i

But studious only to remove from sight Day's mutable distinctions. - Ancient

Power!

Which sends so far its melancholy light,
Perhaps are seated in domestic ring
A gay society with faces bright,

To the rude Briton, when, in wolf-skin vest Here roving wild, he laid him down to rest On the bare rock, or through a leafy bower Looked ere his eyes were closed. By him

was seen

The self-same Vision which we now behold, At thy meek bidding, shadowy Power! brought forth

These mighty barriers, and the gulf be

tween;

The flood, the stars,-a spectacle as old
As the beginning of the heavens and earth!

"THE SHEPHERD, LOOKING
EASTWARD, SOFTLY SAID"

THE Shepherd, looking eastward, softly said, Bright is thy veil, O Moon, as thou art bright!"

Forthwith, that little cloud, in ether spread
And penetrated all with tender light,
She cast away, and showed her fulgent head
Uncovered; dazzling the Beholder's sight
As if to vindicate her beauty's right
Her beauty thoughtlessly disparagèd.
Meanwhile that veil, removed or thrown
aside,

Went floating from her, darkening as it

went;

And a huge mass, to bury or to hide, Approached this glory of the firmament; Who meekly yields, and is obscured-con

tent

With one calm triumph of a modest pride.

"EVEN AS A DRAGON'S EYE THAT

FEELS THE STRESS"

EVEN as a dragon's eye that feels the stress
Of a bedimming sleep, or as a lamp
Suddenly glaring through sepulchral damp,
So burns yon Taper 'mid a black recess
Of mountains, silent, dreary, motionless :
The lake below reflects it not; the sky,
Muffled in clouds, affords no company
To mitigate and cheer its loneliness.
Yet, round the body of that joyless Thing

sing,

While hearts and voices in the song unite.

"MARK THE CONCENTRED

HAZELS THAT ENCLOSE"

Suggested in the wild hazel wood at the foot of Helm-crag, where the stone still lies, with others of like form and character, though much of the wood that veiled it from the glare of day has been felled. This beautiful ground was lately purchased by our friend Mrs. Fletcher, the ancient owners, most respected persons, being obliged to part with it in consequence of the imprudence of a son. It is gratifying to mention that, instead of murmuring and repining at this change of fortune, they offered their services to Mrs. Fletcher, the husband as an out-door labourer, and the wife as a domestic servant. I have witnessed the pride and pleasure with which the man worked at improvements of the ground round the house. Indeed he expressed those feelings to me himself, and the countenance and manner of his wife always denoted feelings of the same character. I believe a similar disposi tion to contentment under change of fortune is common among the class to which these good people belong. Yet, in proof that to part with their patrimony is most painful to them, I may refer to those stanzas entitled “Repentance," no inconsiderable part of which was taken verbatim from the language of the speaker herself.

MARK the concentred hazels that enclose Yon old grey Stone, protected from the ray Of noontide suns:-and even the beams that play

And glance, while wantonly the rough wind blows,

Are seldom free to touch the moss that grows Upon that roof, amid embowering gloom, The very image framing of a Tomb,

In which some ancient Chieftain finds repose

Among the lonely mountains.-Live, ye

trees!

And thou, grey Stone, the pensive likeness

keep

Of a dark chamber where the Mighty sleep:
For more than Fancy to the influence bends
When solitary Nature condescends
To mimic Time's forlorn humanities.

TO THE POET, JOHN DYER

BARD of the Fleece, whose skilful genius made

That work a living landscape fair and

bright;

Nor hallowed less with musical delight Than those soft scenes through which thy childhood strayed,

Those southern tracts of Cambria, "deep embayed,

With green hills fenced, with ocean's murmur lulled;"

Though hasty Fame hath many a chaplet culled

For worthless brows, while in the pensive shade

Of cold neglect she leaves thy head ungraced, Yet pure and powerful minds, hearts meek and still,

A grateful few, shall love thy modest Lay, Long as the shepherd's bleating flock shall stray

O'er naked Snowdon's wide aërial waste; Long as the thrush shall pipe on Grongar Hill!

"SURPRISED BY JOY-IMPATIENT AS THE WIND"

This was in fact suggested by my daughter Catharine long after her death.

SURPRISED by joy-impatient as the Wind I turned to share the transport-Oh! with whom

But Thee, deep buried in the silent tomb, That spot which no vicissitude can find? Love, faithful love, recalled thee to my mind

But how could I forget thee?. Through what power,

Even for the least division of an hour,
Have I been so beguiled as to be blind
To my most grievous loss?—That thought s

return

Was the worst pang that sorrow ever bore, Save one, one only, when I stood forlorn, Knowing my heart's best treasure was no

more;

That neither present time, nor years unborn Could to my sight that heavenly face restore.

ODE

THE MORNING OF THE DAY APPOINTED FOR A GENERAL THANKSGIVING JANUARY 18, 18161

The first stanza of this Ode was composed almost extempore, in front of Rydal Mount, before church-time, and on such a morning anal precisely with such objects before my eyes as are here described. The view taken of Napoleon's character and proceedings is little in accordance with that taken by some historians and critical philosophers. I am glad and proud of the difference, and trust that this series of poems, infinitery below the subject as they are, will survive to counteract, in unsophisticated minds, the perce cious and degrading tendency of those views and doctrines that lead to the idolatry of power, a power, and, in that false splendour to lose sight of its real nature and constitution as it often acts for the gratification of its possessor without reference to a beneficial end-an infirmity that has characterised men of all ages, classes, ard employments, since Nimrod became a mighty hunter before the Lord.

I

HAIL, orient Conqueror of gloomy Night! Thou that canst shed the bliss of gratitude 1 See Note,

On hearts howe'er insensible or rude;
Whether thy punctual visitations smite
The haughty towers where monarchs dwell;
Or thou, impartial Sun, with presence bright
Cheer'st the low threshold of the peasant's
cell!

Not unrejoiced I see thee climb the sky
In naked splendour, clear from mist or
haze,

Or cloud approaching to divert the rays,
Which even in deepest winter testify

Thy power and majesty,

Dazzling the vision that presumes to gaze. -Well does thine aspect usher in this Day; As aptly suits therewith that modest pace Submitted to the chains

That bind thee to the path which God ordains

That thou shalt trace,

Till, with the heavens and earth, thou pass

That burns for Poets in the dawning east ; And oft my soul hath kindled at the same, When the captivity of sleep had ceased; But He who fixed immoveably the frame Of the round world, and built, by laws as strong,

A solid refuge for distress

The towers of righteousness;

He knows that from a holier altar came The quickening spark of this day's sacrifice; Knows that the source is nobler whence doth rise

The current of this matin song;

That deeper far it lies

Than aught dependent on the fickle skies.

III

Have we not conquered?-by the venge-
ful sword?

Ah no, by dint of Magnanimity;
That curbed the baser passions, and left free
A loyal band to follow their liege Lord
Clear-sighted Honour, and his staid Com-
peers,

Along a track of most unnatural years;
In execution of heroic deeds

Whose memory, spotless as the crystal beads

Of morning dew upon the untrodden meads, Shall live enrolled above the starry spheres. He, who in concert with an earthly string Of Britain's acts would sing,

He with enraptured voice will tell Of One whose spirit no reverse could quell; Of One that 'mid the failing never failed-Who paints how Britain struggled and prevailed

Shall represent her labouring with an eye Of circumspect humanity;

Shall show her clothed with strength and skill,

All martial duties to fulfil; Firm as a rock in stationary fight; In motion rapid as the lightning's gleam; Fierce as a flood-gate bursting at midnight To rouse the wicked from their giddy dream

Woe, woe to all that face her in the field! Appalled she may not be, and cannot yield.

IV

And thus is missed the sole true glory That can belong to human story!

At which they only shall arrive Who through the abyss of weakness dive. The very humblest are too proud of heart; And one brief day is rightly set apart For Him who lifteth up and layeth low; For that Almighty God to whom we owe, Say not that we have vanquished—but that we survive.

V

How dreadful the dominion of the impure !

Why should the Song be tardy to proclaim That less than power unbounded could not

tame

That soul of Evil-which, from hell let loose,

Had filled the astonished world with such abuse

As boundless patience only could endure? -Wide-wasted regions-cities wrapt in flame

Who sees, may lift a streaming eye

To Heaven;--who never saw, may heave a sigh;

But the foundation of our nature shakes, And with an infinite pain the spirit aches, When desolated countries, towns on fire,

Are but the avowed attire

Of warfare waged with desperate mind
Against the life of virtue in mankind;
Assaulting without ruth

The citadels of truth;

While the fair gardens of civility,

By ignorance defaced,

By violence laid waste,

Perish without reprieve for flower or tree!

VI

A crouching purpose-a distracted willOpposed to hopes that battened upon scorn, And to desires whose ever-waxing horn Not all the light of earthly power could fill ; Opposed to dark, deep plots of patient skill,

And to celerities of lawless force;

Which, spurning God, had flung away re

morse

What could they gain but shadows of redress?

-So bad proceeded propagating worse; And discipline was passion's dire excess.1 I See Note.

Widens the fatal web, its lines extend,
And deadlier poisons in the chalice blend.
When will your trials teach you to be wise?
-O prostrate Lands, consult your agonies!

VII

No more-the guilt is banished, And, with the guilt, the shame is fled; And, with the guilt and shame, the Woe hath vanished,

Shaking the dust and ashes from her head! -No more-these lingerings of distress Sully the limpid stream of thankfulness. What robe can Gratitude employ

So seemly as the radiant vest of Joy? What steps so suitable as those that move In prompt obedience to spontaneous mea

sures

Of glory, and felicity, and love, Surrendering the whole heart to sacred pleasures?

VIII

O Britain! dearer far than life is dear, If one there be

Of all thy progeny

Who can forget thy prowess, never more
Be that ungrateful Son allowed to hear
Thy green leaves rustle or thy torrents roa:.
As springs the lion from his den,
As from a forest-brake
Upstarts a glistering snake,
The bold Arch-despot re-appeared;-again
Wide Europe heaves, impatient to be cast,
With all her armèd Powers,

On that offensive soil, like waves upon
a thousand shores.

The trumpet blew a universal blast! But Thou art foremost in the field:-there stand:

Receive the triumph destined to thy hand! All States have glorified themselves;—their claims

Are weighed by Providence, in balance even; And now, in preference to the mightiest

names,

To Thee the exterminating sword is given. Dread mark of approbation, justly gained! Exalted office, worthily sustained !

IX

Preserve, O Lord! within our hearts The memory of thy favour,

That else insensibly departs, And loses its sweet savour!

Lodge it within us!--as the power of light
Lives inexhaustibly in precious gems,
Fixed on the front of Eastern diadems,
So shine our thankfulness for ever bright!
What offering, what transcendent monument
Shall our sincerity to Thee present?
--Not work of hands; but trophies that
may reach

To highest Heaven-the labour of the Soul;
That builds, as thy unerring precepts teach,
Upon the internal conquests made by each,
Her hope of lasting glory for the whole.
Yet will not heaven disown nor earth gainsay
The outward service of this day;
Whether the worshippers entreat
Forgiveness from God's mercy-seat;
Or thanks and praises to His throne ascend
That He has brought our warfare to an end,
And that we need no second victory!-

Ha! what a ghastly sight for man to see; And to the heavenly saints in peace who dwell,

For a brief moment, terrible; But, to thy sovereign penetration, fair, Before whom all things are, that were, All judgments that have been, or e'er shall be; Links in the chain of thy tranquillity! Along the bosom of this favoured Nation, Breathe Thou, this day, a vital undulation!

Let all who do this land inherit Be conscious of thy moving spirit! Oh, 'tis a goodly Ordinance, -the sight, Though sprung from bleeding war, is one of pure delight;

Bless Thou the hour, or ere the hour arrive, When a whole people shall kneel down in prayer,

And, at one moment, in one rapture, strive With lip and heart to tell their gratitude

For thy protecting care,

Their solemn joy-praising the Eternal

Lord

For tyranny subdued,

And for the sway of equity renewed,

For liberty confirmed, and peace restored!

Bright shines the Sun, as if his beams would wake

The tender insects sleeping in their cells; Bright shines the Sun-and not a breeze to shake

The drops that tip the melting icicles.
O, enter now his temple gate!
Inviting words-perchance already flung
(As the crowd press devoutly down the aisle
Of some old Minster's venerable pile)
From voices into zealous passion stung,
While the tubed engine feels the inspiring
blast,

And has begun-its clouds of sound to cast
Forth towards empyreal Heaven,

As if the fretted roof were riven. Us, humbler ceremonies now await; But in the bosom, with devout respect The banner of our joy we will erect, And strength of love our souls shall elevate: For to a few collected in his name, Their heavenly Father will incline an ear Gracious to service hallowed by its aim;Awake! the majesty of God revere !

Go-and with foreheads meekly bowed Present your prayers-go-and rejoice aloud

The Holy One will hear ! And what, 'mid silence deep, with faith sincere,

Ye, in your low and undisturbed estate,
Shall simply feel and purely meditate--
Of warnings-from the unprecedented
might,

Which, in our time, the impious have disclosed;

And of more arduous duties thence imposed Upon the future advocates of right;

Of mysteries revealed,

And judgments unrepealed,
Of earthly revolution,

And final retribution,

-

To his omniscience will appear

An offering not unworthy to find place,
On this high DAY of THANKS, before the
Throne of Grace!