Or to propitiate. And, if living eyes
Had visionary faculties to see

The thing that hath been as the thing that is,
Aghast we might behold this crystal1 Mere
Bedimmed with smoke, in wreaths voluminous,
Flung from the body of devouring fires,
To Taranis erected * on the heights
By priestly hands, for sacrifice performed
Exultingly, in view of open day

And full assemblage of a barbarous host ;
Or to Andates, female Power † who gave
(For so they fancied) glorious victory.

-A few rude monuments of mountain-stone
Survive; all else is swept away.-How bright

700

705

710

The appearances of things! From such, how changed
The existing worship; and with those compared,
The worshippers how innocent and blest!
So wide the difference, a willing mind

Might almost think, at this affecting hour,2

715

*

A name of Jupiter among the Druids in Gaul. Toland, in his History of the Druids (p. 247), gives a list of the Dii Gallorum, beginning with Taramis and ending with Adraste or Andate. And, in an edition of Toland's History, edited with elaborate notes by R. Huddleston, schoolmaster, Lunan, and published at Montrose in 1814, I find the following, p. 357 :-"Taramis, or Taranis, is the Gaelic Taran, or Tharan, i.e. 'thunder." This god is the same with the Grecian Zeus, or the Roman Jupiter. By this deity the Celts understood Baal. Taranis, or Tharanis, is sometimes written Tanaris, or Thanaris, which bears a great affinity to the English thunder, the German Donder, and the Roman Tonitru. Lucan mentions him (lib. i.) in these words

Et Taranis Scythicæ non mitior ara Dianæ.

From the Celts the Germans borrowed Tharanis, and by abbreviation formed their God Thor, whence Thursday, the same as the Roman Dies Iovis." Compare Southey's Book of the Church, vol. i. p. 5.-ED.

The same editor of Toland's book on the Druids, whose comment on Taranis is given in the previous note, writes thus of Adraste, or Andate, p. 359-"Respecting this goddess there has been some difference of opinion. The Greeks seem to have considered her as Nemesis, or the goddess of revenge. There can be little doubt that the goddess here meant is the Phoenician Ashtaroth, or Astarte, i.e. 'the moon. See Dio Cassius, i. 64. -ED.

That paradise, the lost abode of man,

Was raised again: and to a happy few,
In its original beauty, here restored.

"Whence but from thee, the true and only God, And from the faith derived through Him who bled Upon the cross, this marvellous advance

Of good from evil; as if one extreme

Were left, the other gained.—O ye, who come
To kneel devoutly in yon reverend Pile,*
Called to such office by the peaceful sound
Of sabbath bells; and ye, who sleep in earth,
All cares forgotten, round its hallowed walls!
For you, in presence of this little band
Gathered together on the green hill-side,
Your Pastor is emboldened to prefer

720

725

730

Whose love, whose counsel, whose commands, have made

Vocal thanksgivings to the eternal King;

Your very poorest rich in peace of thought

And in good works; and him, who is endowed

735

With scantiest knowledge, master of all truth
Which the salvation of his soul requires.

Conscious of that abundant favour showered
On you, the children of my humble care,
And this dear land, our country, while on earth
We sojourn, have I lifted up my soul,
Joy giving voice to fervent gratitude.1
These barren rocks, your stern inheritance;

740

These fertile fields, that recompense your pains;
The shadowy vale, the sunny mountain-top;
Woods waving in the wind their lofty heads,

1 1827.

On your Abodes, and this beloved Land,

Our birth-place, home, and Country, while on Earth
We sojourn,-loudly do I utter thanks

With earnest joy, that will not be suppressed.

* Grasmere Church.-ED.

1814.

745

Or hushed; the roaring waters, and 1 the still—
They see the offering of my lifted hands,
They hear my lips present their sacrifice,
They know if I be silent, morn or even : *
For, though in whispers speaking, the full heart
Will find a vent; and thought is praise to him,
Audible praise, to thee, omniscient Mind,
From whom all gifts descend, all blessings flow!"

This vesper-service closed, without delay,
From that exalted station to the plain
Descending, we pursued our homeward course,
In mute composure, o'er the shadowy lake,
Under 2 a faded sky. No trace remained
Of those celestial splendours; grey the vault-
Pure, cloudless, ether; and the star of eve
Was wanting; but inferior lights appeared
Faintly, too faint almost for sight; and some
Above the darkened hills stood boldly forth
In twinkling lustre, ere the boat attained

750

755

760

765

Her mooring-place; where, to the sheltering tree,
Our youthful Voyagers bound fast her prow,
With prompt yet careful hands. This done, we paced
The dewy fields; but ere the Vicar's door
Was reached, the Solitary checked his steps ;
Then, intermingling thanks, on each bestowed
A farewell salutation; and, the like
Receiving, took the slender path that leads
To the one cottage in the lonely dell:†

1 1827.

770

But turned not without welcome promise made
That he would share the pleasures and pursuits
Of yet another summer's day,* not loth
To wander with us through the fertile vales,2
And o'er the mountain-wastes. "Another sun,"
Said he, "shall shine upon us, ere we part;
Another sun, and peradventure more ;
If time, with free consent, be yours 3 to give,
And season favours."

To enfeebled Power,

From this communion with uninjured Minds,

What renovation had been brought; and what
Degree of healing to a wounded spirit,
Dejected, and habitually disposed

To seek, in degradation of the Kind,
Excuse and solace for her own defects;
How far those erring notions were reformed;
And whether aught, of tendency as good
And pure, from further intercourse ensued ;
This if delightful hopes, as heretofore,
Inspire the serious song, and gentle Hearts
Cherish, and lofty Minds approve the past—
My future labours may not leave untold.

775

780

785

790

795

Of yet another summer's day. consumed
In wandering with us through the Vallies fair,

1814.

NOTES

THE following are the notes which Wordsworth added to The Excursion in the edition of 1814. In the case of the second, it will be observed that a new note was substituted in 1827 for that of 1814 and 1820. In other respects these "notes" remained unaltered throughout the editions, from 1814 to 1850. I have not thought it necessary to indicate the few, and very slight, changes in the phraseology of separate sentences. The text of the passages, on which the notes are based, is taken from the edition of 1850.-ED.

Preface, page 25.

Descend, prophetic Spirit! that inspir'st
The human Soul, etc.

Not mine own fears, nor the prophetic Soul
Of the wide world dreaming on things to come.
Shakspeare's Sonnets.-W. W. (1814).

Page 43.

much did he see of men.

In Heron's Tour in Scotland is given an intelligent account of the qualities by which this class of men used to be, and still are in some degree, distinguished, and of the benefits which society derives from their labours. Among their characteristics, he does not omit to mention that, from being obliged to pass so much of their time in solitary wandering among rural objects, they frequently acquire meditative habits of mind, and are strongly disposed to enthusiasm poetical and religious. I regret that I have not the book at hand to quote the passage, as it is interesting on many accounts. (1814.)

At the risk of giving a shock to the prejudices of artificial