom invited I commenced
These narratives of calm and humble life, Be satisfied, 'tis well, the end is gained; And, in return for sympathy bestowed And patient listening, thanks accept from me. Life, Death, Eternity! momentous themes Are they and might demand a Seraph's tongue, Were they not equal to their own support; And therefore no incompetence of mine Could do them wrong. The universal forms Of human nature, in a Spot like this, Present themselves at once to all Men's view: Ye wished for act and circumstance, that make The Individual known and understood; And such as my best judgment could select From what the place afforded have been given; Though apprehensions crossed me that my zeal To his might well be linked, who unlocks A Cabinet with gems or pictures stored, And draws them forth-soliciting regard To this, and this, as worthier than the last, Till the Spectator, who awhile was pleased More than the Exhibitor himself, becomes Weary and faint, and longs to be released. But let us hence! my Dwelling is in sight, And there- "
At this the Solitary shrunk With backward will; but wanting not address That inward motion to disguise, he said
To his Compatriot, smiling as he spake;
"The peaceful Remains of this good Knight Would be disturbed, I fear, with wrathful scorn, If consciousness could reach him where he lies That One, albeit of these degenerate times, Deploring changes past, or dreading change
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