For
dalliance
.
William Wordsworth
These thoughts, and many others of like sort,
Passed quickly through the mind of Isabel,
And her face brightened. The old Man was glad,
And thus resumed:--"Well, Isabel! this scheme 280
These two days, has been meat and drink to me.
Far more than we have lost is left us yet.
--We have enough--I wish indeed that I
Were younger;--but this hope is a good hope.
Make ready Luke's best garments, of the best 285
Buy for him more, and let us send him forth
To-morrow, or the next day, or to-night:
--If he _could_ [32] go, the Boy should go to-night. "
Here Michael ceased, and to the fields went forth
With a light heart. [F] The Housewife for five days 290
Was restless morn and night, and all day long
Wrought on with her best fingers to prepare
Things needful for the journey of her son.
But Isabel was glad when Sunday came
To stop her in her work: for, when she lay 295
By Michael's side, she through the last two nights [33]
Heard him, how he was troubled in his sleep:
And when they rose at morning she could see
That all his hopes were gone. That day at noon
She said to Luke, while they two by themselves 300
Were sitting at the door, "Thou must not go:
We have no other Child but thee to lose,
None to remember--do not go away,
For if thou leave thy Father he will die. "
The Youth [34] made answer with a jocund voice; 305
And Isabel, when she had told her fears,
Recovered heart. That evening her best fare
Did she bring forth, and all together sat
Like happy people round a Christmas fire.
With daylight [35] Isabel resumed her work; 310
And all the ensuing week the house appeared
As cheerful as a grove in Spring: at length
The expected letter from their kinsman came,
With kind assurances that he would do
His utmost for the welfare of the Boy; 315
To which, requests were added, that forthwith
He might be sent to him. Ten times or more
The letter was read over; Isabel
Went forth to show it to the neighbours round;
Nor was there at that time on English land 320
A prouder heart than Luke's. When Isabel
Had to her house returned, the old Man said,
"He shall depart to-morrow. " To this word
The Housewife answered, talking much of things
Which, if at such short notice he should go, 325
Would surely be forgotten. But at length
She gave consent, and Michael was at ease.
Near the tumultuous brook of Green-head Ghyll,
In that deep valley, Michael had designed
To build a Sheep-fold; [G] and, before he heard 330
The tidings of his melancholy loss,
For this same purpose he had gathered up
A heap of stones, which by the streamlet's edge [36]
Lay thrown together, ready for the work.
With Luke that evening thitherward he walked: 335
And soon as they had reached the place he stopped,
And thus the old Man spake to him:--"My Son,
To-morrow thou wilt leave me: with full heart
I look upon thee, for thou art the same
That wert a promise to me ere thy birth, 340
And all thy life hast been my daily joy.
I will relate to thee some little part
Of our two histories; 'twill do thee good
When thou art from me, even if I should touch
On things [37] thou canst not know of. --After thou 345
First cam'st into the world--as oft befals [38]
To new-born infants--thou didst sleep away
Two days, and blessings from thy Father's tongue
Then fell upon thee. Day by day passed on,
And still I loved thee with increasing love. 350
Never to living ear came sweeter sounds
Than when I heard thee by our own fire-side
First uttering, without words, a natural tune;
While [39] thou, a feeding babe, didst in thy joy
Sing at thy Mother's breast. Month followed month, 355
And in the open fields my life was passed
And on [40] the mountains; else I think that thou
Hadst been brought up upon thy Father's knees.
But we were playmates, Luke: among these hills,
As well thou knowest, in us the old and young 360
Have played together, nor with me didst thou
Lack any pleasure which a boy can know. "
Luke had a manly heart; but at these words
He sobbed aloud. The old Man grasped his hand,
And said, "Nay, do not take it so--I see 365
That these are things of which I need not speak.
--Even to the utmost I have been to thee
A kind and a good Father: and herein
I but repay a gift which I myself
Received at others' hands; for, though now old 370
Beyond the common life of man, I still
Remember them who loved me in my youth.
Both of them sleep together: here they lived,
As all their Forefathers had done; and when
At length their time was come, they were not loth 375
To give their bodies to the family mould.
I wished that thou should'st live the life they lived:
But, 'tis a long time to look back, my Son,
And see so little gain from threescore years. [41]
These fields were burthened when they came to me; 380
Till I was forty years of age, not more
Than half of my inheritance was mine.
I toiled and toiled; God blessed me in my work,
And till these three weeks past the land was free.
--It looks as if it never could endure 385
Another Master. Heaven forgive me, Luke,
If I judge ill for thee, but it seems good
That thou should'st go,"
At this the old Man paused;
Then, pointing to the stones near which they stood, 390
Thus, after a short silence, he resumed:
"This was a work for us; and now, my Son,
It is a work for me. But, lay one stone--
Here, lay it for me, Luke, with thine own hands.
[42] Nay, Boy, be of good hope;--we both may live 395
To see a better day. At eighty-four
I still am strong and hale [43];--do thou thy part;
I will do mine. --I will begin again
With many tasks that were resigned to thee:
Up to the heights, and in among the storms, 400
Will I without thee go again, and do
All works which I was wont to do alone,
Before I knew thy face. --Heaven bless thee, Boy!
Thy heart these two weeks has been beating fast
With many hopes; it should be so--yes--yes--405
I knew that thou could'st never have a wish
To leave me, Luke: thou hast been bound to me
Only by links of love: when thou art gone,
What will be left to us! --But, I forget
My purposes. Lay now the corner-stone, 410
As I requested; and hereafter, Luke,
When thou art gone away, should evil men
Be thy companions, think of me, my Son,
And of this moment; hither turn thy thoughts,
And God will strengthen thee: amid all fear 415
And all temptation, Luke, I pray that thou
May'st bear in mind the life thy Fathers lived, [44]
Who, being innocent, did for that cause
Bestir them in good deeds. Now, fare thee well--
When thou return'st, thou in this place wilt see 420
A work which is not here: a covenant
'Twill be between us; but, whatever fate
Befal thee, I shall love thee to the last,
And bear thy memory with me to the grave. "
The Shepherd ended here; and Luke stooped down, 425
And, as his Father had requested, laid
The first stone of the Sheep-fold. At the sight
The old Man's grief broke from him; to his heart
He pressed his Son, he kissed him and wept;
And to the house together they returned. 430
--Hushed was that House in peace, or seeming peace, [45]
Ere the night fell:--with morrow's dawn the Boy [46]
Began his journey, and when he had reached
The public way, he put on a bold face;
And all the neighbours, as he passed their doors, 435
Came forth with wishes and with farewell prayers,
That followed him till he was out of sight.
A good report did from their Kinsman come,
Of Luke and his well doing: and the Boy
Wrote loving letters, full of wondrous news, 440
Which, as the Housewife phrased it, were throughout
"The prettiest letters that were ever seen. "
Both parents read them with rejoicing hearts.
So, many months passed on: and once again
The Shepherd went about his daily work 445
With confident and cheerful thoughts; and now
Sometimes when he could find a leisure hour
He to that valley took his way, and there
Wrought at the Sheep-fold. Meantime Luke began
To slacken in his duty; and, at length, 450
He in the dissolute city gave himself
To evil courses: ignominy and shame
Fell on him, so that he was driven at last
To seek a hiding-place beyond the seas.
There is a comfort in the strength of love; 455
'Twill make a thing endurable, which else
Would overset the brain, or break the heart: [47]
I have conversed with more than one who well
Remember the old Man, and what he was
Years after he had heard this heavy news. 460
His bodily frame had been from youth to age
Of an unusual strength. Among the rocks
He went, and still looked up to sun and cloud, [48]
And listened to the wind; and, as before,
Performed all kinds of labour for his sheep, 465
And for the land, his small inheritance.
And to that hollow dell from time to time
Did he repair, to build the Fold of which
His flock had need. 'Tis not forgotten yet
The pity which was then in every heart 470
For the old Man--and 'tis believed by all
That many and many a day he thither went,
And never lifted up a single stone.
There, by the Sheep-fold, sometimes was he seen
Sitting alone, or with his faithful Dog, [49] 475
Then old, beside him, lying at his feet.
The length of full seven years, from time to time,
He at the building of this Sheep-fold wrought,
And left the work unfinished when he died.
Three years, or little more, did Isabel 480
Survive her Husband: at her death the estate
Was sold, and went into a stranger's hand.
The Cottage which was named the EVENING STAR
Is gone--the ploughshare has been through the ground
On which it stood; great changes have been wrought 485
In all the neighbourhood:--yet the oak is left
That grew beside their door; and the remains
Of the unfinished Sheep-fold may be seen
Beside the boisterous brook of Green-head Ghyll.
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1827.
. . . beside . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 2:
1827.
No habitation there is seen; but such
As journey thither . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 3:
1827.
There is . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 4:
1836.
And to that place a story appertains,
Which, though it be ungarnish'd with events,
Is not unfit, . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 5:
1827.
. . . It was the first,
The earliest of those tales . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 6:
1827.
. . . he had learn'd . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 7:
1836.
. . . the hills, which he so oft
Had climb'd with vigorous steps; . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 8:
1832.
. . . linking to such acts,
So grateful in themselves, the certainty
Of honourable gains; these fields, these hills
Which were his living Being, even more
Than his own Blood--what could they less? had laid 1800.
. . . gain . . . 1805. ]
[Variant 9:
1815.
He had not passed his days in singleness.
He had a Wife, a comely Matron, old 1800. ]
[Variant 10:
1836.
. . . their . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 11:
1836.
. . . their . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 12:
1836.
. . . their . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 13:
1827.
Which . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 14:
1836.
Did with a huge projection overbrow 1800. ]
[Variant 15:
1827.
. . . was in his . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 16:
1836.
. . . while late . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 17:
Not with a waste of words, but for the sake
Of pleasure, which I know that I shall give
To many living now, I of this Lamp
Speak thus minutely: for there are no few
Whose memories will bear witness to my tale.
These lines appeared only in the editions of 1800 and 1802. ]
[Variant 18:
1815.
The . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 19:
1832.
The . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 20:
1827.
. . . yet more dear--
Effect which might perhaps have been produc'd
By that instinctive tenderness, . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 21:
1836.
Blind Spirit, which is in the blood of all, 1800. ]
[Variant 22:
1827.
Or . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 23: This line was first printed in the edition of 1836. ]
[Variant 24:
From such, and other causes, to the thoughts
Of the old Man his only Son was now
The dearest object that he knew on earth.
Only in the editions of 1800 to 1820. ]
[Variant 25:
1827.
For dalliance . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 26:
1836.
His cradle with a woman's gentle hand. 1800. ]
[Variant 27:
1836.
. . . when he
Had work by his own door, or when he sate
With sheep before him on his Shepherd's stool,
Beneath that large old Oak, which near their door
Stood, and from its enormous breadth of shade 1800. ]
[Variant 28:
1815.
While this good household thus were living on 1800.
While in the fashion which I have described
This simple Household thus were living on 1800 (2nd issue). ]
[Variant 29:
1836.
As soon as he had gather'd so much strength
That he could look his trouble in the face,
It seem'd that his sole refuge was to sell 1800. ]
[Variant 30:
1827.
. . . itself 1800. ]
[Variant 31:
1836.
May come again to us . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 32: Italics were first used in 1827. ]
[Variant 33:
1836.
. . . for the two last nights 1800.
. . . through the 1815. ]
[Variant 34:
1815.
The Lad . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 35:
1820.
Next morning . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 36:
1815.
. . . which close to the brook side 1800. ]
[Variant 37:
1836.
. . . should speak
Of things . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 38:
1827.
. . . as it befalls 1800. ]
[Variant 39:
1836.
When . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 40:
1815.
. . . in . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 41:
1827.
. . . from sixty years. 1800. ]
[Variant 42:
I for the purpose brought thee to this place.
This line appears only in the edition of 1800. ]
[Variant 43:
1827.
. . . stout; . . . 1800. ]
[Variant 44:
1802.
. . . should evil men
Be thy companions, let this Sheep-fold be
Thy anchor and thy shield; amid all fear
And all temptation, let it be to thee
An emblem of the life thy Fathers liv'd, 1800. ]
[Variant 45: This line was added in the edition of 1815. ]
[Variant 46:
1815.
Next morning, as had been resolv'd, the Boy 1800. ]
[Variant 47:
1820.
Would break the heart:--Old Michael found it so. 1800. ]
[Variant 48:
1836.
. . . look'd up upon the sun, 1800.
. . . towards the sun, 1832. ]
[Variant 49:
1836.
Sitting alone, with that his faithful Dog, 1800. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: The Rev. Thomas Hutchinson, Kimbolton, tells me that in his
copy of the edition of "Lyrical Ballads" of 1800 there is
"on the blank page facing the announcement, written in Wordsworth's
handwriting, the following lines:
'Though it be in th' humblest rank of life,
And in the lowest region of our speech,
Yet is it in that kind as best accords
With rural passion. '"
Ed. ]
[Footnote B: The following lines were written before April 1801, and
were at one time meant to be inserted after "summer flies," and before
"Not with a waste of words. " They are quoted in a letter of Wordsworth's
to Thomas Poole of Nether Stowey, dated April 9th, 1801.
'Though in their occupations they would pass
Whole hours with but small interchange of speech,
Yet were there times in which they did not want
Discourse both wise and prudent, shrewd remarks
Of daily providence, clothed in images
Lively and beautiful, in rural forms
That made their conversation fresh and fair
As is a landscape;--And the shepherd oft
Would draw out of his heart the obscurities
And admirations that were there, of God
And of His works, or, yielding to the bent
Of his peculiar humour, would let loose
The tongue and give it the wind's freedom,--then
Discoursing on remote imaginations, story,
Conceits, devices, day-dreams, thoughts and schemes,
The fancies of a solitary man. '
Ed. ]
[Footnote C: Clipping is the word used in the North of England for
shearing. --W. W. 1800]
[Footnote D: The lines from "Though nought was left," to "daily hope"
(192-206) were, by a printer's blunder, omitted from the first issue of
1800. In the second issue of that year they are given in full. --Ed. ]
[Footnote E: The story alluded to here is well known in the country. The
chapel is called Ings Chapel; and is on the right hand side of the road
leading from Kendal to Ambleside. --W. W. 1800.
Ings chapel is in the parish of Kendal, about two miles east of
Windermere. The following extract from Lewis's Topographical Dictionary
further explains the allusion in the poem:
"_Hugil_, a chapelry six and a quarter miles from Kendal. The chapel,
rebuilt in 1743 by Robert Bateman, stands in the village of Ings,
which is in this chapelry. The free school was endowed with land in
1650 by Roland Wilson, producing at present ? 12 per annum. The average
number of boys is twenty-five. This endowment was augmented by ? 8 per
annum by Robert Bateman, who gave ? 1000 for purchasing an estate, and
erected eight alms-houses for as many poor families, besides a
donation of ? 12 per annum to the curate. This worthy benefactor was
born here, and from a state of indigence succeeded in amassing
considerable wealth by mercantile pursuits. He is stated to have been
poisoned, in the straits of Gibraltar, on his voyage from Leghorn,
with a valuable cargo, by the captain of the vessel,"
(See 'The Topographical Dictionary of England', by Samuel Lewis, vol.
ii. p. 1831. )--Ed. ]
[Footnote F: There is a slight inconsistency here. The conversation is
represented as taking place in the evening (see l. 227). --Ed. ]
[Footnote G: It may be proper to inform some readers, that a sheep-fold
in these mountains is an unroofed building of stone walls, with
different divisions. It is generally placed by the side of a brook, for
the convenience of washing the sheep; but it is also useful as a shelter
for them, and as a place to drive them into, to enable the shepherds
conveniently to single out one or more for any particular purpose. --W.
W. 1800. ]
From the Fenwick note it will be seen that Michael's sheep-fold, in
Green-head Ghyll, existed--at least the remains of it--in 1843. Its
site, however, is now very difficult to identify. There is a sheep-fold
above Boon Beck, which one passes immediately on entering the common,
going up Green-head Ghyll. It is now "finished," and used when required.
There are remains of walling, much higher up the ghyll; but these are
probably the work of miners, formerly engaged there. Michael's cottage
had been destroyed when the poem was written, in 1800. It stood where
the coach-house and stables of "the Hollins" now stand. But one who
visits Green-head Ghyll, and wishes to realize Michael in his old
age--as described in this poem--should ascend the ghyll till it almost
reaches the top of Fairfield; where the old man, during eighty years,
'had learned the meaning of all winds,
Of blasts of every tone,'
and where he
'had been alone,
Amid the heart of many thousand mists,
That came to him, and left him, on the heights. '
By so doing he will be better able to realize the spirit of the poem,
than by trying to identify the site either of the "unfinished
sheep-fold," or of the house named the "Evening Star. " What Wordsworth
said to the Hon. Mr. Justice Coleridge in reference to 'The Brothers'
has been quoted in the note to that poem, p. 203. On the same occasion
he remarked, in reference to 'Michael':
"'Michael' was founded on the son of an old couple having become
dissolute, and run away from his parents; and on an old shepherd
having been seven years in building up a sheep-fold in a solitary
valley. "
('Memoirs of Wordsworth', by the late Bishop of Lincoln, vol. ii. p.
305. )
The following extracts from Dorothy Wordsworth's Grasmere Journal, show
the carefulness with which the poem 'Michael' was composed, and the
frequent revisions which it underwent:
'Oct. 11 [1800. ] "We walked up Green-head ghyll in search of a
sheepfold. . . . The sheepfold is falling away. It is built nearly in the
form of a heart unequally divided. "
13. "William composing in the evening. "
15. "W. composed a little. " . . . "W. again composed at the sheepfold
after dinner. "
18. "W. worked all the morning at the sheepfold, but in vain. He lay
down till 7 o'clock, but did not sleep. "
19. "William got to work.
