So, forth in
dauntless
mood they fare,
And with them goes the guardian pair.
And with them goes the guardian pair.
William Wordsworth
It was a fine day, showery, but with sunshine and fine
clouds. Poor fellow, my heart was right sad, I could not help thinking
we should see him again, because he was only going to Penrith. "
In the spring of 1801, John Wordsworth sailed for China in the
'Abergavenny'. He returned from this voyage in safety, and the brothers
met once again in London. He went to sea again in 1803, and returned to
London in 1804, but could not visit Grasmere; and in the month of
February 1805--shortly after he was appointed to the command of the
'Abergavenny'--the ship was lost at the Bill of Portland, and every one
on board perished. It is clear that the latter part of the poem, "When,
to the attractions of the busy world," was written between John
Wordsworth's departure from Grasmere and the loss of the 'Abergavenny',
i. e. between September 1800 and February 1805, as there are references
in it both to what his brother did at Grasmere and to his return to
sea:
'Back to the joyless Ocean thou art gone. '
There are some things in the earlier part of the poem that appear to
negative the idea of its having been written in 1800. The opening lines
seem to hint at an experience somewhat distant. He speaks of being
"wont" to do certain things. But, on the other hand, I find an entry in
Dorothy Wordsworth's Journal, which leads me to believe that the poem
may have been begun in 1800, and that the first part, ending (as it did
then) with the line:
'While she is travelling through the dreary sea,'
may have been finished before John Wordsworth left Grasmere;
the second part being written afterwards, while he was at sea;
and that this is the explanation of the date given in the editions
of 1815 and 1820, viz. 1802.
Passages occur in Dorothy Wordsworth's Journal to the
following effect:
"Monday Morning, 1st September. --We walked in the wood by the lake.
William read 'Joanna' and 'the Firgrove' to Coleridge. "
A little earlier there is the record,
"Saturday, 22nd August. --William was composing all the morning. . . .
William read us the poem of 'Joanna' beside the Rothay by the
roadside. "
Then, on Friday, the 25th August, there is the entry,
"We walked over the hill by the Firgrove, I sate upon a rock and
observed a flight of swallows gathering together high above my head.
We walked through the wood to the stepping stones, the lake of Rydale
very beautiful, partly still, I left William to compose an
inscription, that about the path. . . . "
Then, next day,
"Saturday morning, 30th August. --William finished his inscription of
the Pathway, then walked in the wood, and when John returned he sought
him, and they bathed together. "
To what poem Dorothy Wordsworth referred under the name of the
"Inscription of the Pathway" has puzzled me much. There is no poem
amongst his "Inscriptions" (written in or before August 1800) that
corresponds to it in the least. But, if my conjecture is right that this
"Poem on the Naming of Places," beginning:
'When, to the attractions of the busy world,'
was composed at two different times, it is quite possible that "the
Firgrove" which was read--along with 'Joanna'--to Coleridge on September
1st, 1800, was the first part of this very poem.
If this supposition is correct, some light is cast both on the
"Inscription of the Pathway. " and on the date assigned by Wordsworth
himself to the poem. There is a certain fitness, however, in this poem
being placed--as it now is--in sequence to the 'Elegiac Verses' in
memory of John Wordsworth, beginning, "The Sheep-boy whistled loud," and
near the fourth poem 'To the Daisy', beginning, "Sweet Flower! belike
one day to have. "
The "Fir-grove" still exists. It is between Wishing Gate and White Moss
Common, and almost exactly opposite the former. Standing at the gate and
looking eastwards, the grove is to the left, not forty yards distant.
Some of the firs (Scotch ones) still survive, and several beech trees,
not "a single beech-tree," as in the poem. From this, one might infer
that the present colony had sprung up since the beginning of the
century, and that the special tree, in which was the thrush's nest, had
perished; but Dr. Cradock wrote to me that "Wordsworth pointed out the
tree to Miss Cookson a few days before Dora Wordsworth's death. The tree
is near the upper wall and tells its own tale. " The Fir-grove--"John's
Grove"--can easily be entered by a gate about a hundred yards beyond
the Wishing-gate, as one goes toward Rydal. The view from it, the
"visionary scene,"
'the spectacle
Of clouded splendour, . . . this dream-like sight
Of solemn loveliness,'
is now much interfered with by the new larch plantations immediately
below the firs. It must have been very different in Wordsworth's time,
and is constantly referred to in his sister's Journal as a favourite
retreat, resorted to
'when cloudless suns
Shone hot, or wind blew troublesome and strong. '
In the absence of contrary testimony, it might be supposed that "the
track" which the brother had "worn,"
'By pacing here, unwearied and alone,'
faced Silver-How and the Grasmere Island, and that the single beech tree
was nearer the lower than the upper wall. But Miss Cookson's testimony
is explicit. Only a few fir trees survive at this part of the grove,
which is now open and desolate, not as it was in those earlier days,
when
'the trees
Had been so thickly planted, and had thriven
With such perplexed and intricate array,
That vainly did I seek, beneath their stems
A length of open space . . . '
Dr. Cradock remarks,
"As to there being more than one beech, Wordsworth would not have
hesitated to sacrifice servile exactness to poetical effect. " He had a
fancy for "one"--
'Fair as a star when only one
Is shining in the sky;'
"'One' abode, no more;" Grasmere's "one green island;" "one green
field. "
Since the above note was printed, new light has been cast on the
"Inscription of the Pathway," for which see volume viii. of this
edition. --Ed.
* * * * *
THE COTTAGER TO HER INFANT
BY MY SISTER
Composed 1805. --Published 1815
[Suggested to her, while beside my sleeping children. --I. F. ]
One of the "Poems founded on the Affections. "--Ed.
The days are cold, the nights are long,
The north-wind sings a doleful song;
Then hush again upon my breast;
All merry things are now at rest,
Save thee, my pretty Love! 5
The kitten sleeps upon the hearth,
The crickets long have ceased their mirth;
There's nothing stirring in the house
Save one _wee_, hungry, nibbling mouse,
Then why so busy thou? 10
Nay! start not at that sparkling light;
'Tis but the moon that shines so bright
On the window pane bedropped with rain:
Then, little Darling! sleep again,
And wake when it is day. 15
This poem underwent no change in successive editions. The title in all
the earlier ones (1815 to 1843) was 'The Cottager to her Infant. By a
Female Friend'; and in the preface to the edition of 1815, Wordsworth
wrote,
"Three short pieces (now first published) are the work of a Female
Friend; . . . if any one regard them with dislike, or be disposed to
condemn them, let the censure fall upon him, who, trusting in his own
sense of their merit, and their fitness for the place which they
occupy, _extorted_ them from the Authoress. "
In the edition of 1845, he disclosed the authorship; and gave the more
natural title, 'By my Sister'. Other two poems by her were introduced
into the edition of 1815, and subsequent ones, viz. the 'Address to a
Child', and 'The Mother's Return'. In an appendix to a MS. copy of the
'Recollections of a Tour made in Scotland', by Dorothy Wordsworth,
transcribed by Mrs. Clarkson, I find the poem 'The Cottager to her
Infant' with two additional stanzas, which are there attributed to
Wordsworth. The appendix runs thus:
"To my Niece Dorothy, a sleepless Baby
THE COTTAGER TO HER INFANT
(The third and fourth stanzas which follow by W. W. )
'Ah! if I were a lady gay
I should not grieve with thee to play;
Right gladly would I lie awake
Thy lively spirits to partake,
And ask no better cheer.
But, Babe! there's none to work for me.
And I must rise to industry;
Soon as the cock begins to crow
Thy mother to the fold must go
To tend the sheep and kine. '"
Ed.
* * * * *
THE WAGGONER [A]
Composed 1805. --Published 1819
[Written at Town-end, Grasmere. The characters and story from fact. --I.
F. ]
"In Cairo's crowded streets
The impatient Merchant, wondering, waits in vain,
And Mecca saddens at the long delay. "
THOMSON. [B]
TO CHARLES LAMB, ESQ.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
When I sent you, a few weeks ago, the Tale of 'Peter Bell', you asked
"why THE WAGGONER was not added? "--To say the truth,--from the higher
tone of imagination, and the deeper touches of passion aimed at in the
former, I apprehended, this little Piece could not accompany it without
disadvantage. In the year 1806, if I am not mistaken, THE WAGGONER was
read to you in manuscript; and, as you have remembered it for so long a
time, I am the more encouraged to hope, that, since the localities on
which it partly depends did not prevent its being interesting to you, it
may prove acceptable to others. Being therefore in some measure the
cause of its present appearance, you must allow me the gratification of
inscribing it to you; in acknowledgment of the pleasure I have derived
from your Writings, and of the high esteem with which
I am
Very truly yours,
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH.
RYDAL MOUNT, _May 20th_, 1819.
CANTO FIRST
'Tis spent--this burning day of June!
Soft darkness o'er its latest gleams is stealing;
The buzzing dor-hawk, round and round, is wheeling,--
That solitary bird
Is all that can be heard [1] 5
In silence deeper far than that of deepest noon!
Confiding Glow-worms, 'tis a night
Propitious to your earth-born light!
But, where the scattered stars are seen
In hazy straits the clouds between, 10
Each, in his station twinkling not,
Seems changed into a pallid spot. [2]
The mountains against heaven's grave weight
Rise up, and grow to wondrous height. [3]
The air, as in a lion's den, 15
Is close and hot;--and now and then
Comes a tired [4] and sultry breeze
With a haunting and a panting,
Like the stifling of disease;
But the dews [5] allay the heat, 20
And the silence makes it sweet.
Hush, there is some one on the stir!
'Tis Benjamin the Waggoner;
Who long hath trod this toilsome way,
Companion of the night and [6] day. 25
That far-off tinkling's drowsy cheer,
Mix'd with a faint yet grating sound
In a moment lost and found,
The Wain announces--by whose side
Along the banks of Rydal Mere 30
He paces on, a trusty Guide,--
Listen! you can scarcely hear!
Hither he his course is bending;--
Now he leaves the lower ground,
And up the craggy hill ascending 35
Many a stop and stay he makes,
Many a breathing-fit he takes;--[7]
Steep the way and wearisome,
Yet all the while his whip is dumb!
The Horses have worked with right good-will, 40
And so [8] have gained the top of the hill;
He was patient, they were strong,
And now they smoothly glide along,
Recovering [9] breath, and pleased to win
The praises of mild Benjamin. 45
Heaven shield him from mishap and snare!
But why so early with this prayer?
Is it for threatenings in the sky?
Or for some other danger nigh?
No; none is near him yet, though he 50
Be one of much infirmity; [10]
For at the bottom of the brow,
Where once the DOVE and OLIVE-BOUGH
Offered a greeting of good ale
To all who entered Grasmere Vale; 55
And called on him who must depart
To leave it with a jovial heart;
There, where the DOVE and OLIVE-BOUGH
Once hung, a Poet harbours now,
A simple water-drinking Bard; 60
Why need our Hero then (though frail
His best resolves) be on his guard?
He marches by, secure and bold;
Yet while he thinks on times of old,
It seems that all looks wondrous cold; 65
He shrugs his shoulders, shakes his head,
And, for the honest folk within,
It is a doubt with Benjamin
Whether they be alive or dead!
_Here_ is no danger,--none at all! 70
Beyond his wish he walks secure; [11]
But pass a mile--and _then_ for trial,--
Then for the pride of self-denial;
If he resist that tempting door,
Which with such friendly voice will call; 75
If he resist those casement panes,
And that bright gleam which thence will fall
Upon his Leaders' bells and manes,
Inviting him with cheerful lure:
For still, though all be dark elsewhere, 80
Some shining notice will be 'there'
Of open house and ready fare.
The place to Benjamin right well [12]
Is known, and by as strong a spell
As used to be that sign of love 85
And hope--the OLIVE-BOUGH and DOVE;
He knows it to his cost, good Man!
Who does not know the famous SWAN?
Object uncouth! and yet our boast, [13]
For it was painted by the Host; 90
His own conceit the figure planned,
'Twas coloured all by his own hand;
And that frail Child of thirsty clay,
Of whom I sing [14] this rustic lay,
Could tell with self-dissatisfaction 95
Quaint stories of the bird's attraction! [C]
Well! that is past--and in despite
Of open door and shining light.
And now the conqueror essays
The long ascent of Dunmail-raise; 100
And with his team is gentle here
As when he clomb from Rydal Mere;
His whip they do not dread--his voice
They only hear it to rejoice.
To stand or go is at _their_ pleasure; 105
Their efforts and their time they measure
By generous pride within the breast;
And, while they strain, and while they rest,
He thus pursues his thoughts at leisure.
Now am I fairly safe to-night--110
And with proud cause my heart is light: [15]
I trespassed lately worse than ever--
But Heaven has blest [16] a good endeavour;
And, to my soul's content, [17] I find
The evil One is left behind. 115
Yes, let my master fume and fret,
Here am I--with my horses yet!
My jolly team, he finds that ye
Will work for nobody but me!
Full proof of this the Country gained; 120
It knows how ye were vexed and strained,
And forced unworthy stripes to bear,
When trusted to another's care. [18]
Here was it--on this rugged slope,
Which now ye climb with heart and hope, 125
I saw you, between rage and fear,
Plunge, and fling back a spiteful ear,
And ever more and more confused,
As ye were more and more abused: [19]
As chance would have it, passing by 130
I saw you in that [20] jeopardy:
A word from me was like a charm; [D]
Ye pulled together with one mind; [21]
And your huge burthen, safe from harm,
Moved like a vessel in the wind! 135
--Yes, without me, up hills so high
'Tis vain to strive for mastery.
Then grieve not, jolly team! though tough
The road we travel, steep, and rough; [22]
Though Rydal-heights and Dunmail-raise, 140
And all their fellow banks and braes,
Full often make you stretch and strain,
And halt for breath and halt again,
Yet to their sturdiness 'tis owing
That side by side we still are going! 145
While Benjamin in earnest mood
His meditations thus pursued,
A storm, which had been smothered long,
Was growing inwardly more strong;
And, in its struggles to get free, 150
Was busily employed as he.
The thunder had begun to growl--
He heard not, too intent of soul;
The air was now without a breath--
He marked not that 'twas still as death. 155
But soon large rain-drops on his head [23]
Fell with the weight of drops of lead;--
He starts--and takes, at the admonition,
A sage survey of his condition. [24]
The road is black before his eyes, 160
Glimmering faintly where it lies;
Black is the sky--and every hill,
Up to the sky, is blacker still--
Sky, hill, and dale, one dismal room, [25]
Hung round and overhung with gloom; 165
Save that above a single height
Is to be seen a lurid light,
Above Helm-crag [E]--a streak half dead,
A burning of portentous red;
And near that lurid light, full well 170
The ASTROLOGER, sage Sidrophel,
Where at his desk and book he sits,
Puzzling aloft [26] his curious wits;
He whose domain is held in common
With no one but the ANCIENT WOMAN, 175
Cowering beside her rifted cell,
As if intent on magic spell;-
Dread pair, that, spite of wind and weather,
Still sit upon Helm-crag together!
The ASTROLOGER was not unseen 180
By solitary Benjamin;
But total darkness came anon,
And he and every thing was gone:
And suddenly a ruffling breeze,
(That would have rocked the sounding trees 185
Had aught of sylvan growth been there)
Swept through the Hollow long and bare: [27]
The rain rushed down--the road was battered,
As with the force of billows shattered;
The horses are dismayed, nor know 190
Whether they should stand or go;
And Benjamin is groping near them,
Sees nothing, and can scarcely hear them.
He is astounded,--wonder not,--
With such a charge in such a spot; 195
Astounded in the mountain gap
With thunder-peals, clap after clap,
Close-treading on the silent flashes--
And somewhere, as he thinks, by crashes [28]
Among the rocks; with weight of rain, 200
And sullen [29] motions long and slow,
That to a dreary distance go--
Till, breaking in upon the dying strain,
A rending o'er his head begins the fray again.
Meanwhile, uncertain what to do, 205
And oftentimes compelled to halt,
The horses cautiously pursue
Their way, without mishap or fault;
And now have reached that pile of stones,
Heaped over brave King Dunmail's bones; 210
He who had once supreme command,
Last king of rocky Cumberland;
His bones, and those of all his Power,
Slain here in a disastrous hour!
When, passing through this narrow strait, 215
Stony, and dark, and desolate,
Benjamin can faintly hear
A voice that comes from some one near,
A female voice:--"Whoe'er you be,
Stop," it exclaimed, "and pity me! " 220
And, less in pity than in wonder,
Amid the darkness and the thunder,
The Waggoner, with prompt command,
Summons his horses to a stand.
While, with increasing agitation, 225
The Woman urged her supplication,
In rueful words, with sobs between--
The voice of tears that fell unseen; [30]
There came a flash--a startling glare,
And all Seat-Sandal was laid bare! 230
'Tis not a time for nice suggestion,
And Benjamin, without a question,
Taking her for some way-worn rover, [31]
Said, "Mount, and get you under cover! "
Another voice, in tone as hoarse 235
As a swoln brook with rugged course,
Cried out, "Good brother, why so fast?
I've had a glimpse of you--'avast! '
Or, since it suits you to be civil,
Take her at once--for good and evil! " 240
"It is my Husband," softly said
The Woman, as if half afraid:
By this time she was snug within,
Through help of honest Benjamin;
She and her Babe, which to her breast 245
With thankfulness the Mother pressed;
And now the same strong voice more near
Said cordially, "My Friend, what cheer?
Rough doings these! as God's my judge,
The sky owes somebody a grudge! 250
We've had in half an hour or less
A twelvemonth's terror [32] and distress! "
Then Benjamin entreats the Man
Would mount, too, quickly as he can:
The Sailor--Sailor now no more, 255
But such he had been heretofore--
To courteous Benjamin replied,
"Go you your way, and mind not me;
For I must have, whate'er betide,
My Ass and fifty things beside,--260
Go, and I'll follow speedily! "
The Waggon moves--and with its load
Descends along the sloping road;
And the rough Sailor instantly
Turns to a little tent hard by: [33] 265
For when, at closing-in of day,
The family had come that way,
Green pasture and the soft warm air
Tempted [34] them to settle there. --
Green is the grass for beast to graze, 270
Around the stones of Dunmail-raise!
The Sailor gathers up his bed,
Takes down the canvass overhead;
And, after farewell to the place,
A parting word--though not of grace, 275
Pursues, with Ass and all his store,
The way the Waggon went before.
CANTO SECOND
If Wytheburn's modest House of prayer,
As lowly as the lowliest dwelling,
Had, with its belfry's humble stock, 280
A little pair that hang in air,
Been mistress also of a clock,
(And one, too, not in crazy plight)
Twelve strokes that clock would have been telling
Under the brow of old Helvellyn--285
Its bead-roll of midnight,
Then, when the Hero of my tale
Was passing by, and, down the vale
(The vale now silent, hushed I ween
As if a storm had never been) 290
Proceeding with a mind at ease;
While the old Familiar of the seas [35]
Intent to use his utmost haste,
Gained ground upon the Waggon fast,
And gives another lusty cheer; 295
For spite of rumbling of the wheels,
A welcome greeting he can hear;--
It is a fiddle in its glee
Dinning from the CHERRY TREE!
Thence the sound--the light is there--300
As Benjamin is now aware,
Who, to his inward thoughts confined,
Had almost reached the festive door,
When, startled by the Sailor's roar, [36]
He hears a sound and sees the light, 305
And in a moment calls to mind
That 'tis the village MERRY-NIGHT! [F]
Although before in no dejection,
At this insidious recollection
His heart with sudden joy is filled,--310
His ears are by the music thrilled,
His eyes take pleasure in the road
Glittering before him bright and broad;
And Benjamin is wet and cold,
And there are reasons manifold 315
That make the good, tow'rds which he's yearning,
Look fairly like a lawful earning.
Nor has thought time to come and go,
To vibrate between yes and no;
For, cries the Sailor, "Glorious chance 320
That blew us hither! --let him dance,
Who can or will! --my honest soul,
Our treat shall be a friendly bowl! " [37]
He draws him to the door--"Come in,
Come, come," cries he to Benjamin! 325
And Benjamin--ah, woe is me!
Gave the word--the horses heard
And halted, though reluctantly.
"Blithe souls and lightsome hearts have we,
Feasting at the CHERRY TREE! " 330
This was the outside proclamation,
This was the inside salutation;
What bustling--jostling--high and low!
A universal overflow!
What tankards foaming from the tap! 335
What store of cakes in every lap!
What thumping--stumping--overhead!
The thunder had not been more busy:
With such a stir you would have said,
This little place may well be dizzy! 340
'Tis who can dance with greatest vigour--
'Tis what can be most prompt and eager;
As if it heard the fiddle's call,
The pewter clatters on the wall;
The very bacon shows its feeling, 345
Swinging from the smoky ceiling!
A steaming bowl, a blazing fire,
What greater good can heart desire?
'Twere worth a wise man's while to try
The utmost anger of the sky: 350
To _seek_ for thoughts of a gloomy cast,
If such the bright amends at last. [38]
Now should you say [39] I judge amiss,
The CHERRY TREE shows proof of this;
For soon of all [40] the happy there, 355
Our Travellers are the happiest pair;
All care with Benjamin is gone--
A Caesar past the Rubicon!
He thinks not of his long, long strife;--
The Sailor, Man by nature gay, 360
Hath no resolves to throw away; [41]
And he hath now forgot his Wife,
Hath quite forgotten her--or may be
Thinks her the luckiest soul on earth,
Within that warm and peaceful berth, [42] 365
Under cover,
Terror over,
Sleeping by her sleeping Baby.
With bowl that sped from hand to hand,
The gladdest of the gladsome band, 370
Amid their own delight and fun, [43]
They hear--when every dance is done,
When every whirling bout is o'er--[44]
The fiddle's _squeak_ [G]--that call to bliss,
Ever followed by a kiss; 375
They envy not the happy lot,
But enjoy their own the more!
While thus our jocund Travellers fare,
Up springs the Sailor from his chair--
Limps (for I might have told before 380
That he was lame) across the floor--
Is gone--returns--and with a prize;
With what? --a Ship of lusty size;
A gallant stately Man-of-war,
Fixed on a smoothly-sliding car. 385
Surprise to all, but most surprise
To Benjamin, who rubs his eyes,
Not knowing that he had befriended
A Man so gloriously attended!
"This," cries the Sailor, "a Third-rate is--390
Stand back, and you shall see her gratis!
This was the Flag-ship at the Nile,
The Vanguard--you may smirk and smile,
But, pretty Maid, if you look near,
You'll find you've much in little here! 395
A nobler ship did never swim,
And you shall see her in full trim:
I'll set, my friends, to do you honour,
Set every inch of sail upon her. "
So said, so done; and masts, sails, yards, 400
He names them all; and interlards
His speech with uncouth terms of art,
Accomplished in the showman's part;
And then, as from a sudden check,
Cries out--"'Tis there, the quarter-deck 405
On which brave Admiral Nelson stood--
A sight that would have roused your blood!
One eye he had, which, bright as ten,
Burned like a fire among his men;
Let this be land, and that be sea, 410
Here lay the French--and _thus_ came we! " [H]
Hushed was by this the fiddle's sound,
The dancers all were gathered round,
And, such the stillness of the house,
You might have heard a nibbling mouse; 415
While, borrowing helps where'er he may,
The Sailor through the story runs
Of ships to ships and guns to guns;
And does his utmost to display
The dismal conflict, and the might 420
And terror of that marvellous [45] night!
"A bowl, a bowl of double measure,"
Cries Benjamin, "a draught of length,
To Nelson, England's pride and treasure,
Her bulwark and her tower of strength! " 425
When Benjamin had seized the bowl,
The mastiff, from beneath the waggon,
Where he lay, watchful as a dragon,
Rattled his chain;--'twas all in vain,
For Benjamin, triumphant soul! 430
He heard the monitory growl;
Heard--and in opposition quaffed
A deep, determined, desperate draught!
Nor did the battered Tar forget,
Or flinch from what he deemed his debt: 435
Then, like a hero crowned with laurel,
Back to her place the ship he led;
Wheeled her back in full apparel;
And so, flag flying at mast head,
Re-yoked her to the Ass:--anon, 440
Cries Benjamin, "We must be gone. "
Thus, after two hours' hearty stay,
Again behold them on their way!
CANTO THIRD
Right gladly had the horses stirred,
When they the wished-for greeting heard, 445
The whip's loud notice from the door,
That they were free to move once more.
You think, those [46] doings must have bred
In them disheartening doubts and dread;
No, not a horse of all the eight, 450
Although it be a moonless night,
Fears either for himself or freight;
For this they know (and let it hide,
In part, the offences of their guide)
That Benjamin, with clouded brains, 455
Is worth the best with all their pains;
And, if they had a prayer to make,
The prayer would be that they may take
With him whatever comes in course,
The better fortune or the worse; 460
That no one else may have business near them,
And, drunk or sober, he may steer them.
So, forth in dauntless mood they fare,
And with them goes the guardian pair.
Now, heroes, for the true commotion, 465
The triumph of your late devotion!
Can aught on earth impede delight,
Still mounting to a higher height;
And higher still--a greedy flight!
Can any low-born care pursue her, 470
Can any mortal clog come to her? [J]
No notion have they--not a thought,
That is from joyless regions brought!
And, while they coast the silent lake,
Their inspiration I partake; 475
Share their empyreal spirits--yea,
With their enraptured vision, see--
O fancy--what a jubilee!
What shifting pictures--clad in gleams
Of colour bright as feverish dreams! 480
Earth, spangled sky, and lake serene,
Involved and restless all--a scene
Pregnant with mutual exaltation,
Rich change, and multiplied creation!
This sight to me the Muse imparts;--485
And then, what kindness in their hearts!
What tears of rapture, what vow-making,
Profound entreaties, and hand-shaking!
What solemn, vacant, interlacing,
As if they'd fall asleep embracing! 490
Then, in the turbulence of glee,
And in the excess of amity,
Says Benjamin, "That Ass of thine,
He spoils thy sport, and hinders mine:
If he were tethered to the waggon, 495
He'd drag as well what he is dragging;
And we, as brother should with brother,
Might trudge it alongside each other! "
Forthwith, obedient to command,
The horses made a quiet stand; 500
And to the waggon's skirts was tied
The Creature, by the Mastiff's side,
The Mastiff wondering, and perplext
With dread of what will happen next;
And thinking it but sorry cheer, 505
To have such company so near! [47]
This new arrangement made, the Wain
Through the still night proceeds again;
No Moon hath risen her light to lend;
But indistinctly may be kenned 510
The VANGUARD, following close behind,
Sails spread, as if to catch the wind!
"Thy wife and child are snug and warm,
Thy ship will travel without harm;
I like," said Benjamin, "her shape and stature: 515
And this of mine--this bulky creature
Of which I have the steering--this,
Seen fairly, is not much amiss!
We want your streamers, friend, you know;
But, altogether [48] as we go, 520
We make a kind of handsome show!
Among these hills, from first to last,
We've weathered many a furious blast;
Hard passage forcing on, with head
Against the storm, and canvass spread. 525
I hate a boaster; but to thee
Will say't, who know'st both land and sea,
The unluckiest hulk that stems [49] the brine
Is hardly worse beset than mine,
When cross-winds on her quarter beat; 530
And, fairly lifted from my feet,
I stagger onward--heaven knows how;
But not so pleasantly as now:
Poor pilot I, by snows confounded,
And many a foundrous pit surrounded! 535
Yet here we are, by night and day
Grinding through rough and smooth our way;
Through foul and fair our task fulfilling;
And long shall be so yet--God willing! "
"Ay," said the Tar, "through fair and foul--540
But save us from yon screeching owl! "
That instant was begun a fray
Which called their thoughts another way:
The mastiff, ill-conditioned carl!
What must he do but growl and snarl, 545
Still more and more dissatisfied
With the meek comrade at his side!
Till, not incensed though put to proof,
The Ass, uplifting a hind hoof,
Salutes the Mastiff on the head; 550
And so were better manners bred,
And all was calmed and quieted.
"Yon screech-owl," says the Sailor, turning
Back to his former cause of mourning,
"Yon owl! --pray God that all be well! 555
'Tis worse than any funeral bell;
As sure as I've the gift of sight,
We shall be meeting ghosts to-night! "
--Said Benjamin, "This whip shall lay
A thousand, if they cross our way. 560
I know that Wanton's noisy station,
I know him and his occupation;
The jolly bird hath learned his cheer
Upon [50] the banks of Windermere;
Where a tribe of them make merry, 565
Mocking the Man that keeps the ferry;
Hallooing from an open throat,
Like travellers shouting for a boat.
--The tricks he learned at Windermere
This vagrant owl is playing here--570
That is the worst of his employment:
He's at the top [51] of his enjoyment! "
This explanation stilled the alarm,
Cured the foreboder like a charm;
This, and the manner, and the voice, 575
Summoned the Sailor to rejoice;
His heart is up--he fears no evil
From life or death, from man or devil;
He wheels [52]--and, making many stops,
Brandished his crutch against the mountain tops; 580
And, while he talked of blows and scars,
Benjamin, among the stars,
Beheld a dancing--and a glancing;
Such retreating and advancing
As, I ween, was never seen 585
In bloodiest battle since the days of Mars!
CANTO FOURTH
Thus they, with freaks of proud delight,
Beguile the remnant of the night;
And many a snatch of jovial song
Regales them as they wind along; 590
While to the music, from on high,
The echoes make a glad reply. --
But the sage Muse the revel heeds
No farther than her story needs;
Nor will she servilely attend 595
The loitering journey to its end.
--Blithe spirits of her own impel
The Muse, who scents the morning air,
To take of this transported pair
A brief and unreproved farewell; 600
To quit the slow-paced waggon's side,
And wander down yon hawthorn dell,
With murmuring Greta for her guide.
--There doth she ken the awful form
Of Raven-crag--black as a storm--605
Glimmering through the twilight pale;
And Ghimmer-crag, [K] his tall twin brother,
Each peering forth to meet the other:--
And, while she roves [53] through St. John's Vale,
Along the smooth unpathwayed plain, 610
By sheep-track or through cottage lane,
Where no disturbance comes to intrude
Upon the pensive solitude,
Her unsuspecting eye, perchance,
With the rude shepherd's favoured glance, 615
Beholds the faeries in array,
Whose party-coloured garments gay
The silent company betray:
Red, green, and blue; a moment's sight!
For Skiddaw-top with rosy light 620
Is touched--and all the band take flight.
--Fly also, Muse! and from the dell
Mount to the ridge of Nathdale Fell;
Thence, look thou forth o'er wood and lawn
Hoar with the frost-like dews of dawn; 625
Across yon meadowy bottom look,
Where close fogs hide their parent brook;
And see, beyond that hamlet small,
The ruined towers of Threlkeld-hall,
Lurking in a double shade, 630
By trees and lingering twilight made!
There, at Blencathara's rugged feet,
Sir Lancelot gave a safe retreat
To noble Clifford; from annoy
Concealed the persecuted boy, 635
Well pleased in rustic garb to feed
His flock, and pipe on shepherd's reed
Among this multitude of hills,
Crags, woodlands, waterfalls, and rills;
Which soon the morning shall enfold, 640
From east to west, in ample vest
Of massy gloom and radiance bold.
The mists, that o'er the streamlet's bed
Hung low, begin to rise and spread;
Even while I speak, their skirts of grey 645
Are smitten by a silver ray;
And lo! --up Castrigg's naked steep
(Where, smoothly urged, the vapours sweep
Along--and scatter and divide,
Like fleecy clouds self-multiplied) 650
The stately waggon is ascending,
With faithful Benjamin attending,
Apparent now beside his team--
Now lost amid a glittering steam: [54]
And with him goes his Sailor-friend, 655
By this time near their journey's end;
And, after their high-minded riot,
Sickening into thoughtful quiet;
As if the morning's pleasant hour,
Had for their joys a killing power. 660
And, sooth, for Benjamin a vein
Is opened of still deeper pain,
As if his heart by notes were stung
From out the lowly hedge-rows flung;
As if the warbler lost in light [L] 665
Reproved his soarings of the night,
In strains of rapture pure and holy
Upbraided his distempered folly. [55]
Drooping is he, his step is dull; [56]
But the horses stretch and pull; 670
With increasing vigour climb,
Eager to repair lost time;
Whether, by their own desert,
Knowing what cause there is [57] for shame,
They are labouring to avert 675
As much as may be of the blame, [58]
Which, they foresee, must soon alight
Upon _his_ head, whom, in despite
Of all his failings, they love best; [59]
Whether for him they are distrest, 680
Or, by length of fasting roused,
Are impatient to be housed:
Up against the hill they strain
Tugging at the iron chain,
Tugging all with might and main, 685
Last and foremost, every horse
To the utmost of his force!
And the smoke and respiration,
Rising like an exhalation,
Blend [60] with the mist--a moving shroud 690
To form, an undissolving cloud;
Which, with slant ray, the merry sun
Takes delight to play upon.
Never golden-haired Apollo,
Pleased some favourite chief to follow 695
Through accidents of peace or war,
In a perilous moment threw
Around the object of his care
Veil of such celestial hue; [61]
Interposed so bright a screen--700
Him and his enemies between!
Alas! what boots it? --who can hide,
When the malicious Fates are bent
On working out an ill intent?
Can destiny be turned aside? 705
No--sad progress of my story!
Benjamin, this outward glory
Cannot shield [62] thee from thy Master,
Who from Keswick has pricked forth,
Sour and surly as the north; 710
And, in fear of some disaster,
Comes to give what help he may,
And [63] to hear what thou canst say;
If, as needs he must forebode, [64]
Thou hast been loitering [65] on the road! 715
His fears, his doubts, [66] may now take flight--
The wished-for object is in sight;
Yet, trust the Muse, it rather hath
Stirred him up to livelier wrath;
Which he stifles, moody man! 720
With all the patience that he can;
To the end that, at your meeting,
He may give thee decent greeting.
There he is--resolved to stop,
Till the waggon gains the top; 725
But stop he cannot--must advance:
Him Benjamin, with lucky glance,
Espies--and instantly is ready,
Self-collected, poised, and steady:
And, to be the better seen, 730
Issues from his radiant shroud,
From his close-attending cloud,
With careless air and open mien.
Erect his port, and firm his going;
So struts yon cock that now is crowing; 735
And the morning light in grace
Strikes upon his lifted face,
Hurrying the pallid hue away
That might his trespasses betray.
But what can all avail to clear him, 740
Or what need of explanation,
Parley or interrogation?
For the Master sees, alas!
That unhappy Figure near him,
Limping o'er the dewy grass, 745
Where the road it fringes, sweet,
Soft and cool to way-worn feet;
And, O indignity! an Ass,
By his noble Mastiffs side,
Tethered to the waggon's tail: 750
And the ship, in all her pride,
Following after in full sail!
Not to speak of babe and mother;
Who, contented with each other,
And snug as birds in leafy arbour, 755
Find, within, a blessed harbour!
With eager eyes the Master pries;
Looks in and out, and through and through;
Says nothing--till at last he spies
A wound upon the Mastiff's head, 760
A wound, where plainly might be read
What feats an Ass's hoof can do!
But drop the rest:--this aggravation,
This complicated provocation,
A hoard of grievances unsealed; 765
All past forgiveness it repealed;
And thus, and through distempered blood
On both sides, Benjamin the good,
The patient, and the tender-hearted,
Was from his team and waggon parted; 770
When duty of that day was o'er,
Laid down his whip--and served no more. --
Nor could the waggon long survive,
Which Benjamin had ceased to drive:
It lingered on;--guide after guide 775
Ambitiously the office tried;
But each unmanageable hill
Called for _his_ patience and _his_ skill;--
And sure it is, that through this night,
And what the morning brought to light, 780
Two losses had we to sustain,
We lost both WAGGONER and WAIN!
* * * * *
Accept, O Friend, for praise or blame,
The gift of this adventurous song;
A record which I dared to frame, 785
Though timid scruples checked me long;
They checked me--and I left the theme
Untouched;--in spite of many a gleam
Of fancy which thereon was shed,
Like pleasant sunbeams shifting still 790
Upon the side of a distant hill:
But Nature might not be gainsaid;
For what I have and what I miss
I sing of these;--it makes my bliss!
Nor is it I who play the part, 795
But a shy spirit in my heart,
That comes and goes--will sometimes leap
From hiding-places ten years deep;
Or haunts me with familiar face, [67]
Returning, like a ghost unlaid, 800
Until the debt I owe be paid.
Forgive me, then; for I had been
On friendly terms with this Machine: [M]
In him, while he was wont to trace
Our roads, through many a long year's space, 805
A living almanack had we;
We had a speaking diary,
That in this uneventful place,
Gave to the days a mark and name
By which we knew them when they came. 810
--Yes, I, and all about me here,
Through all the changes of the year,
Had seen him through the mountains go,
In pomp of mist or pomp of snow,
Majestically huge and slow: 815
Or, with a milder grace [68] adorning
The landscape of a summer's morning;
While Grasmere smoothed her liquid plain
The moving image to detain;
And mighty Fairfield, with a chime 820
Of echoes, to his march kept time;
When little other business stirred,
And little other sound was heard;
In that delicious hour of balm,
Stillness, solitude, and calm, 825
While yet the valley is arrayed,
On this side with a sober shade;
On that is prodigally bright--
Crag, lawn, and wood--with rosy light.
--But most of all, thou lordly Wain! 830
I wish to have thee here again,
When windows flap and chimney roars,
And all is dismal out of doors;
And, sitting by my fire, I see
Eight sorry carts, no less a train! 835
Unworthy successors of thee,
Come straggling through the wind and rain:
And oft, as they pass slowly on,
Beneath my windows, [69] one by one,
See, perched upon the naked height 840
The summit of a cumbrous freight,
A single traveller--and there
Another; then perhaps a pair--
The lame, the sickly, and the old;
Men, women, heartless with the cold; 845
And babes in wet and starveling plight;
Which once, [70] be weather as it might,
Had still a nest within a nest,
Thy shelter--and their mother's breast!
Then most of all, then far the most, 850
Do I regret what we have lost;
Am grieved for that unhappy sin
Which robbed us of good Benjamin;--
And of his stately Charge, which none
Could keep alive when He was gone! 855
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1819.
The Night-hawk is singing his frog-like tune,
Twirling his watchman's rattle about--1805. MS. [a]
The dor-hawk, solitary bird,
Round the dim crags on heavy pinions wheeling,
Buzzes incessantly, a tiresome tune;
That constant voice is all that can be heard 1820.
. . . on heavy pinions wheeling,
With untired voice sings an unvaried tune;
Those burring notes are all that can be heard 1836.
The text of 1845 returns to the first version of 1819. ]
[Variant 2:
1819.
Now that the children are abed
The little glow-worms nothing dread,
Such prize as their bright lamps would be.
Sooth they come in company,
And shine in quietness secure,
On the mossy bank by the cottage door,
As safe as on the loneliest moor.
In the play, or on the hill,
Everything is hushed and still;
The clouds show here and there a spot
Of a star that twinkles not,
The air as in . . .
From a MS. copy of the poem in Henry Crabb Robinson's 'Diary, etc'.
1812.
Now that the children's busiest schemes
Do all lie buried in blank sleep,
Or only live in stirring dreams,
The glow-worms fearless watch may keep;
Rich prize as their bright lamps would be,
They shine, a quiet company,
On mossy bank by cottage-door,
As safe as on the loneliest moor.
In hazy straits the clouds between,
And in their stations twinkling not,
Some thinly-sprinkled stars are seen,
Each changed into a pallid spot. 1836.
The text of 1845 returns to that of 1819. ]
[Variant 3:
1836.
The mountains rise to wond'rous height,
And in the heavens there is a weight; 1819.
And in the heavens there hangs a weight; 1827.
In the editions of 1819 to 1832, these two lines follow the line "Like
the stifling of disease. "]
[Variant 4:
1819.
. . . faint . . . 1836.
The text of 1845 returns to that of 1819. ]
[Variant 5:
1819.
But welcome dews . . . 1836.
The text of 1845 returns to that of 1819. ]
[Variant 6:
1819.
. . . or . . . 1836.
The text of 1845 returns to that of 1819. ]
[Variant 7:
1819.
Listen! you can hardly hear!
Now he has left the lower ground,
And up the hill his course is bending,
With many a stop and stay ascending;--1836.
The text of 1845 returns to that of 1819. ]
[Variant 8:
1836.
And now . . . 1819. ]
[Variant 9:
1836.
Gathering . . . 1819. ]
[Variant 10:
1819.
No;--him infirmities beset,
But danger is not near him yet; 1836.
The text of 1845 returns to that of 1819. ]
[Variant 11:
1836.
is he secure; 1819. ]
[Variant 12:
1836.
full well 1819. ]
[Variant 13:
1836.
Uncouth although the object be,
An image of perplexity;
Yet not the less it is our boast, 1819. ]
[Variant 14:
1827.
. . . I frame . . . 1819. ]
[Variant 15:
1836
And never was my heart more light. 1819. ]
[Variant 16:
1836.
. . . will bless . . . 1819. ]
[Variant 17:
1836.
. . . delight, . . . 1819. ]
[Variant 18:
1836.
Good proof of this the Country gain'd,
One day, when ye were vex'd and strain'd--
Entrusted to another's care,
And forc'd unworthy stripes to bear. 1819. ]
[Variant 19:
1836. (Expanding four lines into six. )
Here was it--on this rugged spot
Which now contented with our lot
We climb--that piteously abused
Ye plung'd in anger and confused: 1819. ]
[Variant 20:
1836.
. . . in your . . . 1819. ]
[Variant 21:
1836.
The ranks were taken with one mind; 1819. ]
[Variant 22:
1819.
Our road be, narrow, steep, and rough; 1836.
The text of 1845 returns to that of 1819. ]
[Variant 23:
1836.
large drops upon his head 1819. ]
[Variant 24:
1836.
He starts-and, at the admonition,
Takes a survey of his condition. 1819. ]
[Variant 25:
1836.
A huge and melancholy room, 1819. ]
[Variant 26:
1836.
. . .
clouds. Poor fellow, my heart was right sad, I could not help thinking
we should see him again, because he was only going to Penrith. "
In the spring of 1801, John Wordsworth sailed for China in the
'Abergavenny'. He returned from this voyage in safety, and the brothers
met once again in London. He went to sea again in 1803, and returned to
London in 1804, but could not visit Grasmere; and in the month of
February 1805--shortly after he was appointed to the command of the
'Abergavenny'--the ship was lost at the Bill of Portland, and every one
on board perished. It is clear that the latter part of the poem, "When,
to the attractions of the busy world," was written between John
Wordsworth's departure from Grasmere and the loss of the 'Abergavenny',
i. e. between September 1800 and February 1805, as there are references
in it both to what his brother did at Grasmere and to his return to
sea:
'Back to the joyless Ocean thou art gone. '
There are some things in the earlier part of the poem that appear to
negative the idea of its having been written in 1800. The opening lines
seem to hint at an experience somewhat distant. He speaks of being
"wont" to do certain things. But, on the other hand, I find an entry in
Dorothy Wordsworth's Journal, which leads me to believe that the poem
may have been begun in 1800, and that the first part, ending (as it did
then) with the line:
'While she is travelling through the dreary sea,'
may have been finished before John Wordsworth left Grasmere;
the second part being written afterwards, while he was at sea;
and that this is the explanation of the date given in the editions
of 1815 and 1820, viz. 1802.
Passages occur in Dorothy Wordsworth's Journal to the
following effect:
"Monday Morning, 1st September. --We walked in the wood by the lake.
William read 'Joanna' and 'the Firgrove' to Coleridge. "
A little earlier there is the record,
"Saturday, 22nd August. --William was composing all the morning. . . .
William read us the poem of 'Joanna' beside the Rothay by the
roadside. "
Then, on Friday, the 25th August, there is the entry,
"We walked over the hill by the Firgrove, I sate upon a rock and
observed a flight of swallows gathering together high above my head.
We walked through the wood to the stepping stones, the lake of Rydale
very beautiful, partly still, I left William to compose an
inscription, that about the path. . . . "
Then, next day,
"Saturday morning, 30th August. --William finished his inscription of
the Pathway, then walked in the wood, and when John returned he sought
him, and they bathed together. "
To what poem Dorothy Wordsworth referred under the name of the
"Inscription of the Pathway" has puzzled me much. There is no poem
amongst his "Inscriptions" (written in or before August 1800) that
corresponds to it in the least. But, if my conjecture is right that this
"Poem on the Naming of Places," beginning:
'When, to the attractions of the busy world,'
was composed at two different times, it is quite possible that "the
Firgrove" which was read--along with 'Joanna'--to Coleridge on September
1st, 1800, was the first part of this very poem.
If this supposition is correct, some light is cast both on the
"Inscription of the Pathway. " and on the date assigned by Wordsworth
himself to the poem. There is a certain fitness, however, in this poem
being placed--as it now is--in sequence to the 'Elegiac Verses' in
memory of John Wordsworth, beginning, "The Sheep-boy whistled loud," and
near the fourth poem 'To the Daisy', beginning, "Sweet Flower! belike
one day to have. "
The "Fir-grove" still exists. It is between Wishing Gate and White Moss
Common, and almost exactly opposite the former. Standing at the gate and
looking eastwards, the grove is to the left, not forty yards distant.
Some of the firs (Scotch ones) still survive, and several beech trees,
not "a single beech-tree," as in the poem. From this, one might infer
that the present colony had sprung up since the beginning of the
century, and that the special tree, in which was the thrush's nest, had
perished; but Dr. Cradock wrote to me that "Wordsworth pointed out the
tree to Miss Cookson a few days before Dora Wordsworth's death. The tree
is near the upper wall and tells its own tale. " The Fir-grove--"John's
Grove"--can easily be entered by a gate about a hundred yards beyond
the Wishing-gate, as one goes toward Rydal. The view from it, the
"visionary scene,"
'the spectacle
Of clouded splendour, . . . this dream-like sight
Of solemn loveliness,'
is now much interfered with by the new larch plantations immediately
below the firs. It must have been very different in Wordsworth's time,
and is constantly referred to in his sister's Journal as a favourite
retreat, resorted to
'when cloudless suns
Shone hot, or wind blew troublesome and strong. '
In the absence of contrary testimony, it might be supposed that "the
track" which the brother had "worn,"
'By pacing here, unwearied and alone,'
faced Silver-How and the Grasmere Island, and that the single beech tree
was nearer the lower than the upper wall. But Miss Cookson's testimony
is explicit. Only a few fir trees survive at this part of the grove,
which is now open and desolate, not as it was in those earlier days,
when
'the trees
Had been so thickly planted, and had thriven
With such perplexed and intricate array,
That vainly did I seek, beneath their stems
A length of open space . . . '
Dr. Cradock remarks,
"As to there being more than one beech, Wordsworth would not have
hesitated to sacrifice servile exactness to poetical effect. " He had a
fancy for "one"--
'Fair as a star when only one
Is shining in the sky;'
"'One' abode, no more;" Grasmere's "one green island;" "one green
field. "
Since the above note was printed, new light has been cast on the
"Inscription of the Pathway," for which see volume viii. of this
edition. --Ed.
* * * * *
THE COTTAGER TO HER INFANT
BY MY SISTER
Composed 1805. --Published 1815
[Suggested to her, while beside my sleeping children. --I. F. ]
One of the "Poems founded on the Affections. "--Ed.
The days are cold, the nights are long,
The north-wind sings a doleful song;
Then hush again upon my breast;
All merry things are now at rest,
Save thee, my pretty Love! 5
The kitten sleeps upon the hearth,
The crickets long have ceased their mirth;
There's nothing stirring in the house
Save one _wee_, hungry, nibbling mouse,
Then why so busy thou? 10
Nay! start not at that sparkling light;
'Tis but the moon that shines so bright
On the window pane bedropped with rain:
Then, little Darling! sleep again,
And wake when it is day. 15
This poem underwent no change in successive editions. The title in all
the earlier ones (1815 to 1843) was 'The Cottager to her Infant. By a
Female Friend'; and in the preface to the edition of 1815, Wordsworth
wrote,
"Three short pieces (now first published) are the work of a Female
Friend; . . . if any one regard them with dislike, or be disposed to
condemn them, let the censure fall upon him, who, trusting in his own
sense of their merit, and their fitness for the place which they
occupy, _extorted_ them from the Authoress. "
In the edition of 1845, he disclosed the authorship; and gave the more
natural title, 'By my Sister'. Other two poems by her were introduced
into the edition of 1815, and subsequent ones, viz. the 'Address to a
Child', and 'The Mother's Return'. In an appendix to a MS. copy of the
'Recollections of a Tour made in Scotland', by Dorothy Wordsworth,
transcribed by Mrs. Clarkson, I find the poem 'The Cottager to her
Infant' with two additional stanzas, which are there attributed to
Wordsworth. The appendix runs thus:
"To my Niece Dorothy, a sleepless Baby
THE COTTAGER TO HER INFANT
(The third and fourth stanzas which follow by W. W. )
'Ah! if I were a lady gay
I should not grieve with thee to play;
Right gladly would I lie awake
Thy lively spirits to partake,
And ask no better cheer.
But, Babe! there's none to work for me.
And I must rise to industry;
Soon as the cock begins to crow
Thy mother to the fold must go
To tend the sheep and kine. '"
Ed.
* * * * *
THE WAGGONER [A]
Composed 1805. --Published 1819
[Written at Town-end, Grasmere. The characters and story from fact. --I.
F. ]
"In Cairo's crowded streets
The impatient Merchant, wondering, waits in vain,
And Mecca saddens at the long delay. "
THOMSON. [B]
TO CHARLES LAMB, ESQ.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
When I sent you, a few weeks ago, the Tale of 'Peter Bell', you asked
"why THE WAGGONER was not added? "--To say the truth,--from the higher
tone of imagination, and the deeper touches of passion aimed at in the
former, I apprehended, this little Piece could not accompany it without
disadvantage. In the year 1806, if I am not mistaken, THE WAGGONER was
read to you in manuscript; and, as you have remembered it for so long a
time, I am the more encouraged to hope, that, since the localities on
which it partly depends did not prevent its being interesting to you, it
may prove acceptable to others. Being therefore in some measure the
cause of its present appearance, you must allow me the gratification of
inscribing it to you; in acknowledgment of the pleasure I have derived
from your Writings, and of the high esteem with which
I am
Very truly yours,
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH.
RYDAL MOUNT, _May 20th_, 1819.
CANTO FIRST
'Tis spent--this burning day of June!
Soft darkness o'er its latest gleams is stealing;
The buzzing dor-hawk, round and round, is wheeling,--
That solitary bird
Is all that can be heard [1] 5
In silence deeper far than that of deepest noon!
Confiding Glow-worms, 'tis a night
Propitious to your earth-born light!
But, where the scattered stars are seen
In hazy straits the clouds between, 10
Each, in his station twinkling not,
Seems changed into a pallid spot. [2]
The mountains against heaven's grave weight
Rise up, and grow to wondrous height. [3]
The air, as in a lion's den, 15
Is close and hot;--and now and then
Comes a tired [4] and sultry breeze
With a haunting and a panting,
Like the stifling of disease;
But the dews [5] allay the heat, 20
And the silence makes it sweet.
Hush, there is some one on the stir!
'Tis Benjamin the Waggoner;
Who long hath trod this toilsome way,
Companion of the night and [6] day. 25
That far-off tinkling's drowsy cheer,
Mix'd with a faint yet grating sound
In a moment lost and found,
The Wain announces--by whose side
Along the banks of Rydal Mere 30
He paces on, a trusty Guide,--
Listen! you can scarcely hear!
Hither he his course is bending;--
Now he leaves the lower ground,
And up the craggy hill ascending 35
Many a stop and stay he makes,
Many a breathing-fit he takes;--[7]
Steep the way and wearisome,
Yet all the while his whip is dumb!
The Horses have worked with right good-will, 40
And so [8] have gained the top of the hill;
He was patient, they were strong,
And now they smoothly glide along,
Recovering [9] breath, and pleased to win
The praises of mild Benjamin. 45
Heaven shield him from mishap and snare!
But why so early with this prayer?
Is it for threatenings in the sky?
Or for some other danger nigh?
No; none is near him yet, though he 50
Be one of much infirmity; [10]
For at the bottom of the brow,
Where once the DOVE and OLIVE-BOUGH
Offered a greeting of good ale
To all who entered Grasmere Vale; 55
And called on him who must depart
To leave it with a jovial heart;
There, where the DOVE and OLIVE-BOUGH
Once hung, a Poet harbours now,
A simple water-drinking Bard; 60
Why need our Hero then (though frail
His best resolves) be on his guard?
He marches by, secure and bold;
Yet while he thinks on times of old,
It seems that all looks wondrous cold; 65
He shrugs his shoulders, shakes his head,
And, for the honest folk within,
It is a doubt with Benjamin
Whether they be alive or dead!
_Here_ is no danger,--none at all! 70
Beyond his wish he walks secure; [11]
But pass a mile--and _then_ for trial,--
Then for the pride of self-denial;
If he resist that tempting door,
Which with such friendly voice will call; 75
If he resist those casement panes,
And that bright gleam which thence will fall
Upon his Leaders' bells and manes,
Inviting him with cheerful lure:
For still, though all be dark elsewhere, 80
Some shining notice will be 'there'
Of open house and ready fare.
The place to Benjamin right well [12]
Is known, and by as strong a spell
As used to be that sign of love 85
And hope--the OLIVE-BOUGH and DOVE;
He knows it to his cost, good Man!
Who does not know the famous SWAN?
Object uncouth! and yet our boast, [13]
For it was painted by the Host; 90
His own conceit the figure planned,
'Twas coloured all by his own hand;
And that frail Child of thirsty clay,
Of whom I sing [14] this rustic lay,
Could tell with self-dissatisfaction 95
Quaint stories of the bird's attraction! [C]
Well! that is past--and in despite
Of open door and shining light.
And now the conqueror essays
The long ascent of Dunmail-raise; 100
And with his team is gentle here
As when he clomb from Rydal Mere;
His whip they do not dread--his voice
They only hear it to rejoice.
To stand or go is at _their_ pleasure; 105
Their efforts and their time they measure
By generous pride within the breast;
And, while they strain, and while they rest,
He thus pursues his thoughts at leisure.
Now am I fairly safe to-night--110
And with proud cause my heart is light: [15]
I trespassed lately worse than ever--
But Heaven has blest [16] a good endeavour;
And, to my soul's content, [17] I find
The evil One is left behind. 115
Yes, let my master fume and fret,
Here am I--with my horses yet!
My jolly team, he finds that ye
Will work for nobody but me!
Full proof of this the Country gained; 120
It knows how ye were vexed and strained,
And forced unworthy stripes to bear,
When trusted to another's care. [18]
Here was it--on this rugged slope,
Which now ye climb with heart and hope, 125
I saw you, between rage and fear,
Plunge, and fling back a spiteful ear,
And ever more and more confused,
As ye were more and more abused: [19]
As chance would have it, passing by 130
I saw you in that [20] jeopardy:
A word from me was like a charm; [D]
Ye pulled together with one mind; [21]
And your huge burthen, safe from harm,
Moved like a vessel in the wind! 135
--Yes, without me, up hills so high
'Tis vain to strive for mastery.
Then grieve not, jolly team! though tough
The road we travel, steep, and rough; [22]
Though Rydal-heights and Dunmail-raise, 140
And all their fellow banks and braes,
Full often make you stretch and strain,
And halt for breath and halt again,
Yet to their sturdiness 'tis owing
That side by side we still are going! 145
While Benjamin in earnest mood
His meditations thus pursued,
A storm, which had been smothered long,
Was growing inwardly more strong;
And, in its struggles to get free, 150
Was busily employed as he.
The thunder had begun to growl--
He heard not, too intent of soul;
The air was now without a breath--
He marked not that 'twas still as death. 155
But soon large rain-drops on his head [23]
Fell with the weight of drops of lead;--
He starts--and takes, at the admonition,
A sage survey of his condition. [24]
The road is black before his eyes, 160
Glimmering faintly where it lies;
Black is the sky--and every hill,
Up to the sky, is blacker still--
Sky, hill, and dale, one dismal room, [25]
Hung round and overhung with gloom; 165
Save that above a single height
Is to be seen a lurid light,
Above Helm-crag [E]--a streak half dead,
A burning of portentous red;
And near that lurid light, full well 170
The ASTROLOGER, sage Sidrophel,
Where at his desk and book he sits,
Puzzling aloft [26] his curious wits;
He whose domain is held in common
With no one but the ANCIENT WOMAN, 175
Cowering beside her rifted cell,
As if intent on magic spell;-
Dread pair, that, spite of wind and weather,
Still sit upon Helm-crag together!
The ASTROLOGER was not unseen 180
By solitary Benjamin;
But total darkness came anon,
And he and every thing was gone:
And suddenly a ruffling breeze,
(That would have rocked the sounding trees 185
Had aught of sylvan growth been there)
Swept through the Hollow long and bare: [27]
The rain rushed down--the road was battered,
As with the force of billows shattered;
The horses are dismayed, nor know 190
Whether they should stand or go;
And Benjamin is groping near them,
Sees nothing, and can scarcely hear them.
He is astounded,--wonder not,--
With such a charge in such a spot; 195
Astounded in the mountain gap
With thunder-peals, clap after clap,
Close-treading on the silent flashes--
And somewhere, as he thinks, by crashes [28]
Among the rocks; with weight of rain, 200
And sullen [29] motions long and slow,
That to a dreary distance go--
Till, breaking in upon the dying strain,
A rending o'er his head begins the fray again.
Meanwhile, uncertain what to do, 205
And oftentimes compelled to halt,
The horses cautiously pursue
Their way, without mishap or fault;
And now have reached that pile of stones,
Heaped over brave King Dunmail's bones; 210
He who had once supreme command,
Last king of rocky Cumberland;
His bones, and those of all his Power,
Slain here in a disastrous hour!
When, passing through this narrow strait, 215
Stony, and dark, and desolate,
Benjamin can faintly hear
A voice that comes from some one near,
A female voice:--"Whoe'er you be,
Stop," it exclaimed, "and pity me! " 220
And, less in pity than in wonder,
Amid the darkness and the thunder,
The Waggoner, with prompt command,
Summons his horses to a stand.
While, with increasing agitation, 225
The Woman urged her supplication,
In rueful words, with sobs between--
The voice of tears that fell unseen; [30]
There came a flash--a startling glare,
And all Seat-Sandal was laid bare! 230
'Tis not a time for nice suggestion,
And Benjamin, without a question,
Taking her for some way-worn rover, [31]
Said, "Mount, and get you under cover! "
Another voice, in tone as hoarse 235
As a swoln brook with rugged course,
Cried out, "Good brother, why so fast?
I've had a glimpse of you--'avast! '
Or, since it suits you to be civil,
Take her at once--for good and evil! " 240
"It is my Husband," softly said
The Woman, as if half afraid:
By this time she was snug within,
Through help of honest Benjamin;
She and her Babe, which to her breast 245
With thankfulness the Mother pressed;
And now the same strong voice more near
Said cordially, "My Friend, what cheer?
Rough doings these! as God's my judge,
The sky owes somebody a grudge! 250
We've had in half an hour or less
A twelvemonth's terror [32] and distress! "
Then Benjamin entreats the Man
Would mount, too, quickly as he can:
The Sailor--Sailor now no more, 255
But such he had been heretofore--
To courteous Benjamin replied,
"Go you your way, and mind not me;
For I must have, whate'er betide,
My Ass and fifty things beside,--260
Go, and I'll follow speedily! "
The Waggon moves--and with its load
Descends along the sloping road;
And the rough Sailor instantly
Turns to a little tent hard by: [33] 265
For when, at closing-in of day,
The family had come that way,
Green pasture and the soft warm air
Tempted [34] them to settle there. --
Green is the grass for beast to graze, 270
Around the stones of Dunmail-raise!
The Sailor gathers up his bed,
Takes down the canvass overhead;
And, after farewell to the place,
A parting word--though not of grace, 275
Pursues, with Ass and all his store,
The way the Waggon went before.
CANTO SECOND
If Wytheburn's modest House of prayer,
As lowly as the lowliest dwelling,
Had, with its belfry's humble stock, 280
A little pair that hang in air,
Been mistress also of a clock,
(And one, too, not in crazy plight)
Twelve strokes that clock would have been telling
Under the brow of old Helvellyn--285
Its bead-roll of midnight,
Then, when the Hero of my tale
Was passing by, and, down the vale
(The vale now silent, hushed I ween
As if a storm had never been) 290
Proceeding with a mind at ease;
While the old Familiar of the seas [35]
Intent to use his utmost haste,
Gained ground upon the Waggon fast,
And gives another lusty cheer; 295
For spite of rumbling of the wheels,
A welcome greeting he can hear;--
It is a fiddle in its glee
Dinning from the CHERRY TREE!
Thence the sound--the light is there--300
As Benjamin is now aware,
Who, to his inward thoughts confined,
Had almost reached the festive door,
When, startled by the Sailor's roar, [36]
He hears a sound and sees the light, 305
And in a moment calls to mind
That 'tis the village MERRY-NIGHT! [F]
Although before in no dejection,
At this insidious recollection
His heart with sudden joy is filled,--310
His ears are by the music thrilled,
His eyes take pleasure in the road
Glittering before him bright and broad;
And Benjamin is wet and cold,
And there are reasons manifold 315
That make the good, tow'rds which he's yearning,
Look fairly like a lawful earning.
Nor has thought time to come and go,
To vibrate between yes and no;
For, cries the Sailor, "Glorious chance 320
That blew us hither! --let him dance,
Who can or will! --my honest soul,
Our treat shall be a friendly bowl! " [37]
He draws him to the door--"Come in,
Come, come," cries he to Benjamin! 325
And Benjamin--ah, woe is me!
Gave the word--the horses heard
And halted, though reluctantly.
"Blithe souls and lightsome hearts have we,
Feasting at the CHERRY TREE! " 330
This was the outside proclamation,
This was the inside salutation;
What bustling--jostling--high and low!
A universal overflow!
What tankards foaming from the tap! 335
What store of cakes in every lap!
What thumping--stumping--overhead!
The thunder had not been more busy:
With such a stir you would have said,
This little place may well be dizzy! 340
'Tis who can dance with greatest vigour--
'Tis what can be most prompt and eager;
As if it heard the fiddle's call,
The pewter clatters on the wall;
The very bacon shows its feeling, 345
Swinging from the smoky ceiling!
A steaming bowl, a blazing fire,
What greater good can heart desire?
'Twere worth a wise man's while to try
The utmost anger of the sky: 350
To _seek_ for thoughts of a gloomy cast,
If such the bright amends at last. [38]
Now should you say [39] I judge amiss,
The CHERRY TREE shows proof of this;
For soon of all [40] the happy there, 355
Our Travellers are the happiest pair;
All care with Benjamin is gone--
A Caesar past the Rubicon!
He thinks not of his long, long strife;--
The Sailor, Man by nature gay, 360
Hath no resolves to throw away; [41]
And he hath now forgot his Wife,
Hath quite forgotten her--or may be
Thinks her the luckiest soul on earth,
Within that warm and peaceful berth, [42] 365
Under cover,
Terror over,
Sleeping by her sleeping Baby.
With bowl that sped from hand to hand,
The gladdest of the gladsome band, 370
Amid their own delight and fun, [43]
They hear--when every dance is done,
When every whirling bout is o'er--[44]
The fiddle's _squeak_ [G]--that call to bliss,
Ever followed by a kiss; 375
They envy not the happy lot,
But enjoy their own the more!
While thus our jocund Travellers fare,
Up springs the Sailor from his chair--
Limps (for I might have told before 380
That he was lame) across the floor--
Is gone--returns--and with a prize;
With what? --a Ship of lusty size;
A gallant stately Man-of-war,
Fixed on a smoothly-sliding car. 385
Surprise to all, but most surprise
To Benjamin, who rubs his eyes,
Not knowing that he had befriended
A Man so gloriously attended!
"This," cries the Sailor, "a Third-rate is--390
Stand back, and you shall see her gratis!
This was the Flag-ship at the Nile,
The Vanguard--you may smirk and smile,
But, pretty Maid, if you look near,
You'll find you've much in little here! 395
A nobler ship did never swim,
And you shall see her in full trim:
I'll set, my friends, to do you honour,
Set every inch of sail upon her. "
So said, so done; and masts, sails, yards, 400
He names them all; and interlards
His speech with uncouth terms of art,
Accomplished in the showman's part;
And then, as from a sudden check,
Cries out--"'Tis there, the quarter-deck 405
On which brave Admiral Nelson stood--
A sight that would have roused your blood!
One eye he had, which, bright as ten,
Burned like a fire among his men;
Let this be land, and that be sea, 410
Here lay the French--and _thus_ came we! " [H]
Hushed was by this the fiddle's sound,
The dancers all were gathered round,
And, such the stillness of the house,
You might have heard a nibbling mouse; 415
While, borrowing helps where'er he may,
The Sailor through the story runs
Of ships to ships and guns to guns;
And does his utmost to display
The dismal conflict, and the might 420
And terror of that marvellous [45] night!
"A bowl, a bowl of double measure,"
Cries Benjamin, "a draught of length,
To Nelson, England's pride and treasure,
Her bulwark and her tower of strength! " 425
When Benjamin had seized the bowl,
The mastiff, from beneath the waggon,
Where he lay, watchful as a dragon,
Rattled his chain;--'twas all in vain,
For Benjamin, triumphant soul! 430
He heard the monitory growl;
Heard--and in opposition quaffed
A deep, determined, desperate draught!
Nor did the battered Tar forget,
Or flinch from what he deemed his debt: 435
Then, like a hero crowned with laurel,
Back to her place the ship he led;
Wheeled her back in full apparel;
And so, flag flying at mast head,
Re-yoked her to the Ass:--anon, 440
Cries Benjamin, "We must be gone. "
Thus, after two hours' hearty stay,
Again behold them on their way!
CANTO THIRD
Right gladly had the horses stirred,
When they the wished-for greeting heard, 445
The whip's loud notice from the door,
That they were free to move once more.
You think, those [46] doings must have bred
In them disheartening doubts and dread;
No, not a horse of all the eight, 450
Although it be a moonless night,
Fears either for himself or freight;
For this they know (and let it hide,
In part, the offences of their guide)
That Benjamin, with clouded brains, 455
Is worth the best with all their pains;
And, if they had a prayer to make,
The prayer would be that they may take
With him whatever comes in course,
The better fortune or the worse; 460
That no one else may have business near them,
And, drunk or sober, he may steer them.
So, forth in dauntless mood they fare,
And with them goes the guardian pair.
Now, heroes, for the true commotion, 465
The triumph of your late devotion!
Can aught on earth impede delight,
Still mounting to a higher height;
And higher still--a greedy flight!
Can any low-born care pursue her, 470
Can any mortal clog come to her? [J]
No notion have they--not a thought,
That is from joyless regions brought!
And, while they coast the silent lake,
Their inspiration I partake; 475
Share their empyreal spirits--yea,
With their enraptured vision, see--
O fancy--what a jubilee!
What shifting pictures--clad in gleams
Of colour bright as feverish dreams! 480
Earth, spangled sky, and lake serene,
Involved and restless all--a scene
Pregnant with mutual exaltation,
Rich change, and multiplied creation!
This sight to me the Muse imparts;--485
And then, what kindness in their hearts!
What tears of rapture, what vow-making,
Profound entreaties, and hand-shaking!
What solemn, vacant, interlacing,
As if they'd fall asleep embracing! 490
Then, in the turbulence of glee,
And in the excess of amity,
Says Benjamin, "That Ass of thine,
He spoils thy sport, and hinders mine:
If he were tethered to the waggon, 495
He'd drag as well what he is dragging;
And we, as brother should with brother,
Might trudge it alongside each other! "
Forthwith, obedient to command,
The horses made a quiet stand; 500
And to the waggon's skirts was tied
The Creature, by the Mastiff's side,
The Mastiff wondering, and perplext
With dread of what will happen next;
And thinking it but sorry cheer, 505
To have such company so near! [47]
This new arrangement made, the Wain
Through the still night proceeds again;
No Moon hath risen her light to lend;
But indistinctly may be kenned 510
The VANGUARD, following close behind,
Sails spread, as if to catch the wind!
"Thy wife and child are snug and warm,
Thy ship will travel without harm;
I like," said Benjamin, "her shape and stature: 515
And this of mine--this bulky creature
Of which I have the steering--this,
Seen fairly, is not much amiss!
We want your streamers, friend, you know;
But, altogether [48] as we go, 520
We make a kind of handsome show!
Among these hills, from first to last,
We've weathered many a furious blast;
Hard passage forcing on, with head
Against the storm, and canvass spread. 525
I hate a boaster; but to thee
Will say't, who know'st both land and sea,
The unluckiest hulk that stems [49] the brine
Is hardly worse beset than mine,
When cross-winds on her quarter beat; 530
And, fairly lifted from my feet,
I stagger onward--heaven knows how;
But not so pleasantly as now:
Poor pilot I, by snows confounded,
And many a foundrous pit surrounded! 535
Yet here we are, by night and day
Grinding through rough and smooth our way;
Through foul and fair our task fulfilling;
And long shall be so yet--God willing! "
"Ay," said the Tar, "through fair and foul--540
But save us from yon screeching owl! "
That instant was begun a fray
Which called their thoughts another way:
The mastiff, ill-conditioned carl!
What must he do but growl and snarl, 545
Still more and more dissatisfied
With the meek comrade at his side!
Till, not incensed though put to proof,
The Ass, uplifting a hind hoof,
Salutes the Mastiff on the head; 550
And so were better manners bred,
And all was calmed and quieted.
"Yon screech-owl," says the Sailor, turning
Back to his former cause of mourning,
"Yon owl! --pray God that all be well! 555
'Tis worse than any funeral bell;
As sure as I've the gift of sight,
We shall be meeting ghosts to-night! "
--Said Benjamin, "This whip shall lay
A thousand, if they cross our way. 560
I know that Wanton's noisy station,
I know him and his occupation;
The jolly bird hath learned his cheer
Upon [50] the banks of Windermere;
Where a tribe of them make merry, 565
Mocking the Man that keeps the ferry;
Hallooing from an open throat,
Like travellers shouting for a boat.
--The tricks he learned at Windermere
This vagrant owl is playing here--570
That is the worst of his employment:
He's at the top [51] of his enjoyment! "
This explanation stilled the alarm,
Cured the foreboder like a charm;
This, and the manner, and the voice, 575
Summoned the Sailor to rejoice;
His heart is up--he fears no evil
From life or death, from man or devil;
He wheels [52]--and, making many stops,
Brandished his crutch against the mountain tops; 580
And, while he talked of blows and scars,
Benjamin, among the stars,
Beheld a dancing--and a glancing;
Such retreating and advancing
As, I ween, was never seen 585
In bloodiest battle since the days of Mars!
CANTO FOURTH
Thus they, with freaks of proud delight,
Beguile the remnant of the night;
And many a snatch of jovial song
Regales them as they wind along; 590
While to the music, from on high,
The echoes make a glad reply. --
But the sage Muse the revel heeds
No farther than her story needs;
Nor will she servilely attend 595
The loitering journey to its end.
--Blithe spirits of her own impel
The Muse, who scents the morning air,
To take of this transported pair
A brief and unreproved farewell; 600
To quit the slow-paced waggon's side,
And wander down yon hawthorn dell,
With murmuring Greta for her guide.
--There doth she ken the awful form
Of Raven-crag--black as a storm--605
Glimmering through the twilight pale;
And Ghimmer-crag, [K] his tall twin brother,
Each peering forth to meet the other:--
And, while she roves [53] through St. John's Vale,
Along the smooth unpathwayed plain, 610
By sheep-track or through cottage lane,
Where no disturbance comes to intrude
Upon the pensive solitude,
Her unsuspecting eye, perchance,
With the rude shepherd's favoured glance, 615
Beholds the faeries in array,
Whose party-coloured garments gay
The silent company betray:
Red, green, and blue; a moment's sight!
For Skiddaw-top with rosy light 620
Is touched--and all the band take flight.
--Fly also, Muse! and from the dell
Mount to the ridge of Nathdale Fell;
Thence, look thou forth o'er wood and lawn
Hoar with the frost-like dews of dawn; 625
Across yon meadowy bottom look,
Where close fogs hide their parent brook;
And see, beyond that hamlet small,
The ruined towers of Threlkeld-hall,
Lurking in a double shade, 630
By trees and lingering twilight made!
There, at Blencathara's rugged feet,
Sir Lancelot gave a safe retreat
To noble Clifford; from annoy
Concealed the persecuted boy, 635
Well pleased in rustic garb to feed
His flock, and pipe on shepherd's reed
Among this multitude of hills,
Crags, woodlands, waterfalls, and rills;
Which soon the morning shall enfold, 640
From east to west, in ample vest
Of massy gloom and radiance bold.
The mists, that o'er the streamlet's bed
Hung low, begin to rise and spread;
Even while I speak, their skirts of grey 645
Are smitten by a silver ray;
And lo! --up Castrigg's naked steep
(Where, smoothly urged, the vapours sweep
Along--and scatter and divide,
Like fleecy clouds self-multiplied) 650
The stately waggon is ascending,
With faithful Benjamin attending,
Apparent now beside his team--
Now lost amid a glittering steam: [54]
And with him goes his Sailor-friend, 655
By this time near their journey's end;
And, after their high-minded riot,
Sickening into thoughtful quiet;
As if the morning's pleasant hour,
Had for their joys a killing power. 660
And, sooth, for Benjamin a vein
Is opened of still deeper pain,
As if his heart by notes were stung
From out the lowly hedge-rows flung;
As if the warbler lost in light [L] 665
Reproved his soarings of the night,
In strains of rapture pure and holy
Upbraided his distempered folly. [55]
Drooping is he, his step is dull; [56]
But the horses stretch and pull; 670
With increasing vigour climb,
Eager to repair lost time;
Whether, by their own desert,
Knowing what cause there is [57] for shame,
They are labouring to avert 675
As much as may be of the blame, [58]
Which, they foresee, must soon alight
Upon _his_ head, whom, in despite
Of all his failings, they love best; [59]
Whether for him they are distrest, 680
Or, by length of fasting roused,
Are impatient to be housed:
Up against the hill they strain
Tugging at the iron chain,
Tugging all with might and main, 685
Last and foremost, every horse
To the utmost of his force!
And the smoke and respiration,
Rising like an exhalation,
Blend [60] with the mist--a moving shroud 690
To form, an undissolving cloud;
Which, with slant ray, the merry sun
Takes delight to play upon.
Never golden-haired Apollo,
Pleased some favourite chief to follow 695
Through accidents of peace or war,
In a perilous moment threw
Around the object of his care
Veil of such celestial hue; [61]
Interposed so bright a screen--700
Him and his enemies between!
Alas! what boots it? --who can hide,
When the malicious Fates are bent
On working out an ill intent?
Can destiny be turned aside? 705
No--sad progress of my story!
Benjamin, this outward glory
Cannot shield [62] thee from thy Master,
Who from Keswick has pricked forth,
Sour and surly as the north; 710
And, in fear of some disaster,
Comes to give what help he may,
And [63] to hear what thou canst say;
If, as needs he must forebode, [64]
Thou hast been loitering [65] on the road! 715
His fears, his doubts, [66] may now take flight--
The wished-for object is in sight;
Yet, trust the Muse, it rather hath
Stirred him up to livelier wrath;
Which he stifles, moody man! 720
With all the patience that he can;
To the end that, at your meeting,
He may give thee decent greeting.
There he is--resolved to stop,
Till the waggon gains the top; 725
But stop he cannot--must advance:
Him Benjamin, with lucky glance,
Espies--and instantly is ready,
Self-collected, poised, and steady:
And, to be the better seen, 730
Issues from his radiant shroud,
From his close-attending cloud,
With careless air and open mien.
Erect his port, and firm his going;
So struts yon cock that now is crowing; 735
And the morning light in grace
Strikes upon his lifted face,
Hurrying the pallid hue away
That might his trespasses betray.
But what can all avail to clear him, 740
Or what need of explanation,
Parley or interrogation?
For the Master sees, alas!
That unhappy Figure near him,
Limping o'er the dewy grass, 745
Where the road it fringes, sweet,
Soft and cool to way-worn feet;
And, O indignity! an Ass,
By his noble Mastiffs side,
Tethered to the waggon's tail: 750
And the ship, in all her pride,
Following after in full sail!
Not to speak of babe and mother;
Who, contented with each other,
And snug as birds in leafy arbour, 755
Find, within, a blessed harbour!
With eager eyes the Master pries;
Looks in and out, and through and through;
Says nothing--till at last he spies
A wound upon the Mastiff's head, 760
A wound, where plainly might be read
What feats an Ass's hoof can do!
But drop the rest:--this aggravation,
This complicated provocation,
A hoard of grievances unsealed; 765
All past forgiveness it repealed;
And thus, and through distempered blood
On both sides, Benjamin the good,
The patient, and the tender-hearted,
Was from his team and waggon parted; 770
When duty of that day was o'er,
Laid down his whip--and served no more. --
Nor could the waggon long survive,
Which Benjamin had ceased to drive:
It lingered on;--guide after guide 775
Ambitiously the office tried;
But each unmanageable hill
Called for _his_ patience and _his_ skill;--
And sure it is, that through this night,
And what the morning brought to light, 780
Two losses had we to sustain,
We lost both WAGGONER and WAIN!
* * * * *
Accept, O Friend, for praise or blame,
The gift of this adventurous song;
A record which I dared to frame, 785
Though timid scruples checked me long;
They checked me--and I left the theme
Untouched;--in spite of many a gleam
Of fancy which thereon was shed,
Like pleasant sunbeams shifting still 790
Upon the side of a distant hill:
But Nature might not be gainsaid;
For what I have and what I miss
I sing of these;--it makes my bliss!
Nor is it I who play the part, 795
But a shy spirit in my heart,
That comes and goes--will sometimes leap
From hiding-places ten years deep;
Or haunts me with familiar face, [67]
Returning, like a ghost unlaid, 800
Until the debt I owe be paid.
Forgive me, then; for I had been
On friendly terms with this Machine: [M]
In him, while he was wont to trace
Our roads, through many a long year's space, 805
A living almanack had we;
We had a speaking diary,
That in this uneventful place,
Gave to the days a mark and name
By which we knew them when they came. 810
--Yes, I, and all about me here,
Through all the changes of the year,
Had seen him through the mountains go,
In pomp of mist or pomp of snow,
Majestically huge and slow: 815
Or, with a milder grace [68] adorning
The landscape of a summer's morning;
While Grasmere smoothed her liquid plain
The moving image to detain;
And mighty Fairfield, with a chime 820
Of echoes, to his march kept time;
When little other business stirred,
And little other sound was heard;
In that delicious hour of balm,
Stillness, solitude, and calm, 825
While yet the valley is arrayed,
On this side with a sober shade;
On that is prodigally bright--
Crag, lawn, and wood--with rosy light.
--But most of all, thou lordly Wain! 830
I wish to have thee here again,
When windows flap and chimney roars,
And all is dismal out of doors;
And, sitting by my fire, I see
Eight sorry carts, no less a train! 835
Unworthy successors of thee,
Come straggling through the wind and rain:
And oft, as they pass slowly on,
Beneath my windows, [69] one by one,
See, perched upon the naked height 840
The summit of a cumbrous freight,
A single traveller--and there
Another; then perhaps a pair--
The lame, the sickly, and the old;
Men, women, heartless with the cold; 845
And babes in wet and starveling plight;
Which once, [70] be weather as it might,
Had still a nest within a nest,
Thy shelter--and their mother's breast!
Then most of all, then far the most, 850
Do I regret what we have lost;
Am grieved for that unhappy sin
Which robbed us of good Benjamin;--
And of his stately Charge, which none
Could keep alive when He was gone! 855
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1819.
The Night-hawk is singing his frog-like tune,
Twirling his watchman's rattle about--1805. MS. [a]
The dor-hawk, solitary bird,
Round the dim crags on heavy pinions wheeling,
Buzzes incessantly, a tiresome tune;
That constant voice is all that can be heard 1820.
. . . on heavy pinions wheeling,
With untired voice sings an unvaried tune;
Those burring notes are all that can be heard 1836.
The text of 1845 returns to the first version of 1819. ]
[Variant 2:
1819.
Now that the children are abed
The little glow-worms nothing dread,
Such prize as their bright lamps would be.
Sooth they come in company,
And shine in quietness secure,
On the mossy bank by the cottage door,
As safe as on the loneliest moor.
In the play, or on the hill,
Everything is hushed and still;
The clouds show here and there a spot
Of a star that twinkles not,
The air as in . . .
From a MS. copy of the poem in Henry Crabb Robinson's 'Diary, etc'.
1812.
Now that the children's busiest schemes
Do all lie buried in blank sleep,
Or only live in stirring dreams,
The glow-worms fearless watch may keep;
Rich prize as their bright lamps would be,
They shine, a quiet company,
On mossy bank by cottage-door,
As safe as on the loneliest moor.
In hazy straits the clouds between,
And in their stations twinkling not,
Some thinly-sprinkled stars are seen,
Each changed into a pallid spot. 1836.
The text of 1845 returns to that of 1819. ]
[Variant 3:
1836.
The mountains rise to wond'rous height,
And in the heavens there is a weight; 1819.
And in the heavens there hangs a weight; 1827.
In the editions of 1819 to 1832, these two lines follow the line "Like
the stifling of disease. "]
[Variant 4:
1819.
. . . faint . . . 1836.
The text of 1845 returns to that of 1819. ]
[Variant 5:
1819.
But welcome dews . . . 1836.
The text of 1845 returns to that of 1819. ]
[Variant 6:
1819.
. . . or . . . 1836.
The text of 1845 returns to that of 1819. ]
[Variant 7:
1819.
Listen! you can hardly hear!
Now he has left the lower ground,
And up the hill his course is bending,
With many a stop and stay ascending;--1836.
The text of 1845 returns to that of 1819. ]
[Variant 8:
1836.
And now . . . 1819. ]
[Variant 9:
1836.
Gathering . . . 1819. ]
[Variant 10:
1819.
No;--him infirmities beset,
But danger is not near him yet; 1836.
The text of 1845 returns to that of 1819. ]
[Variant 11:
1836.
is he secure; 1819. ]
[Variant 12:
1836.
full well 1819. ]
[Variant 13:
1836.
Uncouth although the object be,
An image of perplexity;
Yet not the less it is our boast, 1819. ]
[Variant 14:
1827.
. . . I frame . . . 1819. ]
[Variant 15:
1836
And never was my heart more light. 1819. ]
[Variant 16:
1836.
. . . will bless . . . 1819. ]
[Variant 17:
1836.
. . . delight, . . . 1819. ]
[Variant 18:
1836.
Good proof of this the Country gain'd,
One day, when ye were vex'd and strain'd--
Entrusted to another's care,
And forc'd unworthy stripes to bear. 1819. ]
[Variant 19:
1836. (Expanding four lines into six. )
Here was it--on this rugged spot
Which now contented with our lot
We climb--that piteously abused
Ye plung'd in anger and confused: 1819. ]
[Variant 20:
1836.
. . . in your . . . 1819. ]
[Variant 21:
1836.
The ranks were taken with one mind; 1819. ]
[Variant 22:
1819.
Our road be, narrow, steep, and rough; 1836.
The text of 1845 returns to that of 1819. ]
[Variant 23:
1836.
large drops upon his head 1819. ]
[Variant 24:
1836.
He starts-and, at the admonition,
Takes a survey of his condition. 1819. ]
[Variant 25:
1836.
A huge and melancholy room, 1819. ]
[Variant 26:
1836.
. . .
