Reprinted at the request of my Sister, in whose presence the lines were thrown off. This Impromptu appeared, many years ago, among the Author's poems, from which, in subsequent editions, it was excluded. THE sun has long been set, The stars are out by twos and threes, The little birds are piping yet Among the bushes and trees; In London," and masquerading," With that beautiful soft half-moon, On such a night as this is! COMPOSED UPON WESTMINSTER BRIDGE, SEPT. 3, 1802 1802. 1807 Written on the roof of a coach, on my way to France. EARTH has not anything to show more fair: Dull would he be of soul who could pass by A sight so touching in its majesty: On England's bosom; yet well pleased to rest, Meanwhile, and be to her a glorious crest Conspicuous to the Nations. Thou, I think, Should'st be my Country's emblem; and should'st wink, Bright Star! with laughter on her banners, drest In thy fresh beauty. There! that dusky spot Beneath thee, that is England; there she lies. Blessings be on you both! one hope, one lot, One life, one glory! - I, with many a fear For my dear Country, many heartfelt sighs, Among men who do not love her, linger here. CALAIS, AUGUST 1802 Is it a reed that 's shaken by the wind, Men known, and men unknown, sick, lame, and blind, Post forward all, like creatures of one kind, With first-fruit offerings crowd to bend the knee In France, before the new-born Majesty. His business as he likes. Far other show My youth here witnessed, in a prouder time; The senselessness of joy was then sublime ! Happy is he, who, caring not for Pope, Consul, or King, can sound himself to know The destiny of Man, and live in hope. "IT IS A BEAUTEOUS EVENING, CALM AND FREE" 1802. 1807 This was composed on the beach near Calais, in the autumn of 1802. It is a beauteous evening, calm and free, Listen! the mighty Being is awake, If thou appear untouched by solemn thought, Thy nature is not therefore less divine: Thou liest in Abraham's bosom all the year; And worship'st at the Temple's inner shrine, God being with thee when we know it not. Within thy hearing, or thy head be now Pillowed in some deep dungeon's earless den; O miserable Chieftain! where and when Wilt thou find patience? Yet die not; do thou Wear rather in thy bonds a cheerful brow: Though fallen thyself, never to rise again, Live, and take comfort. Thou hast left behind Powers that will work for thee; air, earth, and skies; There's not a breathing of the common wind That will forget thee; thou hast great allies; Thy friends are exultations, agonies, And love, and man's unconquerable mind. SEPTEMBER 1, 1802 Among the capricious acts of tyranny that disgraced those times, was the chasing of all Negroes from France by decree of the government: we had a Fellow-passenger who was one of the expelled. WE had a female Passenger who came kind! And feel, thou Earth, for this afflicted Race! This was written immediately after my return from France to London, when I could not but be struck, as here described, with the vanity and parade of our own country, especially in great towns and cities, as contrasted with the quiet, and I may say the desolation, that the revolution had produced in France. This must be borne in mind, or else the reader may think that in this and the succeeding Sonnets I have exaggerated the mischief engendered and fostered among us by undisturbed wealth. It would not be easy to conceive with what a depth of feeling I entered into the struggle carried on by the Spaniards for their deliverance from the usurped power of the French. Many times have I gone from Allan Bank in Grasmere vale, where we were then residing, to the top of the Raise-gap as it is called, so late as two o'clock in the morning, to meet the carrier bringing the newspaper from Keswick. Imperfect traces of the state of mind in which I then was may be found in my Tract on the Convention of Cintra, as well as in these Sonnets. O FRIEND! I know not which way I must look For comfort, being, as I am, opprest, Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart: Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea: Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free, So didst thou travel on life's common way, In cheerful godliness; and yet thy heart The lowliest duties on herself did lay. "GREAT MEN HAVE BEEN AMONG US" 1802. 1807 GREAT men have been among us; hands that penned And tongues that uttered wisdom - better none: The later Sidney, Marvel, Harrington, Young Vane, and others who called Milton friend. These moralists could act and comprehend: But in magnanimous meekness. France, 't is strange, |