Barbauld, as
unnatural
and absurd.
William Wordsworth
. . . smack'd . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 8:
1820.
. . . act; 1800. ]
[Variant 9:
1820.
And foaming like a mountain cataract. 1800. ]
[Variant 10:
1820.
His nose half-touch'd . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 11:
1820.
Was never man in such a joyful case, 1800. ]
[Variant 12:
1820.
. . . . place. 1800. ]
[Variant 13:
1802.
. . . turning . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 14:
1845.
Nine . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 15:
1802.
Three several marks which with his hoofs the beast 1800. ]
[Variant 16:
1820.
. . . verdant . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 17:
1836.
. . . living . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 18:
1827.
. . . gallant brute! . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 19:
1815.
And soon the Knight perform'd what he had said,
The fame whereof through many a land did ring. 1800. ]
[Variant 20:
1820.
. . . journey'd with his paramour; 1800. ]
[Variant 21:
1815.
. . . to . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 22:
1815.
. . . has . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 23:
1815.
. . . hills . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 24:
1815.
From the stone on the summit of the steep 1800.
. . . upon . . . 1802. ]
[Variant 25:
1832.
. . . this . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 26:
1836.
. . . scented . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 27:
1827.
But now here's . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 28:
1815.
For them the quiet creatures . . . 1800. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: Compare 'Othello', act I. scene iii. l. 135:
'Of moving accidents by flood and field. '
Ed. ]
[Footnote B: Compare the sonnet (vol. iv. ) beginning:
"Beloved Vale! " I said. "when I shall con . . .
Ed. ]
[Footnote C: Compare Tennyson, 'In Memoriam', v. II. 3, 4.
'For words, like Nature, half reveal
And half conceal the Soul within. '
Ed. ]
This poem was suggested to Wordsworth in December 1799 during the
journey with his sister from Sockburn in Yorkshire to Grasmere. I owe
the following local note on 'Hart-Leap Well' to Mr. John R. Tutin of
Hull.
"June 20, 1881. Visited 'Hart-Leap Well,' the subject of Wordsworth's
poem. It is situated on the road side leading from Richmond to
Askrigg, at a distance of not more than three and a-half miles from
Richmond, and not five miles as stated in the prefatory note to the
poem. The 'three aspens at three corners of a square' are things of
the past; also the 'three stone pillars standing in a line, on the
hill above. In a straight line with the spring of water, and where the
pillars would have been, a wall has been built; so that it is very
probable the stone pillars were removed at the time of the building of
this wall. The scenery around answers exactly to the description
More doleful place did never eye survey;
It seemed as if the spring time came not here,
And Nature here were willing to decay.
. . .
Now, here is neither grass nor pleasant shade.
"It is barren moor for miles around. The water still falls into the
'cup of stone,' which appeared to be of very long standing. Within ten
yards of the well is a small tree, at the same side of the road as the
well, on the right hand coming from Richmond. "
The Rev. Thomas Hutchinson of Kimbolton wrote to me on June 18, 1883:
"The tree is not a Thorn, but a Lime. It is evidently an old one, but
is now in full and beautiful leaf. It stands on the western side of
the road, and a few yards distant from it. The well is somewhat nearer
the road. This side of the road is open to the fell. On the other side
the road is bounded by a stone wall: another wall meeting this one at
right angles, exactly opposite the well. I ascended the hill on the
north side of this wall for some distance, but could find no trace of
any rough-hewn stone. Descending on the other side, I found in the
wall one, and only one, such stone. I should say the base was in the
wall. The stone itself leans outwards; so that, at the top, three of
its square faces can be seen; and two, if not three, of these faces
bear marks of being hammer-dressed. The distance from the stone to the
well is about 40 yards, and the height of the stone out of the ground
about 3 or 4 feet.
"The ascent from the well is a gentle one, not 'sheer'; nor does there
appear to be any hollow by which the shepherd could ascend. On the
western side of the road there is a wide plain, with a slight fall in
that direction. "
"'Hart-Leap Well' is the tale for me; in matter as good as this
('Peter Bell'); in manner infinitely before it, in my poor judgment. "
Charles Lamb to Wordsworth, May 1819. (See 'The Letters of Charles
Lamb', edited by Alfred Ainger, vol. ii. p. 20. )--Ed.
* * * * *
THE IDLE SHEPHERD-BOYS; OR, DUNGEON-GHYLL FORCE [A]
A PASTORAL
Composed 1800. --Published 1800
[Written at Town-end, Grasmere. I will only add a little monitory
anecdote concerning this subject. When Coleridge and Southey were
walking together upon the Fells, Southey observed that, if I wished to
be considered a faithful painter of rural manners, I ought not to have
said that my shepherd-boys trimmed their rustic hats as described in the
poem. Just as the words had passed his lips two boys appeared with the
very plant entwined round their hats. I have often wondered that
Southey, who rambled so much about the mountains, should have fallen
into this mistake, and I record it as a warning for others who, with far
less opportunity than my dear friend had of knowing what things are, and
far less sagacity, give way to presumptuous criticism, from which he was
free, though in this matter mistaken. In describing a tarn under
Helvellyn I say:
"There sometimes doth a leaping fish
Send through the tarn a lonely cheer. "
This was branded by a critic of these days, in a review ascribed to Mrs.
Barbauld, as unnatural and absurd. I admire the genius of Mrs. Barbauld
and am certain that, had her education been favourable to imaginative
influences, no female of her day would have been more likely to
sympathise with that image, and to acknowledge the truth of the
sentiment. --I. F. ]
Included among the "Poems referring to the Period of Childhood. "--Ed.
The valley rings with mirth and joy;
Among the hills the echoes play
A never never ending song,
To welcome in the May. [1]
The magpie chatters with delight; 5
The mountain raven's youngling brood
Have left the mother and the nest;
And they go rambling east and west
In search of their own food;
Or through the glittering vapours dart 10
In very wantonness of heart.
Beneath a rock, upon the grass,
Two boys are sitting in the sun;
Their work, if any work they have,
Is out of mind--or done. [2] 15
On pipes of sycamore they play
The fragments of a Christmas hymn;
Or with that plant which in our dale
We call stag-horn, or fox's tail,
Their rusty hats they trim: 20
And thus, as happy as the day,
Those Shepherds wear the time away.
Along the river's stony marge
The sand-lark chants a joyous song;
The thrush is busy in the wood, 25
And carols loud and strong.
A thousand lambs are on the rocks,
All newly born! both earth and sky
Keep jubilee, [B] and more than all,
Those boys with their green coronal; 30
They never hear the cry,
That plaintive cry! which up the hill
Comes from the depth of Dungeon-Ghyll.
Said Walter, leaping from the ground,
"Down to the stump of yon old yew 35
We'll for our whistles run a race. " [3]
--Away the shepherds flew;
They leapt--they ran--and when they came
Right opposite to Dungeon-Ghyll,
Seeing that he should lose the prize, 40
"Stop! " to his comrade Walter cries--
James stopped with no good will:
Said Walter then, exulting; "Here
You'll find a task for half a year. [4]
"Cross, if you dare, where I shall cross--45
Come on, and tread where I shall tread. " [5]
The other took him at his word,
And followed as he led. [6]
It was a spot which you may see
If ever you to Langdale go; 50
Into a chasm a mighty block
Hath fallen, and made a bridge of rock:
The gulf is deep below;
And, in a basin black and small,
Receives a lofty waterfall. 55
With staff in hand across the cleft
The challenger pursued [7] his march;
And now, all eyes and feet, hath gained
The middle of the arch.
When list! he hears a piteous moan--60
Again! --his heart within him dies--
His pulse is stopped, his breath is lost,
He totters, pallid as a ghost, [8]
And, looking down, espies [9]
A lamb, that in the pool is pent 65
Within that black and frightful rent.
The lamb had slipped into the stream,
And safe without a bruise or wound
The cataract had borne him down
Into the gulf profound. 70
His dam had seen him when he fell,
She saw him down the torrent borne;
And, while with all a mother's love
She from the lofty rocks above
Sent forth a cry forlorn, 75
The lamb, still swimming round and round,
Made answer to that plaintive sound.
When he had learnt what thing it was,
That sent this rueful cry; I ween
The Boy recovered heart, and told 80
The sight which he had seen.
Both gladly now deferred their task;
Nor was there wanting other aid--
A Poet, one who loves the brooks
Far better than the sages' books, 85
By chance had thither strayed;
And there the helpless lamb he found
By those huge rocks encompassed round.
He drew it from the troubled pool, [10]
And brought it forth into the light: 90
The Shepherds met him with his charge,
An unexpected sight!
Into their arms the lamb they took,
Whose life and limbs the flood had spared; [11]
Then up the steep ascent they hied, 95
And placed him at his mother's side;
And gently did the Bard
Those idle Shepherd-boys upbraid,
And bade them better mind their trade.
The "bridge of rock" across Dungeon-Ghyll "chasm," and the "lofty
waterfall," with all its accessories of place as described in the poem,
remain as they were in 1800. --Ed.
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1800.
The valley rings with mirth and joy;
And, pleased to welcome in the May,
From hill to hill the echoes fling
Their liveliest roundelay. 1836.
The text of 1845 returns to that of 1800. ]
[Variant 2:
1836.
It seems they have no work to do
Or that their work is done. 1800.
Boys that have had no work to do,
Or work that now is done. 1827. ]
[Variant 3:
1805.
I'll run with you a race. "--No more--1800.
We'll for this Whistle run a race. " . . . 1802. ]
[Variant 4:
1836.
Said Walter then, "Your task is here,
'Twill keep you working half a year. 1800.
'Twill baffle you for half a year. 1827. ]
[Variant 5:
1836.
Till you have cross'd where I shall cross,
Say that you'll neither sleep nor eat. " 1800.
"Now cross where I shall cross,--come on
And follow me where I shall lead--" 1802.
"Cross, if you dare, where I shall cross--
Come on, and in my footsteps tread! " 1827. ]
[Variant 6:
1827.
James proudly took him at his word,
But did not like the feat. 1800.
. . . the deed. 1802.
The other took him at his word, 1805. ]
[Variant 7:
1827.
. . . began . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 8:
1827.
. . . pale as any ghost, 1800. ]
[Variant 9:
1827.
. . . he spies 1800. ]
[Variant 10:
1836.
He drew it gently from the pool, 1800. ]
[Variant 11:
1836.
Said they, "He's neither maim'd nor scarr'd"--1800. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: 'Ghyll', in the dialect of Cumberland and Westmoreland is a
short and for the most part a steep narrow valley, with a stream running
through it. 'Force' is the word universally employed in these dialects
for Waterfall. --W. W. 1800.
"Ghyll" was spelt "Gill" in the editions of 1800 to 1805. --Ed. ]
[Footnote B: Compare the 'Ode, Intimations of Immortality', iv. l. 3
(vol. viii. )--Ed. ]
* * * * *
THE PET-LAMB
A PASTORAL
Composed 1800. --Published 1800
[Written at Town-end, Grasmere. Barbara Lewthwaite, now living at
Ambleside (1843), though much changed as to beauty, was one of two most
lovely sisters. Almost the first words my poor brother John said, when
he visited us for the first time at Grasmere, were, "Were those two
Angels that I have just seen? " and from his description, I have no doubt
they were those two sisters. The mother died in childbed; and one of our
neighbours at Grasmere told me that the loveliest sight she had ever
seen was that mother as she lay in her coffin with her babe in her arm.
I mention this to notice what I cannot but think a salutary custom once
universal in these vales. Every attendant on a funeral made it a duty to
look at the corpse in the coffin before the lid was closed, which was
never done (nor I believe is now) till a minute or two before the corpse
was removed. Barbara Lewthwaite was not in fact the child whom I had
seen and overheard as described in the poem. I chose the name for
reasons implied in the above; and here will add a caution against the
use of names of living persons. Within a few months after the
publication of this poem, I was much surprised, and more hurt, to find
it in a child's school book, which, having been compiled by Lindley
Murray, had come into use at Grasmere School where Barbara was a pupil;
and, alas! I had the mortification of hearing that she was very vain of
being thus distinguished; and, in after life she used to say that she
remembered the incident, and what I said to her upon the occasion. --I.
F. ]
Included among the "Poems referring to the Period of Childhood. "--Ed.
The dew was falling fast, the stars began to blink;
I heard a voice; it said, "Drink, pretty creature, drink! "
And, looking o'er the hedge, before me I espied
A snow white mountain-lamb with a Maiden at its side.
Nor sheep nor kine [1] were near; the lamb was all alone, 5
And by a slender cord was tethered to a stone;
With one knee on the grass did the little Maiden kneel,
While to that mountain-lamb she gave its evening meal.
The lamb, while from her hand he thus his supper took,
Seemed to feast with head and ears; and his tail with pleasure shook.
"Drink, pretty creature, drink," she said in such a tone
That I almost received her heart into my own.
'Twas little Barbara Lewthwaite, a child of beauty rare!
I watched them with delight, they were a lovely pair.
Now with her empty can the Maiden turned away: 15
But ere ten yards were gone her footsteps did she stay.
Right towards the lamb she looked; and from a shady place [2]
I unobserved could see the workings of her face:
If Nature to her tongue could measured numbers bring,
Thus, thought I, to her lamb that little Maid might sing: 20
"What ails thee, young One? what? Why pull so at thy cord?
Is it not well with thee? well both for bed and board?
Thy plot of grass is soft, and green as grass can be;
Rest, little young One, rest; what is't that aileth thee?
"What is it thou wouldst seek? What is wanting to thy heart? 25
Thy limbs are they not strong? And beautiful thou art:
This grass is tender grass; these flowers they have no peers;
And that green corn all day is rustling in thy ears!
"If the sun be [3] shining hot, do but stretch thy woollen chain,
This beech is standing by, its covert thou canst gain; 30
For rain and mountain-storms! the like thou need'st not fear,
The rain and storm are things that [4] scarcely can come here.
"Rest, little young One, rest; thou hast forgot the day
When my father found thee first in places far away;
Many flocks were [5] on the hills, but thou wert owned by none, 35
And thy mother from thy side for evermore was gone.
"He took thee in his arms, and in pity brought thee home:
A blessed day for thee! then whither wouldst thou roam?
A faithful nurse thou hast; the dam that did thee yean
Upon the mountain tops no kinder could have been. 40
"Thou know'st that twice a day I have brought thee in this can
Fresh water from the brook, as clear as ever ran;
And twice in the day, when the ground is wet with dew
I bring thee draughts of milk, warm milk it is and new.
"Thy limbs will shortly be twice as stout as they are now, 45
Then I'll yoke thee to my cart like a pony in the plough;
My playmate thou shalt be; and when the wind is cold
Our hearth shall be thy bed, our house shall be thy fold.
"It will not, will not rest! --Poor creature, can it be
That 'tis thy mother's heart which is working so in thee? [6] 50
Things that I know not of belike to thee are dear,
And dreams of things which thou canst neither see nor hear.
"Alas, the mountain-tops that look so green and fair!
I've heard of fearful winds and darkness that come there;
The little brooks that seem all pastime and all play, 55
When they are angry, roar like lions for their prey.
"Here thou need'st not dread the raven in the sky;
Night and day thou art safe,--our cottage is hard by.
Why bleat so after me? Why pull so at thy chain?
Sleep--and at break of day I will come to thee again! " [7] 60
--As homeward through the lane I went with lazy feet,
This song to myself did I oftentimes repeat;
And it seemed, as I retraced the ballad line by line,
That but half of it was hers, and one half of it was _mine_. [8]
Again, and once again, did I repeat the song; 65
"Nay," said I, "more than half to the damsel [9] must belong,
For she looked with such a look, and she spake with such a tone,
That I almost received her heart into my own. "
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1836.
No other sheep . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 2:
1836.
Towards the Lamb she look'd, and from that shady place 1800]
[Variant 3:
1802.
. . . is . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 4:
1827.
. . . which . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 5:
1802.
. . . are . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 6:
1800.
. . . Poor creature, it must be
That thou hast lost thy mother, and 'tis that which troubles thee.
MS. ]
[Variant 7:
1802.
. . . the raven in the sky,
He will not come to thee, our Cottage is hard by,
Night and day thou art safe as living thing can be,
Be happy then and rest, what is't that aileth thee? " 1800. ]
[Variant 8: _Italics_ first used in 1815. ]
[Variant 9: This word was _italicised_ from 1813 to 1832.
