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Title: The Complete Poetical Works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Vol I (of II)
Author: Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Editor: Ernest Hartley Coleridge
Release Date: June 11, 2009 [EBook #29091]
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[i]
THE
COMPLETE POETICAL WORKS
OF
SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE
INCLUDING
POEMS AND VERSIONS OF POEMS NOW
PUBLISHED FOR THE FIRST TIME
EDITED
WITH TEXTUAL AND BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
BY
ERNEST HARTLEY COLERIDGE
M.A., HON. F.R.S.L.
IN TWO VOLUMES
VOL. I: POEMS
OXFORD
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS
1912
[ii]
HENRY FROWDE, M.A.
PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
LONDON, EDINBURGH, NEW YORK
TORONTO AND MELBOURNE
[iii]
PREFACE
The aim and purport of this edition of the Poetical Works of Samuel
Taylor Coleridge is to provide the general reader with an authoritative
list of the poems and dramas hitherto published, and at the same time to
furnish the student with an exhaustive summary of various readings
derived from published and unpublished sources, viz. (1) the successive
editions issued by the author, (2) holograph MSS., or (3) contemporary
transcriptions. Occasion has been taken to include in the Text and
Appendices a considerable number of poems, fragments, metrical
experiments and first drafts of poems now published for the first time
from MSS. in the British Museum, from Coleridge's Notebooks, and from
MSS. in the possession of private collectors.
The text of the poems and dramas follows that of the last edition of the
Poetical Works published in the author's lifetime—the three-volume
edition issued by Pickering in the spring and summer of 1834.
I have adopted the text of 1834 in preference to that of 1829, which was
selected by James Dykes Campbell for his monumental edition of 1893. I
should have deferred to his authority but for the existence of
conclusive proof that, here and there, Coleridge altered and emended the
text of 1829, with a view to the forthcoming edition of 1834. In the
Preface to the 'new edition' of 1852, the editors maintain that the
three-volume edition of 1828 (a mistake for 1829) was the last upon
which Coleridge was 'able to bestow personal care and attention', while
that of 1834 was 'arranged mainly if not entirely at the discretion of
his latest editor, H. N. Coleridge'. This, no doubt, was perfectly true
with regard to the choice and arrangement of the poems, and the labour
of seeing the three volumes through the press; but the fact remains that
the text of 1829 differs from that of 1834, and that Coleridge himself,
and not his 'latest editor', was responsible for that difference.
I have in my possession the proof of the first page of the 'Destiny of
Nations' as it appeared in 1828 and 1829. Line 5 ran thus: 'The Will,
the Word, the Breath, the [iv]Living God.' This line is erased and line 5
of 1834 substituted: 'To the Will Absolute, the One, the Good' and line
6, 'The I am, the Word, the Life, the Living God,' is added, and, in
1834, appeared for the first time. Moreover, in the 'Songs of the
Pixies', lines 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, as printed in 1834, differ from the
readings of 1829 and all previous editions. Again, in 'Christabel' lines
6, 7 as printed in 1834 differ from the versions of 1828, 1829, and
revert to the original reading of the MSS. and the First Edition. It is
inconceivable that in Coleridge's lifetime and while his pen was still
busy, his nephew should have meddled with, or remodelled, the master's
handiwork.
The poems have been printed, as far as possible, in chronological order,
but when no MS. is extant, or when the MS. authority is a first draft
embodied in a notebook, the exact date can only be arrived at by a
balance of probabilities. The present edition includes all poems and
fragments published for the first time in 1893. Many of these were
excerpts from the Notebooks, collected, transcribed, and dated by
myself. Some of the fragments (vide post, p. 996, n. 1) I have since
discovered are not original compositions, but were selected passages
from elder poets—amongst them Cartwright's lines, entitled 'The Second
Birth', which are printed on p. 362 of the text; but for their insertion
in the edition of 1893, for a few misreadings of the MSS., and for their
approximate date, I was mainly responsible.
In preparing the textual and bibliographical notes which are now printed
as footnotes to the poems I was constantly indebted for information and
suggestions to the Notes to the Poems (pp. 561-654) in the edition of
1893. I have taken nothing for granted, but I have followed, for the
most part, where Dykes Campbell led, and if I differ from his
conclusions or have been able to supply fresh information, it is because
fresh information based on fresh material was at my disposal.
No apology is needed for publishing a collation of the text of
Coleridge's Poems with that of earlier editions or with the MSS. of
first drafts and alternative versions. The first to attempt anything of
the kind was Richard Herne Shepherd, the learned and accurate editor of
the Poetical Works in four volumes, issued by Basil Montagu Pickering
in 1877. Important variants are recorded by Mr. Campbell in his Notes to
the edition of 1893; [v]and in a posthumous volume, edited by Mr. Hale
White in 1899 (Coleridge's Poems, &c.), the corrected parts of
'Religious Musings', the MSS. of 'Lewti', the 'Introduction to the Dark
Ladié', and other poems are reproduced in facsimile. Few poets have
altered the text of their poems so often, and so often for the better,
as Coleridge. He has been blamed for 'writing so little', for deserting
poetry for metaphysics and theology; he has been upbraided for winning
only to lose the 'prize of his high calling'. Sir Walter Scott, one of
his kindlier censors, rebukes him for 'the caprice and indolence with
which he has thrown from him, as if in mere wantonness, those unfinished
scraps of poetry, which like the Torso of antiquity defy the skill of
his poetical brethren to complete them'. But whatever may be said for or
against Coleridge as an 'inventor of harmonies', neither the fineness of
his self-criticism nor the laborious diligence which he expended on
perfecting his inventions can be gainsaid. His erasures and emendations
are not only a lesson in the art of poetry, not only a record of
poetical growth and development, but they discover and reveal the hidden
springs, the thoughts and passions of the artificer.
But if this be true of a stanza, a line, a word here or there, inserted
as an afterthought, is there use or sense in printing a number of
trifling or, apparently, accidental variants? Might not a choice have
been made, and the jots and tittles ignored or suppressed?
My plea is that it is difficult if not impossible to draw a line above
which a variant is important and below which it is negligible; that, to
use a word of the poet's own coining, his emendations are rarely if ever
'lightheartednesses'; and that if a collation of the printed text with
MSS. is worth studying at all the one must be as decipherable as the
other. Facsimiles are rare and costly productions, and an exhaustive
table of variants is the nearest approach to a substitute. Many, I know,
are the shortcomings, too many, I fear, are the errors in the footnotes
to this volume, but now, for the first time, the MSS. of Coleridge's
poems which are known to be extant are in a manner reproduced and made
available for study and research.
Six poems of some length are now printed and included in the text of the
poems for the first time.
The first, 'Easter Holidays' (p. 1), is unquestionably a 'School-boy
Poem', and was written some months before the [vi]author had completed his
fifteenth year. It tends to throw doubt on the alleged date of 'Time,
Real and Imaginary'.
The second,'An Inscription for a Seat,' &c. (p. 349), was first
published in the Morning Post, on October 21, 1800, Coleridge's
twenty-eighth birthday. It remains an open question whether it was
written by Coleridge or by Wordsworth. Both were contributors to the
Morning Post. Both wrote 'Inscriptions'. Both had a hand in making the
'seat'. Neither claimed or republished the poem. It favours or, rather,
parodies the style and sentiments now of one and now of the other.
The third, 'The Rash Conjurer' (p. 399), must have been read by H. N.
Coleridge, who included the last seven lines, the 'Epilogue', in the
first volume of Literary Remains, published in 1836. I presume that,
even as a fantasia, the subject was regarded as too extravagant, and, it
may be, too coarsely worded for publication. It was no doubt in the
first instance a 'metrical experiment', but it is to be interpreted
allegorically. The 'Rash Conjurer', the âme damnée, is the adept in
the black magic of metaphysics. But for that he might have been like his
brothers, a 'Devonshire Christian'.
The fourth, 'The Madman and the Lethargist' (p. 414), is an expansion of
an epigram in the Greek Anthology. It is possible that it was written in
Germany in 1799, and is contemporary with the epigrams published in the
Morning Post in 1802, for the Greek original is quoted by Lessing in a
critical excursus on the nature of an epigram.
The fifth, 'Faith, Hope, and Charity' (p. 427), was translated from the
Italian of Guarini at Calne, in 1815.
Of the sixth, 'The Delinquent Travellers' (p. 443), I know nothing save
that the MS., a first copy, is in Coleridge's handwriting. It was
probably written for and may have been published in a newspaper or
periodical. It was certainly written at Highgate.
Of the epigrams and jeux d'esprit eight are now published for the
first time, and of the fragments from various sources twenty-seven have
been added to those published in 1893.
Of the first drafts and alternative versions of well-known poems
thirteen are now printed for the first time. Two versions of 'The Eolian
Harp', preserved in the Library of Rugby School, and the dramatic
fragment entitled 'The Triumph of Loyalty', are of especial interest and
importance.
[vii]An exact reproduction of the text of the 'Ancyent Marinere' as printed
in an early copy of the Lyrical Ballads of 1798 which belonged to S.
T. Coleridge, and a collation of the text of the 'Introduction to the
Tale of the Dark Ladié', as published in the Morning Post, Dec. 21,
1799, with two MSS. preserved in the British Museum, are included in
Appendix No. I.
The text of the 'Allegoric Vision' has been collated with the original
MS. and with the texts of 1817 and 1829.
A section has been devoted to 'Metrical Experiments'; eleven out of
thirteen are now published for the first time. A few critical notes by
Professor Saintsbury are, with his kind permission, appended to the
text.
Numerous poems and fragments of poems first saw the light in 1893; and
now again, in 1912, a second batch of newly-discovered, forgotten, or
purposely omitted MSS. has been collected for publication. It may
reasonably be asked if the tale is told, or if any MSS. have been
retained for publication at a future date. I cannot answer for fresh
discoveries of poems already published in newspapers and periodicals, or
of MSS. in private collections, but I can vouch for a final issue of all
poems and fragments of poems included in the collection of Notebooks and
unassorted MSS. which belonged to Coleridge at his death and were
bequeathed by him to his literary executor, Joseph Henry Green. Nothing
remains which if published in days to come could leave the present issue
incomplete.
A bibliography of the successive editions of poems and dramas published
by Coleridge himself and of the principal collected and selected
editions which have been published since 1834 follows the Appendices to
this volume. The actual record is long and intricate, but the history of
the gradual accretions may be summed up in a few sentences. 'The Fall of
Robespierre' was published in 1795. A first edition, entitled 'Poems on
Various Subjects', was published in 1796. Second and third editions,
with additions and subtractions, followed in 1797 and 1803. Two poems,
'The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere' and 'The Nightingale, a Conversation
Poem', and two extracts from an unpublished drama ('Osorio') were
included in the Lyrical Ballads of 1798. A quarto pamphlet containing
three poems, 'Fears in Solitude,' 'France: An Ode,' 'Frost at Midnight,'
was issued in the same year. 'Love' was first published in the second
edition of the Lyrical Ballads, 1800. 'The Three Graves,' 'A [viii]Hymn
before Sunrise, &c.,' and 'Idoloclastes Satyrane', were included in the
Friend (Sept.-Nov., 1809). 'Christabel,' 'Kubla Khan,' and 'The Pains
of Sleep' were published by themselves in 1816. Sibylline Leaves,
which appeared in 1817 and was described as 'A Collection of Poems',
included the contents of the editions of 1797 and 1803, the poems
published in the Lyrical Ballads of 1798, 1800, and the quarto
pamphlet of 1798, but excluded the contents of the first edition (except
the 'Eolian Harp'), 'Christabel', 'Kubla Khan', and 'The Pains of
Sleep'. The first collected edition of the Poetical Works (which
included a selection of the poems published in the three first editions,
a reissue of Sibylline Leaves, the 'Wanderings of Cain', a few poems
recently contributed to periodicals, and the following dramas—the
translation of Schiller's 'Piccolomini', published in 1800, 'Remorse'—a
revised version of 'Osorio'—published in 1813, and 'Zapolya', published
in 1817) was issued in three volumes in 1828. A second collected edition
in three volumes, a reissue of 1828, with an amended text and the
addition of 'The Improvisatore' and 'The Garden of Boccaccio', followed
in 1829.
Finally, in 1834, there was a reissue in three volumes of the contents
of 1829 with numerous additional poems then published or collected for
the first time. The first volume contained twenty-six juvenilia printed
from letters and MS. copybooks which had been preserved by the poet's
family, and the second volume some forty 'Miscellaneous Poems',
extracted from the Notebooks or reprinted from newspapers. The most
important additions were 'Alice du Clos', then first published from MS.,
'The Knight's Tomb' and the 'Epitaph'. 'Love, Hope, and Patience in
Education', which had appeared in the Keepsake of 1830, was printed on
the last page of the third volume.
After Coleridge's death the first attempt to gather up the fragments of
his poetry was made by his 'latest editor' H. N. Coleridge in 1836. The
first volume of Literary Remains contains the first reprint of 'The
Fall of Robespierre', some thirty-six poems collected from the
Watchman, the Morning Post, &c., and a selection of fragments then
first printed from a MS. Notebook, now known as 'the Gutch Memorandum
Book'.
H. N. Coleridge died in 1843, and in 1844 his widow prepared a
one-volume edition of the Poems, which was published by Pickering.
Eleven juvenilia which had first appeared in [ix]1834 were omitted and the
poems first collected in Literary Remains were for the first time
included in the text. In 1850 Mrs. H. N. Coleridge included in the third
volume of the Essays on His Own Times six poems and numerous epigrams
and jeux d'esprit which had appeared in the Morning Post and
Courier. This was the first reprint of the Epigrams as a whole. A 'new
edition' of the Poems which she had prepared in the last year of her
life was published immediately after her death (May, 1852) by Edward
Moxon. It was based on the one-volume edition of 1844, with unimportant
omissions and additions; only one poem, 'The Hymn', was published for
the first time from MS.
In the same year (1852) the Dramatic Works (not including 'The Fall of
Robespierre'), edited by Derwent Coleridge, were published in a separate
volume.
In 1863 and 1870 the 'new edition' of 1852 was reissued by Derwent
Coleridge with an appendix containing thirteen poems collected for the
first time in 1863. The reissue of 1870 contained a reprint of the first
edition of the 'Ancient Mariner'.
The first edition of the Poetical Works, based on all previous
editions, and including the contents of Literary Remains (vol. i) and
of Essays on His Own Times (vol. iii), was issued by Basil Montagu
Pickering in four volumes in 1877. Many poems (including 'Remorse') were
collated for the first time with the text of previous editions and
newspaper versions by the editor, Richard Herne Shepherd. The four
volumes (with a Supplement to vol. ii) were reissued by Messrs.
Macmillan in 1880.
Finally, in the one-volume edition of the Poetical Works issued by
Messrs. Macmillan in 1893, J. D. Campbell included in the text some
twenty poems and in the Appendix a large number of poetical fragments
and first drafts then printed for the first time from MS.
The frontispiece of this edition is a photogravure by Mr. Emery Walker,
from a pencil sketch (circ. 1818) by C. R. Leslie, R.A., in the
possession of the Editor. An engraving of the sketch, by Henry Meyer, is
dated April, 1819.
The vignette on the title-page is taken from the impression of a seal,
stamped on the fly-leaf of one of Coleridge's Notebooks.
I desire to express my thanks to my kinsman Lord Coleridge [x]for
opportunity kindly afforded me of collating the text of the fragments
first published in 1893 with the original MSS. in his possession, and of
making further extracts; to Mr. Gordon Wordsworth for permitting me to
print a first draft of the poem addressed to his ancestor on the 'Growth
of an Individual Mind'; and to Miss Arnold of Fox How for a copy of the
first draft of the lines 'On Revisiting the Sea-shore'.
I have also to acknowledge the kindness and courtesy of the Authorities
of Rugby School, who permitted me to inspect and to make use of an
annotated copy of Coleridge's translation of Schiller's 'Piccolomini',
and to publish first drafts of 'The Eolian Harp' and other poems which
had formerly belonged to Joseph Cottle and were presented by Mr.
Shadworth Hodgson to the School Library.
I am indebted to my friend Mr. Thomas Hutchinson for valuable
information with regard to the authorship of some of the fragments, and
for advice and assistance in settling the text of the 'Metrical
Experiments' and other points of difficulty.
I have acknowledged in a prefatory note to the epigrams my obligation to
Dr. Hermann Georg Fiedler, Taylorian Professor of the German Language
and Literature at Oxford, in respect of his verifications of the German
originals of many of the epigrams published by Coleridge in the Morning
Post and elsewhere.
Lastly, I wish to thank Mr. H. S. Milford for the invaluable assistance
which he afforded me in revising my collation of the 'Songs of the
Pixies' and the 'Introduction to the Tale of the Dark Ladié', and some
of the earlier poems, and the Reader of the Oxford University Press for
numerous hints and suggestions, and for the infinite care which he has
bestowed on the correction of slips of my own or errors of the press.
Ernest Hartley Coleridge.
[xi]
CONTENTS OF THE TWO VOLUMES
VOLUME I |
PAGE |
Preface |
iii |
|
1787 |
Easter Holidays. [MS. Letter, May 12, 1787.] |
1 |
Dura Navis. [B. M. Add. MSS. 34,225] |
2 |
Nil Pejus est Caelibe Vitâ. [Boyer's Liber Aureus.] |
4 |
|
1788 |
Sonnet: To the Autumnal Moon |
5 |
|
1789 |
Anthem for the Children of Christ's Hospital. [MS. O.] |
5 |
Julia. [Boyer's Liber Aureus.] |
6 |
Quae Nocent Docent. [Boyer's Liber Aureus.] |
7 |
The Nose. [MS. O.] |
8 |
To the Muse. [MS. O.] |
9 |
Destruction of the Bastile. [MS. O.] |
10 |
Life. [MS. O.] |
11 |
|
1790 |
Progress of Vice. [MS. O.: Boyer's Liber Aureus.] |
12 |
Monody on the Death of Chatterton. (First version.) [MS. O.: Boyer's Liber Aureus.] |
13 |
An Invocation. [J. D. C.] |
16 |
Anna and Harland. [MS. J. D. C.] |
16 |
To the Evening Star. [MS. O.] |
16 |
Pain. [MS. O.] |
17 |
On a Lady Weeping. [MS. O. (c).] |
17 |
Monody on a Tea-kettle. [MSS. O., S. T. C.] |
18 |
Genevieve. [MSS. O., E.] |
19 |
|
1791 |
On receiving an Account that his Only Sister's Death was Inevitable. [MS. O.] |
20 |
On seeing a Youth Affectionately Welcomed by a Sister |
21 |
A Mathematical Problem. [MS. Letter, March 31, 1791: MS. O. (c).] |
21 |
Honour. [MS. O.] |
24 |
On Imitation. [MS. O.] |
26 |
Inside the Coach. [MS. O.] |
26 |
Devonshire Roads. [MS. O.] |
27 |
Music. [MS. O.] |
28 |
Sonnet: On quitting School for College. [MS. O.] |
29 |
Absence. A Farewell Ode on quitting School for Jesus College, Cambridge. [MS. E.] |
29 |
Happiness. [MS. Letter, June 22, 1791: MS. O. (c).] |
30 |
|
[xii]1792 |
A Wish. Written in Jesus Wood, Feb. 10, 1792. [MS. Letter, Feb. 13, [1792].] |
33 |
An Ode in the Manner of Anacreon. [MS. Letter, Feb. 13, [1792].] |
33 |
To Disappointment. [MS. Letter, Feb. 13, [1792].] |
34 |
A Fragment found in a Lecture-room. [MS. Letter, April [1792], MS. E.] |
35 |
Ode. ('Ye Gales,' &c.) [MS. E.] |
35 |
A Lover's Complaint to his Mistress. [MS. Letter, Feb. 13, [1792].] |
36 |
With Fielding's 'Amelia.' [MS. O.] |
37 |
Written after a Walk before Supper. [MS. Letter, Aug. 9, [1792].] |
37 |
|
1793 |
Imitated from Ossian. [MS. E.] |
38 |
The Complaint of Ninathóma. [MS. Letter, Feb. 7, 1793.] |
39 |
Songs of the Pixies. [MS. 4o: MS. E.] |
40 |
The Rose. [MS. Letter, July 28, 1793: MS. (pencil) in Langhorne's Collins: MS. E.] |
45 |
Kisses. [MS. Letter, Aug. 5, 1793: MS. (pencil) in Langhorne's Collins: MS. E.] |
46 |
The Gentle Look. [MS. Letter, Dec. 11. 1794: MS. E.] |
47 |
Sonnet: To the River Otter |
48 |
An Effusion at Evening. Written in August 1792. (First Draft.) [MS. E.] |
49 |
Lines: On an Autumnal Evening |
51 |
To Fortune |
54 |
|
1794 |
Perspiration. A Travelling Eclogue. [MS. Letter, July 6, 1794.] |
56 |
[Ave, atque Vale!] ('Vivit sed mihi,' &c.) [MS. Letter, July 13, [1794].] |
56 |
On Bala Hill. [Morrison MSS.] |
56 |
Lines: Written at the King's Arms, Ross, formerly the House of the 'Man of Ross'. [MS. Letter, July 13, 1794: MS. E: Morrison MSS: MS. 4o.] |
57 |
Imitated from the Welsh. [MS. Letter, Dec. 11, 1794: MS. E.] |
58 |
Lines: To a Beautiful Spring in a Village. [MS. E.] |
58 |
Imitations: Ad Lyram. (Casimir, Book II, Ode 3.) [MS. E.] |
59 |
To Lesbia. [Add. MSS. 27,702] |
60 |
The Death of the Starling. [ibid.] |
61 |
Moriens Superstiti. [ibid.] |
61 |
Morienti Superstes. [ibid.] |
62 |
The Sigh. [MS. Letter, Nov. 1794: Morrison MSS: MS. E.] |
62 |
The Kiss. [MS. 4o: MS. E.] |
63 |
To a Young Lady with a Poem on the French Revolution. [MS. Letter, Oct. 21, 1794: MS. 4o: MS. E.] |
64 |
Translation of Wrangham's 'Hendecasyllabi ad Bruntonam e Granta Exituram' [Kal. Oct. MDCCXC] |
66 |
To Miss Brunton with the preceding Translation |
67 |
Epitaph on an Infant. ('Ere Sin could blight.') [MS. E.] |
68 |
Pantisocracy. [MSS. Letters, Sept. 18, Oct. 19, 1794: MS. E.] |
68 |
On the Prospect of establishing a Pantisocracy in America |
69 |
Elegy: Imitated from one of Akenside's Blank-verse Inscriptions. [(No.) III.] |
69 |
[xiii]The Faded Flower |
70 |
The Outcast |
71 |
Domestic Peace. (From 'The Fall of Robespierre,' Act I, l. 210.) |
71 |
On a Discovery made too late. [MS. Letter, Oct. 21, 1794.] |
72 |
To the Author of 'The Robbers' |
72 |
Melancholy. A Fragment. [MS. Letter, Aug. 26,1802.] |
73 |
To a Young Ass: Its Mother being tethered near it. [MS. Oct. 24, 1794: MS. Letter, Dec. 17, 1794.] |
74 |
Lines on a Friend who Died of a Frenzy Fever induced by Calumnious Reports. [MS. Letter, Nov. 6, 1794: MS. 4o: MS. E.] |
76 |
To a Friend [Charles Lamb] together with an Unfinished Poem. [MS. Letter, Dec. 1794] |
78 |
Sonnets on Eminent Characters: Contributed to the Morning Chronicle, in Dec. 1794 and Jan. 1795:— |
I. |
To the Honourable Mr. Erskine |
79 |
II. |
Burke. [MS. Letter, Dec. 11, 1794.] |
80 |
III. |
Priestley. [MS. Letter, Dec. 17, 1794.] |
81 |
IV. |
La Fayette |
82 |
V. |
Koskiusko. [MS. Letter, Dec. 17, 1794.] |
82 |
VI. |
Pitt |
83 |
VII. |
To the Rev. W. L. Bowles. (First Version, printed in Morning Chronicle, Dec. 26, 1794.) [MS. Letter, Dec. 11, 1794.] |
84 |
|
(Second Version.) |
85 |
VIII. |
Mrs. Siddons |
85 |
|
1795. |
IX. |
To William Godwin, Author of 'Political Justice.' [Lines 9-14, MS. Letter, Dec. 17, 1794.] |
86 |
X. |
To Robert Southey of Baliol College, Oxford, Author of the 'Retrospect' and other Poems. [MS. Letter, Dec. 17, 1794.] |
87 |
XI. |
To Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Esq. [MS. Letter, Dec. 9, 1794: MS. E.] |
87 |
XII. |
To Lord Stanhope on reading his Late Protest in the House of Lords. [Morning Chronicle, Jan. 31, 1795.] |
89 |
To Earl Stanhope |
89 |
Lines: To a Friend in Answer to a Melancholy Letter |
90 |
To an Infant. [MS. E.] |
91 |
To the Rev. W. J. Hort while teaching a Young Lady some Song-tunes on his Flute |
92 |
Pity. [MS. E.] |
93 |
To the Nightingale |
93 |
Lines: Composed while climbing the Left Ascent of Brockley Coomb, Somersetshire, May 1795 |
94 |
Lines in the Manner of Spenser |
94 |
The Hour when we shall meet again. (Composed during Illness and in Absence.) |
96 |
Lines written at Shurton Bars, near Bridgewater, September 1795, in Answer to a Letter from Bristol |
96 |
The Eolian Harp. Composed at Clevedon, Somersetshire. [MS. R.] |
100 |
To the Author of Poems [Joseph Cottle] published anonymously at Bristol in September 1795 |
102 |
The Silver Thimble. The Production of a Young Lady, addressed [xiv]to the Author of the Poems alluded to in the preceding Epistle. [MS. R.] |
104 |
Reflections on having left a Place of Retirement |
106 |
Religious Musings. [1794-1796.] |
108 |
Monody on the Death of Chatterton. [1790-1834.] |
125 |
|
1796 |
The Destiny of Nations. A Vision |
131 |
Ver Perpetuum. Fragment from an Unpublished Poem |
148 |
On observing a Blossom on the First of February 1796 |
148 |
To a Primrose. The First seen in the Season |
149 |
Verses: Addressed to J. Horne Tooke and the Company who met on June 28, 1796, to celebrate his Poll at the Westminster Election |
150 |
On a Late Connubial Rupture in High Life [Prince and Princess of Wales]. [MS Letter, July 4, 1796] |
152 |
Sonnet: On receiving a Letter informing me of the Birth of a Son. [MS. Letter, Nov. 1, 1796.] |
152 |
Sonnet: Composed on a Journey Homeward; the Author having received Intelligence of the Birth of a Son, Sept. 20, 1796. [MS. Letter, Nov. 1, 1796.] |
153 |
Sonnet: To a Friend who asked how I felt when the Nurse first presented my Infant to me. [MS. Letter, Nov. 1, 1796] |
154 |
Sonnet: [To Charles Lloyd] |
155 |
To a Young Friend on his proposing to domesticate with the Author. Composed in 1796 |
155 |
Addressed to a Young Man of Fortune [C. Lloyd] |
157 |
To a Friend [Charles Lamb] who had declared his intention of writing no more Poetry |
158 |
Ode to the Departing Year |
160 |
|
1797 |
The Raven. [MS. S. T. C.] |
169 |
To an Unfortunate Woman at the Theatre |
171 |
To an Unfortunate Woman whom the Author had known in the days of her Innocence |
172 |
To the Rev. George Coleridge |
173 |
On the Christening of a Friend's Child |
176 |
Translation of a Latin Inscription by the Rev. W. L. Bowles in Nether-Stowey Church |
177 |
This Lime-tree Bower my Prison |
178 |
The Foster-mother's Tale |
182 |
The Dungeon |
185 |
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner |
186 |
Sonnets attempted in the Manner of Contemporary Writers |
209 |
Parliamentary Oscillators |
211 |
Christabel. [For MSS. vide p. 214] |
213 |
Lines to W. L. while he sang a Song to Purcell's Music |
236 |
|
1798 |
Fire, Famine, and Slaughter |
237 |
Frost at Midnight |
240 |
France: An Ode. |
243 |
The Old Man of the Alps |
248 |
[xv]To a Young Lady on her Recovery from a Fever |
252 |
Lewti, or the Circassian Love-chaunt. [For MSS. vide pp. 1049-62] |
253 |
Fears in Solitude. [MS. W.] |
256 |
The Nightingale. A Conversation Poem |
264 |
The Three Graves. [Parts I, II. MS. S. T. C.] |
267 |
The Wanderings of Cain. [MS. S. T. C.] |
285 |
To —— |
292 |
The Ballad of the Dark Ladié |
293 |
Kubla Khan |
295 |
Recantation: Illustrated in the Story of the Mad Ox |
299 |
|
1799 |
Hexameters. ('William my teacher,' &c.) |
304 |
Translation of a Passage in Ottfried's Metrical Paraphrase of the Gospel |
306 |
Catullian Hendecasyllables |
307 |
The Homeric Hexameter described and exemplified |
307 |
The Ovidian Elegiac Metre described and exemplified |
308 |
On a Cataract. [MS. S. T. C.] |
308 |
Tell's Birth-Place |
309 |
The Visit of the Gods |
310 |
From the German. ('Know'st thou the land,' &c.) |
311 |
Water Ballad. [From the French.] |
311 |
On an Infant which died before Baptism. ('Be rather,' &c.) [MS. Letter, Apr. 8, 1799] |
312 |
Something Childish, but very Natural. Written in Germany. [MS. Letter, April 23, 1799.] |
313 |
Home-Sick. Written in Germany. [MS. Letter, May 6, 1799.] |
314 |
Lines written in the Album at Elbingerode in the Hartz Forest. [MS. Letter, May 17, 1799.] |
315 |
The British Stripling's War-Song. [Add. MSS. 27,902] |
317 |
Names. [From Lessing.] |
318 |
The Devil's Thoughts. [MS. copy by Derwent Coleridge.] |
319 |
Lines composed in a Concert-room |
324 |
Westphalian Song |
326 |
Hexameters. Paraphrase of Psalm xlvi. [MS. Letter, Sept. 29, 1799.] |
326 |
Hymn to the Earth. [Imitated from Stolberg's Hymne an die Erde.] Hexameters |
327 |
Mahomet |
329 |
Love. [British Museum Add. MSS. No. 27,902: Wordsworth and Coleridge MSS.] |
330 |
Ode to Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, on the Twenty-fourth Stanza in her 'Passage over Mount Gothard' |
335 |
A Christmas Carol |
338 |
|
1800 |
Talleyrand to Lord Grenville. A Metrical Epistle |
340 |
Apologia pro Vita sua. ('The poet in his lone,' &c.) [MS. Notebook.] |
345 |
The Keepsake |
345 |
A Thought suggested by a View of Saddleback in Cumberland. [MS. Notebook.] |
347 |
The Mad Monk |
347 |
[xvi]Inscription for a Seat by the Road Side half-way up a Steep Hill facing South |
349 |
A Stranger Minstrel |
350 |
Alcaeus to Sappho. [MS. Letter, Oct. 7, 1800.] |
353 |
The Two Round Spaces on the Tombstone. [MS. Letter, Oct. 9, 1800: Add. MSS. 28,322] |
353 |
The Snow-drop. [MS. S. T. C.] |
356 |
|
1801 |
On Revisiting the Sea-shore. [MS. Letter, Aug. 15, 1801: MS. A.] |
359 |
Ode to Tranquillity |
360 |
To Asra. [MS. (of Christabel) S. T. C. (c).] |
361 |
The Second Birth. [MS. Notebook.] |
362 |
Love's Sanctuary. [MS. Notebook.] |
362 |
|
1802 |
Dejection: An Ode. [Written April 4, 1802.] [MS. Letter, July 19, 1802: Coleorton MSS.] |
362 |
The Picture, or the Lover's Resolution |
369 |
To Matilda Betham from a Stranger |
374 |
Hymn before Sun-rise, in the Vale of Chamouni. [MS. A. (1803): MS. B. (1809): MS. C. (1815).] |
376 |
The Good, Great Man |
381 |
Inscription for a Fountain on a Heath |
381 |
An Ode to the Rain |
382 |
A Day-dream. ('My eyes make pictures,' &c.) |
385 |
Answer to a Child's Question |
386 |
The Day-dream. From an Emigrant to his Absent Wife |
386 |
The Happy Husband. A Fragment |
388 |
|
1803 |
The Pains of Sleep. [MS. Letters, Sept. 11, Oct 3, 1803.] |
389 |
|
1804 |
The Exchange |
391 |
|
1805 |
Ad Vilmum Axiologum. [To William Wordsworth.] [MS. Notebook.] |
391 |
An Exile. [MS. Notebook.] |
392 |
Sonnet. [Translated from Marini.] [MS. Notebook.] |
392 |
Phantom. [MS. Notebook.] |
393 |
A Sunset. [MS. Notebook.] |
393 |
What is Life? [MS. Notebook.] |
394 |
The Blossoming of the Solitary Date-tree |
395 |
Separation. [MS. Notebook.] |
397 |
The Rash Conjurer. [MS. Notebook.] |
399 |
|
1806 |
A Child's Evening Prayer. [MS. Mrs. S. T. C.] |
401 |
Metrical Feet. Lesson for a Boy. [Lines 1-7, MS. Notebook.] |
401 |
Farewell to Love |
402 |
To William Wordsworth. [Coleorton MS: MS. W.] |
403 |
An Angel Visitant. [? 1801.] [MS. Notebook.] |
409 |
|
[xvii]1807 |
Recollections of Love. [MS. Notebook.] |
409 |
To Two Sisters. [Mary Morgan and Charlotte Brent] |
410 |
|
1808 |
Psyche. [MS. S. T. C.] |
412 |
|
1809 |
A Tombless Epitaph |
413 |
For a Market-clock. (Impromptu.) [MS. Letter, Oct. 9, 1809: MS. Notebook.] |
414 |
The Madman and the Lethargist. [MS. Notebook.] |
414 |
|
1810 |
The Visionary Hope |
416 |
|
1811 |
Epitaph on an Infant. ('Its balmy lips,' &c.) |
417 |
The Virgin's Cradle-hymn |
417 |
To a Lady offended by a Sportive Observation that Women have no Souls |
418 |
Reason for Love's Blindness |
418 |
The Suicide's Argument. [MS. Notebook.] |
419 |
|
1812 |
Time, Real and Imaginary |
419 |
An Invocation. From Remorse [Act III, Scene i, ll. 69-82] |
420 |
|
1813 |
The Night-scene. [Add. MSS. 34,225] |
421 |
|
1814 |
A Hymn |
423 |
To a Lady, with Falconer's Shipwreck |
424 |
|
1815 |
Human Life. On the Denial of Immortality |
425 |
Song. From Zapolya (Act II, Sc. i, ll. 65-80.) |
426 |
Hunting Song. From Zapolya (Act IV, Sc. ii, ll. 56-71) |
427 |
Faith, Hope, and Charity. From the Italian of Guarini |
427 |
To Nature [? 1820] |
429 |
|
1817 |
Limbo. [MS. Notebook: MS. S. T. C.] |
429 |
Ne Plus Ultra [? 1826]. [MS. Notebook.] |
431 |
The Knight's Tomb |
432 |
On Donne's Poetry [? 1818] |
433 |
Israel's Lament |
433 |
Fancy in Nubibus, or the Poet in the Clouds. [MS. S. T. C.] |
435 |
|
1820 |
The Tears of a Grateful People |
436 |
|
1823 |
Youth and Age. [MS. S. T. C.: MSS. (1, 2) Notebook.] |
439 |
The Reproof and Reply |
441 |
|
1824 |
First Advent of Love. [MS. Notebook.] |
443 |
The Delinquent Travellers |
443 |
|
[xviii]1825 |
Work without Hope. Lines composed 21st February, 1825 |
447 |
Sancti Dominici Pallium. A Dialogue between Poet and Friend. [MS. S. T. C.] |
448 |
Song. ('Though veiled,' &c.) [MS. Notebook.] |
450 |
A Character. [Add. MSS. 34,225] |
451 |
The Two Founts. [MS. S. T. C.] |
454 |
Constancy to an Ideal Object |
455 |
The Pang more Sharp than All. An Allegory |
457 |
|
1826 |
Duty surviving Self-love. The only sure Friend of declining Life. |
459 |
Homeless |
460 |
Lines suggested by the last Words of Berengarius; ob. Anno Dom. 1088 |
460 |
Epitaphium Testamentarium |
462 |
Ἔρως ἀεὶ λάληθρος ἑταῖρος |
462 |
|
1827 |
The Improvisatore; or, 'John Anderson, My Jo, John' |
462 |
To Mary Pridham [afterwards Mrs. Derwent Coleridge]. [MS. S. T. C.] |
468 |
|
1828 |
Alice du Clos; or, The Forked Tongue. A Ballad. [MS. S. T. C.] |
469 |
Love's Burial-place |
475 |
Lines: To a Comic Author, on an Abusive Review [? 1825]. [Add. MSS. 34,225] |
476 |
Cologne |
477 |
On my Joyful Departure from the same City |
477 |
The Garden of Boccaccio |
478 |
|
1829 |
Love, Hope, and Patience in Education. [MS. Letter, July 1, 1829: MS. S. T. C.] |
481 |
To Miss A. T. |
482 |
Lines written in Commonplace Book of Miss Barbour, Daughter of the Minister of the U. S. A. to England |
483 |
|
1830 |
Song, ex improviso, on hearing a Song in praise of a Lady's Beauty |
483 |
Love and Friendship Opposite |
484 |
Not at Home |
484 |
Phantom or Fact. A Dialogue in Verse |
484 |
Desire. [MS. S. T. C.] |
485 |
Charity in Thought |
486 |
Humility the Mother of Charity |
486 |
[Coeli Enarrant.] [MS. S. T. C.] |
486 |
Reason |
487 |
|
1832 |
Self-knowledge |
487 |
Forbearance |
488 |
|
[xix]1833 |
Love's Apparition and Evanishment |
488 |
To the Young Artist Kayser of Kaserwerth |
490 |
My Baptismal Birth-day |
490 |
Epitaph. [For six MS. versions vide Note, p. 491]. |
491 |
|
End of the Poems |
|
|
VOLUME II |
DRAMATIC WORKS |
1794 |
The Fall of Robespierre. An Historic Drama |
495 |
1797 |
Osorio. A Tragedy |
518 |
1800 |
The Piccolomini; or, The First Part of Wallenstein. A Drama translated from the German of Schiller. |
|
Preface to the First Edition |
598 |
|
The Piccolomini |
600 |
The Death of Wallenstein. A Tragedy in Five Acts. |
|
Preface of the Translator to the First Edition |
724 |
|
The Death of Wallenstein |
726 |
1812 |
Remorse. |
|
Preface |
812 |
|
Prologue |
816 |
|
Epilogue |
817 |
|
Remorse. A Tragedy in Five Acts |
819 |
1815 |
Zapolya. A Christmas Tale in Two Parts. |
|
Advertisement |
883 |
|
Part I. The Prelude, entitled 'The Usurper's Fortune' |
884 |
|
Part II. The Sequel, entitled 'The Usurper's Fate' |
901 |
|
Epigrams |
|
An Apology for Spencers |
951 |
|
On a Late Marriage between an Old Maid and French Petit Maître |
952 |
|
On an Amorous Doctor |
952 |
|
'Of smart pretty Fellows,' &c. |
952 |
|
On Deputy —— |
953 |
|
'To be ruled like a Frenchman,' &c. |
953 |
|
On Mr. Ross, usually Cognominated Nosy |
953 |
|
'Bob now resolves,' &c. |
953 |
|
'Say what you will, Ingenious Youth' |
954 |
|
'If the guilt of all lying,' &c. |
954 |
|
On an Insignificant |
954 |
|
'There comes from old Avaro's grave' |
954 |
|
On a Slanderer |
955 |
|
Lines in a German Student's Album |
955 |
|
[Hippona] |
955 |
|
On a Reader of His Own Verses |
955 |
|
[xx]On a Report of a Minister's Death |
956 |
|
[Dear Brother Jem] |
956 |
|
Job's Luck |
957 |
|
On the Sickness of a Great Minister |
957 |
|
[To a Virtuous Oeconomist] |
958 |
|
[L'Enfant Prodigue] |
958 |
|
On Sir Rubicund Naso |
958 |
|
To Mr. Pye |
959 |
|
[Ninety-Eight] |
959 |
|
Occasioned by the Former |
959 |
|
[A Liar by Profession] |
960 |
|
To a Proud Parent |
960 |
|
Rufa |
960 |
|
On a Volunteer Singer |
960 |
|
Occasioned by the Last |
961 |
|
Epitaph on Major Dieman |
961 |
|
On the Above |
961 |
|
Epitaph on a Bad Man (Three Versions) |
961 |
|
To a Certain Modern Narcissus |
962 |
|
To a Critic |
962 |
|
Always Audible |
963 |
|
Pondere non Numero |
963 |
|
The Compliment Qualified |
963 |
|
'What is an Epigram,' &c. |
963 |
|
'Charles, grave or merry,' &c. |
964 |
|
'An evil spirit's on thee, friend,' &c. |
964 |
|
'Here lies the Devil,' &c. |
964 |
|
To One Who Published in Print, &c. |
964 |
|
'Scarce any scandal,' &c. |
965 |
|
'Old Harpy,' &c. |
965 |
|
To a Vain Young Lady |
965 |
|
A Hint to Premiers and First Consuls |
966 |
|
'From me, Aurelia,' &c. |
966 |
|
For a House-Dog's Collar |
966 |
|
'In vain I praise thee, Zoilus' |
966 |
|
Epitaph on a Mercenary Miser |
967 |
|
A Dialogue between an Author and his Friend |
967 |
|
Μωροσοφία, or Wisdom in Folly |
967 |
|
'Each Bond-street buck,' &c. |
968 |
|
From an Old German Poet |
968 |
|
On the Curious Circumstance, That in the German, &c. |
968 |
|
Spots in the Sun |
969 |
|
'When Surface talks,' &c. |
969 |
|
To my Candle |
969 |
|
Epitaph on Himself |
970 |
|
The Taste of the Times |
970 |
|
On Pitt and Fox |
970 |
|
'An excellent adage,' &c. |
971 |
|
Comparative Brevity of Greek and English |
971 |
|
On the Secrecy of a Certain Lady |
971 |
|
Motto for a Transparency, &c. (Two Versions) |
972 |
|
'Money, I've heard,' &c. |
972 |
|
[xxi]Modern Critics |
972 |
|
Written in an Album |
972 |
|
To a Lady who requested me to Write a Poem upon Nothing |
973 |
|
Sentimental |
973 |
|
'So Mr. Baker,' &c. |
973 |
|
Authors and Publishers |
973 |
|
The Alternative |
974 |
|
'In Spain, that land,' &c. |
974 |
|
Inscription for a Time-piece |
974 |
|
On the Most Veracious Anecdotist, &c. |
974 |
|
'Nothing speaks our mind,' &c. |
975 |
|
Epitaph of the Present Year on the Monument of Thomas Fuller |
975 |
Jeux d'Esprit |
976 |
|
My Godmother's Beard |
976 |
|
Lines to Thomas Poole |
976 |
|
To a Well-known Musical Critic, &c. |
977 |
|
To T. Poole: An Invitation |
978 |
|
Song, To be Sung by the Lovers of all the noble liquors, &c. |
978 |
|
Drinking versus Thinking |
979 |
|
The Wills of the Wisp |
979 |
|
To Captain Findlay |
980 |
|
On Donne's Poem 'To a Flea' |
980 |
|
[Ex Libris S. T. C.] |
981 |
|
ΕΓΩΕΝΚΑΙΠΑΝ |
981 |
|
The Bridge Street Committee |
982 |
|
Nonsense Sapphics |
983 |
|
To Susan Steele, &c. |
984 |
|
Association of Ideas |
984 |
|
Verses Trivocular |
985 |
|
Cholera Cured Before-hand |
985 |
|
To Baby Bates |
987 |
|
To a Child |
987 |
Fragments from a Notebook. (circa 1796-1798) |
988 |
Fragments. (For unnamed Fragments see Index of First Lines.) |
996 |
|
Over my Cottage |
997 |
|
[The Night-Mare Death in Life] |
998 |
|
A Beck in Winter |
998 |
|
[Not a Critic—But a Judge] |
1000 |
|
[De Profundis Clamavi] |
1001 |
|
Fragment of an Ode on Napoleon |
1003 |
|
Epigram on Kepler |
1004 |
|
[Ars Poetica] |
1006 |
|
Translation of the First Strophe of Pindar's Second Olympic |
1006 |
|
Translation of a Fragment of Heraclitus |
1007 |
|
Imitated from Aristophanes |
1008 |
|
To Edward Irving |
1008 |
|
[Luther—De Dæmonibus] |
1009 |
|
The Netherlands |
1009 |
|
Elisa: Translated from Claudian |
1009 |
|
Profuse Kindness |
1010 |
|
Napoleon |
1010 |
|
[xxii]The Three Sorts of Friends |
1012 |
|
Bo-Peep and I Spy— |
1012 |
|
A Simile |
1013 |
|
Baron Guelph of Adelstan. A Fragment |
1013 |
Metrical Experiments |
1014 |
|
An Experiment for a Metre ('I heard a Voice,' &c.) |
1014 |
|
Trochaics |
1015 |
|
The Proper Unmodified Dochmius |
1015 |
|
Iambics |
1015 |
|
Nonsense ('Sing, impassionate Soul,' &c.) |
1015 |
|
A Plaintive Movement |
1016 |
|
An Experiment for a Metre ('When thy Beauty appears') |
1016 |
|
Nonsense Verses ('Ye fowls of ill presage') |
1017 |
|
Nonsense ('I wish on earth to sing') |
1017 |
|
'There in some darksome shade' |
1018 |
|
'Once again, sweet Willow, wave thee' |
1018 |
|
'Songs of Shepherds, and rustical Roundelays' |
1018 |
|
A Metrical Accident |
1019 |
|
Notes by Professor Saintsbury |
1019 |
|
APPENDIX I |
First Drafts, Early Versions, etc. |
A. Effusion 35, August 20th, 1795. (First Draft.) [MS. R.] |
1021 |
|
Effusion, p. 96 [1797]. (Second Draft.) [MS. R.] |
1021 |
B. Recollection |
1023 |
C. The Destiny of Nations. (Draft I.) [Add. MSS. 34,225] |
1024 |
|
The Destiny of Nations. (Draft II.) [ibid.] |
1026 |
|
The Destiny of Nations. (Draft III.) [ibid.] |
1027 |
D. Passages in Southey's Joan of Arc (First Edition, 1796) contributed by S. T. Coleridge |
1027 |
E. The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere [1798] |
1030 |
F. The Raven. [M. P. March 10, 1798.] |
1048 |
G. Lewti; or, The Circassian's Love-Chant. (1.) [B. M. Add. MSS. 27,902.] |
1049 |
|
The Circassian's Love-Chaunt. (2.) [Add. MSS. 35,343.] |
1050 |
|
Lewti; or, The Circassian's Love-Chant. (3.) [Add. MSS. 35,343.] |
1051 |
H. Introduction to the Tale of the Dark Ladie. [M. P. Dec. 21, 1799.] |
1052 |
I. The Triumph of Loyalty. An Historic Drama. [Add. MSS. 34,225.] |
1060 |
J. Chamouny; The Hour before Sunrise. A Hymn. [M. P. Sept. 11, 1802.] |
1074 |
K. Dejection: An Ode. [M. P. Oct. 4, 1802.] |
1076 |
L. To W. Wordsworth. January 1807 |
1081 |
M. Youth and Age. (MS. I, Sept. 10, 1823.) |
1084 |
|
Youth and Age. (MS. II. 1.) |
1085 |
|
Youth and Age. (MS. II. 2.) |
1086 |
[xxiii]N. Love's Apparition and Evanishment. (First Draft.) |
1087 |
O. Two Versions of the Epitaph. ('Stop, Christian,' &c.) |
1088 |
P. [Habent sua Fata—Poetae.] ('The Fox, and Statesman,' &c.) |
1089 |
Q. To John Thelwall |
1090 |
R. [Lines to T. Poole.] [1807.] |
1090 |
|
APPENDIX II |
Allegoric Vision |
1091 |
|
APPENDIX III |
Apologetic Preface to 'Fire, Famine, And Slaughter' |
1097 |
|
APPENDIX IV |
Prose Versions of Poems, etc. |
A. Questions and Answers in the Court of Love |
1109 |
B. Prose Version of Glycine's Song in Zapolya |
1109 |
C. Work without Hope. (First Draft.) |
1110 |
D. Note to Line 34 of the Joan of Arc Book II. [4o 1796.] |
1112 |
E. Dedication. Ode on the Departing Year. [4o 1796.] |
1113 |
F. Preface to the MS. of Osorio |
1114 |
|
APPENDIX V |
Adaptations |
From Fulke Greville, Lord Brooke: |
|
God and the World we worship still together |
1115 |
|
The Augurs we of all the world admir'd |
1116 |
|
Of Humane Learning |
1116 |
From Sir John Davies: On the Immortality of the Soul |
1116 |
From Donne: Eclogue. 'On Unworthy Wisdom' |
1117 |
|
Letter to Sir Henry Goodyere. |
1117 |
From Ben Jonson: A Nymph's Passion (Mutual Passion) |
1118 |
|
Underwoods, No. VI. The Hour-glass |
1119 |
|
The Poetaster, Act I, Scene i. |
1120 |
From Samuel Daniel: Epistle to Sir Thomas Egerton, Knight |
1120 |
|
Musophilus, Stanza CXLVII |
1121 |
|
Musophilus, Stanzas XXVII, XXIX, XXX |
1122 |
From Christopher Harvey: The Synagogue (The Nativity, or Christmas Day.) |
1122 |
From Mark Akenside: Blank Verse Inscriptions |
1123 |
From W. L. Bowles:—'I yet remain' |
1124 |
From an old Play: Napoleon |
1124 |
|
[xxiv]APPENDIX VI |
Originals of Translations |
F. von Matthison: Ein milesisches Mährchen, Adonide |
1125 |
Schiller: Schwindelnd trägt er dich fort auf rastlos strömenden Wogen |
1125 |
|
Im Hexameter steigt des Springquells flüssige Säule |
1125 |
Stolberg: Unsterblicher Jüngling! |
1126 |
|
Seht diese heilige Kapell! |
1126 |
Schiller: Nimmer, das glaubt mir |
1127 |
Goethe: Kennst du das Land, wo die Citronen blühn |
1128 |
François-Antoine-Eugène de Planard: 'Batelier, dit Lisette' |
1128 |
German Folk Song: Wenn ich ein Vöglein wär |
1129 |
Stolberg: Mein Arm wird stark und gross mein Muth |
1129 |
Lessing: Ich fragte meine Schöne |
1130 |
Stolberg: Erde, du Mutter zahlloser Kinder, Mutter und Amme! |
1130 |
Friederike Brun: Aus tiefem Schatten des schweigenden Tannenhains |
1131 |
Giambattista Marino: Donna, siam rei di morte. Errasti, errai |
1131 |
MS. Notebook: In diesem Wald, in diesen Gründen |
1132 |
Anthologia Graeca: Κοινῇ πὰρ κλισίῃ ληθαργικὸς ἠδὲ φρενοπλὴξ |
1132 |
Battista Guarini: Canti terreni amori |
1132 |
Stolberg: Der blinde Sänger stand am Meer |
1134 |
|
|
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE POETICAL WORKS OF SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE |
1135 |
|
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX |
No. I. Poems first published in Newspapers or Periodicals |
1178 |
No. II. Epigrams and Jeux d'Esprit first published in Newspapers and Periodicals |
1182 |
No. III. Poems included in Anthologies and other Works |
1183 |
No. IV. Poems first printed or reprinted in Literary Remains, 1836, &c. |
1187 |
Poems first printed or reprinted in Essays on His Own Times, 1850 |
1188 |
|
INDEX OF FIRST LINES |
1189 |
[xxv]
ABBREVIATIONS
MS. B. M. |
= |
MS. preserved in the British Museum. |
MS. O. |
= |
MS. Ottery: i. e. a collection of juvenile poems in the handwriting of S. T. Coleridge (circ. 1793). |
MS. O. (c.) |
= |
MS. Ottery, No. 3: a transcript (circ. 1823) of a collection of juvenile poems by S. T. Coleridge. |
MS. S. T. C. |
= |
A single MS. poem in the handwriting of S. T. Coleridge. |
MS. E. |
= |
MS. Estlin: i. e. a collection of juvenile poems in the handwriting of S. T. Coleridge presented to Mrs. Estlin of Bristol circ. 1795. |
MS. 4o |
= |
A collection of early poems in the handwriting of S. T. Coleridge (circ. 1796). |
MS. W. |
= |
An MS. in the handwriting of S. T. Coleridge, now in the possession of Mr. Gordon Wordsworth. |
MS. R. |
= |
MS. Rugby: i. e. in the possession of the Governors of Rugby School. |
An. Anth. |
= |
Annual Anthology of 1800. |
B. L. |
= |
Biographia Literaria. |
C. I. |
= |
Cambridge Intelligencer. |
E. M. |
= |
English Minstrelsy. |
F. F. |
= |
Felix Farley's Bristol Journal, 1818. |
F. O. |
= |
Friendship's Offering, 1834. |
L. A. |
= |
Liber Aureus. |
L. B. |
= |
Lyrical Ballads. |
L. R. |
= |
Literary Remains. |
M. C. |
= |
Morning Chronicle. |
M. M. |
= |
Monthly Magazine. |
M. P. |
= |
Morning Post. |
P. R. |
= |
Poetical Register, 1802. |
P. & D. W. |
= |
Poetical and Dramatic Works. |
P. W. |
= |
Poetical Works. |
S. L. |
= |
Sibylline Leaves (1817). |
S. S. |
= |
Selection of Sonnets. |
[xxvi]
ERRATA
On p. 16, n. 2, line 1, for Oct. 15, read Oct. 25.
On p. 68, line 6, for 1795 read 1794, and n. 1, line 1, for
September 24, read September 23.
On p. 69, lines 11 and 28, for 1795 read 1794.
On p. 96, n. 1, line 1, for March 9, read March 17.
On p. 148, n. 1, line 2, for March 28, read March 25.
On p. 314, line 17, for May 26 read May 6.
On p. 1179, line 7, for Sept. 27, read Sept. 23.
On p. 1181, line 33, for Oct. 9 read Oct. 29.
[xxvii]
POETICAL WORKS
[xxviii]
[1]
POEMS
EASTER HOLIDAYS[1:1]
Verse 1st
Hail! festal Easter that dost bring
Approach of sweetly-smiling spring,
When Nature's clad in green:
When feather'd songsters through the grove
With beasts confess the power of love 5
And brighten all the scene.
Verse 2nd
Now youths the breaking stages load
That swiftly rattling o'er the road
To Greenwich haste away:
While some with sounding oars divide 10
Of smoothly-flowing Thames the tide
All sing the festive lay.
Verse 3rd
With mirthful dance they beat the ground,
Their shouts of joy the hills resound
And catch the jocund noise: 15
Without a tear, without a sigh
Their moments all in transports fly
Till evening ends their joys.
Verse 4th
But little think their joyous hearts
Of dire Misfortune's varied smarts 20
Which youthful years conceal:
Thoughtless of bitter-smiling Woe
Which all mankind are born to know
And they themselves must feel.
Yet he who Wisdom's paths shall keep 25
And Virtue firm that scorns to weep
At ills in Fortune's power,
Through this life's variegated scene
In raging storms or calm serene
Shall cheerful spend the hour. 30
Verse 6th
While steady Virtue guides his mind
Heav'n-born Content he still shall find
That never sheds a tear:
Without respect to any tide
His hours away in bliss shall glide 35
Like Easter all the year.
1787.
FOOTNOTES:
To tempt the dangerous deep, too venturous youth,
Why does thy breast with fondest wishes glow?
No tender parent there thy cares shall sooth,
No much-lov'd Friend shall share thy every woe.
Why does thy mind with hopes delusive burn? 5
Vain are thy Schemes by heated Fancy plann'd:
Thy promis'd joy thou'lt see to Sorrow turn
Exil'd from Bliss, and from thy native land.
Hast thou foreseen the Storm's impending rage,
When to the Clouds the Waves ambitious rise, 10
And seem with Heaven a doubtful war to wage,
Whilst total darkness overspreads the skies;
Save when the lightnings darting wingéd Fate
Quick bursting from the pitchy clouds between
In forkéd Terror, and destructive state[2:2] 15
Shall shew with double gloom the horrid scene?
[3]Shalt thou be at this hour from danger free?
Perhaps with fearful force some falling Wave
Shall wash thee in the wild tempestuous Sea,
And in some monster's belly fix thy grave; 20
Or (woful hap!) against some wave-worn rock
Which long a Terror to each Bark had stood
Shall dash thy mangled limbs with furious shock
And stain its craggy sides with human blood.
Yet not the Tempest, or the Whirlwind's roar 25
Equal the horrors of a Naval Fight,
When thundering Cannons spread a sea of Gore
And varied deaths now fire and now affright:
The impatient shout, that longs for closer war,
Reaches from either side the distant shores; 30
Whilst frighten'd at His streams ensanguin'd far
Loud on his troubled bed huge Ocean roars.[3:1]
What dreadful scenes appear before my eyes!
Ah! see how each with frequent slaughter red,
Regardless of his dying fellows' cries 35
O'er their fresh wounds with impious order tread!
From the dread place does soft Compassion fly!
The Furies fell each alter'd breast command;
Whilst Vengeance drunk with human blood stands by
And smiling fires each heart and arms each hand. 40
Should'st thou escape the fury of that day
A fate more cruel still, unhappy, view.
Opposing winds may stop thy luckless way,
And spread fell famine through the suffering crew,
Canst thou endure th' extreme of raging Thirst 45
Which soon may scorch thy throat, ah! thoughtless Youth!
Or ravening hunger canst thou bear which erst
On its own flesh hath fix'd the deadly tooth?
[4]Dubious and fluttering 'twixt hope and fear
With trembling hands the lot I see thee draw, 50
Which shall, or sentence thee a victim drear,
To that ghaunt Plague which savage knows no law:
Or, deep thy dagger in the friendly heart,
Whilst each strong passion agitates thy breast,
Though oft with Horror back I see thee start, 55
Lo! Hunger drives thee to th' inhuman feast.
These are the ills, that may the course attend—
Then with the joys of home contented rest—
Here, meek-eyed Peace with humble Plenty lend
Their aid united still, to make thee blest. 60
To ease each pain, and to increase each joy—
Here mutual Love shall fix thy tender wife,
Whose offspring shall thy youthful care employ
And gild with brightest rays the evening of thy Life.
1787.
FOOTNOTES:
NIL PEJUS EST CAELIBE VITÂ[4:1]
[IN CHRIST'S HOSPITAL BOOK]
I
What pleasures shall he ever find?
What joys shall ever glad his heart?
Or who shall heal his wounded mind,
If tortur'd by Misfortune's smart?
Who Hymeneal bliss will never prove, 5
That more than friendship, friendship mix'd with love.
II
Then without child or tender wife,
To drive away each care, each sigh,
Lonely he treads the paths of life
A stranger to Affection's tye: 10
And when from Death he meets his final doom
No mourning wife with tears of love shall wet his tomb.
Tho' Fortune, Riches, Honours, Pow'r,
Had giv'n with every other toy,
Those gilded trifles of the hour, 15
Those painted nothings sure to cloy:
He dies forgot, his name no son shall bear
To shew the man so blest once breath'd the vital air.
1787.
FOOTNOTES:
TO THE AUTUMNAL MOON
Mild Splendour of the various-vested Night!
Mother of wildly-working visions! hail!
I watch thy gliding, while with watery light
Thy weak eye glimmers through a fleecy veil;
And when thou lovest thy pale orb to shroud 5
Behind the gather'd blackness lost on high;
And when thou dartest from the wind-rent cloud
Thy placid lightning o'er the awaken'd sky.
Ah such is Hope! as changeful and as fair!
Now dimly peering on the wistful sight; 10
Now hid behind the dragon-wing'd Despair:
But soon emerging in her radiant might
She o'er the sorrow-clouded breast of Care
Sails, like a meteor kindling in its flight.
1788.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Effusion xviii, To the, &c.: Sonnet xviii,
To the, &c., 1803.
FOR THE CHILDREN OF CHRIST'S HOSPITAL
Seraphs! around th' Eternal's seat who throng
With tuneful ecstasies of praise:
O! teach our feeble tongues like yours the song
Of fervent gratitude to raise—
[6]Like you, inspired with holy flame 5
To dwell on that Almighty name
Who bade the child of Woe no longer sigh,
And Joy in tears o'erspread the widow's eye.
Th' all-gracious Parent hears the wretch's prayer;
The meek tear strongly pleads on high; 10
Wan Resignation struggling with despair
The Lord beholds with pitying eye;
Sees cheerless Want unpitied pine,
Disease on earth its head recline,
And bids Compassion seek the realms of woe 15
To heal the wounded, and to raise the low.
She comes! she comes! the meek-eyed Power I see
With liberal hand that loves to bless;
The clouds of Sorrow at her presence flee;
Rejoice! rejoice! ye Children of Distress! 20
The beams that play around her head
Thro' Want's dark vale their radiance spread:
The young uncultur'd mind imbibes the ray,
And Vice reluctant quits th' expected prey.
Cease, thou lorn mother! cease thy wailings drear; 25
Ye babes! the unconscious sob forego;
Or let full Gratitude now prompt the tear
Which erst did Sorrow force to flow.
Unkindly cold and tempest shrill
In Life's morn oft the traveller chill, 30
But soon his path the sun of Love shall warm;
And each glad scene look brighter for the storm!
1789.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
This Anthem was written as if intended to have been sung by the Children
of Christ's Hospital. MS. O.
[14] its head on earth MS. O.
[IN CHRIST'S HOSPITAL BOOK]
Medio de fonte leporum
Surgit amari aliquid.
Julia was blest with beauty, wit, and grace:
Small poets lov'd to sing her blooming face.
Before her altars, lo! a numerous train
Preferr'd their vows; yet all preferr'd in vain,
[7]Till charming Florio, born to conquer, came 5
And touch'd the fair one with an equal flame.
The flame she felt, and ill could she conceal
What every look and action would reveal.
With boldness then, which seldom fails to move,
He pleads the cause of Marriage and of Love: 10
The course of Hymeneal joys he rounds,
The fair one's eyes danc'd pleasure at the sounds.
Nought now remain'd but 'Noes'—how little meant!
And the sweet coyness that endears consent.
The youth upon his knees enraptur'd fell: 15
The strange misfortune, oh! what words can tell?
Tell! ye neglected sylphs! who lap-dogs guard,
Why snatch'd ye not away your precious ward?
Why suffer'd ye the lover's weight to fall
On the ill-fated neck of much-lov'd Ball? 20
The favourite on his mistress casts his eyes,
Gives a short melancholy howl, and—dies.
Sacred his ashes lie, and long his rest!
Anger and grief divide poor Julia's breast.
Her eyes she fixt on guilty Florio first: 25
On him the storm of angry grief must burst.
That storm he fled: he wooes a kinder fair,
Whose fond affections no dear puppies share.
'Twere vain to tell, how Julia pin'd away:
Unhappy Fair! that in one luckless day— 30
From future Almanacks the day be crost!—
At once her Lover and her Lap-dog lost.
1789.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
[12] danc'd] dance (T. Lit. Rem.)
QUAE NOCENT DOCENT[7:1]
[IN CHRIST'S HOSPITAL BOOK]
O! mihi praeteritos referat si Jupiter annos!
Oh! might my ill-past hours return again!
No more, as then, should Sloth around me throw
Her soul-enslaving, leaden chain!
No more the precious time would I employ
In giddy revels, or in thoughtless joy, 5
A present joy producing future woe.
[8]But o'er the midnight Lamp I'd love to pore,
I'd seek with care fair Learning's depths to sound,
And gather scientific Lore:
Or to mature the embryo thoughts inclin'd, 10
That half-conceiv'd lay struggling in my mind,
The cloisters' solitary gloom I'd round.
'Tis vain to wish, for Time has ta'en his flight—
For follies past be ceas'd the fruitless tears:
Let follies past to future care incite. 15
Averse maturer judgements to obey
Youth owns, with pleasure owns, the Passions' sway,
But sage Experience only comes with years.
1789.
FOOTNOTES:
Ye souls unus'd to lofty verse
Who sweep the earth with lowly wing,
Like sand before the blast disperse—
A Nose! a mighty Nose I sing!
As erst Prometheus stole from heaven the fire 5
To animate the wonder of his hand;
Thus with unhallow'd hands, O Muse, aspire,
And from my subject snatch a burning brand!
So like the Nose I sing—my verse shall glow—
Like Phlegethon my verse in waves of fire shall flow! 10
Light of this once all darksome spot
Where now their glad course mortals run,
First-born of Sirius begot
Upon the focus of the Sun—
I'll call thee ——! for such thy earthly name— 15
What name so high, but what too low must be?
Comets, when most they drink the solar flame
Are but faint types and images of thee!
[9]Burn madly, Fire! o'er earth in ravage run,
Then blush for shame more red by fiercer —— outdone! 20
I saw when from the turtle feast
The thick dark smoke in volumes rose!
I saw the darkness of the mist
Encircle thee, O Nose!
Shorn of thy rays thou shott'st a fearful gleam 25
(The turtle quiver'd with prophetic fright)
Gloomy and sullen thro' the night of steam:—
So Satan's Nose when Dunstan urg'd to flight,
Glowing from gripe of red-hot pincers dread
Athwart the smokes of Hell disastrous twilight shed! 30
The Furies to madness my brain devote—
In robes of ice my body wrap!
On billowy flames of fire I float,
Hear ye my entrails how they snap?
Some power unseen forbids my lungs to breathe! 35
What fire-clad meteors round me whizzing fly!
I vitrify thy torrid zone beneath,
Proboscis fierce! I am calcined! I die!
Thus, like great Pliny, in Vesuvius' fire,
I perish in the blaze while I the blaze admire. 40
1789.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Rhapsody MS. O: The Nose.—An Odaic
Rhapsody MS. O (c).
[5] As erst from Heaven Prometheus stole the fire MS. O (c).
[7] hands] hand MS. O (c).
[10] waves of fire] fiery waves MS. O (c).
[15] I'll call thee Gill MS. O. G—ll MS. O (c).
[16] high] great MS. O (c).
[20] by fiercer Gill outdone MS. O.: more red for shame by
fiercer G—ll MS. O (c).
[22] dark] dank MS. O, MS. O (c).
[25] rays] beams MS. O (c).
[30] MS. O (c) ends with the third stanza.
TO THE MUSE[9:1]
Tho' no bold flights to thee belong;
And tho' thy lays with conscious fear,
Shrink from Judgement's eye severe,
Yet much I thank thee, Spirit of my song!
For, lovely Muse! thy sweet employ 5
Exalts my soul, refines my breast,
Gives each pure pleasure keener zest,
And softens sorrow into pensive Joy.
From thee I learn'd the wish to bless,
From thee to commune with my heart; 10
[10]From thee, dear Muse! the gayer part,
To laugh with pity at the crowds that press
Where Fashion flaunts her robes by Folly spun,
Whose hues gay-varying wanton in the sun.
1789.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Sonnet I. To my Muse MS. O.
DESTRUCTION OF THE BASTILE[10:1]
I
Heard'st thou yon universal cry,
And dost thou linger still on Gallia's shore?
Go, Tyranny! beneath some barbarous sky
Thy terrors lost and ruin'd power deplore!
What tho' through many a groaning age 5
Was felt thy keen suspicious rage,
Yet Freedom rous'd by fierce Disdain
Has wildly broke thy triple chain,
And like the storm which Earth's deep entrails hide,
At length has burst its way and spread the ruins wide. 10
* * * * *
IV
In sighs their sickly breath was spent; each gleam
Of Hope had ceas'd the long long day to cheer;
Or if delusive, in some flitting dream,
It gave them to their friends and children dear—
Awaked by lordly Insult's sound 15
To all the doubled horrors round,
Oft shrunk they from Oppression's band
While Anguish rais'd the desperate hand
For silent death; or lost the mind's controll,
Thro' every burning vein would tides of Frenzy roll. 20
But cease, ye pitying bosoms, cease to bleed!
Such scenes no more demand the tear humane;
I see, I see! glad Liberty succeed
With every patriot virtue in her train!
And mark yon peasant's raptur'd eyes; 25
Secure he views his harvests rise;
No fetter vile the mind shall know,
And Eloquence shall fearless glow.
Yes! Liberty the soul of Life shall reign,
Shall throb in every pulse, shall flow thro' every vein! 30
VI
Shall France alone a Despot spurn?
Shall she alone, O Freedom, boast thy care?
Lo, round thy standard Belgia's heroes burn,
Tho' Power's blood-stain'd streamers fire the air,
And wider yet thy influence spread, 35
Nor e'er recline thy weary head,
Till every land from pole to pole
Shall boast one independent soul!
And still, as erst, let favour'd Britain be
First ever of the first and freest of the free! 40
? 1789.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] An ode on the Destruction of the Bastile MS. O.
[11] In MS. O stanza iv follows stanza i, part of the leaf
being torn out. In another MS. copy in place of the asterisks the
following note is inserted: 'Stanzas second and third are lost. We may
gather from the context that they alluded to the Bastile and its
inhabitants.'
[12] long long] live-long MS. O.
[32] Shall She, O Freedom, all thy blessings share MS. O
erased.
As late I journey'd o'er the extensive plain
Where native Otter sports his scanty stream,
Musing in torpid woe a Sister's pain,
The glorious prospect woke me from the dream.
At every step it widen'd to my sight— 5
Wood, Meadow, verdant Hill, and dreary Steep,
Following in quick succession of delight,—
Till all—at once—did my eye ravish'd sweep!
[12]May this (I cried) my course through Life portray!
New scenes of Wisdom may each step display, 10
And Knowledge open as my days advance!
Till what time Death shall pour the undarken'd ray,
My eye shall dart thro' infinite expanse,
And thought suspended lie in Rapture's blissful trance.
1789.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Sonnet II. Written September, 1789 MS. O:
Sonnet written just after the writer left the Country in Sept. 1789,
aetat. 15 MS. O (c).
[6] dreary] barren MS. O, MS. O (c).
[8] my ravish'd eye did sweep. MS. O, MS. O (c).
[12] Till when death pours at length MS. O (c).
[14] While thought suspended lies MS. O: While thought
suspended lies in Transport's blissful trance MS. O (c).
PROGRESS OF VICE[12:1]
[Nemo repente turpissimus]
Deep in the gulph of Vice and Woe
Leaps Man at once with headlong throw?
Him inborn Truth and Virtue guide,
Whose guards are Shame and conscious Pride.
In some gay hour Vice steals into the breast; 5
Perchance she wears some softer Virtue's vest.
By unperceiv'd degrees she tempts to stray,
Till far from Virtue's path she leads the feet away.
Then swift the soul to disenthrall
Will Memory the past recall, 10
And Fear before the Victim's eyes
Bid future ills and dangers rise.
But hark! the Voice, the Lyre, their charms combine—
Gay sparkles in the cup the generous Wine—
Th' inebriate dance, the fair frail Nymph inspires, 15
And Virtue vanquish'd—scorn'd—with hasty flight retires.
But soon to tempt the Pleasures cease;
Yet Shame forbids return to peace,
And stern Necessity will force
Still to urge on the desperate course. 20
[13]The drear black paths of Vice the wretch must try,
Where Conscience flashes horror on each eye,
Where Hate—where Murder scowl—where starts Affright!
Ah! close the scene—ah! close—for dreadful is the sight.
1790.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Progress of Vice. An Ode MS. O.
The motto first appears in Boyer's Liber Aureus.
[9] Yet still the heart to disenthrall L. A.
[12] Bid] Bids MS. O. ills] woes L. A.
[13] But hark! their charms the voice L. A.
[15] The mazy dance and frail young Beauty fires L. A.
[20] Still on to urge MS. O.
[24] Ah! close the scene, for dreadful MS. O.
MONODY ON THE DEATH OF CHATTERTON[13:1]
[FIRST VERSION, IN CHRIST'S HOSPITAL BOOK—1790]
Cold penury repress'd his noble rage,
And froze the genial current of his soul.
Now prompts the Muse poetic lays,
And high my bosom beats with love of Praise!
But, Chatterton! methinks I hear thy name,
For cold my Fancy grows, and dead each Hope of Fame.
When Want and cold Neglect had chill'd thy soul, 5
Athirst for Death I see thee drench the bowl!
Thy corpse of many a livid hue
On the bare ground I view,
Whilst various passions all my mind engage;
Now is my breast distended with a sigh, 10
And now a flash of Rage
Darts through the tear, that glistens in my eye.
Is this the land of liberal Hearts!
Is this the land, where Genius ne'er in vain
Pour'd forth her soul-enchanting strain? 15
Ah me! yet Butler 'gainst the bigot foe
Well-skill'd to aim keen Humour's dart,
Yet Butler felt Want's poignant sting;
And Otway, Master of the Tragic art,
Whom Pity's self had taught to sing, 20
[14]Sank beneath a load of Woe;
This ever can the generous Briton hear,
And starts not in his eye th' indignant Tear?
Elate of Heart and confident of Fame,
From vales where Avon sports, the Minstrel came, 25
Gay as the Poet hastes along
He meditates the future song,
How Ælla battled with his country's foes,
And whilst Fancy in the air
Paints him many a vision fair 30
His eyes dance rapture and his bosom glows.
With generous joy he views th' ideal gold:
He listens to many a Widow's prayers,
And many an Orphan's thanks he hears;
He soothes to peace the care-worn breast, 35
He bids the Debtor's eyes know rest,
And Liberty and Bliss behold:
And now he punishes the heart of steel,
And her own iron rod he makes Oppression feel.
Fated to heave sad Disappointment's sigh, 40
To feel the Hope now rais'd, and now deprest,
To feel the burnings of an injur'd breast,
From all thy Fate's deep sorrow keen
In vain, O Youth, I turn th' affrighted eye;
For powerful Fancy evernigh 45
The hateful picture forces on my sight.
There, Death of every dear delight,
Frowns Poverty of Giant mien!
In vain I seek the charms of youthful grace,
Thy sunken eye, thy haggard cheeks it shews, 50
The quick emotions struggling in the Face
Faint index of thy mental Throes,
When each strong Passion spurn'd controll,
And not a Friend was nigh to calm thy stormy soul.
Such was the sad and gloomy hour 55
When anguish'd Care of sullen brow
Prepared the Poison's death-cold power.
Already to thy lips was rais'd the bowl,
When filial Pity stood thee by,
[15]Thy fixéd eyes she bade thee roll 60
On scenes that well might melt thy soul—
Thy native cot she held to view,
Thy native cot, where Peace ere long
Had listen'd to thy evening song;
Thy sister's shrieks she bade thee hear, 65
And mark thy mother's thrilling tear,
She made thee feel her deep-drawn sigh,
And all her silent agony of Woe.
And from thy Fate shall such distress ensue?
Ah! dash the poison'd chalice from thy hand! 70
And thou had'st dash'd it at her soft command;
But that Despair and Indignation rose,
And told again the story of thy Woes,
Told the keen insult of th' unfeeling Heart,
The dread dependence on the low-born mind, 75
Told every Woe, for which thy breast might smart,
Neglect and grinning scorn and Want combin'd—
Recoiling back, thou sent'st the friend of Pain
To roll a tide of Death thro' every freezing vein.
O Spirit blest! 80
Whether th' eternal Throne around,
Amidst the blaze of Cherubim,
Thou pourest forth the grateful hymn,
Or, soaring through the blest Domain,
Enraptur'st Angels with thy strain,— 85
Grant me, like thee, the lyre to sound,
Like thee, with fire divine to glow—
But ah! when rage the Waves of Woe,
Grant me with firmer breast t'oppose their hate,
And soar beyond the storms with upright eye elate![15:1] 90
1790
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] A Monody on Chatterton, who poisoned himself
at the age of eighteen—written by the author at the age of sixteen.
MS. O (c).
The motto does not appear in MS. O, but a note is
prefixed: 'This poem has since appeared in print, much altered, whether
for the better I doubt. This was, I believe, written before the Author
went to College' (J. T. C.).
[6] drench] drain MS. O, MS. O (c).
[7] corpse] corse MS. O, MS. O (c).
[13] Hearts] Heart MS. O, MS. O (c).
[20] taught] bade MS. O, MS. O (c).
[21] Sank] Sunk MS. O, MS. O (c).
[22] This ever] Which can the . . . ever hear MS. O, MS. O
(c).
[29] whilst] while MS. O.
[32] ideal] rising MS. O.
[36] eyes] too MS. O (c).
[42] To feel] With all MS. O.
[43] Lo! from thy dark Fate's sorrow keen MS. O.
[45] powerful] busy MS. O.
[50] cheeks it] cheek she MS. O: looks she MS. O (c).
[61] On scenes which MS. O. On] To MS. O (c).
[64] evening] Evening's MS. O (c).
[66] thrilling] frequent MS. O (c).
[67] made] bade MS. O, MS. O (c).
[78] sent'st] badest MS. O.
[79] To] Quick. freezing] icening MS. O, MS. O (c).
[81] eternal] Eternal's MS. O: endless MS. O (c).
[82] Cherubim] Seraphim MS. O.
[88] But ah!] Like thee MS. O, MS. O (c).
[89]
To leave behind Contempt, and Want, and State, MS. O.
To leave behind Contempt and Want and Hate MS. O (c).
And seek in other worlds an happier Fate MS. O, MS. O (c).
[16]
AN INVOCATION[16:1]
Sweet Muse! companion of my every hour!
Voice of my Joy! Sure soother of the sigh!
Now plume thy pinions, now exert each power,
And fly to him who owns the candid eye.
And if a smile of Praise thy labour hail 5
(Well shall thy labours then my mind employ)
Fly fleetly back, sweet Muse! and with the tale
O'erspread my Features with a flush of Joy!
1790.
FOOTNOTES:
ANNA AND HARLAND[16:2]
Within these wilds was Anna wont to rove
While Harland told his love in many a sigh,
But stern on Harland roll'd her brother's eye,
They fought, they fell—her brother and her love!
To Death's dark house did grief-worn Anna haste, 5
Yet here her pensive ghost delights to stay;
Oft pouring on the winds the broken lay—
And hark, I hear her—'twas the passing blast.
I love to sit upon her tomb's dark grass,
Then Memory backward rolls Time's shadowy tide; 10
The tales of other days before me glide:
With eager thought I seize them as they pass;
For fair, tho' faint, the forms of Memory gleam,
Like Heaven's bright beauteous bow reflected in the stream.
? 1790.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Anna and Henry C. I.
[1] Along this glade C. I.
[3] stern] dark C. I. Harland] Henry C. I.
[5] To her cold grave did woe-worn C. I.
[14] Like Heaven's bright bow reflected on the stream. C. I.
TO THE EVENING STAR[16:3]
O meek attendant of Sol's setting blaze,
I hail, sweet star, thy chaste effulgent glow;
On thee full oft with fixéd eye I gaze
Till I, methinks, all spirit seem to grow.
[17]O first and fairest of the starry choir, 5
O loveliest 'mid the daughters of the night,
Must not the maid I love like thee inspire
Pure joy and calm Delight?
Must she not be, as is thy placid sphere
Serenely brilliant? Whilst to gaze a while 10
Be all my wish 'mid Fancy's high career
E'en till she quit this scene of earthly toil;
Then Hope perchance might fondly sigh to join
Her spirit in thy kindred orb, O Star benign!
? 1790.
FOOTNOTES:
Once could the Morn's first beams, the healthful breeze,
All Nature charm, and gay was every hour:—
But ah! not Music's self, nor fragrant bower
Can glad the trembling sense of wan Disease.
Now that the frequent pangs my frame assail, 5
Now that my sleepless eyes are sunk and dim,
And seas of Pain seem waving through each limb—
Ah what can all Life's gilded scenes avail?
I view the crowd, whom Youth and Health inspire,
Hear the loud laugh, and catch the sportive lay, 10
Then sigh and think—I too could laugh and play
And gaily sport it on the Muse's lyre,
Ere Tyrant Pain had chas'd away delight,
Ere the wild pulse throbb'd anguish thro' the night!
? 1790.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Pain, a Sonnet MS. O: Sonnet Composed in
Sickness MS.
[3] But ah! nor splendid feasts MS. O (c).
[12] Muse's] festive MS. O, MS. O (c).
ON A LADY WEEPING[17:2]
IMITATION FROM THE LATIN OF NICOLAUS ARCHIUS
Lovely gems of radiance meek
Trembling down my Laura's cheek,
As the streamlets silent glide
Thro' the Mead's enamell'd pride,
Pledges sweet of pious woe, 5
Tears which Friendship taught to flow,
[18]Sparkling in yon humid light
Love embathes his pinions bright:
There amid the glitt'ring show'r
Smiling sits th' insidious Power; 10
As some wingéd Warbler oft
When Spring-clouds shed their treasures soft
Joyous tricks his plumes anew,
And flutters in the fost'ring dew.
? 1790.
MONODY ON A TEA-KETTLE[18:1]
O Muse who sangest late another's pain,
To griefs domestic turn thy coal-black steed!
With slowest steps thy funeral steed must go,
Nodding his head in all the pomp of woe:
Wide scatter round each dark and deadly weed, 5
And let the melancholy dirge complain,
(Whilst Bats shall shriek and Dogs shall howling run)
The tea-kettle is spoilt and Coleridge is undone!
Your cheerful songs, ye unseen crickets, cease!
Let songs of grief your alter'd minds engage! 10
For he who sang responsive to your lay,
What time the joyous bubbles 'gan to play,
The sooty swain has felt the fire's fierce rage;—
Yes, he is gone, and all my woes increase;
I heard the water issuing from the wound— 15
No more the Tea shall pour its fragrant steams around!
O Goddess best belov'd! Delightful Tea!
With thee compar'd what yields the madd'ning Vine?
Sweet power! who know'st to spread the calm delight,
And the pure joy prolong to midmost night! 20
Ah! must I all thy varied sweets resign?
Enfolded close in grief thy form I see;
No more wilt thou extend thy willing arms,
Receive the fervent Jove, and yield him all thy charms!
[19]
How sink the mighty low by Fate opprest!— 25
Perhaps, O Kettle! thou by scornful toe
Rude urg'd t' ignoble place with plaintive din.
May'st rust obscure midst heaps of vulgar tin;—
As if no joy had ever seiz'd my breast
When from thy spout the streams did arching fly,— 30
As if, infus'd, thou ne'er hadst known t' inspire
All the warm raptures of poetic fire!
But hark! or do I fancy the glad voice—
'What tho' the swain did wondrous charms disclose—
(Not such did Memnon's sister sable drest) 35
Take these bright arms with royal face imprest,
A better Kettle shall thy soul rejoice,
And with Oblivion's wings o'erspread thy woes!'
Thus Fairy Hope can soothe distress and toil;
On empty Trivets she bids fancied Kettles boil! 40
1790.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
[1] Muse that late sang another's poignant pain MS.
S. T. C.
[3] In slowest steps the funeral steeds shall go MS. S. T.
C.
[4] Nodding their heads MS. S. T. C.
[5] each deadly weed MS. S. T. C.
[8] The] His MS. S. T. C.
[9] songs] song MS. S. T. C.
[15] issuing] hissing MS. S. T. C.
[16] pour] throw MS. S. T. C. steams] steam MS. S. T. C.
[18] thee] whom MS. S. T. C. Vine] Wine MS. S. T. C.
[19] who] that MS. S. T. C.
[21] various charms MS. S. T. C.
[23] extend] expand MS. S. T. C.
[25] How low the mighty sink MS. S. T. C.
[29] seiz'd] chear'd MS. S. T. C.
[30-1]
When from thy spout the stream did arching flow
As if, inspir'd
MS. S. T. C.
[33] the glad] Georgian MS. S. T. C.
[34] the swain] its form MS. S. T. C.
[35] Note. A parenthetical reflection of the Author's. MS.
O.
[38] wings] wing MS. S. T. C.
Maid of my Love, sweet Genevieve!
In Beauty's light you glide along:
[20]Your eye is like the Star of Eve,
And sweet your voice, as Seraph's song
Yet not your heavenly beauty gives 5
This heart with Passion soft to glow:
Within your soul a voice there lives!
It bids you hear the tale of Woe.
When sinking low the sufferer wan
Beholds no hand outstretch'd to save, 10
Fair, as the bosom of the Swan
That rises graceful o'er the wave,
I've seen your breast with pity heave,
And therefore love I you, sweet Genevieve!
1789-90.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Sonnet iii. MS. O: Ode MS. E: A
Sonnet MS. O (c): Effusion xvii. 1796. The heading, Genevieve,
first appears in 1803.
[2] Thou glid'st along [so, too, in ll. 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 14]
MS. O, MS. E, MS. O (c), C. I.
[4] Thy voice is lovely as the MS. E: Thy voice is soft, &c.
MS. O (c), C. I.
[8] It bids thee hear the tearful plaint of woe MS. E.
[10] no . . . save] no friendly hand that saves MS. E.
outstretch'd] stretcht out MS. O, MS. O (c), C. I.
[12] the wave] quick-rolling waves MS. E.
ON RECEIVING AN ACCOUNT THAT HIS ONLY
SISTER'S DEATH WAS INEVITABLE[20:1]
The tear which mourn'd a brother's fate scarce dry—
Pain after pain, and woe succeeding woe—
Is my heart destin'd for another blow?
O my sweet sister! and must thou too die?
Ah! how has Disappointment pour'd the tear 5
O'er infant Hope destroy'd by early frost!
How are ye gone, whom most my soul held dear!
Scarce had I lov'd you ere I mourn'd you lost;
Say, is this hollow eye, this heartless pain,
Fated to rove thro' Life's wide cheerless plain— 10
Nor father, brother, sister meet its ken—
My woes, my joys unshared! Ah! long ere then
On me thy icy dart, stern Death, be prov'd;—
Better to die, than live and not be lov'd!
1791.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
[4] O my sweet sister must thou die MS. O.
[10] Fated] Destin'd MS. O.
[11] father] Mother MS. O.
[21]
ON SEEING A YOUTH AFFECTIONATELY WELCOMED BY A SISTER[21:1]
I too a sister had! too cruel Death!
How sad Remembrance bids my bosom heave!
Tranquil her soul, as sleeping Infant's breath;
Meek were her manners as a vernal Eve.
Knowledge, that frequent lifts the bloated mind, 5
Gave her the treasure of a lowly breast,
And Wit to venom'd Malice oft assign'd,
Dwelt in her bosom in a Turtle's nest.
Cease, busy Memory! cease to urge the dart;
Nor on my soul her love to me impress! 10
For oh I mourn in anguish—and my heart
Feels the keen pang, th' unutterable distress.
Yet wherefore grieve I that her sorrows cease,
For Life was misery, and the Grave is Peace!
1791.
FOOTNOTES:
A MATHEMATICAL PROBLEM[21:2]
If Pegasus will let thee only ride him,
Spurning my clumsy efforts to o'erstride him,
Some fresh expedient the Muse will try,
And walk on stilts, although she cannot fly.
To the Rev. George Coleridge
Dear Brother,
I have often been surprised that Mathematics, the
quintessence of Truth, should have found admirers so few and
so languid. Frequent consideration and minute scrutiny have
at length unravelled the cause; viz. that though Reason is
feasted, Imagination is starved; whilst Reason is luxuriating
in its proper Paradise, Imagination is wearily travelling on
a dreary desert. To assist Reason by the stimulus of
Imagination is the design of the following production. In the
execution of it much may be objectionable. The verse
(particularly in the introduction of the ode) may be accused
of unwarrantable liberties, but they are liberties equally
homogeneal with the [22]exactness of Mathematical disquisition,
and the boldness of Pindaric daring. I have three strong
champions to defend me against the attacks of Criticism: the
Novelty, the Difficulty, and the Utility of the work. I may
justly plume myself that I first have drawn the nymph
Mathesis from the visionary caves of abstracted idea, and
caused her to unite with Harmony. The first-born of this
Union I now present to you; with interested motives
indeed—as I expect to receive in return the more valuable
offspring of your Muse.
Thine ever,
S. T. C.
[Christ's Hospital], March 31, 1791.
This is now—this was erst,
Proposition the first—and Problem the first.
I
On a given finite line
Which must no way incline;
To describe an equi—
—lateral Tri—
—A, N, G, L, E.[22:1] 5
Now let A. B.
Be the given line
Which must no way incline;
The great Mathematician
Makes this Requisition, 10
That we describe an Equi—
—lateral Tri—
—angle on it:
Aid us, Reason—aid us, Wit!
II
From the centre A. at the distance A. B. 15
Describe the circle B. C. D.
At the distance B. A. from B. the centre
The round A. C. E. to describe boldly venture.[22:2]
(Third postulate see.)
And from the point C. 20
In which the circles make a pother
Cutting and slashing one another,
Bid the straight lines a journeying go.
[23]C. A. C. B. those lines will show.
To the points, which by A. B. are reckon'd, 25
And postulate the second
For Authority ye know.
A. B. C.
Triumphant shall be
An Equilateral Triangle, 30
Not Peter Pindar carp, nor Zoilus can wrangle.
III
Because the point A. is the centre
Of the circular B. C. D.
And because the point B. is the centre
Of the circular A. C. E. 35
A. C. to A. B. and B. C. to B. A.
Harmoniously equal for ever must stay;
Then C. A. and B. C.
Both extend the kind hand
To the basis, A. B. 40
Unambitiously join'd in Equality's Band.
But to the same powers, when two powers are equal,
My mind forbodes the sequel;
My mind does some celestial impulse teach,
And equalises each to each. 45
Thus C. A. with B. C. strikes the same sure alliance,
That C. A. and B. C. had with A. B. before;
And in mutual affiance
None attempting to soar
Above another, 50
The unanimous three
C. A. and B. C. and A. B.
All are equal, each to his brother,
Preserving the balance of power so true:
Ah! the like would the proud Autocratrix[23:1] do! 55
At taxes impending not Britain would tremble,
Nor Prussia struggle her fear to dissemble;
Nor the Mah'met-sprung Wight
The great Mussulman
Would stain his Divan 60
With Urine the soft-flowing daughter of Fright.
But rein your stallion in, too daring Nine!
Should Empires bloat the scientific line?
Or with dishevell'd hair all madly do ye run
For transport that your task is done? 65
For done it is—the cause is tried!
And Proposition, gentle Maid,
Who soothly ask'd stern Demonstration's aid,
Has proved her right, and A. B. C.
Of Angles three 70
Is shown to be of equal side;
And now our weary steed to rest in fine,
'Tis rais'd upon A. B. the straight, the given line.
1791.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Prospectus and Specimen of a
Translation of Euclid in a series of Pindaric Odes, communicated in a
letter of the author to his Brother Rev. G. Coleridge [March 17, 1791].
MS. O (c).
[5] A E N G E E E L E. Letter, 1791.
[36] A C to C B and C B to C A. Letter, 1791, MS. O (c).
[48] affiance] alliance Letter, 1791.
[55] Autocratrix] Autocratorix MS. O (c).
O, curas hominum! O, quantum est in rebus inane!
The fervid Sun had more than halv'd the day,
When gloomy on his couch Philedon lay;
His feeble frame consumptive as his purse,
His aching head did wine and women curse;
His fortune ruin'd and his wealth decay'd, 5
Clamorous his duns, his gaming debts unpaid,
The youth indignant seiz'd his tailor's bill,
And on its back thus wrote with moral quill:
'Various as colours in the rainbow shown,
Or similar in emptiness alone, 10
How false, how vain are Man's pursuits below!
Wealth, Honour, Pleasure—what can ye bestow?
Yet see, how high and low, and young and old
Pursue the all-delusive power of Gold.
Fond man! should all Peru thy empire own, 15
For thee tho' all Golconda's jewels shone,
What greater bliss could all this wealth supply?
What, but to eat and drink and sleep and die?
Go, tempt the stormy sea, the burning soil—
Go, waste the night in thought, the day in toil, 20
[25]Dark frowns the rock, and fierce the tempests rave—
Thy ingots go the unconscious deep to pave!
Or thunder at thy door the midnight train,
Or Death shall knock that never knocks in vain.
Next Honour's sons come bustling on amain; 25
I laugh with pity at the idle train.
Infirm of soul! who think'st to lift thy name
Upon the waxen wings of human fame,—
Who for a sound, articulated breath—
Gazest undaunted in the face of death! 30
What art thou but a Meteor's glaring light—
Blazing a moment and then sunk in night?
Caprice which rais'd thee high shall hurl thee low,
Or Envy blast the laurels on thy brow.
To such poor joys could ancient Honour lead 35
When empty fame was toiling Merit's meed;
To Modern Honour other lays belong;
Profuse of joy and Lord of right and wrong,
Honour can game, drink, riot in the stew,
Cut a friend's throat;—what cannot Honour do? 40
Ah me!—the storm within can Honour still
For Julio's death, whom Honour made me kill?
Or will this lordly Honour tell the way
To pay those debts, which Honour makes me pay?
Or if with pistol and terrific threats 45
I make some traveller pay my Honour's debts,
A medicine for this wound can Honour give?
Ah, no! my Honour dies to make my Honour live.
But see! young Pleasure, and her train advance,
And joy and laughter wake the inebriate dance; 50
Around my neck she throws her fair white arms,
I meet her loves, and madden at her charms.
For the gay grape can joys celestial move,
And what so sweet below as Woman's love?
With such high transport every moment flies, 55
I curse Experience that he makes me wise;
For at his frown the dear deliriums flew,
And the changed scene now wears a gloomy hue.
A hideous hag th' Enchantress Pleasure seems,
And all her joys appear but feverous dreams. 60
[26]The vain resolve still broken and still made,
Disease and loathing and remorse invade;
The charm is vanish'd and the bubble's broke,—
A slave to pleasure is a slave to smoke!'
Such lays repentant did the Muse supply; 65
When as the Sun was hastening down the sky,
In glittering state twice fifty guineas come,—
His Mother's plate antique had rais'd the sum.
Forth leap'd Philedon of new life possest:—
'Twas Brookes's all till two,—'twas Hackett's all the rest! 70
1791.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
No title, but motto as above MS. O.: Philedon,
Eds. 1877, 1893.
[43-4]
Or will my Honour kindly tell the way
To pay the debts
MS. O.
[60] feverous] feverish MS. O.
[70] Brookes's, a famous gaming-house in Fleet Street.
Hackett's, a brothel under the Covent Garden Piazza. Note MS. O.
All are not born to soar—and ah! how few
In tracks where Wisdom leads their paths pursue!
Contagious when to wit or wealth allied,
Folly and Vice diffuse their venom wide.
On Folly every fool his talent tries; 5
It asks some toil to imitate the wise;
Tho' few like Fox can speak—like Pitt can think—
Yet all like Fox can game—like Pitt can drink.
? 1791
FOOTNOTES:
INSIDE THE COACH[26:2]
'Tis hard on Bagshot Heath to try
Unclos'd to keep the weary eye;
But ah! Oblivion's nod to get
In rattling coach is harder yet.
Slumbrous God of half-shut eye! 5
Who lovest with limbs supine to lie;
Soother sweet of toil and care
Listen, listen to my prayer;
And to thy votary dispense
Thy soporific influence! 10
[27]What tho' around thy drowsy head
The seven-fold cap of night be spread,
Yet lift that drowsy head awhile
And yawn propitiously a smile;
In drizzly rains poppean dews 15
O'er the tired inmates of the Coach diffuse;
And when thou'st charm'd our eyes to rest,
Pillowing the chin upon the breast,
Bid many a dream from thy dominions
Wave its various-painted pinions, 20
Till ere the splendid visions close
We snore quartettes in ecstasy of nose.
While thus we urge our airy course,
O may no jolt's electric force
Our fancies from their steeds unhorse, 25
And call us from thy fairy reign
To dreary Bagshot Heath again!
1791.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Ode to sleep. Travelling in the
Exeter Coach with three other passengers over Bagshot Heath, after some
vain endeavours to compose myself I composed this Ode—August 17, 1791.
MS. O.
[12] Vulgo yclept night-cap MS. O.
DEVONSHIRE ROADS[27:1]
The indignant Bard composed this furious ode,
As tired he dragg'd his way thro' Plimtree road![27:2]
Crusted with filth and stuck in mire
Dull sounds the Bard's bemudded lyre;
Nathless Revenge and Ire the Poet goad 5
To pour his imprecations on the road.
Curst road! whose execrable way
Was darkly shadow'd out in Milton's lay,
When the sad fiends thro' Hell's sulphureous roads
Took the first survey of their new abodes; 10
Or when the fall'n Archangel fierce
Dar'd through the realms of Night to pierce,
What time the Bloodhound lur'd by Human scent
Thro' all Confusion's quagmires floundering went.
Nor cheering pipe, nor Bird's shrill note 15
Around thy dreary paths shall float;
Their boding songs shall scritch-owls pour
To fright the guilty shepherds sore,
[28]Led by the wandering fires astray
Thro' the dank horrors of thy way! 20
While they their mud-lost sandals hunt
May all the curses, which they grunt
In raging moan like goaded hog,
Alight upon thee, damnéd Bog!
1791.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Hence, soul-dissolving Harmony
That lead'st th' oblivious soul astray—
Though thou sphere-descended be—
Hence away!—
Thou mightier Goddess, thou demand'st my lay, 5
Born when earth was seiz'd with cholic;
Or as more sapient sages say,
What time the Legion diabolic
Compell'd their beings to enshrine
In bodies vile of herded swine, 10
Precipitate adown the steep
With hideous rout were plunging in the deep,
And hog and devil mingling grunt and yell
Seiz'd on the ear with horrible obtrusion;—
Then if aright old legendaries tell, 15
Wert thou begot by Discord on Confusion!
What though no name's sonorous power
Was given thee at thy natal hour!—
Yet oft I feel thy sacred might,
While concords wing their distant flight. 20
Such Power inspires thy holy son
Sable clerk of Tiverton!
And oft where Otter sports his stream,
I hear thy banded offspring scream.
Thou Goddess! thou inspir'st each throat; 25
'Tis thou who pour'st the scritch-owl note!
Transported hear'st thy children all
Scrape and blow and squeak and squall;
And while old Otter's steeple rings,
Clappest hoarse thy raven wings! 30
1791.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Ode on the Ottery and Tiverton Church Music MS. O.
[29]
ON QUITTING SCHOOL FOR COLLEGE
Farewell parental scenes! a sad farewell!
To you my grateful heart still fondly clings,
Tho' fluttering round on Fancy's burnish'd wings
Her tales of future Joy Hope loves to tell.
Adieu, adieu! ye much-lov'd cloisters pale! 5
Ah! would those happy days return again,
When 'neath your arches, free from every stain,
I heard of guilt and wonder'd at the tale!
Dear haunts! where oft my simple lays I sang,
Listening meanwhile the echoings of my feet, 10
Lingering I quit you, with as great a pang,
As when erewhile, my weeping childhood, torn
By early sorrow from my native seat,
Mingled its tears with hers—my widow'd Parent lorn.
1791.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Sonnet on the Same (i. e. 'Absence, A Farewell Ode,' &c.)
1834.
A FAREWELL ODE ON QUITTING SCHOOL FOR JESUS
COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE
Where graced with many a classic spoil
Cam rolls his reverend stream along,
I haste to urge the learnéd toil
That sternly chides my love-lorn song:
Ah me! too mindful of the days 5
Illumed by Passion's orient rays,
When Peace, and Cheerfulness and Health
Enriched me with the best of wealth.
Ah fair Delights! that o'er my soul
On Memory's wing, like shadows fly! 10
Ah Flowers! which Joy from Eden stole
While Innocence stood smiling by!—
But cease, fond Heart! this bootless moan:
Those Hours on rapid Pinions flown
Shall yet return, by Absence crown'd, 15
And scatter livelier roses round.
[30]The Sun who ne'er remits his fires
On heedless eyes may pour the day:
The Moon, that oft from Heaven retires,
Endears her renovated ray. 20
What though she leave the sky unblest
To mourn awhile in murky vest?
When she relumes her lovely light,
We bless the Wanderer of the Night.
1791.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Sonnet on Quitting Christ's Hospital MS.
O. Absence, A Farewell Ode 1796, 1803.
On wide or narrow scale shall Man
Most happily describe Life's plan?
Say shall he bloom and wither there,
Where first his infant buds appear;
Or upwards dart with soaring force, 5
And tempt some more ambitious course?
Obedient now to Hope's command,
I bid each humble wish expand,
And fair and bright Life's prospects seem.
While Hope displays her cheering beam, 10
And Fancy's vivid colourings stream,
While Emulation stands me nigh
The Goddess of the eager eye.
With foot advanc'd and anxious heart
Now for the fancied goal I start:— 15
Ah! why will Reason intervene
Me and my promis'd joys between!
She stops my course, she chains my speed,
While thus her forceful words proceed:—
Ah! listen, Youth, ere yet too late, 20
What evils on thy course may wait!
To bow the head, to bend the knee,
A minion of Servility,
At low Pride's frequent frowns to sigh,
[31]And watch the glance in Folly's eye; 25
To toil intense, yet toil in vain,
And feel with what a hollow pain
Pale Disappointment hangs her head
O'er darling Expectation dead!
'The scene is changed and Fortune's gale 30
Shall belly out each prosperous sail.
Yet sudden wealth full well I know
Did never happiness bestow.
That wealth to which we were not born
Dooms us to sorrow or to scorn. 35
Behold yon flock which long had trod
O'er the short grass of Devon's sod,
To Lincoln's rank rich meads transferr'd,
And in their fate thy own be fear'd;
Through every limb contagions fly, 40
Deform'd and choked they burst and die.
'When Luxury opens wide her arms,
And smiling wooes thee to those charms,
Whose fascination thousands own,
Shall thy brows wear the stoic frown? 45
And when her goblet she extends
Which maddening myriads press around,
What power divine thy soul befriends
That thou should'st dash it to the ground?—
No, thou shalt drink, and thou shalt know 50
Her transient bliss, her lasting woe,
Her maniac joys, that know no measure,
And Riot rude and painted Pleasure;—
Till (sad reverse!) the Enchantress vile
To frowns converts her magic smile; 55
Her train impatient to destroy,
Observe her frown with gloomy joy;
On thee with harpy fangs they seize
The hideous offspring of Disease,
Swoln Dropsy ignorant of Rest, 60
And Fever garb'd in scarlet vest,
Consumption driving the quick hearse,
And Gout that howls the frequent curse,
With Apoplex of heavy head
That surely aims his dart of lead. 65
[32]'But say Life's joys unmix'd were given
To thee some favourite of Heaven:
Within, without, tho' all were health—
Yet what e'en thus are Fame, Power, Wealth,
But sounds that variously express, 70
What's thine already—Happiness!
'Tis thine the converse deep to hold
With all the famous sons of old;
And thine the happy waking dream
While Hope pursues some favourite theme, 75
As oft when Night o'er Heaven is spread,
Round this maternal seat you tread,
Where far from splendour, far from riot,
In silence wrapt sleeps careless Quiet.
'Tis thine with Fancy oft to talk, 80
And thine the peaceful evening walk;
And what to thee the sweetest are—
The setting sun, the Evening Star—
The tints, which live along the sky,
And Moon that meets thy raptur'd eye, 85
Where oft the tear shall grateful start,
Dear silent pleasures of the Heart!
Ah! Being blest, for Heaven shall lend
To share thy simple joys a friend!
Ah! doubly blest, if Love supply 90
His influence to complete thy joy,
If chance some lovely maid thou find
To read thy visage in thy mind.
[33]'One blessing more demands thy care:—
Once more to Heaven address the prayer: 95
For humble independence pray
The guardian genius of thy way;
Whom (sages say) in days of yore
Meek Competence to Wisdom bore,
So shall thy little vessel glide 100
With a fair breeze adown the tide,
And Hope, if e'er thou 'ginst to sorrow,
Remind thee of some fair to-morrow,
Till Death shall close thy tranquil eye
While Faith proclaims "Thou shalt not die!"' 105
1791.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Upon the Author's leaving school and
entering into Life. MS. O (c).
[6] tempt] dare MS. O, MS. O (c).
[10] While] When MS. O, MS. O (c).
Between 11-13
How pants my breast before my eyes
While Honour waves her radiant prize.
And Emulation, &c.
MS. O, MS. O (c).
[22] To bend the head, to bow MS. O (c).
[24] frowns] frown MS. O, MS. O (c).
[41] Deformed, choaked MS. O, MS. O (c).
[45] brows] brow MS. O, MS. O (c).
[55] magic] wonted MS. O, MS. O (c).
[57] her frown] the fiend MS. O, MS. O (c).
[68] Without, within MS. O, MS. O (c).
[76] is] has MS O, MS. O (c).
[77] Note—Christ's Hospital MS. O: Ottery S. Mary in
Devonshire MS. O (c).
[80-1]
'Tis thine with faery forms to talk
And thine the philosophic walk.
Letter to Southey, 1794.
[84] which] that MS. O, MS. O (c), Letter, 1794.
[85] And] The Letter, 1794.
[86] Where grateful oft the big drops start. Letter, 1794.
shall] does MS. O (c).
[90-3]
Ah! doubly blest, if Love supply
Lustre to this now heavy eye,
And with unwonted Spirit grace
That fat[32:A] vacuity of face.
Or if e'en Love, the mighty Love
Shall find this change his power above;
Some lovely maid perchance thou'lt find
To read thy visage in thy mind.
MS. O, MS. O (c).
[32:A] The Author was at this time, aetat. 17, remarkable for a plump
face. MS. O (c).
[96-7]
But if thou pour one votive lay
For humble, &c.
Letter, 1794.
[101] adown Life's tide MS. O, MS. O (c).
[102-3] Not in Letter, 1794.
WRITTEN IN JESUS WOOD, FEB. 10, 1792
Lo! through the dusky silence of the groves,
Thro' vales irriguous, and thro' green retreats,
With languid murmur creeps the placid stream
And works its secret way.
Awhile meand'ring round its native fields 5
It rolls the playful wave and winds its flight:
Then downward flowing with awaken'd speed
Embosoms in the Deep!
Thus thro' its silent tenor may my Life
Smooth its meek stream by sordid wealth unclogg'd, 10
Alike unconscious of forensic storms,
And Glory's blood-stain'd palm!
And when dark Age shall close Life's little day,
Satiate of sport, and weary of its toils,
E'en thus may slumbrous Death my decent limbs 15
Compose with icy hand!
1792.
FOOTNOTES:
AN ODE IN THE MANNER OF ANACREON[33:2]
As late, in wreaths, gay flowers I bound,
Beneath some roses Love I found;
And by his little frolic pinion
As quick as thought I seiz'd the minion,
[34]Then in my cup the prisoner threw, 5
And drank him in its sparkling dew:
And sure I feel my angry guest
Fluttering his wings within my breast!
1792.
FOOTNOTES:
TO DISAPPOINTMENT[34:1]
Hence! thou fiend of gloomy sway,
That lov'st on withering blast to ride
O'er fond Illusion's air-built pride.
Sullen Spirit! Hence! Away!
Where Avarice lurks in sordid cell, 5
Or mad Ambition builds the dream,
Or Pleasure plots th' unholy scheme
There with Guilt and Folly dwell!
But oh! when Hope on Wisdom's wing
Prophetic whispers pure delight, 10
Be distant far thy cank'rous blight,
Demon of envenom'd sting.
Then haste thee, Nymph of balmy gales!
Thy poet's prayer, sweet May! attend!
Oh! place my parent and my friend 15
'Mid her lovely native vales.
Peace, that lists the woodlark's strains,
Health, that breathes divinest treasures,
Laughing Hours, and Social Pleasures
Wait my friend in Cambria's plains. 20
Affection there with mingled ray
Shall pour at once the raptures high
Of filial and maternal Joy;
Haste thee then, delightful May!
And oh! may Spring's fair flowerets fade, 25
May Summer cease her limbs to lave
In cooling stream, may Autumn grave
Yellow o'er the corn-cloath'd glade;
Ere, from sweet retirement torn,
She seek again the crowded mart: 30
Nor thou, my selfish, selfish heart
Dare her slow return to mourn!
1792.
FOOTNOTES:
[35]
A FRAGMENT FOUND IN A LECTURE-ROOM[35:1]
Where deep in mud Cam rolls his slumbrous stream,
And bog and desolation reign supreme;
Where all Boeotia clouds the misty brain,
The owl Mathesis pipes her loathsome strain.
Far, far aloof the frighted Muses fly, 5
Indignant Genius scowls and passes by:
The frolic Pleasures start amid their dance,
And Wit congeal'd stands fix'd in wintry trance.
But to the sounds with duteous haste repair
Cold Industry, and wary-footed Care; 10
And Dulness, dosing on a couch of lead,
Pleas'd with the song uplifts her heavy head,
The sympathetic numbers lists awhile,
Then yawns propitiously a frosty smile. . . .
[Caetera desunt.]
1792.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
[1] slumbrous] reverend MS. E.
[5] frighted] affrighted MS. E.
[12] Sooth'd with the song uprears MS. E.
Ye Gales, that of the Lark's repose
The impatient Silence break,
To yon poor Pilgrim's wearying Woes
Your gentle Comfort speak!
He heard the midnight whirlwind die, 5
He saw the sun-awaken'd Sky
Resume its slowly-purpling Blue:
And ah! he sigh'd—that I might find
The cloudless Azure of the Mind
And Fortune's brightning Hue! 10
Where'er in waving Foliage hid
The Bird's gay Charm ascends,
Or by the fretful current chid
Some giant Rock impends—
There let the lonely Cares respire 15
As small airs thrill the mourning Lyre
[36]And teach the Soul her native Calm;
While Passion with a languid Eye
Hangs o'er the fall of Harmony
And drinks the sacred Balm. 20
Slow as the fragrant whisper creeps
Along the lilied Vale,
The alter'd Eye of Conquest weeps,
And ruthless War grows pale
Relenting that his Heart forsook 25
Soft Concord of auspicious Look,
And Love, and social Poverty;
The Family of tender Fears,
The Sigh, that saddens and endears,
And Cares, that sweeten Joy. 30
Then cease, thy frantic Tumults cease,
Ambition, Sire of War!
Nor o'er the mangled Corse of Peace
Urge on thy scythéd Car.
And oh! that Reason's voice might swell 35
With whisper'd Airs and holy Spell
To rouse thy gentler Sense,
As bending o'er the chilly bloom
The Morning wakes its soft Perfume
With breezy Influence. 40
1792.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] A Morning Effusion Watchman.
[13] fretful] fretting MS. E.
[21-2]
As slow the whisper'd measure creeps
Along the steaming Vale.
W.
[32] Thou scepter'd Demon, War W.
[38] chilly] flowrets' W.
A LOVER'S COMPLAINT TO HIS MISTRESS[36:1]
WHO DESERTED HIM IN QUEST OF A MORE WEALTHY HUSBAND
IN THE EAST INDIES
The dubious light sad glimmers o'er the sky:
'Tis silence all. By lonely anguish torn,
With wandering feet to gloomy groves I fly,
And wakeful Love still tracks my course forlorn.
And will you, cruel Julia! will you go? 5
And trust you to the Ocean's dark dismay?
Shall the wide wat'ry world between us flow?
And winds unpitying snatch my Hopes away?
[37]Thus could you sport with my too easy heart?
Yet tremble, lest not unaveng'd I grieve! 10
The winds may learn your own delusive art,
And faithless Ocean smile—but to deceive!
1792.
FOOTNOTES:
WITH FIELDING'S 'AMELIA'[37:1]
Virtues and Woes alike too great for man
In the soft tale oft claim the useless sigh;
For vain the attempt to realise the plan,
On Folly's wings must Imitation fly.
With other aim has Fielding here display'd 5
Each social duty and each social care;
With just yet vivid colouring portray'd
What every wife should be, what many are.
And sure the Parent[37:2] of a race so sweet
With double pleasure on the page shall dwell, 10
Each scene with sympathizing breast shall meet,
While Reason still with smiles delights to tell
Maternal hope, that her loved progeny
In all but sorrows shall Amelias be!
? 1792.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Sent to Mrs. —— with an Amelia. MS. O.
[10] double] doubled MS. O.
WRITTEN AFTER A WALK BEFORE SUPPER[37:3]
Tho' much averse, dear Jack, to flicker,
To find a likeness for friend V—ker,
I've made thro' Earth, and Air, and Sea,
A Voyage of Discovery!
And let me add (to ward off strife) 5
For V—ker and for V—ker's Wife—
She large and round beyond belief,
A superfluity of beef!
[38]Her mind and body of a piece,
And both composed of kitchen-grease. 10
In short, Dame Truth might safely dub her
Vulgarity enshrin'd in blubber!
He, meagre bit of littleness,
All snuff, and musk, and politesse;
So thin, that strip him of his clothing, 15
He'd totter on the edge of Nothing!
In case of foe, he well might hide
Snug in the collops of her side.
Ah then, what simile will suit?
Spindle-leg in great jack-boot? 20
Pismire crawling in a rut?
Or a spigot in a butt?
Thus I humm'd and ha'd awhile,
When Madam Memory with a smile
Thus twitch'd my ear—'Why sure, I ween, 25
In London streets thou oft hast seen
The very image of this pair:
A little Ape with huge She-Bear
Link'd by hapless chain together:
An unlick'd mass the one—the other 30
An antic small with nimble crupper——'
But stop, my Muse! for here comes supper.
1792.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Epistle iii. Written, &c.,
1796.
[1] dear Jack] at folk Letter, 1792.
[2] A simile for Vicar Letter, 1792.
[6] For Vicar and for Vicar's wife Letter, 1792.
[7] large] gross Letter, 1792.
[19] will] can Letter, 1792.
[23] I ha'd and hem'd Letter, 1792.
[24] Madam] Mrs. Letter, 1792.
[28] huge] large Letter, 1792.
[29] Link'd] Tied Letter, 1792.
[31] small] lean Letter, 1792: huge 1796, 1877, 1888,
1893. For Antic huge read antic small 'Errata', 1796 p. [189].
IMITATED FROM OSSIAN[38:1]
The stream with languid murmur creeps,
In Lumin's flowery vale:
Beneath the dew the Lily weeps
Slow-waving to the gale.
[39]'Cease, restless gale!' it seems to say, 5
'Nor wake me with thy sighing!
The honours of my vernal day
On rapid wing are flying.
'To-morrow shall the Traveller come
Who late beheld me blooming: 10
His searching eye shall vainly roam
The dreary vale of Lumin.'
With eager gaze and wetted cheek
My wonted haunts along,
Thus, faithful Maiden! thou shalt seek 15
The Youth of simplest song.
But I along the breeze shall roll
The voice of feeble power;
And dwell, the Moon-beam of thy soul,
In Slumber's nightly hour. 20
1793.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
[10] That erst, &c. MS. E.
[15] faithful] lovely MS. E.
[16] simplest] gentle MS. E.
THE COMPLAINT OF NINATHÓMA[39:1]
FROM THE SAME
How long will ye round me be swelling,
O ye blue-tumbling waves of the sea?
Not always in caves was my dwelling,
Nor beneath the cold blast of the tree.
Through the high-sounding halls of Cathlóma 5
In the steps of my beauty I strayed;
The warriors beheld Ninathóma,
And they blesséd the white-bosom'd Maid!
A Ghost! by my cavern it darted!
In moon-beams the Spirit was drest— 10
[40]For lovely appear the Departed
When they visit the dreams of my rest!
But disturb'd by the tempest's commotion
Fleet the shadowy forms of delight—
Ah cease, thou shrill blast of the Ocean! 15
To howl through my cavern by night.
1793.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Effusion xxx. The Complaint,
&c., 1796.
[5] halls] Hall Letter, 1793.
[8] white-bosom'd] dark-tressed Letter, 1793.
[8-9]
By my friends, by my Lovers discarded,
Like the flower of the Rock now I waste,
That lifts her fair head unregarded,
And scatters its leaves on the blast.
Letter, 1793.
[13] disturb'd] dispers'd Letter, 1793.
SONGS OF THE PIXIES[40:1]
The Pixies, in the superstition of Devonshire, are a race of beings
invisibly small, and harmless or friendly to man. At a small distance
from a village in that county, half-way up a wood-covered hill, is an
excavation called the Pixies' Parlour. The roots of old trees form its
ceiling; and on its sides are innumerable cyphers, among which the
author discovered his own cypher and those of his brothers, cut by the
hand of their childhood. At the foot of the hill flows the river Otter.
To this place the Author, during the summer months of the year 1793,
conducted a party of young ladies; one of whom, of stature elegantly
small, and of complexion colourless yet clear, was proclaimed the Faery
Queen. On which occasion the following Irregular Ode was written.
I
Whom the untaught Shepherds call
Pixies in their madrigal,
Fancy's children, here we dwell:
Welcome, Ladies! to our cell.
Here the wren of softest note 5
Builds its nest and warbles well;
Here the blackbird strains his throat;
Welcome, Ladies! to our cell.
When fades the moon to shadowy-pale,
And scuds the cloud before the gale, 10
Ere the Morn all gem-bedight
Hath streak'd the East with rosy light,
We sip the furze-flower's fragrant dews
Clad in robes of rainbow hues;
Or sport amid the shooting gleams 15
To the tune of distant-tinkling teams,
While lusty Labour scouting sorrow
Bids the Dame a glad good-morrow,
Who jogs the accustom'd road along,
And paces cheery to her cheering song. 20
III
But not our filmy pinion
We scorch amid the blaze of day,
When Noontide's fiery-tresséd minion
Flashes the fervid ray.
Aye from the sultry heat 25
We to the cave retreat
O'ercanopied by huge roots intertwin'd
With wildest texture, blacken'd o'er with age:
Round them their mantle green the ivies bind,
Beneath whose foliage pale 30
Fann'd by the unfrequent gale
We shield us from the Tyrant's mid-day rage.
Thither, while the murmuring throng
Of wild-bees hum their drowsy song,
By Indolence and Fancy brought, 35
A youthful Bard, 'unknown to Fame,'
Wooes the Queen of Solemn Thought,
And heaves the gentle misery of a sigh
Gazing with tearful eye,
As round our sandy grot appear 40
Many a rudely-sculptur'd name
To pensive Memory dear!
Weaving gay dreams of sunny-tinctur'd hue,
We glance before his view:
O'er his hush'd soul our soothing witcheries shed 45
And twine the future garland round his head.
V
When Evening's dusky car
Crown'd with her dewy star
Steals o'er the fading sky in shadowy flight;
On leaves of aspen trees 50
We tremble to the breeze
Veil'd from the grosser ken of mortal sight.
Or, haply, at the visionary hour,
Along our wildly-bower'd sequester'd walk,
We listen to the enamour'd rustic's talk; 55
Heave with the heavings of the maiden's breast,
Where young-eyed Loves have hid their turtle nest;
Or guide of soul-subduing power
The glance that from the half-confessing eye
Darts the fond question or the soft reply. 60
Or through the mystic ringlets of the vale
We flash our faery feet in gamesome prank;
Or, silent-sandal'd, pay our defter court,
Circling the Spirit of the Western Gale,
Where wearied with his flower-caressing sport, 65
Supine he slumbers on a violet bank;
Then with quaint music hymn the parting gleam
By lonely Otter's sleep-persuading stream;
Or where his wave with loud unquiet song
Dash'd o'er the rocky channel froths along; 70
Or where, his silver waters smooth'd to rest,
The tall tree's shadow sleeps upon his breast.
VII
Hence thou lingerer, Light!
Eve saddens into Night.
Mother of wildly-working dreams! we view 75
The sombre hours, that round thee stand
With down-cast eyes (a duteous band!)
Their dark robes dripping with the heavy dew.
Sorceress of the ebon throne!
Thy power the Pixies own, 80
When round thy raven brow
Heaven's lucent roses glow,
[44]And clouds in watery colours drest
Float in light drapery o'er thy sable vest:
What time the pale moon sheds a softer day 85
Mellowing the woods beneath its pensive beam:
For mid the quivering light 'tis ours to play,
Aye dancing to the cadence of the stream.
VIII
Welcome, Ladies! to the cell
Where the blameless Pixies dwell: 90
But thou, Sweet Nymph! proclaim'd our Faery Queen,
With what obeisance meet
Thy presence shall we greet?
For lo! attendant on thy steps are seen
Graceful Ease in artless stole, 95
And white-robed Purity of soul,
With Honour's softer mien;
Mirth of the loosely-flowing hair,
And meek-eyed Pity eloquently fair,
Whose tearful cheeks are lovely to the view, 100
As snow-drop wet with dew.
IX
Unboastful Maid! though now the Lily pale
Transparent grace thy beauties meek;
Yet ere again along the impurpling vale,
The purpling vale and elfin-haunted grove, 105
Young Zephyr his fresh flowers profusely throws,
We'll tinge with livelier hues thy cheek;
And, haply, from the nectar-breathing Rose
Extract a Blush for Love!
1793.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
This preface appears in all editions.
Previous to 1834 the second paragraph read:—To this place the Author
conducted a party of young Ladies, during the Summer months of the year
1793, &c.
The Songs of the Pixies, an irregular Ode. The lower orders of the
people in Devonshire have a superstition concerning the existence of
'Pixies', a race of beings supposed to be invisibly small, and harmless
or friendly to man. At a small village in the county, half-way up a
Hill, is a large excavation called the 'Pixies'' Parlour. The roots of
the trees growing above it form the ceiling—and on its sides are
engraved innumerable cyphers, among which the author descried his own
and those of his Brothers, cut by the rude hand of their childhood. At
the foot of the Hill flows the River Otter. To this place the Author had
the Honour of conducting a party of Young Ladies during the Summer
months, on which occasion the following Poem was written. MS. E.
Note. The emendations in ll. 9, 11, 12, 15, 16 are peculiar
to the edition of 1834, and are, certainly, Coleridge's own handiwork.
[9] to] all MS. 4o, MS. E, 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828,
1829.
[11] Ere Morn with living gems bedight MS. 4o, MS. E,
1796, 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829.
[12] Hath streak'd] Purples MS. 4o, MS. E, 1796, 1828,
1829: Streaks 1797, 1803. rosy] streaky MS. E, 1796, 1828,
1829: purple 1797, 1803.
After l. 14 the following lines appear in MS. 4o, MS. E,
1796, 1797, 1803, 1828:
Richer than the deepen'd bloom
That glows on Summer's lily-scented (scented 1797, 1803) plume.
[15] shooting] rosy MS. 4o, MS. E, 1796, 1797, 1803,
1828, 1829.
[15-16] gleam . . . team MS. 4o, MS. E, 1796, 1797,
1803, 1828, 1829.
[16] To the tune of] Sooth'd by the MS. 4o, MS. E, 1796,
1797, 1803, 1828, 1829.
[20] Timing to Dobbin's foot her cheery song. MS. E, MS. 4o
erased.
[35] By rapture-beaming Fancy brought MS. E, MS. 4o erased.
[37] Oft wooes MS. E: our faery garlands MS. 4o, MS. E,
1796, 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829.
[53-5]
Or at the silent visionary hour
Along our rude sequester'd walk
We list th' enamour'd Shepherd's talk.
MS. E.
MS. 4o erased.
[54] wildly-bower'd] wild 1797, 1803.
[57] hid] built MS. 4o, MS. E, 1796, 1797, 1803,
1828, 1829.
[59]
The Electric Flash that from the melting eye,
MS. 4o, MS. E, 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829.
[60] or] and MS. E, 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829.
[61-5]
Or haply in the flower-embroider'd vale
We ply our faery feet in gamesome prank;
Or pay our wonted court
Circling the Spirits of the Western Gale,
Where tir'd with vernal sport
MS. E.
[63]
Or in deft homage pay our silent court
MS. 4o erased.
[68-70]
By lonely Otter's 'peace-persuading' stream
Or where his frothing wave with merry song
'Dash'd o'er the rough rock lightly leaps along'
MS. E.
[68] peace-persuading stream MS. 4o erased.
[69-70]
Or where his waves with loud unquiet song
Dash'd o'er the rocky channel froth along
MS. 4o, 1796 ('froths' in text, 'froth' errata).
[70] froths] froth 1828, 1829.
[75-7]
Mother of wild'ring dreams thy course pursue.
With downcast eyes around thee stand
The sombre Hours, a duteous band.
MS. E.
[92] obedience MS. 4o, 1796: Correction made in Errata.
[94] For lo! around thy MS. E.
[97] softer] gentler MS. E.
[99] meek-eyed] meekest MS. E.
[100] cheeks are] cheek is MS. E.
[104-5]
Yet ere again the impurpled vale
And elfin-haunted grove
MS. 4o.
[104-6]
Yet ere again the purpling vale
And elfin-haunted Grove
Young Zephyr with fresh flowrets strews.
MS. 4o, MS. E.
[108] nectar-breathing] nectar-dropping MS. E.
[45]
As late each flower that sweetest blows
I pluck'd, the Garden's pride!
Within the petals of a Rose
A sleeping Love I spied.
Around his brows a beamy wreath 5
Of many a lucent hue;
All purple glow'd his cheek, beneath,
Inebriate with dew.
I softly seiz'd the unguarded Power,
Nor scared his balmy rest: 10
And placed him, caged within the flower,
On spotless Sara's breast.
But when unweeting of the guile
Awoke the prisoner sweet,
He struggled to escape awhile 15
And stamp'd his faery feet.
Ah! soon the soul-entrancing sight
Subdued the impatient boy!
He gazed! he thrill'd with deep delight!
Then clapp'd his wings for joy. 20
[46]'And O!' he cried—'Of magic kind
What charms this Throne endear!
Some other Love let Venus find—
I'll fix my empire here.'[46:1]
1793.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] On presenting a moss rose to Miss F.
Nesbitt. MS. (pencil). Effusion xxvi. 1796.
[5] beamy] lucent MS. E: lucid Letter, 1793.
[6] lucent] changing MS. E: mingled Letter, 1793.
[12]
On lovely Nesbitt's breast. MS. (pencil).
On Angelina's breast. Letter, 1793.
On spotless Anna's breast. MS. E.
[Probably Anna Buclé, afterwards Mrs. Cruikshank.]
[13] But when all reckless Letter, 1793.
[14] prisoner] slumberer Letter, 1793.
[16] faery] angry Letter, 1793.
[21-2]
'And, O', he cried, 'What charms refined
This magic throne endear
Letter, 1793, MS. E.
[23] Another Love may Letter, 1793.
Cupid, if storying Legends tell aright,
Once fram'd a rich Elixir of Delight.
A Chalice o'er love-kindled flames he fix'd,
And in it Nectar and Ambrosia mix'd:
With these the magic dews which Evening brings, 5
Brush'd from the Idalian star by faery wings:
Each tender pledge of sacred Faith he join'd,
Each gentler Pleasure of th' unspotted mind—
[47]Day-dreams, whose tints with sportive brightness glow,
And Hope, the blameless parasite of Woe. 10
The eyeless Chemist heard the process rise,
The steamy Chalice bubbled up in sighs;
Sweet sounds transpired, as when the enamour'd Dove
Pours the soft murmuring of responsive Love.
The finish'd work might Envy vainly blame, 15
And 'Kisses' was the precious Compound's name.
With half the God his Cyprian Mother blest,
And breath'd on Sara's lovelier lips the rest.
1793.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Cupid turn'd Chymist Letter, 1793,
Pencil. The Compound MS. E: Effusion xxvi. 1796: The Composition
of a Kiss 1797: Kisses 1803, 1844, 1852.
[1] storying] ancient Pencil.
[3] Chalice] cauldron Letter, 1793.
[[8] gentler] gentle Pencil.
[9]
Gay Dreams whose tints with beamy brightness glow.
Letter, 1793, MS. E.
[9-10]
And |
|
Hopes the blameless parasites of Woe
Fond |
Bristol MS.
And Dreams whose tints with beamy brightness glow.
Pencil, Bristol MS.
[11-12]
With joy he view'd his chymic process rise,
The steaming cauldron bubbled up in sighs.
Letter, 1793.
[11-12]
the chymic process rise,
The steaming chalice
Pencil, MS. E.
[11-12]
the chymic process rise,
The charming cauldron
Bristol MS.
[14]
Murmuring] murmurs Letter, 1793.
Cooes the soft murmurs Pencil.
[15]
not Envy's self could blame Letter, 1793, Pencil.
might blame. MS. E.
[17] With part Letter, 1793, MS. E.
[18]
on Nesbitt's lovely lips the rest. Letter, 1793, Pencil.
on Mary's lovelier lips the rest. MS. E.
on lovely Nesbitt's lovely lips the rest. Bristol MS.
THE GENTLE LOOK[47:1]
Thou gentle Look, that didst my soul beguile,
Why hast thou left me? Still in some fond dream
Revisit my sad heart, auspicious Smile!
As falls on closing flowers the lunar beam:
What time, in sickly mood, at parting day 5
I lay me down and think of happier years;
[48]Of joys, that glimmer'd in Hope's twilight ray,
Then left me darkling in a vale of tears.
O pleasant days of Hope—for ever gone!
Could I recall you!—But that thought is vain. 10
Availeth not Persuasion's sweetest tone
To lure the fleet-wing'd Travellers back again:
Yet fair, though faint, their images shall gleam
Like the bright Rainbow on a willowy stream.[48:1]
? 1793.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Irregular Sonnet MS. E: Effusion
xiv. 1796: Sonnet III. 1797, 1803: Sonnet viii. 1828, 1829,
1834: The Smile P. W. 1885: The Gentle Look P. W. 1893.
[1] Thou] O Letter, 1794.
[10] you] one Letter, 1794.
[13-14]
Anon they haste to everlasting Night,
Nor can a Giant's arm arrest them in their flight Letter, 1794.
On on, &c., MS. E.
TO THE RIVER OTTER
Dear native Brook! wild Streamlet of the West!
How many various-fated years have past,
What happy and what mournful hours, since last
I skimm'd the smooth thin stone along thy breast,
Numbering its light leaps! yet so deep imprest 5
Sink the sweet scenes of childhood, that mine eyes
I never shut amid the sunny ray,
But straight with all their tints thy waters rise,
Thy crossing plank, thy marge with willows grey,
And bedded sand that vein'd with various dyes 10
Gleam'd through thy bright transparence! On my way,
Visions of Childhood! oft have ye beguil'd
Lone manhood's cares, yet waking fondest sighs:
Ah! that once more I were a careless Child!
? 1793.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Sonnet No. IV. To the, &c., 1797, 1803.
[3] What blissful and what anguish'd hours Watchman, S. S.,
1797, 1803.
[7] ray] blaze Watchman, S. S., 1797, 1803.
[8] thy] their S. L. Corrected in Errata, p. [xii].
[9]
The crossing plank, and margin's willowy maze Watchman.
Thy crossing plank, thy margin's willowy maze S. S., 1797, 1803.
[11] On my way] to the gaze Watchman, S. S., 1797,
1803.
[14] Ah! that I were once more, &c. S. L. Corrected in
Errata, p. [xii].
[49]
First Draft
AN EFFUSION AT EVENING
WRITTEN IN AUGUST, 1792
Imagination, Mistress of my Love!
Where shall mine Eye thy elfin haunt explore?
Dost thou on yon rich Cloud thy pinions bright
Embathe in amber-glowing Floods of Light?
Or, wild of speed, pursue the track of Day 5
In other worlds to hail the morning Ray?
'Tis time to bid the faded shadowy Pleasures move
On shadowy Memory's wings across the Soul of Love;
And thine o'er Winter's icy plains to fling
Each flower, that binds the breathing Locks of Spring, 10
When blushing, like a bride, from primrose Bower
She starts, awaken'd by the pattering Shower!
Now sheds the setting Sun a purple gleam,
Aid, lovely Sorc'ress! aid the Poet's dream.
With faery wand O bid my Love arise, 15
The dewy brilliance dancing in her Eyes;
As erst she woke with soul-entrancing Mien
The thrill of Joy extatic yet serene,
When link'd with Peace I bounded o'er the Plain
And Hope itself was all I knew of Pain! 20
Propitious Fancy hears the votive sigh—
The absent Maiden flashes on mine Eye!
When first the matin Bird with startling Song
Salutes the Sun his veiling Clouds among,
|
I trace her footsteps on the |
|
accustom'd
steaming Lawn, 25 |
I view her glancing in the gleams of Dawn!
When the bent Flower beneath the night-dew weeps
And on the Lake the silver Lustre sleeps,
Amid the paly Radiance soft and sad
She meets my lonely path in moonbeams clad. 30
With her along the streamlet's brink I rove;
With her I list the warblings of the Grove;
And seems in each low wind her voice to float,
Lone-whispering Pity in each soothing Note!
[50]As oft in climes beyond the western Main 35
Where boundless spreads the wildly-silent Plain,
The savage Hunter, who his drowsy frame
Had bask'd beneath the Sun's unclouded Flame,
Awakes amid the tempest-troubled air,
The Thunder's Peal and Lightning's lurid glare— 40
Aghast he hears the rushing Whirlwind's Sweep,
And sad recalls the sunny hour of Sleep!
So lost by storms along Life's wild'ring Way
Mine Eye reverted views that cloudless Day,
When, ——! on thy banks I joy'd to rove 45
While Hope with kisses nurs'd the infant Love!
|
Sweet ——! where Pleasure's streamlet glides
Fann'd by soft winds to curl in mimic tides;
Where Mirth and Peace beguile the blameless Day;
And where Friendship's fixt star beams a mellow'd Ray; 50
Where Love a crown of thornless Roses wears;
Where soften'd Sorrow smiles within her tears;
And Memory, with a Vestal's meek employ,
Unceasing feeds the lambent flame of Joy!
No more thy Sky Larks less'ning from my sight 55
Shall thrill th' attunéd Heartstring with delight;
No more shall deck thy pensive Pleasures sweet
With wreaths of sober hue my evening seat!
Yet dear to [My] Fancy's Eye thy varied scene
Of Wood, Hill, Dale and sparkling Brook between: 60
Yet sweet to [My] Fancy's Ear the warbled song,
That soars on Morning's wing thy fields among!
Scenes of my Hope! the aching Eye ye leave,
Like those rich Hues that paint the clouds of Eve!
Tearful and saddening with the sadden'd Blaze 65
Mine Eye the gleam pursues with wistful Gaze—
Sees Shades on Shades with deeper tint impend,
Till chill and damp the moonless Night descend!
1792.
[51]
ON AN AUTUMNAL EVENING
O thou wild Fancy, check thy wing! No more
Those thin white flakes, those purple clouds explore!
Nor there with happy spirits speed thy flight
Bath'd in rich amber-glowing floods of light;
Nor in yon gleam, where slow descends the day, 5
With western peasants hail the morning ray!
Ah! rather bid the perish'd pleasures move,
A shadowy train, across the soul of Love!
O'er Disappointment's wintry desert fling
Each flower that wreath'd the dewy locks of Spring, 10
When blushing, like a bride, from Hope's trim bower
She leapt, awaken'd by the pattering shower.
Now sheds the sinking Sun a deeper gleam,
Aid, lovely Sorceress! aid thy Poet's dream!
With faery wand O bid the Maid arise, 15
Chaste Joyance dancing in her bright-blue eyes;
As erst when from the Muses' calm abode
I came, with Learning's meed not unbestowed;
When as she twin'd a laurel round my brow,
And met my kiss, and half return'd my vow, 20
O'er all my frame shot rapid my thrill'd heart,
And every nerve confess'd the electric dart.
O dear Deceit! I see the Maiden rise,
Chaste Joyance dancing in her bright-blue eyes!
When first the lark high-soaring swells his throat, 25
Mocks the tir'd eye, and scatters the loud note,
I trace her footsteps on the accustom'd lawn,
I mark her glancing mid the gleam of dawn.
[52]When the bent flower beneath the night-dew weeps
And on the lake the silver lustre sleeps, 30
Amid the paly radiance soft and sad,
She meets my lonely path in moon-beams clad.
With her along the streamlet's brink I rove;
With her I list the warblings of the grove;
And seems in each low wind her voice to float 35
Lone-whispering Pity in each soothing note!
Spirits of Love! ye heard her name! Obey
The powerful spell, and to my haunt repair.
Whether on clust'ring pinions ye are there,
Where rich snows blossom on the Myrtle-trees, 40
Or with fond languishment around my fair
Sigh in the loose luxuriance of her hair;
O heed the spell, and hither wing your way,
Like far-off music, voyaging the breeze!
Spirits! to you the infant Maid was given 45
Form'd by the wond'rous Alchemy of Heaven!
No fairer Maid does Love's wide empire know,
No fairer Maid e'er heav'd the bosom's snow.
A thousand Loves around her forehead fly;
A thousand Loves sit melting in her eye; 50
Love lights her smile—in Joy's red nectar dips
His myrtle flower, and plants it on her lips.
She speaks! and hark that passion-warbled song—
Still, Fancy! still that voice, those notes prolong.
As sweet as when that voice with rapturous falls 55
Shall wake the soften'd echoes of Heaven's Halls!
[52:1]O (have I sigh'd) were mine the wizard's rod,
Or mine the power of Proteus, changeful God!
[53]A flower-entangled Arbour I would seem
To shield my Love from Noontide's sultry beam: 60
Or bloom a Myrtle, from whose od'rous boughs
My Love might weave gay garlands for her brows.
When Twilight stole across the fading vale,
To fan my Love I'd be the Evening Gale;
Mourn in the soft folds of her swelling vest, 65
And flutter my faint pinions on her breast!
On Seraph wing I'd float a Dream by night,
To soothe my Love with shadows of delight:—
Or soar aloft to be the Spangled Skies,
And gaze upon her with a thousand eyes! 70
As when the Savage, who his drowsy frame
Had bask'd beneath the Sun's unclouded flame,
Awakes amid the troubles of the air,
The skiey deluge, and white lightning's glare—
Aghast he scours before the tempest's sweep, 75
And sad recalls the sunny hour of sleep:—
So tossed by storms along Life's wild'ring way,
Mine eye reverted views that cloudless day,
[54]When by my native brook I wont to rove,
While Hope with kisses nurs'd the Infant Love. 80
Dear native brook! like Peace, so placidly
Smoothing through fertile fields thy current meek!
Dear native brook! where first young Poesy
Stared wildly-eager in her noontide dream!
Where blameless pleasures dimple Quiet's cheek, 85
As water-lilies ripple thy slow stream!
Dear native haunts! where Virtue still is gay,
Where Friendship's fix'd star sheds a mellow'd ray,
Where Love a crown of thornless Roses wears,
Where soften'd Sorrow smiles within her tears; 90
And Memory, with a Vestal's chaste employ,
Unceasing feeds the lambent flame of joy!
No more your sky-larks melting from the sight
Shall thrill the attunéd heart-string with delight—
No more shall deck your pensive Pleasures sweet 95
With wreaths of sober hue my evening seat.
Yet dear to Fancy's eye your varied scene
Of wood, hill, dale, and sparkling brook between!
Yet sweet to Fancy's ear the warbled song,
That soars on Morning's wing your vales among. 100
Scenes of my Hope! the aching eye ye leave
Like yon bright hues that paint the clouds of eve!
Tearful and saddening with the sadden'd blaze
Mine eye the gleam pursues with wistful gaze:
Sees shades on shades with deeper tint impend, 105
Till chill and damp the moonless night descend
1793.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Effusion xxxvi. Written in Early Youth, The Time, An
Autumnal Evening 1796: Written in etc. 1803: An Effusion on an
Autumnal Evening. Written in Early Youth 1797 (Supplement).
A first draft, headed 'An Effusion at Evening, Written in August, 1792'
is included in the MS. volume presented to Mrs. Estlin in April, 1795
(vide ante, pp. 49, 50).
[28] gleam] gleams 1796, 1797, 1803, 1893.
[51-3]
in Joy's bright nectar dips
The flamy rose, and plants it on her lips!
Tender, serene, and all devoid of guile,
Soft is her soul, as sleeping infants' smile.
She speaks, &c.
1796, 1803.
[54] still those mazy notes 1796, 1803.
[55-6]
Sweet as th' angelic harps, whose rapturous falls
Awake the soften'd echoes of Heaven's Halls.
1796, 1803.
To the Editor of the 'Morning Chronicle'
Sir,—The following poem you may perhaps deem admissible into
your journal—if not, you will commit it εἰς ἱερὸν μένος Ἡφαίστοιο.—I am, with more respect and gratitude than
I ordinarily feel for Editors of Papers, your obliged, &c.,
Cantab.—S. T. C.
[55]
To Fortune
On buying a Ticket in the Irish Lottery
Composed during a walk to and from the Queen's Head, Gray's
Inn Lane, Holborn, and Hornsby's and Co., Cornhill.
Promptress of unnumber'd sighs,
O snatch that circling bandage from thine eyes!
O look, and smile! No common prayer
Solicits, Fortune! thy propitious care!
For, not a silken son of dress, 5
I clink the gilded chains of politesse,
Nor ask thy boon what time I scheme
Unholy Pleasure's frail and feverish dream;
Nor yet my view life's dazzle blinds—
Pomp!—Grandeur! Power!—I give you to the winds! 10
Let the little bosom cold
Melt only at the sunbeam ray of gold—
My pale cheeks glow—the big drops start—
The rebel Feeling riots at my heart!
And if in lonely durance pent, 15
Thy poor mite mourn a brief imprisonment—
That mite at Sorrow's faintest sound
Leaps from its scrip with an elastic bound!
But oh! if ever song thine ear
Might soothe, O haste with fost'ring hand to rear 20
One Flower of Hope! At Love's behest,
Trembling, I plac'd it in my secret breast:
And thrice I've view'd the vernal gleam,
Since oft mine eye, with Joy's electric beam,
Illum'd it—and its sadder hue 25
Oft moisten'd with the Tear's ambrosial dew!
Poor wither'd floweret! on its head
Has dark Despair his sickly mildew shed!
But thou, O Fortune! canst relume
Its deaden'd tints—and thou with hardier bloom 30
May'st haply tinge its beauties pale,
And yield the unsunn'd stranger to the western gale!
1793.
FOOTNOTES:
[56]
PERSPIRATION. A TRAVELLING ECLOGUE[56:1]
The dust flies smothering, as on clatt'ring wheel
Loath'd Aristocracy careers along;
The distant track quick vibrates to the eye,
And white and dazzling undulates with heat,
Where scorching to the unwary traveller's touch, 5
The stone fence flings its narrow slip of shade;
Or, where the worn sides of the chalky road
Yield their scant excavations (sultry grots!),
Emblem of languid patience, we behold
The fleecy files faint-ruminating lie. 10
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
[AVE, ATQUE VALE!][56:2]
Vivit sed mihi non vivit—nova forte marita,
Ah dolor! alterius carâ a cervice pependit.
Vos, malefida valete accensae insomnia mentis,
Littora amata valete! Vale, ah! formosa Maria!
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
With many a weary step at length I gain
Thy summit, Bala! and the cool breeze plays
Cheerily round my brow—as hence the gaze
Returns to dwell upon the journey'd plain.
'Twas a long way and tedious!—to the eye 5
Tho' fair th' extended Vale, and fair to view
The falling leaves of many a faded hue
That eddy in the wild gust moaning by!
Ev'n so it far'd with Life! in discontent
Restless thro' Fortune's mingled scenes I went, 10
[57]Yet wept to think they would return no more!
O cease fond heart! in such sad thoughts to roam,
For surely thou ere long shalt reach thy home,
And pleasant is the way that lies before.
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
[2] Bala] Lansdown Poems, 1797.
[3] Cheerily] Gratefully Poems, 1797.
WRITTEN AT THE KING'S ARMS, ROSS, FORMERLY THE HOUSE
OF THE 'MAN OF ROSS'
Richer than Miser o'er his countless hoards,
Nobler than Kings, or king-polluted Lords,
Here dwelt the Man of Ross! O Traveller, hear!
Departed Merit claims a reverent tear.
Friend to the friendless, to the sick man health, 5
With generous joy he view'd his modest wealth;
He heard the widow's heaven-breath'd prayer of praise,
He mark'd the shelter'd orphan's tearful gaze,
Or where the sorrow-shrivell'd captive lay,
Pour'd the bright blaze of Freedom's noon-tide ray. 10
[58]Beneath this roof if thy cheer'd moments pass,
Fill to the good man's name one grateful glass:
To higher zest shall Memory wake thy soul,
And Virtue mingle in the ennobled bowl.
But if, like me, through Life's distressful scene 15
Lonely and sad thy pilgrimage hath been;
And if thy breast with heart-sick anguish fraught,
Thou journeyest onward tempest-tossed in thought;
Here cheat thy cares! in generous visions melt,
And dream of Goodness, thou hast never felt! 20
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Written . . . Mr. Kyrle, 'the Man of Ross'.
MS. E.
[1] Misers o'er their Letter, 1794, J. H., MS. E,
1808.
[4] the glistening tear Letter, 1794: a] the J. H., MS.
E. Lines 5-10 are not in MS. 4o, 1796, 1803: in 1797 they follow l.
14 of the text.
[5] to the poor man wealth, Morrison MSS.
[7] heard] hears 1797, 1828, 1829.
[8] mark'd] marks 1797, 1828.
[9] And o'er the dowried maiden's glowing cheek, Letter,
1794, Morrison MSS.: virgin's snowy cheek, J. H., MS. E.
[10] Bade bridal love suffuse its blushes meek. Letter, 1794,
MS. E, Morrison MSS. Pour'd] Pours 1797, 1828, 1829.
[11] If 'neath this roof thy wine cheer'd moments pass
Letter, J. H., MS. E, MS. 4o, 1803.
[14] ennobled] sparkling Letter, 1794.
IMITATED FROM THE WELSH[58:1]
If while my passion I impart,
You deem my words untrue,
O place your hand upon my heart—
Feel how it throbs for you!
Ah no! reject the thoughtless claim 5
In pity to your Lover!
That thrilling touch would aid the flame
It wishes to discover.
? 1794.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Song MS. E: Effusion xxxi. Imitated
&c., 1796.
TO A BEAUTIFUL SPRING IN A VILLAGE
Once more! sweet Stream! with slow foot wandering near,
I bless thy milky waters cold and clear.
Escap'd the flashing of the noontide hours,
With one fresh garland of Pierian flowers
(Ere from thy zephyr-haunted brink I turn) 5
My languid hand shall wreath thy mossy urn.
For not through pathless grove with murmur rude
Thou soothest the sad wood-nymph, Solitude;
Nor thine unseen in cavern depths to well,
The Hermit-fountain of some dripping cell! 10
[59]Pride of the Vale! thy useful streams supply
The scatter'd cots and peaceful hamlet nigh.
The elfin tribe around thy friendly banks
With infant uproar and soul-soothing pranks,
Releas'd from school, their little hearts at rest, 15
Launch paper navies on thy waveless breast.
The rustic here at eve with pensive look
Whistling lorn ditties leans upon his crook,
Or, starting, pauses with hope-mingled dread
To list the much-lov'd maid's accustom'd tread: 20
She, vainly mindful of her dame's command,
Loiters, the long-fill'd pitcher in her hand.
Unboastful Stream! thy fount with pebbled falls
The faded form of past delight recalls,
What time the morning sun of Hope arose, 25
And all was joy; save when another's woes
A transient gloom upon my soul imprest,
Like passing clouds impictur'd on thy breast.
Life's current then ran sparkling to the noon,
Or silvery stole beneath the pensive Moon: 30
Ah! now it works rude brakes and thorns among,
Or o'er the rough rock bursts and foams along!
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Lines addressed to a Spring in Village of
Kirkhampton near Bath MS. E.
[7] groves in murmurs MS. E.
[21-2]
And now essays his simple Faith to prove
By all the soft solicitudes of Love.
MS. E.
For ll. 29-32
But ah! too brief in Youths' enchanting reign,
Ere Manhood wakes th' unweeting heart to pain,
Silent and soft thy silver waters glide:
So glided Life, a smooth and equal Tide.
Sad Change! for now by choking Cares withstood
It hardly bursts its way, a turbid, boist'rous Flood!
MS. E.
[30] Or silver'd its smooth course beneath the Moon. MS.
4o.
[31] rude] the thorny MS. 4o erased.
IMITATIONS
AD LYRAM[59:1]
(CASIMIR, BOOK II. ODE 3)
The solemn-breathing air is ended—
Cease, O Lyre! thy kindred lay!
From the poplar-branch suspended
Glitter to the eye of Day!
[60]On thy wires hov'ring, dying, 5
Softly sighs the summer wind:
I will slumber, careless lying,
By yon waterfall reclin'd.
In the forest hollow-roaring
Hark! I hear a deep'ning sound— 10
Clouds rise thick with heavy low'ring!
See! th' horizon blackens round!
Parent of the soothing measure,
Let me seize thy wetted string!
Swiftly flies the flatterer, Pleasure, 15
Headlong, ever on the wing.[60:1]
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Song. [Note. Imitated from Casimir.]
MS. E.
Vivamus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus.
Catullus.
My Lesbia, let us love and live,
And to the winds, my Lesbia, give
[61]Each cold restraint, each boding fear
Of age and all her saws severe.
Yon sun now posting to the main 5
Will set,—but 'tis to rise again;—
But we, when once our mortal light
Is set, must sleep in endless night.
Then come, with whom alone I'll live,
A thousand kisses take and give! 10
Another thousand!—to the store
Add hundreds—then a thousand more!
And when they to a million mount,
Let confusion take the account,—
That you, the number never knowing, 15
May continue still bestowing—
That I for joys may never pine,
Which never can again be mine!
? 1794.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Lines imitated from Catullus. M. P.
[18] signed Mortimer M. P.
THE DEATH OF THE STARLING[61:1]
Lugete, O Veneres, Cupidinesque.—Catullus.
Pity! mourn in plaintive tone
The lovely starling dead and gone!
Pity mourns in plaintive tone
The lovely starling dead and gone.
Weep, ye Loves! and Venus! weep 5
The lovely starling fall'n asleep!
Venus sees with tearful eyes—
In her lap the starling lies!
While the Loves all in a ring
Softly stroke the stiffen'd wing. 10
? 1794.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
MORIENS SUPERSTITI[61:2]
The hour-bell sounds, and I must go;
Death waits—again I hear him calling;—
No cowardly desires have I,
Nor will I shun his face appalling.
[62]I die in faith and honour rich— 5
But ah! I leave behind my treasure
In widowhood and lonely pain;—
To live were surely then a pleasure!
My lifeless eyes upon thy face
Shall never open more to-morrow; 10
To-morrow shall thy beauteous eyes
Be closed to Love, and drown'd in Sorrow;
To-morrow Death shall freeze this hand,
And on thy breast, my wedded treasure,
I never, never more shall live;— 15
Alas! I quit a life of pleasure.
FOOTNOTES:
MORIENTI SUPERSTES
Yet art thou happier far than she
Who feels the widow's love for thee!
For while her days are days of weeping,
Thou, in peace, in silence sleeping,
In some still world, unknown, remote, 5
The mighty parent's care hast found,
Without whose tender guardian thought
No sparrow falleth to the ground.
? 1794.
When Youth his faery reign began
Ere Sorrow had proclaim'd me man;
While Peace the present hour beguil'd,
And all the lovely Prospect smil'd;
Then Mary! 'mid my lightsome glee 5
I heav'd the painless Sigh for thee.
And when, along the waves of woe,
My harass'd Heart was doom'd to know
The frantic burst of Outrage keen,
And the slow Pang that gnaws unseen; 10
[63]Then shipwreck'd on Life's stormy sea
I heaved an anguish'd Sigh for thee!
But soon Reflection's power imprest
A stiller sadness on my breast;
And sickly Hope with waning eye 15
Was well content to droop and die:
I yielded to the stern decree,
Yet heav'd a languid Sigh for thee!
And though in distant climes to roam,
A wanderer from my native home, 20
I fain would soothe the sense of Care,
And lull to sleep the Joys that were!
Thy Image may not banish'd be—
Still, Mary! still I sigh for thee.
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Ode MS. E: Song Letter, Nov. 1794,
Morrison MSS.: Effusion xxxii: The Sigh 1796.
[7] along th'] as tossed on 1803. waves] wilds Letter,
1794, MS. E.
[13] power] hand Letter, Nov. 1794, MS. E.
[18] a] the Letter, 1794.
[21-2]
I fain would woo a gentle Fair
To soothe the aching sense of Care
Letter, Nov. 1794.
[21] sense of] aching MS. E.
Below l. 24 June 1794 Poems, 1796.
One kiss, dear Maid! I said and sigh'd—
Your scorn the little boon denied.
Ah why refuse the blameless bliss?
Can danger lurk within a kiss?
Yon viewless wanderer of the vale, 5
The Spirit of the Western Gale,
At Morning's break, at Evening's close
Inhales the sweetness of the Rose,
And hovers o'er the uninjur'd bloom
Sighing back the soft perfume. 10
Vigour to the Zephyr's wing
Her nectar-breathing kisses fling;
[64]And He the glitter of the Dew
Scatters on the Rose's hue.
Bashful lo! she bends her head, 15
And darts a blush of deeper Red!
Too well those lovely lips disclose
The triumphs of the opening Rose;
O fair! O graceful! bid them prove
As passive to the breath of Love. 20
In tender accents, faint and low,
Well-pleas'd I hear the whisper'd 'No!'
The whispered 'No'—how little meant!
Sweet Falsehood that endears Consent!
For on those lovely lips the while 25
Dawns the soft relenting smile,
And tempts with feign'd dissuasion coy
The gentle violence of Joy.
? 1794.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Ode MS. E: Effusion xxviii 1796: The
Kiss 1797, 1828, 1829, 1834: To Sara 1803. MSS. of The Kiss
are included in the Estlin volume and in S. T. C.'s quarto copy-book.
[11-15]
Vigor to his languid wing
The Rose's fragrant kisses bring,
And He o'er all her brighten'd hue
Flings the glitter of the dew.
See she bends her bashful head.
MS. E.
[13-14]
And He o'er all her brighten'd hue
Sheds the glitter of the dew.
MS. 4o erased.
[18] The fragrant triumphs of the Rose. MS. E.
[26] Dawns] Dawn'd MS. E.
TO A YOUNG LADY[64:1]
WITH A POEM ON THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
Much on my early youth I love to dwell,
Ere yet I bade that friendly dome farewell,
Where first, beneath the echoing cloisters pale,
I heard of guilt and wonder'd at the tale!
Yet though the hours flew by on careless wing, 5
Full heavily of Sorrow would I sing.
Aye as the Star of Evening flung its beam
In broken radiance on the wavy stream,
My soul amid the pensive twilight gloom
Mourn'd with the breeze, O Lee Boo![64:2] o'er thy tomb. 10
[65]Where'er I wander'd, Pity still was near,
Breath'd from the heart and glisten'd in the tear:
No knell that toll'd but fill'd my anxious eye,
And suffering Nature wept that one should die![65:1]
Thus to sad sympathies I sooth'd my breast, 15
Calm, as the rainbow in the weeping West:
When slumbering Freedom roused by high Disdain
With giant Fury burst her triple chain!
Fierce on her front the blasting Dog-star glow'd;
Her banners, like a midnight meteor, flow'd; 20
Amid the yelling of the storm-rent skies!
She came, and scatter'd battles from her eyes!
Then Exultation waked the patriot fire
And swept with wild hand the Tyrtaean lyre:
Red from the Tyrant's wound I shook the lance, 25
And strode in joy the reeking plains of France!
Fallen is the Oppressor, friendless, ghastly, low,
And my heart aches, though Mercy struck the blow.
With wearied thought once more I seek the shade,
Where peaceful Virtue weaves the Myrtle braid. 30
And O! if Eyes whose holy glances roll,
Swift messengers, and eloquent of soul;
[66]If Smiles more winning, and a gentler Mien
Than the love-wilder'd Maniac's brain hath seen
Shaping celestial forms in vacant air, 35
If these demand the empassion'd Poet's care—
If Mirth and soften'd Sense and Wit refined,
The blameless features of a lovely mind;
Then haply shall my trembling hand assign
No fading wreath to Beauty's saintly shrine. 40
Nor, Sara! thou these early flowers refuse—
Ne'er lurk'd the snake beneath their simple hues;
No purple bloom the Child of Nature brings
From Flattery's night-shade: as he feels he sings.
September 1794.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Verses addressed to a Lady with a
poem relative to a recent event in the French Revolution MS. E.
[2] friendly] guardian MS. Letter, 1794, MS. E.
[3] cloisters] cloister MS. E.
[5] careless] rosy MS. E.
[9] My pensive soul amid the twilight gloom MS. Letter,
1794.
[12] glisten'd] glitter'd MS. Letter, 1794.
[13] anxious] anguish'd MS. Letter, 1794.
[23] waked] woke MS. Letter, 1794, MS. E.
[24] with wilder hand th' empassion'd lyre MS. Letter, 1794:
with wilder hand th' Alcaean lyre MS. 4o, MS. E, Watchman,
1796, 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829.
[25] wound] wounds MS. Letter, 1794.
[27] In ghastly horror lie th' Oppressors low MS. Letter,
1794, MS. E, MS. 4o, 1796, Watchman.
[29] With sad and wearied thought I seek the shade MS. E:
With wearied thought I seek the amaranth shade MS. Letter, 1794.
[30] the] her MS. Letter, 1794, MS. E.
[32] The eloquent messengers of the pure soul MS. Letter,
1794, MS. E, MS. 4o, Watchman, 1796.
[33] winning] cunning MS. Letter, 1794.
[36] empassion'd] wond'ring MS. Letter, 1794.
[40] wreath] flowers MS. Letter, 1794, MS. E.
[41-4]
Nor, Brunton! thou the blushing-wreath refuse,
Though harsh her notes, yet guileless is my Muse.
Unwont at Flattery's Voice to plume her wings,
A Child of Nature, as she feels she sings.
MS. Letter, 1794.
Nor——! thou the blushing wreath refuse
Tho' harsh her song, yet guileless is the Muse.
Unwont &c.
MS. E.
[42-4]
No Serpent lurks beneath their simple hues.
No purple blooms from Flattery's nightshade brings,
The Child of Nature—as he feels he sings.
MS. 4o erased.
[43-4]
Nature's pure Child from Flatt'ry's night-shade brings
No blooms rich-purpling: as he feels he sings.
MS. 4o.
Below l. 44 September, 1794 1797, 1803: September 1792
1828, 1829, 1834.
OF WRANGHAM'S 'HENDECASYLLABI AD BRUNTONAM
E GRANTA EXITURAM' [KAL. OCT. MDCCXC]
Maid of unboastful charms! whom white-robed Truth
Right onward guiding through the maze of youth,
Forbade the Circe Praise to witch thy soul,
And dash'd to earth th' intoxicating bowl:
Thee meek-eyed Pity, eloquently fair, 5
Clasp'd to her bosom with a mother's care;
And, as she lov'd thy kindred form to trace,
The slow smile wander'd o'er her pallid face.
For never yet did mortal voice impart
Tones more congenial to the sadden'd heart: 10
Whether, to rouse the sympathetic glow,
[67]Thou pourest lone Monimia's tale of woe;
Or haply clothest with funereal vest
The bridal loves that wept in Juliet's breast.
O'er our chill limbs the thrilling Terrors creep, 15
Th' entrancéd Passions their still vigil keep;
While the deep sighs, responsive to the song,
Sound through the silence of the trembling throng.
But purer raptures lighten'd from thy face,
And spread o'er all thy form an holier grace, 20
When from the daughter's breasts the father drew
The life he gave, and mix'd the big tear's dew.
Nor was it thine th' heroic strain to roll
With mimic feelings foreign from the soul:
Bright in thy parent's eye we mark'd the tear; 25
Methought he said, 'Thou art no Actress here!
A semblance of thyself the Grecian dame,
And Brunton and Euphrasia still the same!'
O soon to seek the city's busier scene,
Pause thee awhile, thou chaste-eyed maid serene, 30
Till Granta's sons from all her sacred bowers
With grateful hand shall weave Pierian flowers
To twine a fragrant chaplet round thy brow,
Enchanting ministress of virtuous woe!
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
TO MISS BRUNTON[67:1]
WITH THE PRECEDING TRANSLATION
That darling of the Tragic Muse,
When Wrangham sung her praise,
Thalia lost her rosy hues,
And sicken'd at her lays:
But transient was th' unwonted sigh; 5
For soon the Goddess spied
A sister-form of mirthful eye,
And danc'd for joy and cried:
'Meek Pity's sweetest child, proud dame,
The fates have given to you! 10
Still bid your Poet boast her name;
I have my Brunton too.'
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
[68]
EPITAPH ON AN INFANT[68:1]
Ere Sin could blight or Sorrow fade,
Death came with friendly care:
The opening Bud to Heaven convey'd,
And bade it blossom there.
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
No more my visionary soul shall dwell
On joys that were; no more endure to weigh
The shame and anguish of the evil day,
Wisely forgetful! O'er the ocean swell
[69]Sublime of Hope, I seek the cottag'd dell 5
Where Virtue calm with careless step may stray,
And dancing to the moonlight roundelay,
The wizard Passions weave an holy spell.
Eyes that have ach'd with Sorrow! Ye shall weep
Tears of doubt-mingled joy, like theirs who start 10
From Precipices of distemper'd sleep,
On which the fierce-eyed Fiends their revels keep,
And see the rising Sun, and feel it dart
New rays of pleasance trembling to the heart.
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
[8] Passions weave] Passion wears Letter, Oct.
19 1794, 1852.
[9] Sorrow] anguish Letter, Oct. 19 1794, 1852.
[10] like theirs] as those Letter, Oct. 19 1794, 1852: as
they, MS. E.
[12] feel] find Letter, Oct. 19 1794, 1852.
[14] pleasance] pleasure Letter, Oct. 19 1794, 1852.
ON THE PROSPECT OF ESTABLISHING
A PANTISOCRACY IN AMERICA[69:1]
Whilst pale Anxiety, corrosive Care,
The tear of Woe, the gloom of sad Despair,
And deepen'd Anguish generous bosoms rend;—
Whilst patriot souls their country's fate lament;
Whilst mad with rage demoniac, foul intent, 5
Embattled legions Despots vainly send
To arrest the immortal mind's expanding ray
Of everlasting Truth;—I other climes
Where dawns, with hope serene, a brighter day
Than e'er saw Albion in her happiest times, 10
With mental eye exulting now explore,
And soon with kindred minds shall haste to enjoy
(Free from the ills which here our peace destroy)
Content and Bliss on Transatlantic shore.
1795.
FOOTNOTES:
IMITATED FROM ONE OF AKENSIDE'S BLANK-VERSE
INSCRIPTIONS [(No.) III.]
Near the lone pile with ivy overspread,
Fast by the rivulet's sleep-persuading sound,
[70]Where 'sleeps the moonlight' on yon verdant bed—
O humbly press that consecrated ground!
For there does Edmund rest, the learnéd swain! 5
And there his spirit most delights to rove:
Young Edmund! fam'd for each harmonious strain,
And the sore wounds of ill-requited Love.
Like some tall tree that spreads its branches wide,
And loads the West-wind with its soft perfume, 10
His manhood blossom'd; till the faithless pride
Of fair Matilda sank him to the tomb.
But soon did righteous Heaven her Guilt pursue!
Where'er with wilder'd step she wander'd pale,
Still Edmund's image rose to blast her view, 15
Still Edmund's voice accus'd her in each gale.
With keen regret, and conscious Guilt's alarms,
Amid the pomp of Affluence she pined;
Nor all that lur'd her faith from Edmund's arms
Could lull the wakeful horror of her mind. 20
Go, Traveller! tell the tale with sorrow fraught:
Some tearful Maid perchance, or blooming Youth,
May hold it in remembrance; and be taught
That Riches cannot pay for Love or Truth.
? 1794.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] An Elegy Morning Chronicle, Watchman.
[6] And there his pale-eyed phantom loves to rove M. C.
[10] West-wind] Zephyr M. C.
[17] remorse and tortur'd Guilt's M. C.
[20] Could soothe the conscious horrors of her mind M. C.
horror] horrors The Watchman.
[22] tearful] lovely M. C.
THE FADED FLOWER[70:1]
Ungrateful he, who pluck'd thee from thy stalk,
Poor faded flow'ret! on his careless way;
Inhal'd awhile thy odours on his walk,
Then onward pass'd and left thee to decay.
Ah! melancholy emblem! had I seen 5
Thy modest beauties dew'd with Evening's gem,
I had not rudely cropp'd thy parent stem,
But left thee, blushing, 'mid the enliven'd green
And now I bend me o'er thy wither'd bloom,
[71]And drop the tear—as Fancy, at my side, 10
Deep-sighing, points the fair frail Abra's tomb—
'Like thine, sad Flower, was that poor wanderer's pride!
Oh! lost to Love and Truth, whose selfish joy
Tasted her vernal sweets, but tasted to destroy!'
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
Pale Roamer through the night! thou poor Forlorn!
Remorse that man on his death-bed possess,
Who in the credulous hour of tenderness
Betrayed, then cast thee forth to Want and Scorn!
The world is pitiless: the chaste one's pride 5
Mimic of Virtue scowls on thy distress:
Thy Loves and they that envied thee deride:
And Vice alone will shelter Wretchedness!
O! I could weep to think that there should be
Cold-bosom'd lewd ones, who endure to place 10
Foul offerings on the shrine of Misery,
And force from Famine the caress of Love;
May He shed healing on the sore disgrace,
He, the great Comforter that rules above!
? 1794.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Effusion xv. 1796: Sonnet vii. 1797: Sonnet vi. 1803:
Sonnet ix. 1828, 1829, and 1834: An Unfortunate 1893.
[7] Thy kindred, when they see thee, turn aside 1803.
[9] O I am sad 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829.
[10] Men, born of woman 1803.
[13-14]
Man has no feeling for thy sore Disgrace:
Keen blows the Blast upon the moulting Dove.
1803.
[13] the] thy 1796, 1797, 1828.
DOMESTIC PEACE[71:2]
[FROM 'THE FALL OF ROBESPIERRE', ACT I, L. 210]
Tell me, on what holy ground
May Domestic Peace be found?
Halcyon daughter of the skies,
Far on fearful wings she flies,
From the pomp of Sceptered State, 5
From the Rebel's noisy hate.
In a cottag'd vale She dwells,
Listening to the Sabbath bells!
[72]Still around her steps are seen
Spotless Honour's meeker mien, 10
Love, the sire of pleasing fears,
Sorrow smiling through her tears,
And conscious of the past employ
Memory, bosom-spring of joy.
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Effusion xxv. 1796.
ON A DISCOVERY MADE TOO LATE[72:1]
Thou bleedest, my poor Heart! and thy distress
Reasoning I ponder with a scornful smile
And probe thy sore wound sternly, though the while
Swoln be mine eye and dim with heaviness.
Why didst thou listen to Hope's whisper bland? 5
Or, listening, why forget the healing tale,
When Jealousy with feverous fancies pale
Jarr'd thy fine fibres with a maniac's hand?
Faint was that Hope, and rayless!—Yet 'twas fair
And sooth'd with many a dream the hour of rest: 10
Thou should'st have lov'd it most, when most opprest,
And nurs'd it with an agony of care,
Even as a mother her sweet infant heir
That wan and sickly droops upon her breast!
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Effusion xix. 1796 (in 'Contents' To my Heart): Sonnet II. On
a Discovery made too late 1797, 1803, and again in P. and D. W.,
1877-80: Sonnet xi. 1828, 1829, 1834.
[2-4]
Doth Reason ponder with an anguish'd smile
Probing thy sore wound sternly, tho' the while
Her eye be swollen and dim with heaviness.
Letter, 1794.
[6] the] its Letter, 1794.
[7] feverous] feverish 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829.
[14] wan] pale Letter, 1794.
TO THE AUTHOR OF 'THE ROBBERS'[72:2]
Schiller! that hour I would have wish'd to die,
If thro' the shuddering midnight I had sent
From the dark dungeon of the Tower time-rent
That fearful voice, a famish'd Father's cry—
[73]Lest in some after moment aught more mean 5
Might stamp me mortal! A triumphant shout
Black Horror scream'd, and all her goblin rout
Diminish'd shrunk from the more withering scene!
Ah! Bard tremendous in sublimity!
Could I behold thee in thy loftier mood 10
Wandering at eve with finely-frenzied eye
Beneath some vast old tempest-swinging wood!
Awhile with mute awe gazing I would brood:
Then weep aloud in a wild ecstasy!
? 1794.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Effusion xx. To the Author, &c. [To 'Schiller', Contents]
1796: Sonnet viii. To the Author of 'The Robbers' 1797: Sonnet xv.
1803: Sonnet xii. To the Author of the Robbers 1828, 1829, 1834.
Lines 1-4 are printed in the reverse order (4, 3, 2,
1). Selections.
[5-6]
That in no after moment aught, less vast
Might stamp me human!
Selections.
That in no after moment aught less vast
Might stamp me mortal!
1797, 1803.
[8] From the more with'ring scene diminish'd past.
Selections, 1797, 1803.
A FRAGMENT
Stretch'd on a moulder'd Abbey's broadest wall,
Where ruining ivies propp'd the ruins steep—
Her folded arms wrapping her tatter'd pall,
[73:2]Had Melancholy mus'd herself to sleep.
[74]The fern was press'd beneath her hair, 5
The dark green Adder's Tongue[74:1] was there;
And still as pass'd the flagging sea-gale weak,
The long lank leaf bow'd fluttering o'er her cheek.
That pallid cheek was flush'd: her eager look
Beam'd eloquent in slumber! Inly wrought, 10
Imperfect sounds her moving lips forsook,
And her bent forehead work'd with troubled thought.
Strange was the dream——
? 1794.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
[1] Upon a mouldering Letter, Aug. 26, 1802.
[2] Where ruining] Whose running M. C. propp'd] prop Letter,
Aug. 26, 1802.
[7] pass'd] came Letter, 1802. sea-gale] sea-gales M. C.,
Letter, 1802.
[8] The] Her Letter, 1802.
[9] That] Her Letter, 1802.
[13]
Strange was the dream that fill'd her soul,
Nor did not whisp'ring spirits roll
A mystic tumult, and a fateful rhyme,
Mix'd with wild shapings of the unborn time!
M. C., Sibylline Leaves, 1817.
TO A YOUNG ASS[74:2]
ITS MOTHER BEING TETHERED NEAR IT
Poor little Foal of an oppresséd race!
I love the languid patience of thy face:
And oft with gentle hand I give thee bread,
And clap thy ragged coat, and pat thy head.
But what thy dulled spirits hath dismay'd, 5
That never thou dost sport along the glade?
[75]And (most unlike the nature of things young)
That earthward still thy moveless head is hung?
Do thy prophetic fears anticipate,
Meek Child of Misery! thy future fate? 10
The starving meal, and all the thousand aches
'Which patient Merit of the Unworthy takes'?
Or is thy sad heart thrill'd with filial pain
To see thy wretched mother's shorten'd chain?
And truly, very piteous is her lot— 15
Chain'd to a log within a narrow spot,
Where the close-eaten grass is scarcely seen,
While sweet around her waves the tempting green!
Poor Ass! thy master should have learnt to show
Pity—best taught by fellowship of Woe! 20
For much I fear me that He lives like thee,
Half famish'd in a land of Luxury!
How askingly its footsteps hither bend?
It seems to say, 'And have I then one friend?'
Innocent foal! thou poor despis'd forlorn! 25
I hail thee Brother—spite of the fool's scorn!
And fain would take thee with me, in the Dell
Of Peace and mild Equality to dwell,
Where Toil shall call the charmer Health his bride,
And Laughter tickle Plenty's ribless side! 30
[76]How thou wouldst toss thy heels in gamesome play,
And frisk about, as lamb or kitten gay!
Yea! and more musically sweet to me
Thy dissonant harsh bray of joy would be,
Than warbled melodies that soothe to rest 35
The aching of pale Fashion's vacant breast!
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Monologue to a Young Jack Ass in Jesus Piece. Its mother near it
chained to a log MS. Oct. 24, 1794: Address to a Young Jack-Ass and
its Tether'd mother MS. Dec. 17, 1794: Address, &c. In familiar
verse Morning Chronicle, Dec. 30, 1794: Effusion xxxiii. To a Young
Ass, &c. 1796.
[3] gentle] friendly MS. Dec. 1794, M. C.
[4] pat] scratch MS. Oct. 1794, M. C.
[5] spirits] spirit MSS. Oct. Dec. 1794, M. C.
[6] along] upon MS. Dec. 1794, M. C.
[8] That still to earth thy moping head is hung MSS. Oct. Dec.
1794, M. C.
[9] Doth thy prophetic soul MS. Oct. 1794.
[12] Which] That MSS. Oct. Dec. 1794.
[14] shorten'd] lengthen'd MS. Dec. 1794, M. C.
[16] within] upon MSS. Oct. Dec. 1794, M. C.
[21] For much I fear, that He lives e'en as she, 1796.
[23] footsteps hither bend] steps toward me tend MS. Oct.
1794: steps towards me bend MS. Dec. 1794, M. C.: footsteps t'ward
me bend 1796.
[25] despised and forlorn MS. Oct. 1794.
[27] would] I'd MSS. Oct. Dec. 1794. in] to MS. Oct. 1794.
[28] Of high-soul'd Pantisocracy to dwell MS. Dec. 1794, M.
C.
28 foll.
Where high-soul'd Pantisocracy shall dwell!
Where Mirth shall tickle Plenty's ribless side,[75:A]
And smiles from Beauty's Lip on sunbeams glide,
Where Toil shall wed young Health that charming Lass!
And use his sleek cows for a looking-glass—
Where Rats shall mess with Terriers hand-in-glove
And Mice with Pussy's Whiskers sport in Love
MS. Oct. 1794.
[75:A] This is a truly poetical line of which the author has assured us
that he did not mean it to have any meaning. Note by Ed. of MS.
Oct. 1794.
[35-6]
Than Handel's softest airs that soothe to rest
The tumult of a scoundrel Monarch's Breast.
MS. Oct. 1794.
Than Banti's warbled airs that sooth to rest
The tumult &c.
MS. Dec. 1794.
[36]
The tumult of some Scoundrel Monarch's breast.
M. C. 1796.
LINES ON A FRIEND[76:1]
WHO DIED OF A FRENZY FEVER INDUCED BY CALUMNIOUS REPORTS
Edmund! thy grave with aching eye I scan,
And inly groan for Heaven's poor outcast—Man!
'Tis tempest all or gloom: in early youth
If gifted with th' Ithuriel lance of Truth
We force to start amid her feign'd caress 5
Vice, siren-hag! in native ugliness;
A Brother's fate will haply rouse the tear,
And on we go in heaviness and fear!
But if our fond hearts call to Pleasure's bower
Some pigmy Folly in a careless hour, 10
The faithless guest shall stamp the enchanted ground,
And mingled forms of Misery rise around:
Heart-fretting Fear, with pallid look aghast,
That courts the future woe to hide the past;
Remorse, the poison'd arrow in his side, 15
And loud lewd Mirth, to Anguish close allied:
[77]Till Frenzy, fierce-eyed child of moping Pain,
Darts her hot lightning-flash athwart the brain.
Rest, injur'd shade! Shall Slander squatting near
Spit her cold venom in a dead man's ear? 20
'Twas thine to feel the sympathetic glow
In Merit's joy, and Poverty's meek woe;
Thine all, that cheer the moment as it flies,
The zoneless Cares, and smiling Courtesies.
Nurs'd in thy heart the firmer Virtues grew, 25
And in thy heart they wither'd! Such chill dew
Wan Indolence on each young blossom shed;
And Vanity her filmy net-work spread,
With eye that roll'd around in asking gaze,
And tongue that traffick'd in the trade of praise. 30
Thy follies such! the hard world mark'd them well!
Were they more wise, the Proud who never fell?
Rest, injur'd shade! the poor man's grateful prayer
On heaven-ward wing thy wounded soul shall bear.
As oft at twilight gloom thy grave I pass, 35
And sit me down upon its recent grass,
With introverted eye I contemplate
Similitude of soul, perhaps of—Fate!
To me hath Heaven with bounteous hand assign'd
Energic Reason and a shaping mind, 40
The daring ken of Truth, the Patriot's part,
And Pity's sigh, that breathes the gentle heart—
Sloth-jaundic'd all! and from my graspless hand
Drop Friendship's precious pearls, like hour-glass sand.
I weep, yet stoop not! the faint anguish flows, 45
A dreamy pang in Morning's feverous doze.
Is this piled earth our Being's passless mound?
Tell me, cold grave! is Death with poppies crown'd?
[78]Tired Sentinel! mid fitful starts I nod,
And fain would sleep, though pillowed on a clod! 50
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] On the Death of a Friend who died of a Frenzy Fever brought on by
anxiety MS. E.
[1] ——! thy grave MS. Letter to R. S.: Smerdon! thy grave
MS. Letter to G. C.
[3] early] earliest MS. Letters to R. S. and G. C., MS. E.
[5] We] He MS. Letters to R. S. and G. C., MS. E, MS.
4o, 1796.
[7] will] shall MS. Letters to R. S. and G. C., MS. E.
[8] And on he goes MS. Letters to R. S. and G. C., MS. E,
1796: Onward we move 1803.
[9] his fond heart MS. Letters to R. S. and G. C., MS. E,
1796.
[11] quick stamps MS. Letters to R. S. and G. C., MS. E,
MS. 4o.
[12] threaten round MS. Letters to R. S. and G. C.
[17] fierce-eyed] frantic MS. Letters to R. S. and G. C.,
MS. E erased [See Lamb's Letter to Coleridge, June 10, 1796].
[19] squatting] couching MS Letter to G. C., MS. E [See
Lamb's Letter, June 10, 1796].
[23] cheer] cheers MS. E.
[25] firmer] generous MS. Letters to R. S. and G. C.: manly
MS. E.
[29] roll'd] prowl'd MS. Letters to R. S. and G. C., MS.
E.
[33-4]
the poor man's prayer of praise
On heavenward wing thy wounded soul shall raise.
1796.
[35] As oft in Fancy's thought MS. Letters to R. S. and G.
C.
[39] bounteous] liberal MS. Letters to R. S. and G. C., MS.
E.
[41] ken] soul MS. Letter to R. S.
[46] feverous] feverish all MSS. and Eds. 1796-1829.
[47] this] that MS. Letters to R. S. and G. C., MS. E.
passless] hapless Letter to G. C.
[49] Sentinel] Centinel all MSS. and Eds. 1796-1829. mid]
with Letters to R. S. and G. C.
Below l. 50 the date (November 1794) is affixed in 1796,
1797, and 1803.
[Charles Lamb]
TOGETHER WITH AN UNFINISHED POEM
Thus far my scanty brain hath built the rhyme
Elaborate and swelling: yet the heart
Not owns it. From thy spirit-breathing powers
I ask not now, my friend! the aiding verse,
Tedious to thee, and from thy anxious thought 5
Of dissonant mood. In fancy (well I know)
From business wandering far and local cares,
Thou creepest round a dear-lov'd Sister's bed
With noiseless step, and watchest the faint look,
Soothing each pang with fond solicitude, 10
And tenderest tones medicinal of love.
I too a Sister had, an only Sister—
She lov'd me dearly, and I doted on her!
To her I pour'd forth all my puny sorrows
(As a sick Patient in a Nurse's arms) 15
And of the heart those hidden maladies
That e'en from Friendship's eye will shrink asham'd.
[79]O! I have wak'd at midnight, and have wept,
Because she was not!—Cheerily, dear Charles!
Thou thy best friend shalt cherish many a year: 20
Such warm presages feel I of high Hope.
For not uninterested the dear Maid
I've view'd—her soul affectionate yet wise,
Her polish'd wit as mild as lambent glories
That play around a sainted infant's head. 25
He knows (the Spirit that in secret sees,
Of whose omniscient and all-spreading Love
Aught to implore[79:1] were impotence of mind)
That my mute thoughts are sad before his throne,
Prepar'd, when he his healing ray vouchsafes, 30
Thanksgiving to pour forth with lifted heart,
And praise Him Gracious with a Brother's Joy!
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] To C. Lamb MS. Letter, Dec. 1794: Effusion xxii. To a Friend,
&c. 1796: To Charles Lamb with an unfinished Poem 1844.
[1-3]
Thus far my sterile brain hath fram'd the song
Elaborate and swelling: but the heart
Not owns it. From thy spirit-breathing power
MS. Letter, Dec. 1794.
[7] Not in MS. Letter, Dec. 1794.
Between 13 and 14
On her soft bosom I reposed my cares
And gain'd for every wound a healing tear.
MS. Letter, 1794.
[15] a] his MS. Letter, 1794, 1796, 1797, 1803.
[17] That shrink asham'd from even Friendship's eye. MS.
Letter, 1794, 1796, 1797.
[18] wak'd] woke MS. Letter, 1794, 1796, 1797, 1803.
[21] warm] high: high] warm MS. Letter, 1794. presages]
presagings 1803.
[25] sainted] holy MS. Letter, 1794.
[26] that] who MS. Letter, 1794.
[31] To pour forth thanksgiving MS. Letter, 1794, 1796,
1797, 1803.
SONNETS ON EMINENT CHARACTERS
CONTRIBUTED TO THE 'MORNING CHRONICLE' IN DECEMBER 1794
AND JANUARY 1795
[The Sonnets were introduced by the following letter:—
'Mr. Editor—If, Sir, the following Poems will not disgrace
your poetical department, I will transmit you a series of
Sonnets (as it is the fashion to call them) addressed like
these to eminent Contemporaries.
'Jesus College, Cambridge.'
S. T. C.]
TO THE HONOURABLE MR. ERSKINE
When British Freedom for an happier land
Spread her broad wings, that flutter'd with affright,
Erskine! thy voice she heard, and paus'd her flight
Sublime of hope, for dreadless thou didst stand
[80](Thy censer glowing with the hallow'd flame) 5
A hireless Priest before the insulted shrine,
And at her altar pour the stream divine
Of unmatch'd eloquence. Therefore thy name
Her sons shall venerate, and cheer thy breast
With blessings heaven-ward breath'd. And when the doom 10
Of Nature bids thee die, beyond the tomb
Thy light shall shine: as sunk beneath the West
Though the great Summer Sun eludes our gaze,
Still burns wide Heaven with his distended blaze.[80:A]
December 1, 1794.
FOOTNOTES:
[80:A] 'Our elegant correspondent will highly gratify every reader of
taste by the continuance of his exquisitely beautiful productions. No.
II. shall appear on an early day.'
LINENOTES:
Title] Effusion v. 1796: Sonnet x. 1803: Sonnet iv. 1828, 1829,
1834.
[4] for dreadless] where fearless M. C. Dec. 1, 1794.
[6] A] An M. C., 1796-1803, 1828, 1829. the insulted]
her injur'd M. C.
[7] pour] pour'dst M. C., 1796, 1803.
[8] unmatch'd] matchless M. C.
[10] With heav'n-breath'd blessings; and, when late the doom
M. C.
[13-14]
Though the great Sun not meets our wistful gaze
Still glows wide Heaven
M. C.
Below l. 14 Jesus College Cambridge M. C.
BURKE
As late I lay in Slumber's shadowy vale,
With wetted cheek and in a mourner's guise,
I saw the sainted form of Freedom rise:
She spake! not sadder moans the autumnal gale—
'Great Son of Genius! sweet to me thy name, 5
Ere in an evil hour with alter'd voice
Thou bad'st Oppression's hireling crew rejoice
Blasting with wizard spell my laurell'd fame.
'Yet never, Burke! thou drank'st Corruption's bowl![80:2]
Thee stormy Pity and the cherish'd lure 10
[81]Of Pomp, and proud Precipitance of soul
Wilder'd with meteor fires. Ah Spirit pure!
'That Error's mist had left thy purgéd eye:
So might I clasp thee with a Mother's joy!'
December 9, 1794.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Effusion ii. 1796: Sonnet vii. 1803:
Sonnet ii. 1828, 1829, 1834.
[1] As late I roam'd through Fancy's shadowy vale MS. Letter,
Dec. 11, 1794.
[4] She] He MS. Letter, 1794.
[12] Urg'd on with wild'ring fires MS. Letter, Dec. 17, 1794,
M. C.
Below l. 14 Jesus College M. C.
PRIESTLEY
Though rous'd by that dark Vizir Riot rude
Have driven our Priestley o'er the Ocean swell;
Though Superstition and her wolfish brood
Bay his mild radiance, impotent and fell;
Calm in his halls of brightness he shall dwell! 5
For lo! Religion at his strong behest
Starts with mild anger from the Papal spell,
And flings to Earth her tinsel-glittering vest,
Her mitred State and cumbrous Pomp unholy;
And Justice wakes to bid th' Oppressor wail 10
Insulting aye the wrongs of patient Folly;
And from her dark retreat by Wisdom won
[82]Meek Nature slowly lifts her matron veil
To smile with fondness on her gazing Son!
December 11, 1794.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Effusion iv. 1796: Sonnet ix. 1803:
Sonnet iii. 1828, 1829, 1834.
[1-2]
Tho' king-bred rage with lawless uproar rude
Hath driv'n
M. C.
Tho' king-bred rage with lawless tumult rude
Have driv'n
MS. Letter, Dec. 17, 1794.
[7] Disdainful rouses from the Papal spell, M. C., MS.
Letter, 1794.
[11] That ground th' ensnared soul of patient Folly. M. C.,
MS. Letter, 1794.
LA FAYETTE
As when far off the warbled strains are heard
That soar on Morning's wing the vales among;
Within his cage the imprison'd Matin Bird
Swells the full chorus with a generous song:
He bathes no pinion in the dewy light, 5
No Father's joy, no Lover's bliss he shares,
Yet still the rising radiance cheers his sight—
His fellows' Freedom soothes the Captive's cares!
Thou, Fayette! who didst wake with startling voice
Life's better Sun from that long wintry night, 10
Thus in thy Country's triumphs shalt rejoice
And mock with raptures high the Dungeon's might:
For lo! the Morning struggles into Day,
And Slavery's spectres shriek and vanish from the ray![82:2]
December 15, 1794.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Effusion ix. 1796: Sonnet xiii.
1803: Sonnet vii. 1828, 1829, 1834.
KOSKIUSKO
O what a loud and fearful shriek was there,
As though a thousand souls one death-groan pour'd!
Ah me! they saw beneath a Hireling's sword
Their Koskiusko fall! Through the swart air
[83](As pauses the tir'd Cossac's barbarous yell 5
Of Triumph) on the chill and midnight gale
Rises with frantic burst or sadder swell
The dirge of murder'd Hope! while Freedom pale
Bends in such anguish o'er her destin'd bier,
As if from eldest time some Spirit meek 10
Had gather'd in a mystic urn each tear
That ever on a Patriot's furrow'd cheek
Fit channel found; and she had drain'd the bowl
In the mere wilfulness, and sick despair of soul!
December 16, 1794.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Effusion viii. 1796: Sonnet vi. 1828,
1829, 1834.
[3-4]
Great Kosciusko 'neath an hireling's sword
The warriors view'd! Hark! through the list'ning air
MS. Letter, Dec. 17, 1794.
Great Kosciusko 'neath an Hireling's sword
His country view'd. Hark through the list'ning air
M. C.
Ah me! they view'd beneath an hireling's sword
Fall'n Kosciusko! Thro' the burthened air
1796, 1828, 1829.
[5] As] When M. C., MS. Letter, Dec. 17, 1794.
[8] The 'dirge of Murder'd Hope' MS. Letter, Dec. 17, 1794.
[12] That ever furrow'd a sad Patriot's cheek MS. Letter,
1794, M. C., 1796.
[13-14]
And she had drench'd the sorrows of the bowl
E'en till she reel'd intoxicate of soul
MS. Letter, 1794, M. C.
And she had drain'd the sorrows of the bowl
E'en till she reel'd, &c.
1796.
PITT
Not always should the Tear's ambrosial dew
Roll its soft anguish down thy furrow'd cheek!
Not always heaven-breath'd tones of Suppliance meek
Beseem thee, Mercy! Yon dark Scowler view,
Who with proud words of dear-lov'd Freedom came— 5
More blasting than the mildew from the South!
And kiss'd his country with Iscariot mouth
(Ah! foul apostate from his Father's fame!)[83:2]
Then fix'd her on the Cross of deep distress,
And at safe distance marks the thirsty Lance 10
Pierce her big side! But O! if some strange trance
The eye-lids of thy stern-brow'd Sister[83:3] press,
[84]Seize, Mercy! thou more terrible the brand,
And hurl her thunderbolts with fiercer hand!
December 23, 1794.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Effusion iii. 1796: To Mercy Watchman:
Sonnet viii. 1803: Sonnet iii. 1852.
[8] Staining most foul a Godlike Father's name M. C.,
Watchman.
[13] Seize thou more terrible th' avenging brand M. C.
TO THE REV. W. L. BOWLES[84:2]
[FIRST VERSION, PRINTED IN 'MORNING CHRONICLE',
DECEMBER 26, 1794]
My heart has thank'd thee, Bowles! for those soft strains,
That, on the still air floating, tremblingly
Wak'd in me Fancy, Love, and Sympathy!
For hence, not callous to a Brother's pains
Thro' Youth's gay prime and thornless paths I went; 5
And, when the darker day of life began,
And I did roam, a thought-bewilder'd man!
Thy kindred Lays an healing solace lent,
Each lonely pang with dreamy joys combin'd,
And stole from vain Regret her scorpion stings; 10
While shadowy Pleasure, with mysterious wings,
Brooded the wavy and tumultuous mind,
Like that great Spirit, who with plastic sweep
Mov'd on the darkness of the formless Deep!
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
[3] Wak'd] Woke MS. Letter, Dec.
11, 1794.
[85]
[SECOND VERSION][85:1]
My heart has thank'd thee, Bowles! for those soft strains
Whose sadness soothes me, like the murmuring
Of wild-bees in the sunny showers of spring!
For hence not callous to the mourner's pains
Through Youth's gay prime and thornless paths I went: 5
And when the mightier Throes of mind began,
And drove me forth, a thought-bewilder'd man,
Their mild and manliest melancholy lent
A mingled charm, such as the pang consign'd
To slumber, though the big tear it renew'd; 10
Bidding a strange mysterious Pleasure brood
Over the wavy and tumultuous mind,
As the great Spirit erst with plastic sweep
Mov'd on the darkness of the unform'd deep.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Effusion i. 1796: Sonnet i. 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829,
1834.
[6-7]
And when the darker day of life began
And I did roam, &c.
1796, 1797, 1803.
[9] such as] which oft 1797, 1803.
[13-14]
As made the soul enamour'd of her woe:
No common praise, dear Bard! to thee I owe.
1797, 1803.
MRS. SIDDONS
As when a child on some long Winter's night
Affrighted clinging to its Grandam's knees
With eager wond'ring and perturb'd delight
Listens strange tales of fearful dark decrees
[86]Muttered to wretch by necromantic spell; 5
Or of those hags, who at the witching time
Of murky Midnight ride the air sublime,
And mingle foul embrace with fiends of Hell:
Cold Horror drinks its blood! Anon the tear
More gentle starts, to hear the Beldame tell 10
Of pretty Babes, that lov'd each other dear.
Murder'd by cruel Uncle's mandate fell:
Even such the shiv'ring joys thy tones impart,
Even so thou, Siddons! meltest my sad heart!
December 29, 1794.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Effusion vii. 1796: Sonnet viii.
1797, p. 224: Sonnet xii. 1803.
[4] dark tales of fearful strange decrees M. C.
[6] Of Warlock Hags that M. C.
IX
TO WILLIAM GODWIN[86:1]
AUTHOR OF 'POLITICAL JUSTICE'
O form'd t' illume a sunless world forlorn,
As o'er the chill and dusky brow of Night,
In Finland's wintry skies the Mimic Morn[86:2]
Electric pours a stream of rosy light,
Pleas'd I have mark'd Oppression, terror-pale, 5
Since, thro' the windings of her dark machine,
Thy steady eye has shot its glances keen—
And bade th' All-lovely 'scenes at distance hail'.
Nor will I not thy holy guidance bless,
And hymn thee, Godwin! with an ardent lay; 10
For that thy voice, in Passion's stormy day,
When wild I roam'd the bleak Heath of Distress,
Bade the bright form of Justice meet my way—
And told me that her name was Happiness.
January 10, 1795.
FOOTNOTES:
[87]
TO ROBERT SOUTHEY
OF BALIOL COLLEGE, OXFORD, AUTHOR OF THE 'RETROSPECT',
AND OTHER POEMS
Southey! thy melodies steal o'er mine ear
Like far-off joyance, or the murmuring
Of wild bees in the sunny showers of Spring—
Sounds of such mingled import as may cheer
The lonely breast, yet rouse a mindful tear: 5
Wak'd by the Song doth Hope-born Fancy fling
Rich showers of dewy fragrance from her wing,
Till sickly Passion's drooping Myrtles sear
Blossom anew! But O! more thrill'd, I prize
Thy sadder strains, that bid in Memory's Dream 10
The faded forms of past Delight arise;
Then soft, on Love's pale cheek, the tearful gleam
Of Pleasure smiles—as faint yet beauteous lies
The imag'd Rainbow on a willowy stream.
January 14, 1795.
FOOTNOTES:
TO RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN, ESQ.
It was some Spirit, Sheridan! that breath'd
O'er thy young mind such wildly-various power!
[88]My soul hath mark'd thee in her shaping hour,
Thy temples with Hymettian[88:1] flow'rets wreath'd:
And sweet thy voice, as when o'er Laura's bier 5
Sad Music trembled thro' Vauclusa's glade;
Sweet, as at dawn the love-lorn Serenade
That wafts soft dreams to Slumber's listening ear.
Now patriot Rage and Indignation high
Swell the full tones! And now thine eye-beams dance 10
Meanings of Scorn and Wit's quaint revelry!
Writhes inly from the bosom-probing glance
The Apostate by the brainless rout ador'd,
As erst that elder Fiend beneath great Michael's sword.
January 29, 1795.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] To Sheridan MS. E: Effusion vi. 1796: Sonnet xi. 1803:
Sonnet v. 1828, 1829, 1834.
[1-5]
Some winged Genius, Sheridan! imbreath'd
His various influence on thy natal hour:
My fancy bodies forth the Guardian power,
His temples with Hymettian flowrets wreath'd
And sweet his voice
MS. Letter, Dec. 9, 1794.
[1-2]
Was it some Spirit, Sheridan! that breath'd
His various &c.
M. C.
[1-3]
Some winged Genius, Sheridan! imbreath'd
O'er thy young Soul a wildly-various power!
My Fancy meets thee in her shaping hour
MS. E.
[8] wafts] bears MS. Letter, 1794, M. C., MS. E.
[9] Rage] Zeal MS. Letter, 1794, MS. E, M. C.
[10] thine] his Letter, 1794, M. C.
[12]
While inly writhes from the Soul-probing glance
M. C.
[12-14]
Th' Apostate by the brainless rout ador'd
Writhes inly from the bosom-probing glance
As erst that nobler Fiend
MS. Letter, 1794, MS. E.
[89]
TO LORD STANHOPE[89:1]
ON READING HIS LATE PROTEST IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS
['MORNING CHRONICLE,' JAN. 31, 1795]
Stanhope! I hail, with ardent Hymn, thy name!
Thou shalt be bless'd and lov'd, when in the dust
Thy corse shall moulder—Patriot pure and just!
And o'er thy tomb the grateful hand of Fame
Shall grave:—'Here sleeps the Friend of Humankind!' 5
For thou, untainted by Corruption's bowl,
Or foul Ambition, with undaunted soul
Hast spoke the language of a Free-born mind
Pleading the cause of Nature! Still pursue
Thy path of Honour!—To thy Country true, 10
Still watch th' expiring flame of Liberty!
O Patriot! still pursue thy virtuous way,
As holds his course the splendid Orb of Day,
Or thro' the stormy or the tranquil sky!
One of the People.
1795.
FOOTNOTES:
TO EARL STANHOPE[89:2]
Not, Stanhope! with the Patriot's doubtful name
I mock thy worth—Friend of the Human Race!
Since scorning Faction's low and partial aim
Aloof thou wendest in thy stately pace,
Thyself redeeming from that leprous stain, 5
Nobility: and aye unterrify'd
Pourest thine Abdiel warnings on the train
That sit complotting with rebellious pride
[90]'Gainst Her[90:1] who from the Almighty's bosom leapt
With whirlwind arm, fierce Minister of Love! 10
Wherefore, ere Virtue o'er thy tomb hath wept,
Angels shall lead thee to the Throne above:
And thou from forth its clouds shalt hear the voice,
Champion of Freedom and her God! rejoice!
1795.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Effusion x. 1796 (To Earl Stanhope Contents): Sonnet xvi.
1803: Sonnet ix. 1852.
TO A FRIEND IN ANSWER TO A MELANCHOLY LETTER
Away, those cloudy looks, that labouring sigh,
The peevish offspring of a sickly hour!
Nor meanly thus complain of Fortune's power,
When the blind Gamester throws a luckless die.
Yon setting Sun flashes a mournful gleam 5
Behind those broken clouds, his stormy train:
To-morrow shall the many-colour'd main
In brightness roll beneath his orient beam!
Wild, as the autumnal gust, the hand of Time
Flies o'er his mystic lyre: in shadowy dance 10
The alternate groups of Joy and Grief advance
Responsive to his varying strains sublime!
Bears on its wing each hour a load of Fate;
The swain, who, lull'd by Seine's mild murmurs, led
His weary oxen to their nightly shed, 15
To-day may rule a tempest-troubled State.
Nor shall not Fortune with a vengeful smile
Survey the sanguinary Despot's might,
And haply hurl the Pageant from his height
Unwept to wander in some savage isle. 20
There shiv'ring sad beneath the tempest's frown
Round his tir'd limbs to wrap the purple vest;
And mix'd with nails and beads, an equal jest!
Barter for food, the jewels of his crown.
? 1795.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Epistle II. To a Friend, &c. 1796: To
a Friend, &c. 1803.
[91]
Ah! cease thy tears and sobs, my little Life!
I did but snatch away the unclasp'd knife:
Some safer toy will soon arrest thine eye,
And to quick laughter change this peevish cry!
Poor stumbler on the rocky coast of Woe, 5
Tutor'd by Pain each source of pain to know!
Alike the foodful fruit and scorching fire
Awake thy eager grasp and young desire;
Alike the Good, the Ill offend thy sight,
And rouse the stormy sense of shrill Affright! 10
Untaught, yet wise! mid all thy brief alarms
Thou closely clingest to thy Mother's arms,
Nestling thy little face in that fond breast
Whose anxious heavings lull thee to thy rest!
Man's breathing Miniature! thou mak'st me sigh— 15
A Babe art thou—and such a Thing am I!
To anger rapid and as soon appeas'd,
For trifles mourning and by trifles pleas'd,
Break Friendship's mirror with a tetchy blow,
Yet snatch what coals of fire on Pleasure's altar glow! 20
O thou that rearest with celestial aim
The future Seraph in my mortal frame,
[92]Thrice holy Faith! whatever thorns I meet
As on I totter with unpractis'd feet,
Still let me stretch my arms and cling to thee, 25
Meek nurse of souls through their long Infancy!
1795.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Effusion xxxiv. To an Infant 1796.
[1-10]
How yon sweet Child my Bosom's grief beguiles
With soul-subduing Eloquence of smiles!
Ah lovely Babe! in thee myself I scan—
Thou weepest! sure those Tears proclaim thee Man!
And now some glitt'ring Toy arrests thine eye,
And to quick laughter turns the peevish cry.
Poor Stumbler on the rocky coast of Woe,
Tutor'd by Pain the source of Pain to know!
Alike the foodful Fruit and scorching Fire
Awake thy eager grasp and young desire;
Alike the Good, the Ill thy aching sight
Scare with the keen Emotions of Affright!
MS. E.
[8-11]
Or rouse thy screams, or wake thy young desire:
Yet art thou wise, for mid thy brief alarms
1797.
[14] Whose kindly Heavings lull thy cares to Rest MS. E.
[19] tetchy] fretful 1797.
TO THE REV. W. J. HORT[92:1]
WHILE TEACHING A YOUNG LADY SOME SONG-TUNES
ON HIS FLUTE
I
Hush! ye clamorous Cares! be mute!
Again, dear Harmonist! again
Thro' the hollow of thy flute
Breathe that passion-warbled strain:
Till Memory each form shall bring 5
The loveliest of her shadowy throng;
And Hope, that soars on sky-lark wing,
Carol wild her gladdest song!
II
O skill'd with magic spell to roll
The thrilling tones, that concentrate the soul! 10
Breathe thro' thy flute those tender notes again,
While near thee sits the chaste-eyed Maiden mild;
And bid her raise the Poet's kindred strain
In soft impassion'd voice, correctly wild.
III
In Freedom's undivided dell, 15
Where Toil and Health with mellow'd Love shall dwell,
Far from folly, far from men,
In the rude romantic glen,
Up the cliff, and thro' the glade,
Wandering with the dear-lov'd maid, 20
I shall listen to the lay,
And ponder on thee far away
Still, as she bids those thrilling notes aspire
('Making my fond attuned heart her lyre'),
Thy honour'd form, my Friend! shall reappear, 25
And I will thank thee with a raptur'd tear.
1795.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] To the Rev. W. J. H. while Teaching, &c. 1796, 1863.
[93]
Sweet Mercy! how my very heart has bled
To see thee, poor Old Man! and thy grey hairs
Hoar with the snowy blast: while no one cares
To clothe thy shrivell'd limbs and palsied head.
My Father! throw away this tatter'd vest 5
That mocks thy shivering! take my garment—use
A young man's arm! I'll melt these frozen dews
That hang from thy white beard and numb thy breast.
My Sara too shall tend thee, like a child:
And thou shalt talk, in our fireside's recess, 10
Of purple Pride, that scowls on Wretchedness—
He did not so, the Galilaean mild,
Who met the Lazars turn'd from rich men's doors
And call'd them Friends, and heal'd their noisome sores!
? 1795.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Effusion xvi. 1796 (Contents—To an Old
Man): Sonnet vi. 1797: Sonnet v. 1803: Sonnet x. 1828, 1829,
1834: Charity 1893.
[7] arm] arms 1796, 1828.
[12-14]
He did not scowl, the Galilaean mild,
Who met the Lazar turn'd from rich man's doors,
And call'd him Friend, and wept upon his sores.
1797, 1803.
[13] men's] man's 1796, Selection of Sonnets, 1797,
1803, 1828, 1829.
TO THE NIGHTINGALE[93:2]
Sister of love-lorn Poets, Philomel!
How many Bards in city garret pent,
While at their window they with downward eye
Mark the faint lamp-beam on the kennell'd mud,
And listen to the drowsy cry of Watchmen 5
(Those hoarse unfeather'd Nightingales of Time!),
How many wretched Bards address thy name,
And hers, the full-orb'd Queen that shines above.
But I do hear thee, and the high bough mark,
Within whose mild moon-mellow'd foliage hid 10
Thou warblest sad thy pity-pleading strains.
O! I have listened, till my working soul,
Waked by those strains to thousand phantasies,
Absorb'd hath ceas'd to listen! Therefore oft,
I hymn thy name: and with a proud delight 15
[94]Oft will I tell thee, Minstrel of the Moon!
'Most musical, most melancholy' Bird!
That all thy soft diversities of tone,
Tho' sweeter far than the delicious airs
That vibrate from a white-arm'd Lady's harp, 20
What time the languishment of lonely love
Melts in her eye, and heaves her breast of snow,
Are not so sweet as is the voice of her,
My Sara—best beloved of human kind!
When breathing the pure soul of tenderness, 25
She thrills me with the Husband's promis'd name!
1795.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Effusion xxiii. To the, &c. 1796.
COMPOSED WHILE CLIMBING THE LEFT ASCENT OF BROCKLEY COOMB,
SOMERSETSHIRE, MAY 1795
With many a pause and oft reverted eye
I climb the Coomb's ascent: sweet songsters near
Warble in shade their wild-wood melody:
Far off the unvarying Cuckoo soothes my ear.
Up scour the startling stragglers of the flock 5
That on green plots o'er precipices browze:
From the deep fissures of the naked rock
The Yew-tree bursts! Beneath its dark green boughs
(Mid which the May-thorn blends its blossoms white)
Where broad smooth stones jut out in mossy seats, 10
I rest:—and now have gain'd the topmost site.
Ah! what a luxury of landscape meets
My gaze! Proud towers, and Cots more dear to me,
Elm-shadow'd Fields, and prospect-bounding Sea!
Deep sighs my lonely heart: I drop the tear: 15
Enchanting spot! O were my Sara here!
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Effusion xxi. Composed while climbing the Left Ascent of Brockley
Coomb, in the County of Somerset, May 1795 1796: Sonnet v. Composed,
&c. 1797: Sonnet xiv. Composed, &c. 1803.
[7] deep] forc'd 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829.
LINES IN THE MANNER OF SPENSER[94:2]
O Peace, that on a lilied bank dost love
To rest thine head beneath an Olive-Tree,
I would that from the pinions of thy Dove
[95]One quill withouten pain ypluck'd might be!
For O! I wish my Sara's frowns to flee, 5
And fain to her some soothing song would write,
Lest she resent my rude discourtesy,
Who vow'd to meet her ere the morning light,
But broke my plighted word—ah! false and recreant wight!
Last night as I my weary head did pillow 10
With thoughts of my dissever'd Fair engross'd,
Chill Fancy droop'd wreathing herself with willow,
As though my breast entomb'd a pining ghost.
'From some blest couch, young Rapture's bridal boast,
Rejected Slumber! hither wing thy way; 15
But leave me with the matin hour, at most!
As night-clos'd floweret to the orient ray,
My sad heart will expand, when I the Maid survey.'
But Love, who heard the silence of my thought,
Contriv'd a too successful wile, I ween: 20
And whisper'd to himself, with malice fraught—
'Too long our Slave the Damsel's smiles hath seen:
To-morrow shall he ken her alter'd mien!'
He spake, and ambush'd lay, till on my bed
The morning shot her dewy glances keen, 25
When as I 'gan to lift my drowsy head—
'Now, Bard! I'll work thee woe!' the laughing Elfin said.
Sleep, softly-breathing God! his downy wing
Was fluttering now, as quickly to depart;
When twang'd an arrow from Love's mystic string, 30
With pathless wound it pierc'd him to the heart.
Was there some magic in the Elfin's dart?
Or did he strike my couch with wizard lance?
For straight so fair a Form did upwards start
(No fairer deck'd the bowers of old Romance) 35
That Sleep enamour'd grew, nor mov'd from his sweet trance!
My Sara came, with gentlest look divine;
Bright shone her eye, yet tender was its beam:
I felt the pressure of her lip to mine!
Whispering we went, and Love was all our theme— 40
Love pure and spotless, as at first, I deem,
He sprang from Heaven! Such joys with Sleep did 'bide,
That I the living Image of my Dream
[96]Fondly forgot. Too late I woke, and sigh'd—
'O! how shall I behold my Love at eventide!' 45
1795.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Effusion xxiv. In the, &c. 1796: In the, &c. 1797.
[17] Like snowdrop opening to the solar ray, 1796.
[19] 'heard the silence of my thought' 1797, 1803.
[26] to lift] uplift 1797, 1803.
Below l. 45 July 1795 1797, 1803.
THE HOUR WHEN WE SHALL MEET AGAIN[96:1]
(Composed during Illness, and in Absence.)
Dim Hour! that sleep'st on pillowing clouds afar,
O rise and yoke the Turtles to thy car!
Bend o'er the traces, blame each lingering Dove,
And give me to the bosom of my Love!
My gentle Love, caressing and carest, 5
With heaving heart shall cradle me to rest!
Shed the warm tear-drop from her smiling eyes,
Lull with fond woe, and medicine me with sighs!
While finely-flushing float her kisses meek,
Like melted rubies, o'er my pallid cheek. 10
Chill'd by the night, the drooping Rose of May
Mourns the long absence of the lovely Day;
Young Day returning at her promis'd hour
Weeps o'er the sorrows of her favourite Flower;
Weeps the soft dew, the balmy gale she sighs, 15
And darts a trembling lustre from her eyes.
New life and joy th' expanding flow'ret feels:
His pitying Mistress mourns, and mourning heals!
? 1795.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Darwiniana. The Hour, &c. L. R., 1844: Composed during
illness and absence 1852.
[14] her] the Lit. Rem., 1844, 1852.
WRITTEN AT SHURTON BARS, NEAR BRIDGEWATER, SEPTEMBER
1795, IN ANSWER TO A LETTER FROM BRISTOL
Good verse most good, and bad verse then seems better
Receiv'd from absent friend by way of Letter.
For what so sweet can labour'd lays impart
As one rude rhyme warm from a friendly heart?—Anon.
[97]Nor travels my meandering eye
The starry wilderness on high;
Nor now with curious sight
I mark the glow-worm, as I pass,
Move with 'green radiance'[97:1] through the grass, 5
An emerald of light.
O ever present to my view!
My wafted spirit is with you,
And soothes your boding fears:
I see you all oppressed with gloom 10
Sit lonely in that cheerless room—
Ah me! You are in tears!
Belovéd Woman! did you fly
Chill'd Friendship's dark disliking eye,
Or Mirth's untimely din? 15
With cruel weight these trifles press
A temper sore with tenderness,
When aches the void within.
But why with sable wand unblessed
Should Fancy rouse within my breast 20
Dim-visag'd shapes of Dread?
Untenanting its beauteous clay
My Sara's soul has wing'd its way,
And hovers round my head!
[98]I felt it prompt the tender Dream, 25
When slowly sank the day's last gleam;
You rous'd each gentler sense,
As sighing o'er the Blossom's bloom
Meek Evening wakes its soft perfume
With viewless influence. 30
And hark, my Love! The sea-breeze moans
Through yon reft house! O'er rolling stones
In bold ambitious sweep
The onward-surging tides supply
The silence of the cloudless sky 35
With mimic thunders deep.
Dark reddening from the channell'd Isle[98:1]
(Where stands one solitary pile
Unslated by the blast)
The Watchfire, like a sullen star 40
Twinkles to many a dozing Tar
Rude cradled on the mast.
Even there—beneath that light-house tower—
In the tumultuous evil hour
Ere Peace with Sara came, 45
Time was, I should have thought it sweet
To count the echoings of my feet,
And watch the storm-vex'd flame.
And there in black soul-jaundic'd fit
A sad gloom-pamper'd Man to sit, 50
And listen to the roar:
When mountain surges bellowing deep
With an uncouth monster-leap
Plung'd foaming on the shore.
Then by the lightning's blaze to mark 55
Some toiling tempest-shatter'd bark;
Her vain distress-guns hear;
And when a second sheet of light
Flash'd o'er the blackness of the night—
To see no vessel there! 60
But Fancy now more gaily sings;
Or if awhile she droop her wings,
As skylarks 'mid the corn,
[99]On summer fields she grounds her breast:
The oblivious poppy o'er her nest 65
Nods, till returning morn.
O mark those smiling tears, that swell
The open'd rose! From heaven they fell,
And with the sun-beam blend.
Blest visitations from above, 70
Such are the tender woes of Love
Fostering the heart they bend!
When stormy Midnight howling round
Beats on our roof with clattering sound,
To me your arms you'll stretch: 75
Great God! you'll say—To us so kind,
O shelter from this loud bleak wind
The houseless, friendless wretch!
The tears that tremble down your cheek,
Shall bathe my kisses chaste and meek 80
In Pity's dew divine;
And from your heart the sighs that steal
Shall make your rising bosom feel
The answering swell of mine!
How oft, my Love! with shapings sweet 85
I paint the moment, we shall meet!
With eager speed I dart—
I seize you in the vacant air,
And fancy, with a husband's care
I press you to my heart! 90
'Tis said, in Summer's evening hour
Flashes the golden-colour'd flower
A fair electric flame:[99:1]
[100]And so shall flash my love-charg'd eye
When all the heart's big ecstasy 95
Shoots rapid through the frame!
1795.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Epistle I. Lines written, &c. The motto is printed on the
reverse of the half-title 'Poetical Epistles' [pp. 109, 110]. 1796:
Ode to Sara, written at Shurton Bars, &c. 1797, 1803. The motto
is omitted in 1797, 1803: The motto is prefixed to the poem in
1828, 1829, and 1834. In 1797 and 1803 a note is appended to
the title:—Note. The first stanza alludes to a Passage in the
Letter. [The allusions to a 'Passage in the Letter' must surely be
contained not in the first but in the second and third stanzas. The
reference is, no doubt, to the alienation from Southey, which must have
led to a difference of feeling between the two sisters Sarah and Edith
Fricker.]
[26] sank] sunk 1796-1829.
[33] With broad impetuous 1797, 1803.
[34] fast-encroaching 1797, 1803.
[48] storm-vex'd] troubled 1797, 1803.
[49] black and jaundic'd fit 1797.
THE EOLIAN HARP[100:1]
COMPOSED AT CLEVEDON, SOMERSETSHIRE
My pensive Sara! thy soft cheek reclined
Thus on mine arm, most soothing sweet it is
To sit beside our Cot, our Cot o'ergrown
With white-flower'd Jasmin, and the broad-leav'd Myrtle,
(Meet emblems they of Innocence and Love!) 5
And watch the clouds, that late were rich with light,
Slow saddening round, and mark the star of eve
Serenely brilliant (such should Wisdom be)
Shine opposite! How exquisite the scents
Snatch'd from yon bean-field! and the world so hush'd! 10
The stilly murmur of the distant Sea
Tells us of silence.
And that simplest Lute,
Placed length-ways in the clasping casement, hark!
[101]How by the desultory breeze caress'd,
Like some coy maid half yielding to her lover, 15
It pours such sweet upbraiding, as must needs
Tempt to repeat the wrong! And now, its strings
Boldlier swept, the long sequacious notes
Over delicious surges sink and rise,
Such a soft floating witchery of sound 20
As twilight Elfins make, when they at eve
Voyage on gentle gales from Fairy-Land,
Where Melodies round honey-dropping flowers,
Footless and wild, like birds of Paradise,
Nor pause, nor perch, hovering on untam'd wing! 25
O! the one Life within us and abroad,
Which meets all motion and becomes its soul,
A light in sound, a sound-like power in light,
Rhythm in all thought, and joyance every where—
Methinks, it should have been impossible 30
Not to love all things in a world so fill'd;
Where the breeze warbles, and the mute still air
Is Music slumbering on her instrument.
And thus, my Love! as on the midway slope
Of yonder hill I stretch my limbs at noon, 35
Whilst through my half-closed eye-lids I behold
The sunbeams dance, like diamonds, on the main,
And tranquil muse upon tranquillity;
Full many a thought uncall'd and undetain'd,
And many idle flitting phantasies, 40
[102]Traverse my indolent and passive brain,
As wild and various as the random gales
That swell and flutter on this subject Lute!
And what if all of animated nature
Be but organic Harps diversely fram'd, 45
That tremble into thought, as o'er them sweeps
Plastic and vast, one intellectual breeze,
At once the Soul of each, and God of all?
But thy more serious eye a mild reproof
Darts, O belovéd Woman! nor such thoughts 50
Dim and unhallow'd dost thou not reject,
And biddest me walk humbly with my God.
Meek Daughter in the family of Christ!
Well hast thou said and holily disprais'd
These shapings of the unregenerate mind; 55
Bubbles that glitter as they rise and break
On vain Philosophy's aye-babbling spring.
For never guiltless may I speak of him,
The Incomprehensible! save when with awe
I praise him, and with Faith that inly feels;[102:1] 60
Who with his saving mercies healéd me,
A sinful and most miserable man,
Wilder'd and dark, and gave me to possess
Peace, and this Cot, and thee, heart-honour'd Maid!
1795.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Effusion xxxv. Composed August 20th, 1795, At Clevedon,
Somersetshire 1796. Composed at Clevedon Somersetshire 1797, 1803:
The Eolian Harp. Composed, &c. S. L. 1817, 1828, 1829,
1834.
[11] Hark! the still murmur 1803.
[12] And th' Eolian Lute, 1803.
[16] upbraiding] upbraidings 1796, 1797, 1803, Sibylline
Leaves, 1817.
Lines 21-33 are om. in 1803, and the text reads:
Such a soft floating witchery of sound—
Methinks, it should have been impossible
Not to love all things in a World like this,
Where e'en the Breezes of the simple Air
Possess the power and Spirit of Melody!
And thus, my Love, &c.
26-33 are not in 1796, 1797. In Sibylline Leaves, for
lines 26-33 of the text, four lines are inserted:
Methinks it should have been impossible
Not to love all things in a world like this,
Where even the breezes, and the common air,
Contain the power and spirit of Harmony.
Lines 26-33 were first included in the text in 1828, and
reappeared in 1829 and 1834. They are supplied in the Errata, pp.
[xi, xii], of Sibylline Leaves, with a single variant (l. 33): Is
Music slumbering on its instrument.
[44] And] Or 1796, 1797, 1803.
[64] dear honoured Maid 1893.
TO THE AUTHOR OF POEMS[102:2]
[Joseph Cottle]
PUBLISHED ANONYMOUSLY AT BRISTOL IN SEPTEMBER 1795
Unboastful Bard! whose verse concise yet clear
Tunes to smooth melody unconquer'd sense,
[103]May your fame fadeless live, as 'never-sere'
The Ivy wreathes yon Oak, whose broad defence
Embowers me from Noon's sultry influence! 5
For, like that nameless Rivulet stealing by,
Your modest verse to musing Quiet dear
Is rich with tints heaven-borrow'd: the charm'd eye
Shall gaze undazzled there, and love the soften'd sky.
Circling the base of the Poetic mount 10
A stream there is, which rolls in lazy flow
Its coal-black waters from Oblivion's fount:
The vapour-poison'd Birds, that fly too low,
Fall with dead swoop, and to the bottom go.
Escaped that heavy stream on pinion fleet 15
Beneath the Mountain's lofty-frowning brow,
Ere aught of perilous ascent you meet,
A mead of mildest charm delays th' unlabouring feet.
Not there the cloud-climb'd rock, sublime and vast,
That like some giant king, o'er-glooms the hill; 20
Nor there the Pine-grove to the midnight blast
Makes solemn music! But th' unceasing rill
To the soft Wren or Lark's descending trill
Murmurs sweet undersong 'mid jasmin bowers.
In this same pleasant meadow, at your will 25
I ween, you wander'd—there collecting flowers
Of sober tint, and herbs of med'cinable powers!
There for the monarch-murder'd Soldier's tomb
You wove th' unfinish'd[103:1] wreath of saddest hues;
And to that holier[103:2] chaplet added bloom 30
Besprinkling it with Jordan's cleansing dews.
But lo your Henderson[103:3] awakes the Muse——
His Spirit beckon'd from the mountain's height!
You left the plain and soar'd mid richer views!
[104]So Nature mourn'd when sunk the First Day's light, 35
With stars, unseen before, spangling her robe of night!
Still soar, my Friend, those richer views among,
Strong, rapid, fervent, flashing Fancy's beam!
Virtue and Truth shall love your gentler song;
But Poesy demands th' impassion'd theme: 40
Waked by Heaven's silent dews at Eve's mild gleam
What balmy sweets Pomona breathes around!
But if the vext air rush a stormy stream
Or Autumn's shrill gust moan in plaintive sound,
With fruits and flowers she loads the tempest-honor'd ground.
1795.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Epistle iv. To the Author, &c. 1796: Lines to Joseph Cottle
1797: To the Author, &c., with footnote, 'Mr. Joseph Cottle'
1803.
[1] Unboastful Bard] My honor'd friend 1797.
THE SILVER THIMBLE[104:1]
THE PRODUCTION OF A YOUNG LADY, ADDRESSED TO THE
AUTHOR OF THE POEMS ALLUDED TO IN THE PRECEDING EPISTLE
She had lost her Silver Thimble, and her complaint being
accidentally overheard by him, her Friend, he immediately sent
her four others to take her choice of.
As oft mine eye with careless glance
Has gallop'd thro' some old romance,
Of speaking Birds and Steeds with wings,
Giants and Dwarfs, and Fiends and Kings;
Beyond the rest with more attentive care 5
I've lov'd to read of elfin-favour'd Fair——
How if she long'd for aught beneath the sky
And suffer'd to escape one votive sigh,
Wafted along on viewless pinions aery
It laid itself obsequious at her feet: 10
Such things, I thought, one might not hope to meet
Save in the dear delicious land of Faery!
But now (by proof I know it well)
There's still some peril in free wishing——
Politeness is a licensed spell, 15
And you, dear Sir! the Arch-magician.
[105]You much perplex'd me by the various set:
They were indeed an elegant quartette!
My mind went to and fro, and waver'd long;
At length I've chosen (Samuel thinks me wrong) 20
That, around whose azure rim
Silver figures seem to swim,
Like fleece-white clouds, that on the skiey Blue,
Waked by no breeze, the self-same shapes retain;
Or ocean-Nymphs with limbs of snowy hue 25
Slow-floating o'er the calm cerulean plain.
Just such a one, mon cher ami,
(The finger shield of industry)
Th' inventive Gods, I deem, to Pallas gave
What time the vain Arachne, madly brave, 30
Challeng'd the blue-eyed Virgin of the sky
A duel in embroider'd work to try.
And hence the thimbled Finger of grave Pallas
To th' erring Needle's point was more than callous.
But ah the poor Arachne! She unarm'd 35
Blundering thro' hasty eagerness, alarm'd
With all a Rival's hopes, a Mortal's fears,
Still miss'd the stitch, and stain'd the web with tears.
Unnumber'd punctures small yet sore
Full fretfully the maiden bore, 40
Till she her lily finger found
Crimson'd with many a tiny wound;
And to her eyes, suffus'd with watery woe,
Her flower-embroider'd web danc'd dim, I wist,
Like blossom'd shrubs in a quick-moving mist: 45
Till vanquish'd the despairing Maid sunk low.
O Bard! whom sure no common Muse inspires,
I heard your Verse that glows with vestal fires!
And I from unwatch'd needle's erring point
Had surely suffer'd on each finger-joint 50
Those wounds, which erst did poor Arachne meet;
While he, the much-lov'd Object of my choice
(My bosom thrilling with enthusiast heat),
Pour'd on mine ear with deep impressive voice,
How the great Prophet of the Desart stood 55
And preach'd of Penitence by Jordan's Flood;
On War; or else the legendary lays
In simplest measures hymn'd to Alla's praise;
[106]Or what the Bard from his heart's inmost stores
O'er his Friend's grave in loftier numbers pours: 60
Yes, Bard polite! you but obey'd the laws
Of Justice, when the thimble you had sent;
What wounds your thought-bewildering Muse might cause
'Tis well your finger-shielding gifts prevent.
Sara.
1795.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Epistle v. The Production of a Young Lady, &c. 1796: From a
Young Lady Appendix, 1863.
REFLECTIONS ON HAVING LEFT A PLACE OF RETIREMENT[106:1]
Sermoni propriora.—Hor.
Low was our pretty Cot: our tallest Rose
Peep'd at the chamber-window. We could hear
At silent noon, and eve, and early morn,
The Sea's faint murmur. In the open air
Our Myrtles blossom'd; and across the porch 5
Thick Jasmins twined: the little landscape round
Was green and woody, and refresh'd the eye.
It was a spot which you might aptly call
The Valley of Seclusion! Once I saw
(Hallowing his Sabbath-day by quietness) 10
A wealthy son of Commerce saunter by,
Bristowa's citizen: methought, it calm'd
His thirst of idle gold, and made him muse
With wiser feelings: for he paus'd, and look'd
With a pleas'd sadness, and gaz'd all around, 15
Then eyed our Cottage, and gaz'd round again,
And sigh'd, and said, it was a Blesséd Place.
And we were bless'd. Oft with patient ear
Long-listening to the viewless sky-lark's note
(Viewless, or haply for a moment seen 20
Gleaming on sunny wings) in whisper'd tones
[107]I've said to my Belovéd, 'Such, sweet Girl!
The inobtrusive song of Happiness,
Unearthly minstrelsy! then only heard
When the Soul seeks to hear; when all is hush'd, 25
And the Heart listens!'
But the time, when first
From that low Dell, steep up the stony Mount
I climb'd with perilous toil and reach'd the top,
Oh! what a goodly scene! Here the bleak mount,
The bare bleak mountain speckled thin with sheep; 30
Grey clouds, that shadowing spot the sunny fields;
And river, now with bushy rocks o'er-brow'd,
Now winding bright and full, with naked banks;
And seats, and lawns, the Abbey and the wood,
And cots, and hamlets, and faint city-spire; 35
The Channel there, the Islands and white sails,
Dim coasts, and cloud-like hills, and shoreless Ocean—
It seem'd like Omnipresence! God, methought,
Had built him there a Temple: the whole World
Seem'd imag'd in its vast circumference: 40
No wish profan'd my overwhelméd heart.
Blest hour! It was a luxury,—to be!
Ah! quiet Dell! dear Cot, and Mount sublime!
I was constrain'd to quit you. Was it right,
While my unnumber'd brethren toil'd and bled, 45
That I should dream away the entrusted hours
On rose-leaf beds, pampering the coward heart
With feelings all too delicate for use?
Sweet is the tear that from some Howard's eye
Drops on the cheek of one he lifts from earth: 50
And he that works me good with unmov'd face,
Does it but half: he chills me while he aids,
My benefactor, not my brother man!
Yet even this, this cold beneficence
Praise, praise it, O my Soul! oft as thou scann'st 55
The sluggard Pity's vision-weaving tribe!
Who sigh for Wretchedness, yet shun the Wretched,
Nursing in some delicious solitude
Their slothful loves and dainty sympathies!
[108]I therefore go, and join head, heart, and hand, 60
Active and firm, to fight the bloodless fight
Of Science, Freedom, and the Truth in Christ.
Yet oft when after honourable toil
Bests the tir'd mind, and waking loves to dream,
My spirit shall revisit thee, dear Cot! 65
Thy Jasmin and thy window-peeping Rose,
And Myrtles fearless of the mild sea-air.
And I shall sigh fond wishes—sweet Abode!
Ah!—had none greater! And that all had such!
It might be so—but the time is not yet. 70
Speed it, O Father! Let thy Kingdom come!
1795.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Reflections on entering into active life. A Poem which affects
not to be Poetry M. Mag. The motto was prefixed in 1797.
[12-17]
Bristowa's citizen—he paus'd and look'd
With a pleased sadness and gaz'd all around,
Then eye'd our cottage and gaz'd round again,
And said it was a blessed little place.
Monthly Magazine.
[17]
And sigh'd, and said, it was a blessed place.
1797, 1803.
[21] wings] wing M. M., 1797, 1803, S. L.
[21-3]
Gleaming on sunny wing,) 'And such,' I said,
'The inobtrusive song
1803.
[46] entrusted] trusted M. M., 1797.
[55] Seizes my Praise, when I reflect on those 1797, 1803,
Sibylline Leaves, 1817 (line as in text supplied in Errata).
[69] none] none M. M. all] all M. M.
RELIGIOUS MUSINGS[108:1]
A DESULTORY POEM, WRITTEN ON THE CHRISTMAS EVE OF 1794
This is the time, when most divine to hear,
The voice of Adoration rouses me,
[109]As with a Cherub's trump: and high upborne,
Yea, mingling with the Choir, I seem to view
The vision of the heavenly multitude, 5
Who hymned the song of Peace o'er Bethlehem's fields!
Yet thou more bright than all the Angel-blaze,
That harbingered thy birth, Thou Man of Woes!
Despiséd Galilaean! For the Great
Invisible (by symbols only seen) 10
With a peculiar and surpassing light
Shines from the visage of the oppressed good man,
When heedless of himself the scourgéd saint
Mourns for the oppressor. Fair the vernal mead,
Fair the high grove, the sea, the sun, the stars; 15
True impress each of their creating Sire!
Yet nor high grove, nor many-colour'd mead,
Nor the green ocean with his thousand isles,
[110]Nor the starred azure, nor the sovran sun,
E'er with such majesty of portraiture 20
Imaged the supreme beauty uncreate,
As thou, meek Saviour! at the fearful hour
When thy insulted anguish winged the prayer
Harped by Archangels, when they sing of mercy!
Which when the Almighty heard from forth his throne 25
Diviner light filled Heaven with ecstasy!
Heaven's hymnings paused: and Hell her yawning mouth
Closed a brief moment.
Lovely was the death
Of Him whose life was Love! Holy with power
He on the thought-benighted Sceptic beamed 30
Manifest Godhead, melting into day
What floating mists of dark idolatry
Broke and misshaped the omnipresent Sire:[110:1]
And first by Fear uncharmed the drowséd Soul.
Till of its nobler nature it 'gan feel 35
Dim recollections; and thence soared to Hope,
Strong to believe whate'er of mystic good
The Eternal dooms for His immortal sons.
From Hope and firmer Faith to perfect Love
Attracted and absorbed: and centered there 40
God only to behold, and know, and feel,
Till by exclusive consciousness of God
All self-annihilated it shall make[110:2]
[111]God its Identity: God all in all!
We and our Father one!
And blest are they, 45
Who in this fleshly World, the elect of Heaven,
Their strong eye darting through the deeds of men,
Adore with steadfast unpresuming gaze
Him Nature's essence, mind, and energy!
And gazing, trembling, patiently ascend 50
Treading beneath their feet all visible things
As steps, that upward to their Father's throne
Lead gradual—else nor glorified nor loved.
They nor contempt embosom nor revenge:
For they dare know of what may seem deform 55
The Supreme Fair sole operant: in whose sight
All things are pure, his strong controlling love
Alike from all educing perfect good.
Their's too celestial courage, inly armed—
Dwarfing Earth's giant brood, what time they muse 60
On their great Father, great beyond compare!
And marching onwards view high o'er their heads
His waving banners of Omnipotence.
Who the Creator love, created Might
Dread not: within their tents no Terrors walk. 65
For they are holy things before the Lord
Aye unprofaned, though Earth should league with Hell;
God's altar grasping with an eager hand
Fear, the wild-visag'd, pale, eye-starting wretch,
Sure-refug'd hears his hot pursuing fiends 70
[112]Yell at vain distance. Soon refresh'd from Heaven
He calms the throb and tempest of his heart.
His countenance settles; a soft solemn bliss
Swims in his eye—his swimming eye uprais'd:
And Faith's whole armour glitters on his limbs! 75
And thus transfigured with a dreadless awe,
A solemn hush of soul, meek he beholds
All things of terrible seeming: yea, unmoved
Views e'en the immitigable ministers
That shower down vengeance on these latter days. 80
For kindling with intenser Deity
From the celestial Mercy-seat they come,
And at the renovating wells of Love
Have fill'd their vials with salutary wrath,[112:1]
To sickly Nature more medicinal 85
Than what soft balm the weeping good man pours
Into the lone despoiléd traveller's wounds!
Thus from the Elect, regenerate through faith,
Pass the dark Passions and what thirsty cares[112:2]
[113]Drink up the spirit, and the dim regards 90
Self-centre. Lo they vanish! or acquire
New names, new features—by supernal grace
Enrobed with Light, and naturalised in Heaven.
As when a shepherd on a vernal morn
Through some thick fog creeps timorous with slow foot, 95
Darkling he fixes on the immediate road
His downward eye: all else of fairest kind
Hid or deformed. But lo! the bursting Sun!
Touched by the enchantment of that sudden beam
Straight the black vapour melteth, and in globes 100
Of dewy glitter gems each plant and tree;
On every leaf, on every blade it hangs!
Dance glad the new-born intermingling rays,
And wide around the landscape streams with glory!
There is one Mind, one omnipresent Mind, 105
Omnific. His most holy name is Love.
Truth of subliming import! with the which
Who feeds and saturates his constant soul,
He from his small particular orbit flies
With blest outstarting! From himself he flies, 110
Stands in the sun, and with no partial gaze
Views all creation; and he loves it all,
And blesses it, and calls it very good!
This is indeed to dwell with the Most High!
Cherubs and rapture-trembling Seraphim 115
Can press no nearer to the Almighty's throne.
But that we roam unconscious, or with hearts
Unfeeling of our universal Sire,
And that in His vast family no Cain
Injures uninjured (in her best-aimed blow 120
Victorious Murder a blind Suicide)
Haply for this some younger Angel now
Looks down on Human Nature: and, behold!
A sea of blood bestrewed with wrecks, where mad
Embattling Interests on each other rush 125
With unhelmed rage!
'Tis the sublime of man,
Our noontide Majesty, to know ourselves
[114]Parts and proportions of one wondrous whole!
This fraternises man, this constitutes
Our charities and bearings. But 'tis God 130
Diffused through all, that doth make all one whole;
This the worst superstition, him except
Aught to desire, Supreme Reality![114:1]
The plenitude and permanence of bliss!
O Fiends of Superstition! not that oft 135
The erring Priest hath stained with brother's blood
Your grisly idols, not for this may wrath
Thunder against you from the Holy One!
But o'er some plain that steameth to the sun,
Peopled with Death; or where more hideous Trade 140
Loud-laughing packs his bales of human anguish;
I will raise up a mourning, O ye Fiends!
And curse your spells, that film the eye of Faith,
Hiding the present God; whose presence lost,
The moral world's cohesion, we become 145
An Anarchy of Spirits! Toy-bewitched,
Made blind by lusts, disherited of soul,
No common centre Man, no common sire
Knoweth! A sordid solitary thing,
Mid countless brethren with a lonely heart 150
Through courts and cities the smooth savage roams
Feeling himself, his own low self the whole;
[115]When he by sacred sympathy might make
The whole one Self! Self, that no alien knows!
Self, far diffused as Fancy's wing can travel! 155
Self, spreading still! Oblivious of its own,
Yet all of all possessing! This is Faith!
This the Messiah's destined victory!
But first offences needs must come! Even now[115:1]
(Black Hell laughs horrible—to hear the scoff!) 160
Thee to defend, meek Galilaean! Thee
And thy mild laws of Love unutterable,
Mistrust and Enmity have burst the bands
Of social peace: and listening Treachery lurks
With pious fraud to snare a brother's life; 165
And childless widows o'er the groaning land
Wail numberless; and orphans weep for bread!
Thee to defend, dear Saviour of Mankind!
Thee, Lamb of God! Thee, blameless Prince of Peace!
From all sides rush the thirsty brood of War!— 170
Austria, and that foul Woman of the North,
The lustful murderess of her wedded lord!
And he, connatural Mind![115:2] whom (in their songs
So bards of elder time had haply feigned)
Some Fury fondled in her hate to man, 175
Bidding her serpent hair in mazy surge
Lick his young face, and at his mouth imbreathe
[116]Horrible sympathy! And leagued with these
Each petty German princeling, nursed in gore!
Soul-hardened barterers of human blood![116:1] 180
Death's prime slave-merchants! Scorpion-whips of Fate!
Nor least in savagery of holy zeal,
Apt for the yoke, the race degenerate,
Whom Britain erst had blushed to call her sons!
Thee to defend the Moloch Priest prefers 185
The prayer of hate, and bellows to the herd,
That Deity, Accomplice Deity
In the fierce jealousy of wakened wrath
Will go forth with our armies and our fleets
To scatter the red ruin on their foes! 190
O blasphemy! to mingle fiendish deeds
With blessedness!
Lord of unsleeping Love,[116:2]
From everlasting Thou! We shall not die.
These, even these, in mercy didst thou form,
Teachers of Good through Evil, by brief wrong 195
Making Truth lovely, and her future might
Magnetic o'er the fixed untrembling heart.
In the primeval age a dateless while
The vacant Shepherd wander'd with his flock,
Pitching his tent where'er the green grass waved. 200
But soon Imagination conjured up
An host of new desires: with busy aim,
Each for himself, Earth's eager children toiled.
So Property began, twy-streaming fount,
[117]Whence Vice and Virtue flow, honey and gall. 205
Hence the soft couch, and many-coloured robe,
The timbrel, and arched dome and costly feast,
With all the inventive arts, that nursed the soul
To forms of beauty, and by sensual wants
Unsensualised the mind, which in the means 210
Learnt to forget the grossness of the end,
Best pleasured with its own activity.
And hence Disease that withers manhood's arm,
The daggered Envy, spirit-quenching Want,
Warriors, and Lords, and Priests—all the sore ills[117:1] 215
That vex and desolate our mortal life.
Wide-wasting ills! yet each the immediate source
Of mightier good. Their keen necessities
To ceaseless action goading human thought
Have made Earth's reasoning animal her Lord; 220
And the pale-featured Sage's trembling hand
Strong as an host of arméd Deities,
Such as the blind Ionian fabled erst.
From Avarice thus, from Luxury and War
Sprang heavenly Science; and from Science Freedom. 225
O'er waken'd realms Philosophers and Bards
Spread in concentric circles: they whose souls,
Conscious of their high dignities from God,
Brook not Wealth's rivalry! and they, who long
Enamoured with the charms of order, hate 230
The unseemly disproportion: and whoe'er
[118]Turn with mild sorrow from the Victor's car
And the low puppetry of thrones, to muse
On that blest triumph, when the Patriot Sage[118:1]
Called the red lightnings from the o'er-rushing cloud 235
And dashed the beauteous terrors on the earth
Smiling majestic. Such a phalanx ne'er
Measured firm paces to the calming sound
Of Spartan flute! These on the fated day,
When, stung to rage by Pity, eloquent men 240
Have roused with pealing voice the unnumbered tribes
That toil and groan and bleed, hungry and blind—
These, hush'd awhile with patient eye serene,
Shall watch the mad careering of the storm;
Then o'er the wild and wavy chaos rush 245
And tame the outrageous mass, with plastic might
Moulding Confusion to such perfect forms,
As erst were wont,—bright visions of the day!—
To float before them, when, the summer noon,
Beneath some arched romantic rock reclined 250
They felt the sea-breeze lift their youthful locks;
Or in the month of blossoms, at mild eve,
Wandering with desultory feet inhaled
The wafted perfumes, and the flocks and woods
And many-tinted streams and setting sun 255
With all his gorgeous company of clouds
Ecstatic gazed! then homeward as they strayed
Cast the sad eye to earth, and inly mused
Why there was misery in a world so fair.
Ah! far removed from all that glads the sense, 260
From all that softens or ennobles Man,
The wretched Many! Bent beneath their loads
They gape at pageant Power, nor recognise
Their cots' transmuted plunder! From the tree
Of Knowledge, ere the vernal sap had risen 265
Rudely disbranchéd! Blessed Society!
Fitliest depictured by some sun-scorched waste,
Where oft majestic through the tainted noon
[119]The Simoom sails, before whose purple pomp[119:1]
Who falls not prostrate dies! And where by night, 270
Fast by each precious fountain on green herbs
The lion couches: or hyaena dips
Deep in the lucid stream his bloody jaws;
Or serpent plants his vast moon-glittering bulk,
Caught in whose monstrous twine Behemoth[119:2] yells, 275
His bones loud-crashing!
O ye numberless,
Whom foul Oppression's ruffian gluttony
Drives from Life's plenteous feast! O thou poor Wretch
Who nursed in darkness and made wild by want,
Roamest for prey, yea thy unnatural hand 280
Dost lift to deeds of blood! O pale-eyed form,
The victim of seduction, doomed to know
Polluted nights and days of blasphemy;
Who in loathed orgies with lewd wassailers
Must gaily laugh, while thy remembered Home 285
Gnaws like a viper at thy secret heart!
O agéd Women! ye who weekly catch
The morsel tossed by law-forced charity,
[120]And die so slowly, that none call it murder!
O loathly suppliants! ye, that unreceived 290
Totter heart-broken from the closing gates
Of the full Lazar-house; or, gazing, stand,
Sick with despair! O ye to Glory's field
Forced or ensnared, who, as ye gasp in death,
Bleed with new wounds beneath the vulture's beak! 295
O thou poor widow, who in dreams dost view
Thy husband's mangled corse, and from short doze
Start'st with a shriek; or in thy half-thatched cot
Waked by the wintry night-storm, wet and cold
Cow'rst o'er thy screaming baby! Rest awhile 300
Children of Wretchedness! More groans must rise,
More blood must stream, or ere your wrongs be full.
Yet is the day of Retribution nigh:
The Lamb of God hath opened the fifth seal:[120:1]
And upward rush on swiftest wing of fire 305
The innumerable multitude of wrongs
By man on man inflicted! Rest awhile,
Children of Wretchedness! The hour is nigh
[121]And lo! the Great, the Rich, the Mighty Men,
The Kings and the Chief Captains of the World, 310
With all that fixed on high like stars of Heaven
Shot baleful influence, shall be cast to earth,
Vile and down-trodden, as the untimely fruit
Shook from the fig-tree by a sudden storm.
Even now the storm begins:[121:1] each gentle name, 315
Faith and meek Piety, with fearful joy
Tremble far-off—for lo! the Giant Frenzy
Uprooting empires with his whirlwind arm
Mocketh high Heaven; burst hideous from the cell
Where the old Hag, unconquerable, huge, 320
Creation's eyeless drudge, black Ruin, sits
Nursing the impatient earthquake.
O return!
Pure Faith! meek Piety! The abhorréd Form[121:2]
Whose scarlet robe was stiff with earthly pomp,
Who drank iniquity in cups of gold, 325
Whose names were many and all blasphemous,
Hath met the horrible judgment! Whence that cry?
The mighty army of foul Spirits shrieked
Disherited of earth! For she hath fallen
On whose black front was written Mystery; 330
She that reeled heavily, whose wine was blood;
She that worked whoredom with the Daemon Power,
And from the dark embrace all evil things
Brought forth and nurtured: mitred Atheism!
And patient Folly who on bended knee 335
Gives back the steel that stabbed him; and pale Fear
Haunted by ghastlier shapings than surround
Moon-blasted Madness when he yells at midnight!
Return pure Faith! return meek Piety!
[122]The kingdoms of the world are your's: each heart 340
Self-governed, the vast family of Love
Raised from the common earth by common toil
Enjoy the equal produce. Such delights
As float to earth, permitted visitants!
When in some hour of solemn jubilee 345
The massy gates of Paradise are thrown
Wide open, and forth come in fragments wild
Sweet echoes of unearthly melodies,
And odours snatched from beds of Amaranth,
And they, that from the crystal river of life 350
Spring up on freshened wing, ambrosial gales!
The favoured good man in his lonely walk
Perceives them, and his silent spirit drinks
Strange bliss which he shall recognise in heaven.
And such delights, such strange beatitudes 355
Seize on my young anticipating heart
When that blest future rushes on my view!
For in his own and in his Father's might
The Saviour comes! While as the Thousand Years[122:1]
Lead up their mystic dance, the Desert shouts! 360
Old Ocean claps his hands! The mighty Dead
Rise to new life, whoe'er from earliest time
With conscious zeal had urged Love's wondrous plan,
Coadjutors of God. To Milton's trump
[123]The high groves of the renovated Earth 365
Unbosom their glad echoes: inly hushed,
Adoring Newton his serener eye
Raises to heaven: and he of mortal kind
Wisest, he[123:1] first who marked the ideal tribes
Up the fine fibres through the sentient brain. 370
Lo! Priestley there, patriot, and saint, and sage,
Him, full of years, from his loved native land
Statesmen blood-stained and priests idolatrous
By dark lies maddening the blind multitude
Drove with vain hate. Calm, pitying he retired, 375
And mused expectant on these promised years.
O Years! the blest pre-eminence of Saints!
Ye sweep athwart my gaze, so heavenly bright,
The wings that veil the adoring Seraphs' eyes,
What time they bend before the Jasper Throne[123:2] 380
Reflect no lovelier hues! Yet ye depart,
And all beyond is darkness! Heights most strange,
Whence Fancy falls, fluttering her idle wing.
For who of woman born may paint the hour,
When seized in his mid course, the Sun shall wane 385
[124]Making noon ghastly! Who of woman born
May image in the workings of his thought,
How the black-visaged, red-eyed Fiend outstretched[124:1]
Beneath the unsteady feet of Nature groans,
In feverous slumbers—destined then to wake, 390
When fiery whirlwinds thunder his dread name
And Angels shout, Destruction! How his arm
The last great Spirit lifting high in air
Shall swear by Him, the ever-living One,
Time is no more!
Believe thou, O my soul,[124:2] 395
Life is a vision shadowy of Truth;
And vice, and anguish, and the wormy grave,
Shapes of a dream! The veiling clouds retire,
And lo! the Throne of the redeeming God
Forth flashing unimaginable day 400
Wraps in one blaze earth, heaven, and deepest hell.
Contemplant Spirits! ye that hover o'er
With untired gaze the immeasurable fount
Ebullient with creative Deity!
And ye of plastic power, that interfused 405
Roll through the grosser and material mass
In organizing surge! Holies of God!
(And what if Monads of the infinite mind?)
I haply journeying my immortal course
Shall sometime join your mystic choir! Till then 410
I discipline my young and novice thought
In ministeries of heart-stirring song,
And aye on Meditation's heaven-ward wing
Soaring aloft I breathe the empyreal air
Of Love, omnific, omnipresent Love, 415
[125]Whose day-spring rises glorious in my soul
As the great Sun, when he his influence
Sheds on the frost-bound waters—The glad stream
Flows to the ray and warbles as it flows.
1794-1796.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] —— on Christmas Eve. In the year of Our Lord, 1794.
[1-23]
This is the time, when most divine to hear,
As with a Cherub's 'loud uplifted' trump
The voice of Adoration my thrill'd heart
Rouses! And with the rushing noise of wings
Transports my spirit to the favor'd fields 5
Of Bethlehem, there in shepherd's guise to sit
Sublime of extacy, and mark entranc'd
The glory-streaming Vision throng the night.[109:A]
Ah not more radiant, nor loud harmonies
Hymning more unimaginably sweet 10
With choral songs around th' Eternal Mind,
The constellated company of Worlds
Danc'd jubilant: what time the startling East
Saw from her dark womb leap her flamy child!
Glory to God in the Highest! Peace on Earth! 15
Yet thou more bright than all that Angel Blaze,
Despiséd Galilaean! Man of Woes!
For chiefly in the oppressed Good Man's face
The Great Invisible (by symbols seen)
Shines with peculiar and concentred light, 20
When all of Self regardless the scourg'd Saint
Mourns for th' oppressor. O thou meekest Man! 25
Meek Man and lowliest of the Sons of Men!
Who thee beheld thy imag'd Father saw.[109:B]
His Power and Wisdom from thy awful eye
Blended their beams, and loftier Love sat there
Musing on human weal, and that dread hour 30
When thy insulted, &c.
1796.
[109:A] And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly
Host, praising God and saying glory to God in the highest and on earth
peace. Luke ii. 13 1796.
[109:B] Philip saith unto him, Lord! shew us the Father and it sufficeth
us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet
hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the
Father. John xiv. 9 1796.
[7] Angel-blaze] Angel-Host 1803.
[26]
Diviner light flash'd extacy o'er Heaven!
1796.
[32-4]
What mists dim-floating of Idolatry
Split and mishap'd the Omnipresent Sire:
And first by Terror, Mercy's startling prelude,
Uncharm'd the Spirit spell-bound with earthy lusts.
1796.
[39]
From Hope and stronger Faith to perfect Love
1796.
[54] embosom] imbosom 1796, 1797, 1803.
[64-71]
They cannot dread created might, who love
God the Creator! fair and lofty thought!
It lifts and swells my heart! and as I muse,
Behold a Vision gathers in my soul,
Voices and shadowy shapes! In human guise
I seem to see the phantom, Fear, pass by,
Hotly-pursued, and pale! From rock to rock
He bounds with bleeding feet, and thro' the swamp,
The quicksand and the groaning wilderness,
Struggles with feebler and yet feebler flight.
But lo! an altar in the wilderness,
And eagerly yet feebly lo! he grasps
The altar of the living God! and there
With wan reverted face the trembling wretch
All wildly list'ning to his Hunter-fiends
Stands, till the last faint echo of their yell
Dies in the distance. Soon refresh'd from Heaven &c.
1803.
[74-7]
Swims in his eyes: his swimming eyes uprais'd:
And Faith's whole armour girds his limbs! And thus
Transfigur'd, with a meek and dreadless awe,
A solemn hush of spirit he beholds
1803.
[78-84]
Yea, and there,
Unshudder'd unaghasted, he shall view
E'en the Seven Spirits, who in the latter day
Will shower hot pestilence on the sons of men,
For he shall know, his heart shall understand,
That kindling with intenser Deity
They from the Mercy-Seat like rosy flames,
From God's celestial Mercy-Seat will flash,
And at the wells of renovating Love
Fill their Seven Vials with salutary wrath.
1796.
[81-3]
For even these on wings of healing come,
Yea, kindling with intenser Deity
From the Celestial Mercy Seat they speed,
And at the renovating &c.
1803.
[96-7]
Darkling with earnest eyes he traces out
Th' immediate road, all else of fairest kind
1803.
[98] the burning Sun 1803.
[115] The Cherubs and the trembling Seraphim 1803.
[135-41]
O Fiends of Superstition! not that oft
Your pitiless rites have floated with man's blood
The skull-pil'd Temple, not for this shall wrath
Thunder against you from the Holy One!
But (whether ye th' unclimbing Bigot mock
With secondary Gods, or if more pleas'd
Ye petrify th' imbrothell'd Atheist's heart,
The Atheist your worst slave) I o'er some plain
Peopled with Death, and to the silent Sun
Steaming with tyrant-murder'd multitudes;
Or where mid groans and shrieks loud-laughing Trade
More hideous packs his bales of living anguish
1796.
[165] pious] pious 1796-1829.
[176] mazy surge] tortuous-folds 1796.
[177] imbreathe] inbreathe 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829.
[254-5]
The wafted perfumes, gazing on the woods
The many tinted streams
1803.
[266] Blessed] O Blest 1796, Watchman: evil 1803:
Blessed 1797, 1828, 1829.
[273] bloody] gore-stained 1803.
[274] plants] rolls 1796.
[277-8]
Ye whom Oppression's ruffian gluttony
Drives from the feast of life
1803.
[280-1]
Dost roam for prey—yea thy unnatural hand
Liftest to deeds of blood
1796.
[281] Dost] Dar'st Watchman.
[283-4]
Nights of pollution, days of blasphemy,
Who in thy orgies with loath'd wassailers
1803.
[290] O loathly-visag'd Suppliants! ye that oft 1796: O
loathly-visag'd supplicants! that oft Watchman.
[291-2]
Rack'd with disease, from the unopen'd gate
Of the full Lazar-house, heart-broken crawl!
1796, Watchman.
[293-6]
O ye to scepter'd Glory's gore-drench'd field
Forc'd or ensnar'd, who swept by Slaughter's scythe
Stern nurse of Vultures! steam in putrid heaps
1796.
O ye that steaming to the silent Noon,
People with Death red-eyed Ambition's plains!
O Wretched Widow
Watchman.
[302] stream] steam 1796, Watchman, 1797, 1803.
[305] And upward spring on swiftest plume of fire Watchman.
[337] Hunted by ghastlier terrors 1796, Watchman. Haunted]
Hunted 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829.
[345-8]
When on some solemn Jubilee of Saints
The sapphire-blazing gates of Paradise
Are thrown wide open, and thence voyage forth
Detachments wild of seraph-warbled airs
1796, Watchman.
[355] beatitudes] beatitude 1796, Watchman, 1797, 1803,
1828, 1829.
[356] Seize on] Have seiz'd Watchman.
[359-61]
The Saviour comes! While as to solemn strains,
The Thousand Years lead up their mystic dance
Old Ocean claps his hands! the Desert shouts!
And soft gales wafted from the haunts of spring
Melt the primaeval North!
The Mighty Dead 1796.
[365]
The odorous groves of Earth reparadis'd
1796.
[370-2]
Down the fine fibres from the sentient brain
Roll subtly-surging. Pressing on his steps
Lo! Priestley there, Patriot, and Saint, and Sage,
Whom that my fleshly eye hath never seen
A childish pang of impotent regret
Hath thrill'd my heart. Him from his native land
1796.
Up the fine fibres thro' the sentient brain
Pass in fine surges. Pressing on his steps
Lo! Priestley there
1803.
[378-80]
Sweeping before the rapt prophetic Gaze
Bright as what glories of the jasper throne
Stream from the gorgeous and face-veiling plumes
Of Spirits adoring! Ye blest years! must end
1796.
[380] they bend] he bends 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829.
[387] May image in his wildly-working thought 1796: May
image, how the red-eyed Fiend outstretcht 1803.
[390] feverous] feverish 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828,
1829.
Between 391, 392 Destruction! when the Sons of Morning
shout, The Angels shout, Destruction 1803.
[393] The Mighty Spirit 1796.
[411] and novice] noviciate 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828,
1829.
MONODY ON THE DEATH OF CHATTERTON[125:1]
O what a wonder seems the fear of death,
Seeing how gladly we all sink to sleep,
Babes, Children, Youths, and Men,
Night following night for threescore years and ten!
But doubly strange, where life is but a breath 5
To sigh and pant with, up Want's rugged steep.
Away, Grim Phantom! Scorpion King, away!
Reserve thy terrors and thy stings display
For coward Wealth and Guilt in robes of State!
Lo! by the grave I stand of one, for whom 10
A prodigal Nature and a niggard Doom
(That all bestowing, this withholding all)
Made each chance knell from distant spire or dome
Sound like a seeking Mother's anxious call,
Return, poor Child! Home, weary Truant, home! 15
[126]Thee, Chatterton! these unblest stones protect
From want, and the bleak freezings of neglect.
Too long before the vexing Storm-blast driven
Here hast thou found repose! beneath this sod!
Thou! O vain word! thou dwell'st not with the clod! 20
Amid the shining Host of the Forgiven
Thou at the throne of mercy and thy God
The triumph of redeeming Love dost hymn
(Believe it, O my Soul!) to harps of Seraphim.
Yet oft, perforce ('tis suffering Nature's call), 25
I weep that heaven-born Genius so should fall;
And oft, in Fancy's saddest hour, my soul
Averted shudders at the poison'd bowl.
Now groans my sickening heart, as still I view
Thy corse of livid hue; 30
Now Indignation checks the feeble sigh,
Or flashes through the tear that glistens in mine eye!
Is this the land of song-ennobled line?
Is this the land, where Genius ne'er in vain
Pour'd forth his lofty strain? 35
Ah me! yet Spenser, gentlest bard divine,
Beneath chill Disappointment's shade,
His weary limbs in lonely anguish lay'd.
And o'er her darling dead
Pity hopeless hung her head, 40
While 'mid the pelting of that merciless storm,'
Sunk to the cold earth Otway's famish'd form!
[127]Sublime of thought, and confident of fame,
From vales where Avon[127:1] winds the Minstrel came.
Light-hearted youth! aye, as he hastes along, 45
He meditates the future song,
How dauntless Ælla fray'd the Dacyan foe;
And while the numbers flowing strong
In eddies whirl, in surges throng,
Exulting in the spirits' genial throe 50
In tides of power his life-blood seems to flow.
And now his cheeks with deeper ardors flame,
His eyes have glorious meanings, that declare
More than the light of outward day shines there,
A holier triumph and a sterner aim! 55
Wings grow within him; and he soars above
Or Bard's or Minstrel's lay of war or love.
Friend to the friendless, to the sufferer health,
He hears the widow's prayer, the good man's praise;
To scenes of bliss transmutes his fancied wealth, 60
And young and old shall now see happy days.
On many a waste he bids trim gardens rise,
Gives the blue sky to many a prisoner's eyes;
And now in wrath he grasps the patriot steel,
And her own iron rod he makes Oppression feel. 65
Sweet Flower of Hope! free Nature's genial child!
That didst so fair disclose thy early bloom,
[128]Filling the wide air with a rich perfume!
For thee in vain all heavenly aspects smil'd;
From the hard world brief respite could they win— 70
The frost nipp'd sharp without, the canker prey'd within!
Ah! where are fled the charms of vernal Grace,
And Joy's wild gleams that lighten'd o'er thy face?
Youth of tumultuous soul, and haggard eye!
Thy wasted form, thy hurried steps I view, 75
On thy wan forehead starts the lethal dew,
And oh! the anguish of that shuddering sigh!
Such were the struggles of the gloomy hour,
When Care, of wither'd brow,
Prepar'd the poison's death-cold power: 80
Already to thy lips was rais'd the bowl,
When near thee stood Affection meek
(Her bosom bare, and wildly pale her cheek)
Thy sullen gaze she bade thee roll
On scenes that well might melt thy soul; 85
Thy native cot she flash'd upon thy view,
[129]Thy native cot, where still, at close of day,
Peace smiling sate, and listen'd to thy lay;
Thy Sister's shrieks she bade thee hear,
And mark thy Mother's thrilling tear; 90
See, see her breast's convulsive throe,
Her silent agony of woe!
Ah! dash the poison'd chalice from thy hand!
And thou hadst dashed it, at her soft command,
But that Despair and Indignation rose, 95
And told again the story of thy woes;
Told the keen insult of the unfeeling heart,
The dread dependence on the low-born mind;
Told every pang, with which thy soul must smart,
Neglect, and grinning Scorn, and Want combined! 100
Recoiling quick, thou badest the friend of pain
Roll the black tide of Death through every freezing vein!
O spirit blest!
Whether the Eternal's throne around,
Amidst the blaze of Seraphim, 105
Thou pourest forth the grateful hymn,
Or soaring thro' the blest domain
Enrapturest Angels with thy strain,—
Grant me, like thee, the lyre to sound,
Like thee with fire divine to glow;— 110
But ah! when rage the waves of woe,
Grant me with firmer breast to meet their hate,
And soar beyond the storm with upright eye elate!
Ye woods! that wave o'er Avon's rocky steep,
To Fancy's ear sweet is your murmuring deep! 115
For here she loves the cypress wreath to weave;
Watching with wistful eye, the saddening tints of eve.
Here, far from men, amid this pathless grove,
In solemn thought the Minstrel wont to rove,
Like star-beam on the slow sequester'd tide 120
Lone-glittering, through the high tree branching wide.
[130]And here, in Inspiration's eager hour,
When most the big soul feels the mastering power,
These wilds, these caverns roaming o'er,
Round which the screaming sea-gulls soar, 125
With wild unequal steps he pass'd along,
Oft pouring on the winds a broken song:
Anon, upon some rough rock's fearful brow
Would pause abrupt—and gaze upon the waves below.
Poor Chatterton! he sorrows for thy fate 130
Who would have prais'd and lov'd thee, ere too late.
Poor Chatterton! farewell! of darkest hues
This chaplet cast I on thy unshaped tomb;
But dare no longer on the sad theme muse,
Lest kindred woes persuade a kindred doom: 135
For oh! big gall-drops, shook from Folly's wing,
Have blacken'd the fair promise of my spring;
And the stern Fate transpierc'd with viewless dart
The last pale Hope that shiver'd at my heart!
Hence, gloomy thoughts! no more my soul shall dwell 140
On joys that were! no more endure to weigh
The shame and anguish of the evil day,
Wisely forgetful! O'er the ocean swell
Sublime of Hope I seek the cottag'd dell
Where Virtue calm with careless step may stray; 145
And, dancing to the moon-light roundelay,
The wizard Passions weave an holy spell!
O Chatterton! that thou wert yet alive!
Sure thou would'st spread the canvass to the gale,
And love with us the tinkling team to drive 150
O'er peaceful Freedom's undivided dale;
And we, at sober eve, would round thee throng,
Would hang, enraptur'd, on thy stately song,
And greet with smiles the young-eyed Poesy
All deftly mask'd as hoar Antiquity. 155
Alas, vain Phantasies! the fleeting brood
Of Woe self-solac'd in her dreamy mood!
[131]Yet will I love to follow the sweet dream,
Where Susquehannah pours his untamed stream;
And on some hill, whose forest-frowning side 160
Waves o'er the murmurs of his calmer tide,
Will raise a solemn Cenotaph to thee,
Sweet Harper of time-shrouded Minstrelsy!
And there, sooth'd sadly by the dirgeful wind,
Muse on the sore ills I had left behind. 165
1790-1834.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
[1-15]
When faint and sad o'er Sorrow's desart wild
Slow journeys onward, poor Misfortune's child;
When fades each lovely form by Fancy drest,
And inly pines the self-consuming breast;
(No scourge of scorpions in thy right arm dread,
No helméd terrors nodding o'er thy head,)
Assume, O Death! the cherub wings of Peace,
And bid the heartsick Wanderer's Anguish cease.
1794, 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828.
[Lines 1-15 of the text were first printed in 1829.]
[16] these] yon 1794, 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828.
[18-24]
Escap'd the sore wounds of Affliction's rod
Meek at the throne of Mercy and of God,
Perchance, thou raisest high th' enraptur'd hymn
Amid the blaze of Seraphim!
1794, 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828.
[25] Yet oft ('tis Nature's bosom-startling call) 1794,
1796, 1828: Yet oft ('tis Nature's call) 1797, 1803.
[31-32]
And now a flash of Indignation high
Darts through the tear that glistens in mine eye.
1794, 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828.
[37] Disappointment's deadly shade 1794.
[41] merciless] pitiless 1794.
[45] aye, as] om. 1797, 1803.
[47-56]
How dauntless Ælla fray'd the Dacyan foes;
And, as floating high in air,
Glitter the sunny Visions fair,
His eyes dance rapture, and his bosom glows!
1794, 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828.
[1794 reads 'Danish foes'; 1797, 1803 read 'See, as floating', &c.
Lines 48-56 were added in 1829.]
[58-71]
Friend to the friendless, to the sick man Health,
With generous Joy he views th' ideal wealth;
He hears the Widow's heaven-breath'd prayer of Praise;
He marks the shelter'd Orphan's tearful gaze;
Or where the sorrow-shrivell'd Captive lay, 5
Pours the bright Blaze of Freedom's noon-tide Ray:
And now, indignant 'grasps the patriot steel'
And her own iron rod he makes Oppression feel.
Clad in Nature's rich array,
And bright in all her tender hues, 10
Sweet Tree of Hope! thou loveliest child of Spring!
How fair didst thou disclose thine early bloom,
Loading the west winds with its soft perfume!
And Fancy, elfin form of gorgeous wing,
[And Fancy hovering round on shadowy wing, 1794.]
On every blossom hung her fostering dews, 15
That, changeful, wanton'd to the orient Day!
But soon upon thy poor unshelter'd Head
[Ah! soon, &c. 1794.]
Did Penury her sickly mildew shed:
And soon the scathing Lightning bade thee stand
In frowning horror o'er the blighted Land
1794, 1796, 1828.
[Lines 1-8 of the preceding variant were omitted in 1797. Line 9 reads
'Yes! Clad,' &c., and line 12 reads 'Most fair,' &c. The entire variant,
'Friend . . . Land,' was omitted in 1803, but reappears in 1828. The
quotation marks 'grasps the patriot steel' which appear in 1796, but
not in 1794, were inserted in 1828, but omitted in 1829, 1834.
Lines 1-6 were included in 'Lines written at the King's Arms, Ross', as
first published in the Cambridge Intelligencer, Sept. 27, 1794, and in
the editions of 1797, 1828, 1829, and 1834.]
[72] Ah! where] Whither 1794, 1797.
[73] that lighten'd] light-flashing 1797, 1803.
[76] wan] cold 1794, 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828. lethal]
anguish'd 1794, 1796, 1797, 1828.
[77] And dreadful was that bosom-rending sigh 1794, 1796,
1797, 1803, 1828.
[78] the gloomy] that gloomy 1803.
[80] Prepar'd the poison's power 1797, 1803.
[90] And mark thy mother's tear 1797, 1803.
[98] low-born] low-bred 1794.
[99] with] at 1794. must] might 1794.
[103-13] These lines, which form the conclusion (ll. 80-90) of
the Christ's Hospital Version, were printed for the first time in
1834, with the following variants: l. 104 the Eternal's] th' Eternal;
l. 105 Seraphim] Cherubim; l. 112 to meet] t'oppose; l. 113 storm]
storms.
[121] Lone glittering thro' the Forest's murksome pride
1794.
[123] mastering] mad'ning 1794, 1796, 1797, 1803,
1828.
[129] Here the Monody ends 1794.
[130-65] First printed in 1796.
[133] unshaped] shapeless 1803.
[153] Would hang] Hanging 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828,
1829.
THE DESTINY OF NATIONS[131:1]
A VISION
Auspicious Reverence! Hush all meaner song,
Ere we the deep preluding strain have poured
To the Great Father, only Rightful King,
Eternal Father! King Omnipotent!
To the Will Absolute, the One, the Good! 5
The I AM, the Word, the Life, the Living God!
[132]
Such symphony requires best instrument.
Seize, then, my soul! from Freedom's trophied dome
The Harp which hangeth high between the Shields
Of Brutus and Leonidas! With that 10
Strong music, that soliciting spell, force back
Man's free and stirring spirit that lies entranced.
For what is Freedom, but the unfettered use
Of all the powers which God for use had given?
But chiefly this, him First, him Last to view 15
Through meaner powers and secondary things
Effulgent, as through clouds that veil his blaze.
For all that meets the bodily sense I deem
Symbolical, one mighty alphabet
For infant minds; and we in this low world 20
Placed with our backs to bright Reality,
That we may learn with young unwounded ken
The substance from its shadow. Infinite Love,
Whose latence is the plenitude of All,
Thou with retracted beams, and self-eclipse 25
Veiling, revealest thine eternal Sun.
But some there are who deem themselves most free
When they within this gross and visible sphere
Chain down the wingéd thought, scoffing ascent,
Proud in their meanness: and themselves they cheat 30
With noisy emptiness of learned phrase,
Their subtle fluids, impacts, essences,
Self-working tools, uncaused effects, and all
Those blind Omniscients, those Almighty Slaves,
Untenanting creation of its God. 35
[133]
But Properties are God: the naked mass
(If mass there be, fantastic guess or ghost)
Acts only by its inactivity.
Here we pause humbly. Others boldlier think
That as one body seems the aggregate 40
Of atoms numberless, each organized;
So by a strange and dim similitude
Infinite myriads of self-conscious minds
Are one all-conscious Spirit, which informs
With absolute ubiquity of thought 45
(His one eternal self-affirming act!)
All his involvéd Monads, that yet seem
With various province and apt agency
Each to pursue its own self-centering end.
Some nurse the infant diamond in the mine; 50
Some roll the genial juices through the oak;
Some drive the mutinous clouds to clash in air,
And rushing on the storm with whirlwind speed,
Yoke the red lightnings to their volleying car.
Thus these pursue their never-varying course, 55
No eddy in their stream. Others, more wild,
With complex interests weaving human fates,
Duteous or proud, alike obedient all,
Evolve the process of eternal good.
And what if some rebellious, o'er dark realms 60
Arrogate power? yet these train up to God,
And on the rude eye, unconfirmed for day,
Flash meteor-lights better than total gloom.
As ere from Lieule-Oaive's vapoury head
The Laplander beholds the far-off Sun 65
Dart his slant beam on unobeying snows,
While yet the stern and solitary Night
Brooks no alternate sway, the Boreal Morn
With mimic lustre substitutes its gleam.
Guiding his course or by Niemi lake 70
Or Balda Zhiok,[133:1] or the mossy stone
Of Solfar-kapper,[133:2] while the snowy blast
[134]Drifts arrowy by, or eddies round his sledge,
Making the poor babe at its mother's back[134:1]
Scream in its scanty cradle: he the while 75
Wins gentle solace as with upward eye
He marks the streamy banners of the North,
Thinking himself those happy spirits shall join
Who there in floating robes of rosy light
Dance sportively. For Fancy is the power 80
That first unsensualises the dark mind,
Giving it new delights; and bids it swell
With wild activity; and peopling air,
By obscure fears of Beings invisible,
Emancipates it from the grosser thrall 85
Of the present impulse, teaching Self-control,
Till Superstition with unconscious hand
Seat Reason on her throne. Wherefore not vain,
Nor yet without permitted power impressed,
I deem those legends terrible, with which 90
The polar ancient thrills his uncouth throng:
Whether of pitying Spirits that make their moan
O'er slaughter'd infants, or that Giant Bird
Vuokho, of whose rushing wings the noise
Is Tempest, when the unutterable Shape 95
Speeds from the mother of Death, and utters once[134:2]
That shriek, which never murderer heard, and lived.
[135]Or if the Greenland Wizard in strange trance
Pierces the untravelled realms of Ocean's bed
Over the abysm, even to that uttermost cave 100
By mis-shaped prodigies beleaguered, such
As Earth ne'er bred, nor Air, nor the upper Sea:
Where dwells the Fury Form, whose unheard name
With eager eye, pale cheek, suspended breath,
And lips half-opening with the dread of sound, 105
Unsleeping Silence guards, worn out with fear
Lest haply 'scaping on some treacherous blast
The fateful word let slip the Elements
And frenzy Nature. Yet the wizard her,
Arm'd with Torngarsuck's power, the Spirit of Good,[135:1] 110
Forces to unchain the foodful progeny
Of the Ocean stream;—thence thro' the realm of Souls,
Where live the Innocent, as far from cares
As from the storms and overwhelming waves
That tumble on the surface of the Deep, 115
Returns with far-heard pant, hotly pursued
By the fierce Warders of the Sea, once more,
Ere by the frost foreclosed, to repossess
His fleshly mansion, that had staid the while
In the dark tent within a cow'ring group 120
Untenanted.—Wild phantasies! yet wise,
On the victorious goodness of high God
Teaching reliance, and medicinal hope,
[136]Till from Bethabra northward, heavenly Truth
With gradual steps, winning her difficult way, 125
Transfer their rude Faith perfected and pure.
If there be Beings of higher class than Man,
I deem no nobler province they possess,
Than by disposal of apt circumstance
To rear up kingdoms: and the deeds they prompt, 130
Distinguishing from mortal agency,
They choose their human ministers from such states
As still the Epic song half fears to name,
Repelled from all the minstrelsies that strike
The palace-roof and soothe the monarch's pride. 135
And such, perhaps, the Spirit, who (if words
Witnessed by answering deeds may claim our faith)
[137]Held commune with that warrior-maid of France
Who scourged the Invader. From her infant days,
With Wisdom, mother of retired thoughts, 140
Her soul had dwelt; and she was quick to mark
The good and evil thing, in human lore
Undisciplined. For lowly was her birth,
And Heaven had doomed her early years to toil
That pure from Tyranny's least deed, herself 145
Unfeared by Fellow-natures, she might wait
On the poor labouring man with kindly looks,
And minister refreshment to the tired
Way-wanderer, when along the rough-hewn bench
The sweltry man had stretched him, and aloft 150
Vacantly watched the rudely-pictured board
Which on the Mulberry-bough with welcome creak
Swung to the pleasant breeze. Here, too, the Maid
Learnt more than Schools could teach: Man's shifting mind,
His vices and his sorrows! And full oft 155
At tales of cruel wrong and strange distress
Had wept and shivered. To the tottering Eld
Still as a daughter would she run: she placed
His cold limbs at the sunny door, and loved
To hear him story, in his garrulous sort, 160
Of his eventful years, all come and gone.
So twenty seasons past. The Virgin's form,
Active and tall, nor Sloth nor Luxury
Had shrunk or paled. Her front sublime and broad,
Her flexile eye-brows wildly haired and low, 165
And her full eye, now bright, now unillumed,
Spake more than Woman's thought; and all her face
Was moulded to such features as declared
That Pity there had oft and strongly worked,
And sometimes Indignation. Bold her mien, 170
And like an haughty huntress of the woods
She moved: yet sure she was a gentle maid!
And in each motion her most innocent soul
Beamed forth so brightly, that who saw would say
Guilt was a thing impossible in her! 175
Nor idly would have said—for she had lived
In this bad World, as in a place of Tombs,
And touched not the pollutions of the Dead.
[138]
'Twas the cold season when the Rustic's eye
From the drear desolate whiteness of his fields 180
Rolls for relief to watch the skiey tints
And clouds slow-varying their huge imagery;
When now, as she was wont, the healthful Maid
Had left her pallet ere one beam of day
Slanted the fog-smoke. She went forth alone 185
Urged by the indwelling angel-guide, that oft,
With dim inexplicable sympathies
Disquieting the heart, shapes out Man's course
To the predoomed adventure. Now the ascent
She climbs of that steep upland, on whose top 190
The Pilgrim-man, who long since eve had watched
The alien shine of unconcerning stars,
Shouts to himself, there first the Abbey-lights
Seen in Neufchâtel's vale; now slopes adown
The winding sheep-track vale-ward: when, behold 195
In the first entrance of the level road
An unattended team! The foremost horse
Lay with stretched limbs; the others, yet alive
But stiff and cold, stood motionless, their manes
Hoar with the frozen night-dews. Dismally 200
The dark-red dawn now glimmered; but its gleams
Disclosed no face of man. The maiden paused,
Then hailed who might be near. No voice replied.
From the thwart wain at length there reached her ear
A sound so feeble that it almost seemed 205
Distant: and feebly, with slow effort pushed,
A miserable man crept forth: his limbs
The silent frost had eat, scathing like fire.
Faint on the shafts he rested. She, meantime,
Saw crowded close beneath the coverture 210
A mother and her children—lifeless all,
Yet lovely! not a lineament was marred—
Death had put on so slumber-like a form!
It was a piteous sight; and one, a babe.
The crisp milk frozen on its innocent lips, 215
Lay on the woman's arm, its little hand
Stretched on her bosom.
Mutely questioning,
The Maid gazed wildly at the living wretch.
[139]He, his head feebly turning, on the group
Looked with a vacant stare, and his eye spoke 220
The drowsy calm that steals on worn-out anguish.
She shuddered; but, each vainer pang subdued,
Quick disentangling from the foremost horse
The rustic bands, with difficulty and toil
The stiff cramped team forced homeward. There arrived, 225
Anxiously tends him she with healing herbs,
And weeps and prays—but the numb power of Death
Spreads o'er his limbs; and ere the noon-tide hour,
The hovering spirits of his Wife and Babes
Hail him immortal! Yet amid his pangs, 230
With interruptions long from ghastly throes,
His voice had faltered out this simple tale.
The Village, where he dwelt an husbandman,
By sudden inroad had been seized and fired
Late on the yester-evening. With his wife 235
And little ones he hurried his escape.
They saw the neighbouring hamlets flame, they heard
Uproar and shrieks! and terror-struck drove on
Through unfrequented roads, a weary way!
But saw nor house nor cottage. All had quenched 240
Their evening hearth-fire: for the alarm had spread.
The air clipt keen, the night was fanged with frost,
And they provisionless! The weeping wife
Ill hushed her children's moans; and still they moaned,
Till Fright and Cold and Hunger drank their life. 245
They closed their eyes in sleep, nor knew 'twas Death.
He only, lashing his o'er-wearied team,
Gained a sad respite, till beside the base
Of the high hill his foremost horse dropped dead.
Then hopeless, strengthless, sick for lack of food, 250
He crept beneath the coverture, entranced,
Till wakened by the maiden.—Such his tale.
Ah! suffering to the height of what was suffered,
Stung with too keen a sympathy, the Maid
Brooded with moving lips, mute, startful, dark! 255
And now her flushed tumultuous features shot
Such strange vivacity, as fires the eye
Of Misery fancy-crazed! and now once more
Naked, and void, and fixed, and all within
The unquiet silence of confuséd thought 260
[140]And shapeless feelings. For a mighty hand
Was strong upon her, till in the heat of soul
To the high hill-top tracing back her steps,
Aside the beacon, up whose smouldered stones
The tender ivy-trails crept thinly, there, 265
Unconscious of the driving element,
Yea, swallowed up in the ominous dream, she sate
Ghastly as broad-eyed Slumber! a dim anguish
Breathed from her look! and still with pant and sob,
Inly she toiled to flee, and still subdued, 270
Felt an inevitable Presence near.
Thus as she toiled in troublous ecstasy,
A horror of great darkness wrapt her round,
And a voice uttered forth unearthly tones,
Calming her soul,—'O Thou of the Most High 275
Chosen, whom all the perfected in Heaven
Behold expectant—'
[The following fragments were intended to form part of the poem when
finished.]
[140:1]'Maid beloved of Heaven!
(To her the tutelary Power exclaimed)
Of Chaos the adventurous progeny 280
Thou seest; foul missionaries of foul sire.
Fierce to regain the losses of that hour
When Love rose glittering, and his gorgeous wings
Over the abyss fluttered with such glad noise,
As what time after long and pestful calms, 285
With slimy shapes and miscreated life
Poisoning the vast Pacific, the fresh breeze
Wakens the merchant-sail uprising. Night
An heavy unimaginable moan
Sent forth, when she the Protoplast beheld 290
Stand beauteous on Confusion's charméd wave.
Moaning she fled, and entered the Profound
That leads with downward windings to the Cave
Of Darkness palpable, Desert of Death
Sunk deep beneath Gehenna's massy roots. 295
There many a dateless age the Beldame lurked
[141]And trembled; till engendered by fierce Hate,
Fierce Hate and gloomy Hope, a Dream arose,
Shaped like a black cloud marked with streaks of fire.
It roused the Hell-Hag: she the dew-damp wiped 300
From off her brow, and through the uncouth maze
Retraced her steps; but ere she reached the mouth
Of that drear labyrinth, shuddering she paused,
Nor dared re-enter the diminished Gulph.
As through the dark vaults of some mouldered Tower 305
(Which, fearful to approach, the evening hind
Circles at distance in his homeward way)
The winds breathe hollow, deemed the plaining groan
Of prisoned spirits; with such fearful voice
Night murmured, and the sound through Chaos went. 310
Leaped at her call her hideous-fronted brood!
A dark behest they heard, and rushed on earth;
Since that sad hour, in Camps and Courts adored,
Rebels from God, and Tyrants o'er Mankind!'
From his obscure haunt 315
Shrieked Fear, of Cruelty the ghastly Dam,
Feverous yet freezing, eager-paced yet slow,
As she that creeps from forth her swampy reeds.
Ague, the biform Hag! when early Spring
Beams on the marsh-bred vapours. 320
[142]
'Even so (the exulting Maiden said)
The sainted Heralds of Good Tidings fell,
And thus they witnessed God! But now the clouds
Treading, and storms beneath their feet, they soar
Higher, and higher soar, and soaring sing 325
Loud songs of triumph! O ye Spirits of God,
Hover around my mortal agonies!'
She spake, and instantly faint melody
Melts on her ear, soothing and sad, and slow,
Such measures, as at calmest midnight heard 330
By agéd Hermit in his holy dream,
Foretell and solace death; and now they rise
Louder, as when with harp and mingled voice
The white-robed multitude of slaughtered saints
At Heaven's wide-open'd portals gratulant 335
Receive some martyred patriot. The harmony[142:1]
Entranced the Maid, till each suspended sense
Brief slumber seized, and confused ecstasy.
[143]At length awakening slow, she gazed around:
And through a mist, the relict of that trance 340
Still thinning as she gazed, an Isle appeared,
Its high, o'er-hanging, white, broad-breasted cliffs,
Glassed on the subject ocean. A vast plain
Stretched opposite, where ever and anon
The plough-man following sad his meagre team 345
Turned up fresh sculls unstartled, and the bones
Of fierce hate-breathing combatants, who there
All mingled lay beneath the common earth,
Death's gloomy reconcilement! O'er the fields
Stept a fair Form, repairing all she might, 350
Her temples olive-wreathed; and where she trod,
Fresh flowerets rose, and many a foodful herb.
But wan her cheek, her footsteps insecure,
And anxious pleasure beamed in her faint eye,
As she had newly left a couch of pain, 355
Pale Convalescent! (Yet some time to rule
With power exclusive o'er the willing world,
That blessed prophetic mandate then fulfilled—
Peace be on Earth!) An happy while, but brief,
She seemed to wander with assiduous feet, 360
And healed the recent harm of chill and blight,
And nursed each plant that fair and virtuous grew.
But soon a deep precursive sound moaned hollow:
Black rose the clouds, and now, (as in a dream)
Their reddening shapes, transformed to Warrior-hosts, 365
Coursed o'er the sky, and battled in mid-air.
Nor did not the large blood-drops fall from Heaven
Portentous! while aloft were seen to float,
Like hideous features looming on the mist,
Wan stains of ominous light! Resigned, yet sad, 370
The fair Form bowed her olive-crownéd brow,
Then o'er the plain with oft-reverted eye
[144]Fled till a place of Tombs she reached, and there
Within a ruined Sepulchre obscure
Found hiding-place.
The delegated Maid 375
Gazed through her tears, then in sad tones exclaimed;—
Thou mild-eyed Form! wherefore, ah! wherefore fled?
The Power of Justice like a name all light,
Shone from thy brow; but all they, who unblamed
Dwelt in thy dwellings, call thee Happiness. 380
Ah! why, uninjured and unprofited,
Should multitudes against their brethren rush?
Why sow they guilt, still reaping misery?
Lenient of care, thy songs, O Peace! are sweet,[144:1]
As after showers the perfumed gale of eve, 385
That flings the cool drops on a feverous cheek;
And gay thy grassy altar piled with fruits.
But boasts the shrine of Dæmon War one charm,[144:2]
Save that with many an orgie strange and foul,[144:3]
Dancing around with interwoven arms, 390
The Maniac Suicide and Giant Murder
Exult in their fierce union! I am sad,
And know not why the simple peasants crowd
Beneath the Chieftains' standard!' Thus the Maid.
To her the tutelary Spirit said: 395
'When Luxury and Lust's exhausted stores
No more can rouse the appetites of kings;
When the low flattery of their reptile lords
Falls flat and heavy on the accustomed ear;
When eunuchs sing, and fools buffoonery make, 400
And dancers writhe their harlot-limbs in vain;
Then War and all its dread vicissitudes
Pleasingly agitate their stagnant hearts;
[145]Its hopes, its fears, its victories, its defeats,
Insipid Royalty's keen condiment! 405
Therefore, uninjured and unprofited
(Victims at once and executioners),
The congregated Husbandmen lay waste
The vineyard and the harvest. As along
The Bothnic coast, or southward of the Line, 410
Though hushed the winds and cloudless the high noon,
Yet if Leviathan, weary of ease,
In sports unwieldy toss his island-bulk,
Ocean behind him billows, and before
A storm of waves breaks foamy on the strand. 415
And hence, for times and seasons bloody and dark,
Short Peace shall skin the wounds of causeless War,
And War, his strainéd sinews knit anew,
Still violate the unfinished works of Peace.
But yonder look! for more demands thy view!' 420
He said: and straightway from the opposite Isle
A vapour sailed, as when a cloud, exhaled
From Egypt's fields that steam hot pestilence,
Travels the sky for many a trackless league,
Till o'er some death-doomed land, distant in vain, 425
It broods incumbent. Forthwith from the plain,
Facing the Isle, a brighter cloud arose,
And steered its course which way the vapour went.
The Maiden paused, musing what this might mean.
[146]But long time passed not, ere that brighter cloud 430
Returned more bright; along the plain it swept;
And soon from forth its bursting sides emerged
A dazzling form, broad-bosomed, bold of eye,
And wild her hair, save where with laurels bound.
Not more majestic stood the healing God,[146:1] 435
When from his bow the arrow sped that slew
Huge Python. Shriek'd Ambition's giant throng,
And with them hissed the locust-fiends that crawled
And glittered in Corruption's slimy track.
Great was their wrath, for short they knew their reign; 440
And such commotion made they, and uproar,
As when the mad Tornado bellows through
The guilty islands of the western main,
What time departing from their native shores,[146:2]
Eboe, or Koromantyn's plain of palms, 445
The infuriate spirits of the murdered make
Fierce merriment, and vengeance ask of Heaven.
Warmed with new influence, the unwholesome plain
Sent up its foulest fogs to meet the morn:
The Sun that rose on Freedom, rose in Blood! 450
'Maiden beloved, and Delegate of Heaven!
(To her the tutelary Spirit said)
Soon shall the Morning struggle into Day,
The stormy Morning into cloudless Noon.
Much hast thou seen, nor all canst understand— 455
But this be thy best omen—Save thy Country!'
Thus saying, from the answering Maid he passed,
And with him disappeared the heavenly Vision.
'Glory to Thee, Father of Earth and Heaven!
All-conscious Presence of the Universe! 460
[147]Nature's vast ever-acting Energy![147:1]
In will, in deed, Impulse of All to All!
Whether thy Love with unrefracted ray
Beam on the Prophet's purgéd eye, or if
Diseasing realms the Enthusiast, wild of thought, 465
Scatter new frenzies on the infected throng,
Thou both inspiring and predooming both,
[148]Fit instruments and best, of perfect end:
Glory to Thee, Father of Earth and Heaven!'
And first a landscape rose 470
More wild and waste and desolate than where
The white bear, drifting on a field of ice,
Howls to her sundered cubs with piteous rage
And savage agony.
1796.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
[1]
No more of Usurpation's doom'd defeat
4o.
[5-6]
Beneath whose shadowy banners wide unfurl'd
Justice leads forth her tyrant-quelling hosts.
4o, Sibylline Leaves.
[5] The Will, The Word, The Breath, The Living God 1828,
1829.
[9-12]
The Harp which hanging high between the shields
Of Brutus and Leonidas oft gives
A fitful music to the breezy touch
Of patriot spirits that demand their fame.
4o.
[12] Man's] Earth's Sibylline Leaves, 1828, 1829.
[15]
But chiefly this with holiest habitude
Of constant Faith, him First, him Last to view
4o.
[23-6]
Things from their shadows. Know thyself my Soul!
Confirm'd thy strength, thy pinions fledged for flight
Bursting this shell and leaving next thy nest
Soon upward soaring shalt thou fix intense
Thine eaglet eye on Heaven's Eternal Sun!
4o.
The substance from its shadow—Earth's broad shade
Revealing by Eclipse, the Eternal Sun.
Sibylline Leaves.
[The text of lines 23-6 is given in the Errata p. [lxii].]
[44] Form one all-conscious Spirit, who directs 4o.
[47] involvéd] component 4o.
[54] lightnings] lightning 4o.
[96-7]
Speeds from the mother of Death his destin'd way
To snatch the murderer from his secret cell.
4o.
Between lines 99-100:
(Where live the innocent as far from cares
As from the storms and overwhelming waves
Dark tumbling on the surface of the deep).
4o, Sibylline Leaves, 1828, 1829.
These lines form part of an addition (lines 111-21) which dates from
1834.
[103] Where] There 4o, Sibylline Leaves, 1828, 1829.
[107] 'scaping] escaping 4o, Sibylline Leaves, 1828,
1829.
[108] fateful word] fatal sound 4o.
[112-21] thence thro' . . . Untenanted are not included in 4o,
Sibylline Leaves, 1828, or 1829. For lines 113-15 vide ante,
variant of line 99 of the text.
[112] Ocean] Ocean's 1828, 1829.
130 foll.
To rear some realm with patient discipline,
Aye bidding Pain, dark Error's uncouth child,
Blameless Parenticide! his snakey scourge 125
Lift fierce against his Mother! Thus they make
Of transient Evil ever-during Good
Themselves probationary, and denied
Confess'd to view by preternatural deed
To o'erwhelm the will, save on some fated day 130
Headstrong, or with petition'd might from God.
And such perhaps the guardian Power whose ken
Still dwelt on France. He from the invisible World
Burst on the Maiden's eye, impregning Air
With Voices and strange Shapes, illusions apt 135
Shadowy of Truth. [And first a landscape rose
More wild and waste and desolate, than where
The white bear drifting on a field of ice
Howls to her sunder'd cubs with piteous rage
And savage agony.] Mid the drear scene 140
A craggy mass uprear'd its misty brow,
Untouch'd by breath of Spring, unwont to know
Red Summer's influence, or the chearful face
Of Autumn; yet its fragments many and huge
Astounded ocean with the dreadful dance 145
Of whirlpools numberless, absorbing oft
The blameless fisher at his perilous toil.
4o.
Note—Lines 148-223 of the Second Book of Joan of Arc are by
Southey. Coleridge's unpublished poem of 1796 (The Visions of the Maid
of Orleans) begins at line 127 of the text, ending at line 277. The
remaining portion of the Destiny of Nations is taken from lines
contributed to the Second Book. Lines 136-40 of variant 130 foll. form
the concluding fragment of the Destiny of Nations. Lines 141-3 of the
variant are by Southey. (See his Preface to Joan of Arc, 1796, p. vi.)
The remaining lines of the variant were never reprinted.
[132] human] mortal Sibylline Leaves (correction made in
Errata, p. [xii]).
[201] now] new Sibylline Leaves, 1828.
[300] dew-damp] dew-damps 4o.
[314] Tyrants] Monarchs 4o, Sibylline Leaves, 1828,
1829.
Between lines 314 and 315 of the text, the text of the
original version (after line 259 of Joan of Arc, Book II) continues:—
'These are the fiends that o'er thy native land 260
Spread Guilt and Horror. Maid belov'd of Heaven!
Dar'st thou inspir'd by the holy flame of Love
Encounter such fell shapes, nor fear to meet
Their wrath, their wiles? O Maiden dar'st thou die?'
'Father of Heaven: I will not fear.' she said, 265
'My arm is weak, but mighty is thy sword.'
She spake and as she spake the trump was heard
That echoed ominous o'er the streets of Rome,
When the first Caesar totter'd o'er the grave
By Freedom delv'd: the Trump, whose chilling blast 270
On Marathon and on Plataea's plain
Scatter'd the Persian.—From his obscure haunt, &c.
[Lines 267-72, She spake . . . the Persian, are claimed by Southey.]
[316] Shriek'd Fear the ghastliest of Ambition's throng 4o.
[317] Feverous] Fev'rish 4o, Sibylline Leaves, 1817,
1828, 1829.
Between lines 320 and 321 of the text, the text of Joan of
Arc, Book II, continues:—
'Lo she goes!
To Orleans lo! she goes—the mission'd Maid!
The Victor Hosts wither beneath her arm!
And what are Crecy, Poictiers, Azincour 280
But noisy echoes in the ear of Pride?'
Ambition heard and startled on his throne;
But strait a smile of savage joy illum'd
His grisly features, like the sheety Burst
Of Lightning o'er the awaken'd midnight clouds 285
Wide flash'd. [For lo! a flaming pile reflects
Its red light fierce and gloomy on the face
Of Superstition and her goblin Son
Loud-laughing Cruelty, who to the stake
A female fix'd, of bold and beauteous mien, 290
Her snow-white Limbs by iron fetters bruis'd
Her breast expos'd.] Joan saw, she saw and knew
Her perfect image. Nature thro' her frame
One pang shot shiv'ring; but, that frail pang soon
Dismiss'd, 'Even so, &c.
4o.
[The passage included in brackets was claimed by Southey.]
[339-40]
But lo! no more was seen the ice-pil'd mount
And meteor-lighted dome.—An Isle appear'd
4o.
[366-7]
The Sea meantime his Billows darkest roll'd,
And each stain'd wave dash'd on the shore a corse.
4o.
[369-72]
His hideous features blended with the mist,
The long black locks of Slaughter. Peace beheld
And o'er the plain
4o.
[369] Like hideous features blended with the clouds Sibylline
Leaves, 1817. (Errata: for 'blended', &c., read 'looming on the
mist'. S. L., p. [xii].)
[378-9]
The name of Justice written on thy brow
Resplendent shone
4o, S. L. 1817.
(The reading of the text is given as an emendation in the Errata,
Sibylline Leaves, 1817, p. [xii].)
[386]
That plays around the sick man's throbbing temples
4o.
[394] Chieftains'] Chieftain's 4o.
[395] said] replied 4o, S. L., 1828.
Between lines 421 and 423 of the text, the text of Joan of
Arc, Book II, inserts:—
A Vapor rose, pierc'd by the Maiden's eye.
Guiding its course Oppression sate within,[145:A]
With terror pale and rage, yet laugh'd at times
Musing on Vengeance: trembled in his hand
A Sceptre fiercely-grasp'd. O'er Ocean westward
The Vapor sail'd
4o.
[145:A] These images imageless, these Small-Capitals constituting
themselves Personifications, I despised even at that time; but was
forced to introduce them, to preserve the connection with the machinery
of the Poem, previously adopted by Southey. S. T. C.
After 429 of the text, the text of Joan of Arc inserts:—
Envy sate guiding—Envy, hag-abhorr'd!
Like Justice mask'd, and doom'd to aid the fight 410
Victorious 'gainst oppression. Hush'd awhile
4o.
[These lines were assigned by Coleridge to Southey.]
[437-8]
Shriek'd Ambition's ghastly throng
And with them those the locust Fiends that crawl'd[146:B]
4o.
[146:B] —if Locusts how could they shriek? I must have caught the
contagion of unthinkingness. S. T. C. 4o.
[458] heavenly] goodly 4o.
FRAGMENT
From an unpublished poem.
The early Year's fast-flying vapours stray
In shadowing trains across the orb of day:
And we, poor Insects of a few short hours,
Deem it a world of Gloom.
Were it not better hope a nobler doom, 5
Proud to believe that with more active powers
On rapid many-coloured wing
We thro' one bright perpetual Spring
Shall hover round the fruits and flowers,
Screen'd by those clouds and cherish'd by those showers! 10
1796.
FOOTNOTES:
ON OBSERVING A BLOSSOM ON THE FIRST
OF FEBRUARY 1796[148:2]
Sweet flower! that peeping from thy russet stem
Unfoldest timidly, (for in strange sort
This dark, frieze-coated, hoarse, teeth-chattering month
[149]Hath borrow'd Zephyr's voice, and gazed upon thee
With blue voluptuous eye) alas, poor Flower! 5
These are but flatteries of the faithless year.
Perchance, escaped its unknown polar cave,
Even now the keen North-East is on its way.
Flower that must perish! shall I liken thee
To some sweet girl of too too rapid growth 10
Nipp'd by consumption mid untimely charms?
Or to Bristowa's bard,[149:1] the wondrous boy!
An amaranth, which earth scarce seem'd to own,
Till disappointment came, and pelting wrong
Beat it to earth? or with indignant grief 15
Shall I compare thee to poor Poland's hope,
Bright flower of hope killed in the opening bud?
Farewell, sweet blossom! better fate be thine
And mock my boding! Dim similitudes
Weaving in moral strains, I've stolen one hour 20
From anxious Self, Life's cruel taskmaster!
And the warm wooings of this sunny day
Tremble along my frame and harmonize
The attempered organ, that even saddest thoughts
Mix with some sweet sensations, like harsh tunes 25
Played deftly on a soft-toned instrument.
1796.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Lines on observing, &c., Written
near Sheffield, Watchman, 1797, 1803.
[5] With 'blue voluptuous eye' 1803.
Between 13 and 14 Blooming mid Poverty's drear wintry waste
Watchman, 1797, 1803, S. L., 1817, 1828.
[16] hope] hopes, Watchman.
[21]
From black anxiety that gnaws my heart.
For her who droops far off on a sick bed.
Watchman, 1797, 1803.
[24]
Th' attempered brain, that ev'n the saddest thoughts
Watchman, 1797, 1803.
THE FIRST SEEN IN THE SEASON
Nitens et roboris expers
Turget et insolida est: et spe delectat.
Ovid, Metam. [xv. 203].
Thy smiles I note, sweet early Flower,
That peeping from thy rustic bower
The festive news to earth dost bring,
A fragrant messenger of Spring.
[150]But, tender blossom, why so pale? 5
Dost hear stern Winter in the gale?
And didst thou tempt the ungentle sky
To catch one vernal glance and die?
Such the wan lustre Sickness wears
When Health's first feeble beam appears; 10
So languid are the smiles that seek
To settle on the care-worn cheek,
When timorous Hope the head uprears,
Still drooping and still moist with tears,
If, through dispersing grief, be seen 15
Of Bliss the heavenly spark serene.
And sweeter far the early blow,
Fast following after storms of Woe,
Than (Comfort's riper season come)
Are full-blown joys and Pleasure's gaudy bloom. 20
1796.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Motto: et] at L. R., App. 1863.
[17-20] om. L. R., App. 1863
ADDRESSED TO J. HORNE TOOKE AND THE COMPANY WHO MET ON
JUNE 28TH, 1796, TO CELEBRATE HIS POLL AT THE
WESTMINSTER ELECTION
Britons! when last ye met, with distant streak
So faintly promis'd the pale Dawn to break:
So dim it stain'd the precincts of the Sky
E'en Expectation gaz'd with doubtful Eye.
But now such fair Varieties of Light 5
O'ertake the heavy sailing Clouds of Night;
Th' Horizon kindles with so rich a red,
That tho' the Sun still hides his glorious head
Th' impatient Matin-bird, assur'd of Day,
Leaves his low nest to meet its earliest ray; 10
Loud the sweet song of Gratulation sings,
And high in air claps his rejoicing wings!
Patriot and Sage! whose breeze-like Spirit first
The lazy mists of Pedantry dispers'd
[151](Mists in which Superstition's pigmy band 15
Seem'd Giant Forms, the Genii of the Land!),
Thy struggles soon shall wak'ning Britain bless,
And Truth and Freedom hail thy wish'd success.
Yes Tooke! tho' foul Corruption's wolfish throng
Outmalice Calumny's imposthum'd Tongue, 20
Thy Country's noblest and determin'd Choice,
Soon shalt thou thrill the Senate with thy voice;
With gradual Dawn bid Error's phantoms flit,
Or wither with the lightning's flash of Wit;
Or with sublimer mien and tones more deep, 25
Charm sworded Justice from mysterious Sleep,
'By violated Freedom's loud Lament,
Her Lamps extinguish'd and her Temple rent;
By the forc'd tears her captive Martyrs shed;
By each pale Orphan's feeble cry for bread; 30
By ravag'd Belgium's corse-impeded Flood,
And Vendee steaming still with brothers' blood!'
And if amid the strong impassion'd Tale,
Thy Tongue should falter and thy Lips turn pale;
If transient Darkness film thy aweful Eye, 35
And thy tir'd Bosom struggle with a sigh:
Science and Freedom shall demand to hear
Who practis'd on a Life so doubly dear;
Infus'd the unwholesome anguish drop by drop,
Pois'ning the sacred stream they could not stop! 40
Shall bid thee with recover'd strength relate
How dark and deadly is a Coward's Hate:
What seeds of death by wan Confinement sown,
When Prison-echoes mock'd Disease's groan!
Shall bid th' indignant Father flash dismay, 45
And drag the unnatural Villain into Day
Who[151:1] to the sports of his flesh'd Ruffians left
Two lovely Mourners of their Sire bereft!
'Twas wrong, like this, which Rome's first Consul bore,
So by th' insulted Female's name he swore 50
Ruin (and rais'd her reeking dagger high)
Not to the Tyrants but the Tyranny!
1796.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
[31, 32] These lines are borrowed from the first edition
(4o) of the Ode to the Departing Year.
[152]
ON A LATE CONNUBIAL RUPTURE IN HIGH LIFE[152:1]
[PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF WALES]
I sigh, fair injur'd stranger! for thy fate;
But what shall sighs avail thee? thy poor heart,
'Mid all the 'pomp and circumstance' of state,
Shivers in nakedness. Unbidden, start
Sad recollections of Hope's garish dream, 5
That shaped a seraph form, and named it Love,
Its hues gay-varying, as the orient beam
Varies the neck of Cytherea's dove.
To one soft accent of domestic joy
Poor are the shouts that shake the high-arch'd dome; 10
Those plaudits that thy public path annoy,
Alas! they tell thee—Thou'rt a wretch at home!
O then retire, and weep! Their very woes
Solace the guiltless. Drop the pearly flood
On thy sweet infant, as the full-blown rose, 15
Surcharg'd with dew, bends o'er its neighbouring bud.
And ah! that Truth some holy spell might lend
To lure thy Wanderer from the Syren's power;
Then bid your souls inseparably blend
Like two bright dew-drops meeting in a flower. 20
1796.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] To an Unfortunate Princess MS. Letter, July 4, 1796.
[17] might] could MS. Letter, 1796.
[18] thy] the Felix Farley's, &c.
[20] meeting] bosomed MS. Letter, 1796.
ON RECEIVING A LETTER INFORMING ME OF THE BIRTH OF A SON
When they did greet me father, sudden awe
Weigh'd down my spirit: I retired and knelt
Seeking the throne of grace, but inly felt
[153]No heavenly visitation upwards draw
My feeble mind, nor cheering ray impart. 5
Ah me! before the Eternal Sire I brought
Th' unquiet silence of confuséd thought
And shapeless feelings: my o'erwhelméd heart
Trembled, and vacant tears stream'd down my face.
And now once more, O Lord! to thee I bend, 10
Lover of souls! and groan for future grace,
That ere my babe youth's perilous maze have trod,
Thy overshadowing Spirit may descend,
And he be born again, a child of God.
Sept. 20, 1796.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Sonnet written on receiving letter informing me of the birth of a
son, I being at Birmingham MS. Letter, Nov. 1, 1796.
[8] shapeless] hopeless B. L.
COMPOSED ON A JOURNEY HOMEWARD; THE AUTHOR HAVING
RECEIVED INTELLIGENCE OF THE BIRTH OF A SON,
SEPT. 20, 1796
Oft o'er my brain does that strange fancy roll
Which makes the present (while the flash doth last)
Seem a mere semblance of some unknown past,
Mixed with such feelings, as perplex the soul
Self-questioned in her sleep; and some have said[153:2] 5
[154]We liv'd, ere yet this robe of flesh we wore.[154:1]
O my sweet baby! when I reach my door,
If heavy looks should tell me thou art dead,
(As sometimes, through excess of hope, I fear)
I think that I should struggle to believe 10
Thou wert a spirit, to this nether sphere
Sentenc'd for some more venial crime to grieve;
Did'st scream, then spring to meet Heaven's quick reprieve,
While we wept idly o'er thy little bier!
1796.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Sonnet composed on my journey home from Birmingham MS. Letter,
1796: Sonnet ix. To a Friend, &c. 1797: Sonnet xvii. To a Friend,
&c. 1803.
[1-11]
Oft of some unknown Past such Fancies roll
Swift o'er my brain as make the Present seem
For a brief moment like a most strange dream
When not unconscious that she dreamt, the soul
Questions herself in sleep! and some have said
We lived ere yet this fleshly robe we wore.
MS. Letter, 1796.
[6] robe of flesh] fleshy robe 1797, 1803.
[8] art] wert MS. Letter, 1796, 1797, 1803.
TO A FRIEND WHO ASKED, HOW I FELT WHEN THE NURSE
FIRST PRESENTED MY INFANT TO ME
Charles! my slow heart was only sad, when first
I scann'd that face of feeble infancy:
For dimly on my thoughtful spirit burst
All I had been, and all my child might be!
But when I saw it on its mother's arm, 5
And hanging at her bosom (she the while
Bent o'er its features with a tearful smile)
Then I was thrill'd and melted, and most warm
Impress'd a father's kiss: and all beguil'd
Of dark remembrance and presageful fear, 10
I seem'd to see an angel-form appear—
'Twas even thine, belovéd woman mild!
So for the mother's sake the child was dear,
And dearer was the mother for the child.
1796.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] To a Friend who wished to know, &c. MS. Letter, Nov. 1,
1796: Sonnet x. To a Friend 1797: Sonnet xix. To a Friend, &c.
1803.
[4] child] babe MS. Letter, 1796, 1797, 1803.
[5] saw] watch'd MS. Letter, 1796.
[11] angel-form] Angel's form MS. Letter, 1796, 1797,
1803.
[13] Comforts on his late eve, whose youthful friend.
MS. correction by S. T. C. in copy of Nugae Canorae in the British
Museum.
[155]
[TO CHARLES LLOYD]
The piteous sobs that choke the Virgin's breath
For him, the fair betrothéd Youth, who lies
Cold in the narrow dwelling, or the cries
With which a Mother wails her darling's death,
These from our nature's common impulse spring, 5
Unblam'd, unprais'd; but o'er the piléd earth
Which hides the sheeted corse of grey-hair'd Worth,
If droops the soaring Youth with slacken'd wing;
If he recall in saddest minstrelsy
Each tenderness bestow'd, each truth imprest, 10
Such grief is Reason, Virtue, Piety!
And from the Almighty Father shall descend
Comforts on his late evening, whose young breast
Mourns with no transient love the Agéd Friend.
1796.
FOOTNOTES:
TO A YOUNG FRIEND[155:2]
ON HIS PROPOSING TO DOMESTICATE WITH THE AUTHOR
Composed in 1796
A mount, not wearisome and bare and steep,
But a green mountain variously up-piled,
Where o'er the jutting rocks soft mosses creep,
Or colour'd lichens with slow oozing weep;
Where cypress and the darker yew start wild; 5
And, 'mid the summer torrent's gentle dash
Dance brighten'd the red clusters of the ash;
Beneath whose boughs, by those still sounds beguil'd,
Calm Pensiveness might muse herself to sleep;
Till haply startled by some fleecy dam, 10
[156]That rustling on the bushy cliff above
With melancholy bleat of anxious love,
Made meek enquiry for her wandering lamb:
Such a green mountain 'twere most sweet to climb,
E'en while the bosom ach'd with loneliness— 15
How more than sweet, if some dear friend should bless
The adventurous toil, and up the path sublime
Now lead, now follow: the glad landscape round,
Wide and more wide, increasing without bound!
O then 'twere loveliest sympathy, to mark 20
The berries of the half-uprooted ash
Dripping and bright; and list the torrent's dash,—
Beneath the cypress, or the yew more dark,
Seated at ease, on some smooth mossy rock;
In social silence now, and now to unlock 25
The treasur'd heart; arm linked in friendly arm,
Save if the one, his muse's witching charm
Muttering brow-bent, at unwatch'd distance lag;
Till high o'er head his beckoning friend appears,
And from the forehead of the topmost crag 30
Shouts eagerly: for haply there uprears
That shadowing Pine its old romantic limbs,
Which latest shall detain the enamour'd sight
Seen from below, when eve the valley dims,
Tinged yellow with the rich departing light; 35
And haply, bason'd in some unsunn'd cleft,
A beauteous spring, the rock's collected tears,
Sleeps shelter'd there, scarce wrinkled by the gale!
Together thus, the world's vain turmoil left,
Stretch'd on the crag, and shadow'd by the pine, 40
And bending o'er the clear delicious fount,
Ah! dearest youth! it were a lot divine
To cheat our noons in moralising mood,
While west-winds fann'd our temples toil-bedew'd:
Then downwards slope, oft pausing, from the mount, 45
To some lone mansion, in some woody dale,
Where smiling with blue eye, Domestic Bliss
Gives this the Husband's, that the Brother's kiss!
Thus rudely vers'd in allegoric lore,
The Hill of Knowledge I essayed to trace; 50
[157]That verdurous hill with many a resting-place,
And many a stream, whose warbling waters pour
To glad, and fertilise the subject plains;
That hill with secret springs, and nooks untrod,
And many a fancy-blest and holy sod 55
Where Inspiration, his diviner strains
Low-murmuring, lay; and starting from the rock's
Stiff evergreens, (whose spreading foliage mocks
Want's barren soil, and the bleak frosts of age,
And Bigotry's mad fire-invoking rage!) 60
O meek retiring spirit! we will climb,
Cheering and cheered, this lovely hill sublime;
And from the stirring world up-lifted high
(Whose noises, faintly wafted on the wind,
To quiet musings shall attune the mind, 65
And oft the melancholy theme supply),
There, while the prospect through the gazing eye
Pours all its healthful greenness on the soul,
We'll smile at wealth, and learn to smile at fame,
Our hopes, our knowledge, and our joys the same, 70
As neighbouring fountains image each the whole:
Then when the mind hath drunk its fill of truth
We'll discipline the heart to pure delight,
Rekindling sober joy's domestic flame.
They whom I love shall love thee, honour'd youth! 75
Now may Heaven realise this vision bright!
1796.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] To C. Lloyd on his proposing to domesticate, &c. 1797: To a
Friend, &c. 1803. 'Composed in 1796' was added in S. L.
[8] those still] stilly 1797: stillest 1803.
[11] cliff] clift S. L., 1828, 1829.
[16] How heavenly sweet 1797, 1803.
[42] youth] Lloyd 1797: Charles 1803.
[46] lone] low 1797, 1803.
[60] And mad oppression's thunder-clasping rage 1797,
1803.
[69] We'll laugh at wealth, and learn to laugh at fame 1797,
1803.
[71] In 1803 the poem ended with line 71. In the Sibylline
Leaves, 1829, the last five lines were replaced.
[72] hath drunk] has drank 1797: hath drank S. L., 1828,
1829.
[75] She whom I love, shall love thee. Honour'd youth 1797,
S. L., 1817, 1828, 1829. The change of punctuation dates from 1834.
ADDRESSED TO A YOUNG MAN OF FORTUNE[157:1]
[C. Lloyd]
WHO ABANDONED HIMSELF TO AN INDOLENT AND CAUSELESS MELANCHOLY
Hence that fantastic wantonness of woe,
O Youth to partial Fortune vainly dear!
[158]To plunder'd Want's half-shelter'd hovel go,
Go, and some hunger-bitten infant hear
Moan haply in a dying mother's ear: 5
Or when the cold and dismal fog-damps brood
O'er the rank church-yard with sear elm-leaves strew'd,
Pace round some widow's grave, whose dearer part
Was slaughter'd, where o'er his uncoffin'd limbs
The flocking flesh-birds scream'd! Then, while thy heart 10
Groans, and thine eye a fiercer sorrow dims,
Know (and the truth shall kindle thy young mind)
What Nature makes thee mourn, she bids thee heal!
O abject! if, to sickly dreams resign'd,
All effortless thou leave Life's commonweal 15
A prey to Tyrants, Murderers of Mankind.
1796.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Lines, &c., C. I.: To a Young Man who abandoned himself to
a causeless and indolent melancholy MS. Letter, 1796.
[6-7] These lines were omitted in the MS. Letter and 4o
1796, but were replaced in Sibylline Leaves, 1817.
[8] Or seek some widow's MS. Letter, Dec. 17, 1796.
[11] eye] eyes MS. Letter, Dec. 9, 1796, C. I.
[15-16]
earth's common weal
A prey to the thron'd Murderess of Mankind.
MS. Letter, 1796.
All effortless thou leave Earth's commonweal
A prey to the thron'd Murderers of Mankind.
C. I., 1796, 4o.
[Charles Lamb]
WHO HAD DECLARED HIS INTENTION OF WRITING NO
MORE POETRY
Dear Charles! whilst yet thou wert a babe, I ween
That Genius plung'd thee in that wizard fount
Hight Castalie: and (sureties of thy faith)
That Pity and Simplicity stood by,
And promis'd for thee, that thou shouldst renounce 5
The world's low cares and lying vanities,
Steadfast and rooted in the heavenly Muse,
And wash'd and sanctified to Poesy.
[159]Yes—thou wert plung'd, but with forgetful hand
Held, as by Thetis erst her warrior son: 10
And with those recreant unbaptizéd heels
Thou'rt flying from thy bounden ministeries—
So sore it seems and burthensome a task
To weave unwithering flowers! But take thou heed:
For thou art vulnerable, wild-eyed boy, 15
And I have arrows[159:1] mystically dipped
Such as may stop thy speed. Is thy Burns dead?
And shall he die unwept, and sink to earth
'Without the meed of one melodious tear'?
Thy Burns, and Nature's own beloved bard, 20
Who to the 'Illustrious[159:2] of his native Land
So properly did look for patronage.'
Ghost of Mæcenas! hide thy blushing face!
They snatch'd him from the sickle and the plough—
To gauge ale-firkins.
Oh! for shame return! 25
On a bleak rock, midway the Aonian mount,
There stands a lone and melancholy tree,
Whose agéd branches to the midnight blast
Make solemn music: pluck its darkest bough,
Ere yet the unwholesome night-dew be exhaled, 30
And weeping wreath it round thy Poet's tomb.
Then in the outskirts, where pollutions grow,
Pick the rank henbane and the dusky flowers
Of night-shade, or its red and tempting fruit,
These with stopped nostril and glove-guarded hand 35
Knit in nice intertexture, so to twine,
The illustrious brow of Scotch Nobility!
1796.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
[1] whilst] while An. Anth.
[3] of] for S. S., An. Anth.
[25] gauge] guard S. L., 1817 (For 'guard' read 'guage'.
Errata, p. [xii]).
[33] stinking hensbane S. S., An. Anth.: hensbane S. L.,
1817.
[35] Those with stopped nostrils MS. correction in printed
slip of the newspaper. See P. and D. W., 1877, ii. 379.
After 37 E S T E E S I 1796, An. Anth.
[160]
ODE TO THE DEPARTING YEAR[160:1]
Ἰοὺ ἰού, ὢ ὢ κακά.
Ὑπ' αὖ με δεινὸς ὀρθομαντείας πόνος
Στροβεῖ, ταράσσων φροιμίοις δυσφροιμίοις.
* * * * *
Τὸ μέλλον ἥξει. Καὶ σύ μ' τάχει παρὼν
Ἄγαν ἀληθόμαντιν οἰκτείρας ἐρεῖς.
Aeschyl. Agam. 1173-75; 1199-1200.
ARGUMENT
The Ode[160:2] commences with an address to the Divine Providence that
regulates into one vast harmony all the events of time, however
calamitous some of them may appear to mortals. The second Strophe calls
on men to suspend their private joys and sorrows, and devote them for a
while to the cause of human nature in general. The first Epode speaks of
the Empress of Russia, who died of an apoplexy on the 17th of November
1796; having just concluded a subsidiary treaty with the Kings combined
against France. The first and second Antistrophe describe the Image of
the Departing Year, etc., as in a vision. The second Epode prophesies,
in anguish of spirit, the downfall of this country.
Spirit who sweepest the wild Harp of Time!
It is most hard, with an untroubled ear
Thy dark inwoven harmonies to hear!
Yet, mine eye fix'd on Heaven's unchanging clime
Long had I listen'd, free from mortal fear, 5
With inward stillness, and a bowéd mind;
When lo! its folds far waving on the wind,
[161]I saw the train of the Departing Year!
Starting from my silent sadness
Then with no unholy madness, 10
Ere yet the enter'd cloud foreclos'd my sight,
I rais'd the impetuous song, and solemnis'd his flight.
Hither, from the recent tomb,
From the prison's direr gloom,
From Distemper's midnight anguish; 15
And thence, where Poverty doth waste and languish;
Or where, his two bright torches blending,
Love illumines Manhood's maze;
Or where o'er cradled infants bending,
Hope has fix'd her wishful gaze; 20
Hither, in perplexéd dance,
Ye Woes! ye young-eyed Joys! advance!
By Time's wild harp, and by the hand
Whose indefatigable sweep
Raises its fateful strings from sleep, 25
I bid you haste, a mix'd tumultuous band!
From every private bower,
And each domestic hearth,
Haste for one solemn hour;
And with a loud and yet a louder voice, 30
O'er Nature struggling in portentous birth,
Weep and rejoice!
Still echoes the dread Name that o'er the earth[161:2]
[162]Let slip the storm, and woke the brood of Hell:
And now advance in saintly Jubilee 35
Justice and Truth! They too have heard thy spell,
They too obey thy name, divinest Liberty!
I mark'd Ambition in his war-array!
I heard the mailéd Monarch's troublous cry—
'Ah! wherefore does the Northern Conqueress stay![162:2] 40
Groans not her chariot on its onward way?'
Fly, mailéd Monarch, fly!
Stunn'd by Death's twice mortal mace,
No more on Murder's lurid face
The insatiate Hag shall gloat with drunken eye! 45
Manes of the unnumber'd slain!
Ye that gasp'd on Warsaw's plain!
Ye that erst at Ismail's tower,
When human ruin choked the streams,
Fell in Conquest's glutted hour, 50
Mid women's shrieks and infants' screams!
Spirits of the uncoffin'd slain,
[163]Sudden blasts of triumph swelling,
Oft, at night, in misty train,
Rush around her narrow dwelling! 55
The exterminating Fiend is fled—
(Foul her life, and dark her doom)
Mighty armies of the dead
Dance, like death-fires, round her tomb!
Then with prophetic song relate, 60
Each some Tyrant-Murderer's fate!
[164]
Departing Year! 'twas on no earthly shore
My soul beheld thy Vision![164:2] Where alone,
Voiceless and stern, before the cloudy throne,
Aye Memory sits: thy robe inscrib'd with gore, 65
With many an unimaginable groan
Thou storied'st thy sad hours! Silence ensued,
Deep silence o'er the ethereal multitude,
Whose locks with wreaths, whose wreaths with glories shone.
Then, his eye wild ardours glancing, 70
From the choiréd gods advancing,
The Spirit of the Earth made reverence meet,
And stood up, beautiful, before the cloudy seat.
Throughout the blissful throng,
Hush'd were harp and song: 75
Till wheeling round the throne the Lampads seven,
(The mystic Words of Heaven)
Permissive signal make:
The fervent Spirit bow'd, then spread his wings and spake!
[165]'Thou in stormy blackness throning 80
Love and uncreated Light,
By the Earth's unsolaced groaning,
Seize thy terrors, Arm of might!
By Peace with proffer'd insult scared,
Masked Hate and envying Scorn! 85
By years of Havoc yet unborn!
And Hunger's bosom to the frost-winds bared!
But chief by Afric's wrongs,
Strange, horrible, and foul!
By what deep guilt belongs 90
To the deaf Synod, 'full of gifts and lies!'[165:1]
By Wealth's insensate laugh! by Torture's howl!
Avenger, rise!
For ever shall the thankless Island scowl,
Her quiver full, and with unbroken bow? 95
Speak! from thy storm-black Heaven O speak aloud!
And on the darkling foe
Open thine eye of fire from some uncertain cloud!
O dart the flash! O rise and deal the blow!
The Past to thee, to thee the Future cries! 100
Hark! how wide Nature joins her groans below!
Rise, God of Nature! rise.'
[166]
The voice had ceas'd, the Vision fled;
Yet still I gasp'd and reel'd with dread.
And ever, when the dream of night 105
Renews the phantom to my sight,
Cold sweat-drops gather on my limbs;
My ears throb hot; my eye-balls start;
My brain with horrid tumult swims;
Wild is the tempest of my heart; 110
And my thick and struggling breath
Imitates the toil of death!
No stranger agony confounds
The Soldier on the war-field spread,
When all foredone with toil and wounds, 115
Death-like he dozes among heaps of dead!
(The strife is o'er, the day-light fled,
And the night-wind clamours hoarse!
See! the starting wretch's head
Lies pillow'd on a brother's corse!) 120
VII
Not yet enslaved, not wholly vile,
O Albion! O my mother Isle!
Thy valleys, fair as Eden's bowers,
Glitter green with sunny showers;
Thy grassy uplands' gentle swells 125
Echo to the bleat of flocks;
(Those grassy hills, those glittering dells
Proudly ramparted with rocks)
And Ocean mid his uproar wild
[167]Speaks safety to his Island-child! 130
Hence for many a fearless age
Has social Quiet lov'd thy shore;
Nor ever proud Invader's rage
Or sack'd thy towers, or stain'd thy fields with gore.
VIII
Abandon'd of Heaven![167:1] mad Avarice thy guide, 135
At cowardly distance, yet kindling with pride—
Mid thy herds and thy corn-fields secure thou hast stood,
And join'd the wild yelling of Famine and Blood!
The nations curse thee! They with eager wondering
[168]Shall hear Destruction, like a vulture, scream! 140
Strange-eyed Destruction! who with many a dream
Of central fires through nether seas up-thundering
Soothes her fierce solitude; yet as she lies
By livid fount, or red volcanic stream,
If ever to her lidless dragon-eyes, 145
O Albion! thy predestin'd ruins rise,
The fiend-hag on her perilous couch doth leap,
Muttering distemper'd triumph in her charméd sleep.
IX
Away, my soul, away!
In vain, in vain the Birds of warning sing— 150
And hark! I hear the famish'd brood of prey
Flap their lank pennons on the groaning wind!
Away, my soul, away!
I unpartaking of the evil thing,
With daily prayer and daily toil 155
Soliciting for food my scanty soil,
Have wail'd my country with a loud Lament.
Now I recentre my immortal mind
In the deep Sabbath of meek self-content;
Cleans'd from the vaporous passions that bedim 160
God's Image, sister of the Seraphim.[168:1]
1796.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Ode for the last day of the Year 1796, C. I.: Ode on the
Departing Year 4o, 1797, 1803, S. L., 1817, 1828, 1829.
Motto] 3-5 All editions (4o to 1834) read
ἐφημίοις for δυσφροιμίοις, and Ἄγαν γ' for
Ἄγαν; and all before 1834 μην for μ' ἐν.
I] Strophe I C. I., 4o, 1797, 1803.
[4] unchanging] unchanged 4o.
[6] and a bowéd] and submitted 1803, S. L., 1817, 1828,
1829.
[7]
When lo! far onwards waving on the wind
I saw the skirts of the Departing Year.
C. I., 4o, 1797, 1803.
[11] Ere yet he pierc'd the cloud and mock'd my sight C. I.
foreclos'd] forebade 4o, 1797, 1803.
II] Strophe II C. I., 4o, 1797, 1803.
[15-16]
From Poverty's heart-wasting languish
From Distemper's midnight anguish
C. I., 4o, 1797, 1803.
[22] Ye Sorrows, and ye Joys advance C. I. ye] and 4o,
1797, 1803.
[25] Forbids its fateful strings to sleep C. I., 4o,
1797, 1803.
[31] O'er the sore travail of the common Earth C. I., 4o.
[33-7]
Seiz'd in sore travail and portentous birth
(Her eyeballs flashing a pernicious glare)
Sick Nature struggles! Hark! her pangs increase!
Her groans are horrible! but O! most fair
The promis'd Twins she bears—Equality and Peace!
C. I., 4o.
[36] thy] the 1797, 1803.
III] Epode C. I., 4o, 1797, 1803.
[40] Ah! whither C. I., 4o.
[41] on] o'er C. I., 4o, 1797, 1803.
[43] 'twice mortal' mace C. I., 4o, 1797, 1803.
[45] The insatiate] That tyrant C. I.] drunken] frenzied C.
I.
Between 51 and 52
Whose shrieks, whose screams were vain to stir
Loud-laughing, red-eyed Massacre
C. I., 4o, 1797, 1803.
[58] armies] Army C. I., 4o, 1797, 1803.
[61] Tyrant-Murderer's] scepter'd Murderer's C. I., 4o,
1797, 1803.
After 61
When shall sceptred Slaughter cease?
A while he crouch'd, O Victor France!
Beneath the lightning of thy lance;
With treacherous dalliance courting Peace—[163:A]
But soon upstarting from his coward trance
The boastful bloody Son of Pride betray'd
His ancient hatred of the dove-eyed Maid.
A cloud, O Freedom! cross'd thy orb of Light,
And sure he deem'd that orb was set in night:
For still does Madness roam on Guilt's bleak dizzy height!
C. I.
When shall sceptred, &c.
* * * * *
With treacherous dalliance wooing Peace.
But soon up-springing from his dastard trance
The boastful bloody Son of Pride betray'd
His hatred of the blest and blessing Maid.
One cloud, O Freedom! cross'd thy orb of Light,
And sure he deem'd that orb was quench'd in night:
For still, &c.
4o.
[163:A] To juggle this easily-juggled people into better humour with the
supplies (and themselves, perhaps, affrighted by the successes of the
French) our Ministry sent an Ambassador to Paris to sue for Peace. The
supplies are granted: and in the meantime the Archduke Charles turns the
scale of victory on the Rhine, and Buonaparte is checked before Mantua.
Straightways our courtly messenger is commanded to uncurl his lips,
and propose to the lofty Republic to restore all its conquests, and
to suffer England to retain all hers (at least all her important
ones), as the only terms of Peace, and the ultimatum of the negotiation!
Θρασύνει γὰρ αἰσχρόμητις
Τάλαινα ΠΑΡΑΚΟΠΑ πρωτοπήμων—Aeschyl., Ag. 222-4.
The friends of Freedom in this country are idle. Some are timid; some
are selfish; and many the torpedo torch of hopelessness has numbed into
inactivity. We would fain hope that (if the above account be
accurate—it is only the French account) this dreadful instance of
infatuation in our Ministry will rouse them to one effort more; and that
at one and the same time in our different great towns the people will be
called on to think solemnly, and declare their thoughts fearlessly by
every method which the remnant of the Constitution allows. 4o.
IV] Antistrophe I. C. I., 4o, 1797, 1803.
[62] no earthly] an awful C. I.
[65] thy . . . gore] there garmented with gore C. I., 4o,
1797.
[65-7]
Aye Memory sits: thy vest profan'd with gore.
Thou with an unimaginable groan
Gav'st reck'ning of thy Hours!
1803.
[68] ethereal] choired C. I.
[69] Whose purple locks with snow-white glories shone C. I.,
4o: Whose wreathed locks with snow-white glories shone 1797,
1803.
V] Antistrophe II. C. I., 4o, 1797, 1803.
[74-9]
On every Harp on every Tongue
While the mute Enchantment hung:
Like Midnight from a thunder-cloud
Spake the sudden Spirit loud.
C. I., 4o, 1797, 1803.
The sudden Spirit cried aloud.
C. I.
Like Thunder from a Midnight Cloud
Spake the sudden Spirit loud
1803.
Between 83 and 84
By Belgium's corse-impeded flood,[165:A]
By Vendee steaming [streaming C. I.] Brother's blood.
C. I., 4o, 1797, 1803.
[165:A] The Rhine. C. I., 1797, 1803.
[85] And mask'd Hate C. I.
[87] By Hunger's bosom to the bleak winds bar'd C. I.
[91] Synod] Senate 1797, 1803.
[94-102]
For ever shall the bloody island scowl?
For ever shall her vast and iron bow
Shoot Famine's evil arrows o'er the world,[165:B]
Hark! how wide Nature joins her groans below;
Rise, God of Mercy, rise! why sleep thy bolts unhurl'd?
C. I.
For ever shall the bloody Island scowl?
For aye, unbroken shall her cruel Bow
Shoot Famine's arrows o'er thy ravaged World?
Hark! how wide Nature joins her groans below—
Rise, God of Nature, rise, why sleep thy Bolts unhurl'd?
4o, 1797, 1803.
Rise God of Nature, rise! ah! why those bolts unhurl'd?
1797, 1803.
[165:B] 'In Europe the smoking villages of Flanders and the putrified
fields of La Vendée—from Africa the unnumbered victims of a detestable
Slave-Trade. In Asia the desolated plains of Indostan, and the millions
whom a rice-contracting Governor caused to perish. In America the recent
enormities of the Scalp-merchants. The four quarters of the globe groan
beneath the intolerable iniquity of the nation.' See 'Addresses to the
People', p. 46. C. I.
[102] Here the Ode ends C. I.
VI] Epode II. 4o, 1797, 1803.
[103] Vision] Phantoms 4o, 1797, 1803.
[106] phantom] vision 4o, 1797, 1803.
[107] sweat-drops] sweat-damps 4o, 1797, 1803.
[113] stranger] uglier 4o.
[119] starting] startful 4o, 1797, 1803.
[121] O doom'd to fall, enslav'd and vile 4o, 1797,
1803.
[133] proud Invader's] sworded Foeman's 4o, 1797: sworded
Warrior's 1803.
[135-9]
Disclaim'd of Heaven! mad Avarice at thy side
4o, 1797.
At coward distance, yet with kindling pride—
Safe 'mid thy herds and cornfields thou hast stood,
And join'd the yell of Famine and of Blood.
All nations curse thee: and with eager wond'ring
4o, 1797.
[137-8]
Mid thy Corn-fields and Herds thou in plenty hast stood
And join'd the loud yellings of Famine and Blood.
1803.
[139] They] and 1797, 1803, S. L. 1817.
[144]
Stretch'd on the marge of some fire-flashing fount
In the black Chamber of a sulphur'd mount.
4o.
[144] By livid fount, or roar of blazing stream 1797.
[146] Visions of thy predestin'd ruins rise 1803.
[151] famish'd] famin'd 4o.
[156] Soliciting my scant and blameless soil 4o.
[159-60]
In the long sabbath of high self-content.
Cleans'd from the fleshly passions that bedim
4o.
In the deep sabbath of blest self-content
Cleans'd from the fears and anguish that bedim
1797.
In the blest sabbath of high self-content
Cleans'd from bedimming Fear, and Anguish weak and blind.
1803.
[169]
A CHRISTMAS TALE, TOLD BY A SCHOOL-BOY TO HIS
LITTLE BROTHERS AND SISTERS
Underneath an old oak tree
There was of swine a huge company,
That grunted as they crunched the mast:
For that was ripe, and fell full fast.
Then they trotted away, for the wind grew high: 5
One acorn they left, and no more might you spy.
Next came a Raven, that liked not such folly:
He belonged, they did say, to the witch Melancholy!
Blacker was he than blackest jet,
Flew low in the rain, and his feathers not wet. 10
[170]He picked up the acorn and buried it straight
By the side of a river both deep and great.
Where then did the Raven go?
He went high and low,
Over hill, over dale, did the black Raven go. 15
Many Autumns, many Springs
Travelled[170:1] he with wandering wings:
Many Summers, many Winters—
I can't tell half his adventures.
At length he came back, and with him a She, 20
And the acorn was grown to a tall oak tree.
They built them a nest in the topmost bough,
And young ones they had, and were happy enow.
But soon came a Woodman in leathern guise,
His brow, like a pent-house, hung over his eyes. 25
He'd an axe in his hand, not a word he spoke,
But with many a hem! and a sturdy stroke,
At length he brought down the poor Raven's own oak.
His young ones were killed; for they could not depart,
And their mother did die of a broken heart. 30
The boughs from the trunk the Woodman did sever;
And they floated it down on the course of the river.
They sawed it in planks, and its bark they did strip,
And with this tree and others they made a good ship.
The ship, it was launched; but in sight of the land 35
Such a storm there did rise as no ship could withstand.
It bulged on a rock, and the waves rush'd in fast:
Round and round flew the raven, and cawed to the blast.
[171]He heard the last shriek of the perishing souls—
See! see! o'er the topmast the mad water rolls! 40
Right glad was the Raven, and off he went fleet,
And Death riding home on a cloud he did meet,
And he thank'd him again and again for this treat:
They had taken his all, and Revenge it was sweet!
1797.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] 'A Christmas Tale,' &c., was first prefixed in S. L. 1817.
The letter introduced the poem in the Morning Post. In the Annual
Anthology the 'Letter' is headed 'The Raven'. Lamb in a letter to
Coleridge, dated Feb. 5, 1797, alludes to this poem as 'Your Dream'.
[1-8]
Under the arms of a goodly oak-tree
There was of Swine a large company.
They were making a rude repast,
Grunting as they crunch'd the mast.
Then they trotted away: for the wind blew high— 5
One acorn they left, ne more mote you spy,
Next came a Raven, who lik'd not such folly:
He belong'd, I believe, to the witch Melancholy!
M. P., An. Anth., and (with variants given below) MS. S. T. C.
[1] Beneath a goodly old oak tree MS. S. T. C.: an old] a
huge S. L. 1817, 1828, 1829.
[6] ne more] and no more MS. S. T. C.
[7] Next] But soon MS. S. T. C.
[8] belonged it was said S. L. 1817.
[10] in the rain; his feathers were wet M. P., An. Anth.,
MS. S. T. C.
[15] O'er hill, o'er dale M. P.
[17] with] on MS. S. T. C.
[20] came back] return'd M. P., An. Anth., MS. S. T. C.
[21] to a tall] a large M. P., An. Anth., MS. S. T. C.
[22] topmost] uppermost MS. S. T. C.
[23] happy] jolly M. P., An. Anth.
[26] and he nothing spoke M. P., An. Anth., MS. S. T.
C.
[28] At length] Wel-a-day MS. S. T. C.: At last M. P., An.
Anth.
[30] And his wife she did die M. P., An. Anth., MS. S. T.
C.
[31] The branches from off it M. P., An. Anth.: The
branches from off this the MS. S. T. C.
[32] And floated MS. S. T. C.
[33] They saw'd it to planks, and its rind M. P., An.
Anth.: They saw'd it to planks and its bark MS. S. T. C.
[34] they built up a ship M. P., An. Anth.
[36] Such . . . ship] A tempest arose which no ship M. P., An.
Anth., MS. S. T. C.
[38] The auld raven flew round and round M. P., An. Anth.:
The old raven flew round and round MS. S. T. C., S. L. 1817, 1828,
1829.
[39] He heard the sea-shriek of their perishing souls M. P.,
An. Anth., MS. S. T. C.
[40-4]
They be sunk! O'er the topmast the mad water rolls
The Raven was glad that such fate they did meet.
They had taken his all and Revenge was sweet.
M. P., An. Anth.
[40] See she sinks MS. S. T. C.
[41] Very glad was the Raven, this fate they did meet MS. S.
T. C.
[44] Revenge was sweet. An. Anth., MS. S. T. C., S. L.
1817, 1828, 1829.
After l. 44, two lines were added in Sibylline Leaves,
1817:—
We must not think so; but forget and forgive,
And what Heaven gives life to, we'll still let it live.[171:A]
[171:A] Added thro' cowardly fear of the Goody! What a Hollow, where the
Heart of Faith ought to be, does it not betray? this alarm concerning
Christian morality, that will not permit even a Raven to be a Raven, nor
a Fox a Fox, but demands conventicular justice to be inflicted on their
unchristian conduct, or at least an antidote to be annexed. MS. Note by
S. T. C.
TO AN UNFORTUNATE WOMAN
AT THE THEATRE[171:1]
Maiden, that with sullen brow
Sitt'st behind those virgins gay,
Like a scorch'd and mildew'd bough,
Leafless 'mid the blooms of May!
Him who lur'd thee and forsook, 5
Oft I watch'd with angry gaze,
Fearful saw his pleading look,
Anxious heard his fervid phrase.
[172]
Soft the glances of the Youth,
Soft his speech, and soft his sigh; 10
But no sound like simple Truth,
But no true love in his eye.
Loathing thy polluted lot,
Hie thee, Maiden, hie thee hence!
Seek thy weeping Mother's cot, 15
With a wiser innocence.
Thou hast known deceit and folly,
Thou hast felt that Vice is woe:
With a musing melancholy
Inly arm'd, go, Maiden! go. 20
Mother sage of Self-dominion,
Firm thy steps, O Melancholy!
The strongest plume in Wisdom's pinion
Is the memory of past folly.
Mute the sky-lark and forlorn, 25
While she moults the firstling plumes,
That had skimm'd the tender corn,
Or the beanfield's odorous blooms.
Soon with renovated wing
Shall she dare a loftier flight, 30
Upward to the Day-Star spring,
And embathe in heavenly light.
1797.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] To an Unfortunate Woman in the Back Seats of the Boxes at the
Theatre M. P.: To an Unfortunate Young Woman whom I had known in the
days of her Innocence MS. sent to Cottle, E. R. i. 213: To an
Unfortunate Woman whom the Author knew in the days of her Innocence.
Composed at the Theatre An. Anth. 1800.
[1] Maiden] Sufferer An. Anth.
In place of 5-12
Inly gnawing, thy distresses
Mock those starts of wanton glee;
And thy inmost soul confesses
Chaste Affection's [affliction's An. Anth.] majesty.
MS. Cottle, An. Anth.
[14] Maiden] Sufferer An. Anth.
[22] Firm are thy steps M. P.
[25] sky-lark] Lavrac MS. Cottle, An. Anth.
[26] the] those MS. Cottle, M. P., An. Anth.
[27] Which late had M. P.
[31] Upwards to the day star sing MS. Cottle, An. Anth.
Stanzas ii, iii, v, vi are not in MS. Cottle nor in the
Annual Anthology.
TO AN UNFORTUNATE WOMAN[172:1]
WHOM THE AUTHOR HAD KNOWN IN THE DAYS
OF HER INNOCENCE
Myrtle-leaf that, ill besped,
Pinest in the gladsome ray,
Soil'd beneath the common tread
Far from thy protecting spray!
[173]
When the Partridge o'er the sheaf 5
Whirr'd along the yellow vale,
Sad I saw thee, heedless leaf!
Love the dalliance of the gale.
Lightly didst thou, foolish thing!
Heave and flutter to his sighs, 10
While the flatterer, on his wing,
Woo'd and whisper'd thee to rise.
Gaily from thy mother-stalk
Wert thou danc'd and wafted high—
Soon on this unshelter'd walk 15
Flung to fade, to rot and die.
1797.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Allegorical Lines on the Same Subject MS. Cottle.
[5]
When the scythes-man o'er his sheaf
Caroll'd in the yellow vale
MS. Cottle.
When the rustic o'er his sheaf
Caroll'd in, &c.
1797.
[Note. The text of Stanza ii dates from 1803.]
[9] foolish] poor fond MS. Cottle.
[15] Soon upon this sheltered walk, MS. Cottle, Second
Version.
[16] to fade, and rot. MS. Cottle.
TO THE REV. GEORGE COLERIDGE[173:1]
OF OTTERY ST. MARY, DEVON
With some Poems
Notus in fratres animi paterni.
Hor. Carm. lib. ii. 2.
A blesséd lot hath he, who having passed
His youth and early manhood in the stir
And turmoil of the world, retreats at length,
With cares that move, not agitate the heart,
To the same dwelling where his father dwelt; 5
[174]And haply views his tottering little ones
Embrace those agéd knees and climb that lap,
On which first kneeling his own infancy
Lisp'd its brief prayer. Such, O my earliest Friend!
Thy lot, and such thy brothers too enjoy. 10
At distance did ye climb Life's upland road,
Yet cheer'd and cheering: now fraternal love
Hath drawn you to one centre. Be your days
Holy, and blest and blessing may ye live!
To me the Eternal Wisdom hath dispens'd 15
A different fortune and more different mind—
Me from the spot where first I sprang to light
Too soon transplanted, ere my soul had fix'd
Its first domestic loves; and hence through life
Chasing chance-started friendships. A brief while 20
Some have preserv'd me from life's pelting ills;
But, like a tree with leaves of feeble stem,
If the clouds lasted, and a sudden breeze
Ruffled the boughs, they on my head at once
Dropped the collected shower; and some most false, 25
False and fair-foliag'd as the Manchineel,
Have tempted me to slumber in their shade
E'en mid the storm; then breathing subtlest damps,
Mix'd their own venom with the rain from Heaven,
That I woke poison'd! But, all praise to Him 30
Who gives us all things, more have yielded me
Permanent shelter; and beside one Friend,
Beneath the impervious covert of one oak,
I've rais'd a lowly shed, and know the names
Of Husband and of Father; not unhearing 35
Of that divine and nightly-whispering Voice,
Which from my childhood to maturer years
Spake to me of predestinated wreaths,
Bright with no fading colours!
Yet at times
My soul is sad, that I have roam'd through life 40
Still most a stranger, most with naked heart
[175]At mine own home and birth-place: chiefly then,
When I remember thee, my earliest Friend!
Thee, who didst watch my boyhood and my youth;
Didst trace my wanderings with a father's eye; 45
And boding evil yet still hoping good,
Rebuk'd each fault, and over all my woes
Sorrow'd in silence! He who counts alone
The beatings of the solitary heart,
That Being knows, how I have lov'd thee ever, 50
Lov'd as a brother, as a son rever'd thee!
Oh! 'tis to me an ever new delight,
To talk of thee and thine: or when the blast
Of the shrill winter, rattling our rude sash,
Endears the cleanly hearth and social bowl; 55
Or when, as now, on some delicious eve,
We in our sweet sequester'd orchard-plot
Sit on the tree crook'd earth-ward; whose old boughs,
That hang above us in an arborous roof,
Stirr'd by the faint gale of departing May, 60
Send their loose blossoms slanting o'er our heads!
Nor dost not thou sometimes recall those hours,
When with the joy of hope thou gavest thine ear
To my wild firstling-lays. Since then my song
Hath sounded deeper notes, such as beseem 65
Or that sad wisdom folly leaves behind,
Or such as, tuned to these tumultuous times,
Cope with the tempest's swell!
Those various strains,
Which I have fram'd in many a various mood,
Accept, my Brother! and (for some perchance 70
Will strike discordant on thy milder mind)
If aught of error or intemperate truth
Should meet thine ear, think thou that riper Age
Will calm it down, and let thy love forgive it!
Nether-Stowey, Somerset, May 26, 1797.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Motto] lib. i. 2 S. L. 1817, 1828, 1829, 1834.
[10] Thine and thy Brothers' favourable lot. 1803.
[30] That I woke prison'd! But (the praise be His 1803.
[33-4]
I as beneath the covert of an oak
Have rais'd
1803.
[35] not] nor 1797, 1803, S. L. 1817, 1828, 1829.
[47-9]
Rebuk'd each fault, and wept o'er all my woes.
Who counts the beatings of the lonely heart
1797, 1803.
Between 52-3 My eager eye glist'ning with memry's tear
1797.
[62] thou] thou all editions to 1834.
Between 66-7 Or the high raptures of prophetic Faith
1797, 1803.
[68] strains] songs 1797, 1803.
[176]
ON THE CHRISTENING OF A FRIEND'S CHILD[176:1]
This day among the faithful plac'd
And fed with fontal manna,
O with maternal title grac'd,
Dear Anna's dearest Anna!
While others wish thee wise and fair, 5
A maid of spotless fame,
I'll breathe this more compendious prayer—
May'st thou deserve thy name!
Thy mother's name, a potent spell,
That bids the Virtues hie 10
From mystic grove and living cell,
Confess'd to Fancy's eye;
Meek Quietness without offence;
Content in homespun kirtle;
True Love; and True Love's Innocence, 15
White Blossom of the Myrtle!
Associates of thy name, sweet Child!
These Virtues may'st thou win;
With face as eloquently mild
To say, they lodge within. 20
So, when her tale of days all flown,
Thy mother shall be miss'd here;
When Heaven at length shall claim its own
And Angels snatch their Sister;
Some hoary-headed friend, perchance, 25
May gaze with stifled breath;
And oft, in momentary trance,
Forget the waste of death.
Even thus a lovely rose I've view'd
In summer-swelling pride; 30
Nor mark'd the bud, that green and rude
Peep'd at the rose's side.
[177]
It chanc'd I pass'd again that way
In Autumn's latest hour,
And wond'ring saw the selfsame spray 35
Rich with the selfsame flower.
Ah fond deceit! the rude green bud
Alike in shape, place, name,
Had bloom'd where bloom'd its parent stud,
Another and the same! 40
1797.
FOOTNOTES:
OF A LATIN INSCRIPTION BY THE REV. W. L. BOWLES IN
NETHER-STOWEY CHURCH
Depart in joy from this world's noise and strife
To the deep quiet of celestial life!
Depart!—Affection's self reproves the tear
Which falls, O honour'd Parent! on thy bier;—
Yet Nature will be heard, the heart will swell, 5
And the voice tremble with a last Farewell!
1797.
[The Tablet is erected to the Memory of Richard Camplin, who died Jan.
20, 1792.
'Lætus abi! mundi strepitu curisque remotus;
Lætus abi! cæli quâ vocat alma Quies.
Ipsa fides loquitur lacrymamque incusat inanem,
Quæ cadit in vestros, care Pater, Cineres.
Heu! tantum liceat meritos hos solvere Ritus, 5
Naturæ et tremulâ dicere Voce, Vale!']
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
[6] Et longum tremulâ L. R. 1836.
[178]
THIS LIME-TREE BOWER MY PRISON[178:1]
[ADDRESSED TO CHARLES LAMB, OF THE INDIA HOUSE, LONDON]
In the June of 1797 some long-expected friends paid a visit to the
author's cottage; and on the morning of their arrival, he met with an
accident, which disabled him from walking during the whole time of their
stay. One evening, when they had left him for a few hours, he composed
the following lines in the garden-bower.[178:2]
Well, they are gone, and here must I remain,
This lime-tree bower my prison! I have lost
Beauties and feelings, such as would have been
[179]Most sweet to my remembrance even when age
Had dimm'd mine eyes to blindness! They, meanwhile, 5
Friends, whom I never more may meet again,
On springy[179:1] heath, along the hill-top edge,
Wander in gladness, and wind down, perchance,
To that still roaring dell, of which I told;
The roaring dell, o'erwooded, narrow, deep, 10
And only speckled by the mid-day sun;
Where its slim trunk the ash from rock to rock
Flings arching like a bridge;—that branchless ash,
Unsunn'd and damp, whose few poor yellow leaves
Ne'er tremble in the gale, yet tremble still, 15
Fann'd by the water-fall! and there my friends
Behold the dark green file of long lank weeds,[179:2]
That all at once (a most fantastic sight!)
Still nod and drip beneath the dripping edge
Of the blue clay-stone.
Now, my friends emerge 20
Beneath the wide wide Heaven—and view again
The many-steepled tract magnificent
Of hilly fields and meadows, and the sea,
With some fair bark, perhaps, whose sails light up
The slip of smooth clear blue betwixt two Isles 25
Of purple shadow! Yes! they wander on
In gladness all; but thou, methinks, most glad,
My gentle-hearted Charles! for thou hast pined
And hunger'd after Nature, many a year,
In the great City pent, winning thy way 30
With sad yet patient soul, through evil and pain
And strange calamity! Ah! slowly sink
Behind the western ridge, thou glorious Sun!
Shine in the slant beams of the sinking orb,
[180]Ye purple heath-flowers! richlier burn, ye clouds! 35
Live in the yellow light, ye distant groves!
And kindle, thou blue Ocean! So my friend
Struck with deep joy may stand, as I have stood,
Silent with swimming sense; yea, gazing round
On the wide landscape, gaze till all doth seem 40
Less gross than bodily; and of such hues
As veil the Almighty Spirit, when yet he makes
Spirits perceive his presence.
A delight
Comes sudden on my heart, and I am glad
As I myself were there! Nor in this bower, 45
This little lime-tree bower, have I not mark'd
Much that has sooth'd me. Pale beneath the blaze
Hung the transparent foliage; and I watch'd
Some broad and sunny leaf, and lov'd to see
The shadow of the leaf and stem above 50
Dappling its sunshine! And that walnut-tree
Was richly ting'd, and a deep radiance lay
Full on the ancient ivy, which usurps
Those fronting elms, and now, with blackest mass
[181]Makes their dark branches gleam a lighter hue 55
Through the late twilight: and though now the bat
Wheels silent by, and not a swallow twitters,
Yet still the solitary humble-bee
Sings in the bean-flower! Henceforth I shall know
That Nature ne'er deserts the wise and pure; 60
No plot so narrow, be but Nature there,
No waste so vacant, but may well employ
Each faculty of sense, and keep the heart
Awake to Love and Beauty! and sometimes
'Tis well to be bereft of promis'd good, 65
That we may lift the soul, and contemplate
With lively joy the joys we cannot share.
My gentle-hearted Charles! when the last rook
Beat its straight path along the dusky air
Homewards, I blest it! deeming its black wing 70
(Now a dim speck, now vanishing in light)
Had cross'd the mighty Orb's dilated glory,
While thou stood'st gazing; or, when all was still,
Flew creeking o'er thy head, and had a charm[181:1]
For thee, my gentle-hearted Charles, to whom 75
No sound is dissonant which tells of Life.
1797.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] This Lime-Tree Bower my Prison. A Poem Addressed, &c. An.
Anth.: the words 'Addressed to', &c., are omitted in Sibylline
Leaves, 1828, 1829, and 1834.
[1-28]
Well, they are gone, and here must I remain,
Lam'd by the scathe of fire, lonely and faint,
This lime-tree bower my prison! They, meantime,
My Friends, whom I may never meet again,
On springy heath, along the hill-top edge 5
Wander delighted, and look down, perchance,
On that same rifted dell, where many an ash
Twists its wild limbs beside the ferny rock
Whose plumy[178:A] ferns forever nod and drip
Spray'd by the waterfall. But chiefly thou 10
My gentle-hearted Charles! thou who had pin'd
MS. Letter to Southey, July 17, 1797.
[178:A] The ferns that grow in moist places grow five or six together,
and form a complete 'Prince of Wales's Feather'—that is plumy. Letter
to Southey.
[1-28]
Well they are gone, and here I must remain
This lime-tree, . . . hill-top edge
Delighted wander, and look down, perchance,
On that same rifted dell, where the wet ash
Twists its wild limbs above, . . . who hast pin'd
MS. Letter to Lloyd [July, 1797].
[3] Such beauties and such feelings, as had been An. Anth.,
S. L.
[4] my remembrance] to have remembered An. Anth.
[6] My Friends, whom I may never meet again An. Anth., S.
L.
[22] tract] track An. Anth., S. L. 1828.
[24] bark, perhaps, which lightly touches An. Anth.
[28] hast] had'st An. Anth.
[31] patient] bowed MS. Letter to Southey.
[34] beams] heaven MS. Letter to Southey.
38 foll.
Struck with joy's deepest calm, and gazing round
On the wide view[180:A] may gaze till all doth seem
Less gross than bodily; a living thing
That acts upon the mind, and with such hues
As clothe th' Almighty Spirit, when he makes.
MS. Letter to Southey.
[180:A] You remember I am a Berkleyan. Note to Letter.
[40] (for wild r. wide; and the two following lines thus:
Less gross than bodily; and of such hues
As veil the Almighty Spirit
Errata, S. L., p. [xii].)
As veil the Almighty Spirit, when he makes
1828.
41 foll.
Less gross than bodily, a living thing
Which acts upon the mind and with such hues
As cloathe the Almighty Spirit, when he makes
An. Anth., S. L.
45 foll.
As I myself were there! Nor in the bower
Want I sweet sounds or pleasing shapes. I watch'd
The sunshine of each broad transparent leaf
Broke by the shadows of the leaf or stem
Which hung above it: and that walnut tree
MS. Letter to Southey.
[55] branches] foliage MS. Letter to Southey.
[56] and though the rapid bat MS. Letter to Southey.
[60-64] om. in MS. Letter to Lloyd.
[61-2] No scene so narrow but may well employ MS. Letter to
Southey, An. Anth.
[65] My Sister and my Friends MS. Letter to Southey: My Sara
and my Friends MS. Letter to Lloyd.
[70] Homewards] Homeward MS. Letter to Lloyd.
[71] om. in MS. Letter to Lloyd. in the light An. Anth.,
S. L. (omit the before light. Errata, S. L., [p. xii]).
[72] Cross'd like a speck the blaze of setting day MS. Letter
to Southey: Had cross'd the mighty orb's dilated blase. MS. Letter to
Lloyd.
[73] While ye [you MS. Letter to Lloyd] stood MS. Letter to
Southey.
[74] thy head] your heads MSS. Letters to Southey and Lloyd.
[75] For you my Sister and my Friends MS. Letter to Southey:
For you my Sara and my Friends MS. Letter to Lloyd.
[182]
THE FOSTER-MOTHER'S TALE[182:1]
A DRAMATIC FRAGMENT
[From Osorio, Act IV. The title and text are here printed
from Lyrical Ballads, 1798.]
Foster-Mother. I never saw the man whom you describe.
Maria. 'Tis strange! he spake of you familiarly
As mine and Albert's common Foster-mother.
Foster-Mother. Now blessings on the man, whoe'er he be,
That joined your names with mine! O my sweet lady, 5
As often as I think of those dear times
When you two little ones would stand at eve
On each side of my chair, and make me learn
All you had learnt in the day; and how to talk
In gentle phrase, then bid me sing to you— 10
'Tis more like heaven to come than what has been!
Maria. O my dear Mother! this strange man has left me
Troubled with wilder fancies, than the moon
[183]Breeds in the love-sick maid who gazes at it,
Till lost in inward vision, with wet eye 15
She gazes idly!—But that entrance, Mother!
Foster-Mother. Can no one hear? It is a perilous tale!
Maria. No one.
Foster-Mother. My husband's father told it me,
Poor old Leoni!—Angels rest his soul!
He was a woodman, and could fell and saw 20
With lusty arm. You know that huge round beam
Which props the hanging wall of the old Chapel?
Beneath that tree, while yet it was a tree,
He found a baby wrapt in mosses, lined
With thistle-beards, and such small locks of wool 25
As hang on brambles. Well, he brought him home,
And rear'd him at the then Lord Velez' cost.
And so the babe grew up a pretty boy,
A pretty boy, but most unteachable—
And never learnt a prayer, nor told a bead, 30
But knew the names of birds, and mock'd their notes,
And whistled, as he were a bird himself:
And all the autumn 'twas his only play
To get the seeds of wild flowers, and to plant them
With earth and water, on the stumps of trees. 35
A Friar, who gather'd simples in the wood,
A grey-haired man—he lov'd this little boy,
The boy lov'd him—and, when the Friar taught him,
He soon could write with the pen: and from that time,
Lived chiefly at the Convent or the Castle. 40
So he became a very learnéd youth.
But Oh! poor wretch!—he read, and read, and read,
Till his brain turn'd—and ere his twentieth year,
He had unlawful thoughts of many things:
And though he prayed, he never lov'd to pray 45
With holy men, nor in a holy place—
But yet his speech, it was so soft and sweet,
The late Lord Velez ne'er was wearied with him.
[184]And once, as by the north side of the Chapel
They stood together, chain'd in deep discourse, 50
The earth heav'd under them with such a groan,
That the wall totter'd, and had well-nigh fallen
Right on their heads. My Lord was sorely frighten'd;
A fever seiz'd him, and he made confession
Of all the heretical and lawless talk 55
Which brought this judgment: so the youth was seiz'd
And cast into that hole. My husband's father
Sobb'd like a child—it almost broke his heart:
And once as he was working in the cellar,
He heard a voice distinctly; 'twas the youth's, 60
Who sung a doleful song about green fields,
How sweet it were on lake or wild savannah,
To hunt for food, and be a naked man,
And wander up and down at liberty.
He always doted on the youth, and now 65
His love grew desperate; and defying death,
He made that cunning entrance I describ'd:
And the young man escap'd.
Maria. 'Tis a sweet tale:
Such as would lull a listening child to sleep,
His rosy face besoil'd with unwiped tears.— 70
And what became of him?
Foster-Mother. He went on shipboard
With those bold voyagers, who made discovery
Of golden lands. Leoni's younger brother
Went likewise, and when he return'd to Spain,
He told Leoni, that the poor mad youth, 75
Soon after they arriv'd in that new world,
In spite of his dissuasion, seiz'd a boat,
And all alone, set sail by silent moonlight
Up a great river, great as any sea,
And ne'er was heard of more: but 'tis suppos'd, 80
He liv'd and died among the savage men.
1797.
FOOTNOTES:
LINENOTES:
Title] Foster-Mother's Tale. (Scene—Spain) Cottle, 1837: The,
&c. A Narration in Dramatic Blank Verse L. B. 1800. In Remorse,
App., 1813 and in 1828, 1829, 1834, the dramatis personae are
respectively Teresa and Selma. The fragment opens thus:—Enter
Teresa and Selma.
Ter. 'Tis said, he spake of you familiarly
As m