To beguile the time I
composed
a Sonnet.
William Wordsworth
]
[Variant 2:
1845.
. . . gaudy . . . 1803.
. . . brilliant . . . 1827. ]
[Variant 3:
1845.
A negro woman, . . . 1803. ]
[Variant 4:
1827.
Yet silent . . . 1803. ]
[Variant 5:
1827.
Dejected, downcast, meek, and more than tame: 1803.
Dejected, meek, yea pitiably tame, 1807. ]
[Variant 6:
1827.
But on our proffer'd kindness still did lay 1803. ]
[Variant 7:
1845.
. . . or at the same
Was silent, motionless in eyes and face.
She was a negro woman, out of France,
Rejected, like all others of that race:
Not one of whom may now find footing there.
What is the meaning of this ordinance?
Dishonour'd Despots, tell us if ye dare. 1803.
. . . driv'n from France,
Rejected like all others of that race,
Not one of whom may now find footing there;
This the poor Out-cast did to us declare,
Nor murmur'd at the unfeeling Ordinance. 1807.
Meanwhile those eyes retained their tropic fire,
Which, burning independent of the mind,
Joined with the lustre of her rich attire
To mock the outcast--O ye Heavens, be kind!
And feel, thou Earth, for this afflicted Race! 1827.
Yet still those eyes retained their tropic fire, 1837. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: First printed in 'The Morning Post', February 11, 1803,
under the title of 'The Banished Negroes', and signed W. L. D. --Ed. ]
It was a natural arrangement which led Wordsworth to place this sonnet,
in his edition of 1807, immediately after the one addressed 'To
Toussaint L'Ouverture'. --Ed.
* * * * *
SEPTEMBER, 1802, NEAR DOVER [A]
Composed September, 1802. --Published 1807
Inland, within a hollow vale, I stood;
And saw, while sea was calm and air was clear,
The coast of France--the coast of France how near!
Drawn almost into frightful neighbourhood.
I shrunk; for verily the barrier flood 5
Was like a lake, or river bright and fair,
A span of waters; yet what power is there!
What mightiness for evil and for good! [B]
Even so doth God protect us if we be
Virtuous and wise. Winds blow, and waters roll, 10
Strength to the brave, and Power, and Deity;
Yet in themselves are nothing! One decree
Spake laws to _them_, and said that by the soul
Only, the Nations shall be great and free.
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: From 1807 to 1843 the title was 'September, 1802'; "near
Dover" appeared in the "Sonnets" of 1838, but did not become a permanent
part of the title until 1845. --Ed. ]
[Footnote B: Compare in S. T. 'Coleridge's Ode to the Departing Year',
stanza vii. :
'And Ocean 'mid his uproar wild
Speaks safety to his island-child. '
Ed. ]
In 'The Friend' (ed. 1818, vol. i. p. 107), Coleridge writes:
"The narrow seas that form our boundaries, what were they in times of
old? The convenient highway for Danish and Norman pirates. What are
they now? Still, but a 'Span of Waters. ' Yet they roll at the base of
the Ararat, on which the Ark of the Hope of Europe and of Civilization
rested! "
He then quotes this sonnet from the line "Even so doth God protect us if
we be. "
The note appended to the sonnet, 'Composed in the Valley near Dover, on
the day of Landing' (p. 341), shows that this one refers to the same
occasion; and that while "Inland, within a hollow vale," Wordsworth was,
at the same time, on the Dover Cliffs; the "vale" being one of the
hollow clefts in the headland, which front the Dover coast-line. The
sonnet may, however, have been finished afterwards in London. --Ed.
* * * * *
WRITTEN IN LONDON, SEPTEMBER, 1802
Composed September, 1802. --Published 1807
[This was written immediately after my return from France to London,
when I could not but be struck, as here described, with the vanity and
parade of our own country, especially in great towns and cities, as
contrasted with the quiet, and I may say the desolation, that the
Revolution had produced in France. This must be borne in mind, or else
the reader may think that in this and the succeeding Sonnets I have
exaggerated the mischief engendered and fostered among us by undisturbed
wealth. It would not be easy to conceive with what a depth of feeling I
entered into the struggle carried on by the Spaniards for their
deliverance from the usurped power of the French. Many times have I gone
from Allan Bank in Grasmere Vale, where we were then residing, to the
top of Raise-gap, as it is called, so late as two o'clock in the
morning, to meet the carrier bringing the newspapers from Keswick.
Imperfect traces of the state of mind in which I then was may be found
in my tract on the Convention of Cintra, as well as in these
Sonnets. --I. F. ]
O FRIEND! [A] I know not which way I must look [1]
For comfort, being, as I am, opprest,
To think that now our life is only drest
For show; mean handy-work of craftsman, cook,
Or groom! --We must run glittering like a brook 5
In the open sunshine, or we are unblest:
The wealthiest man among us is the best:
No grandeur now in nature or in book
Delights us. Rapine, avarice, expense,
This is idolatry; and these we adore: 10
Plain living and high thinking are no more:
The homely beauty of the good old cause
Is gone; our peace, our fearful innocence,
And pure religion breathing household laws. [B]
* * * * *
VARIANT ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1807.
O thou proud City! which way shall I look 1838.
The text of 1840 returns to that of 1807. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: The "Friend" was Coleridge. In the original MS. it stands
"Coleridge! I know not," etc. Wordsworth changed it in the proof
stage. --Ed. ]
[Footnote B: Compare--in Hartley Coleridge's 'Lives of Distinguished
Northerners'--what is said of this sonnet, in his life of Anne Clifford,
where the passing cynicism of Wordsworth's poem is pointed out. --Ed. ]
Wordsworth stayed in London from August 30th to September 22nd 1802. --Ed.
* * * * *
LONDON, 1802
Composed September, 1802. --Published 1807
Milton! thou should'st be living at this hour:
England hath need of thee: she is a fen
Of stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen,
Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower,
Have forfeited their ancient English dower 5
Of inward happiness. We are selfish men;
Oh! raise us up, return to us again;
And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power.
Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart:
Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea: 10
Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free,
So didst thou travel on life's common way,
In cheerful godliness; and yet [A] thy heart
The lowliest duties on herself [1] did lay.
* * * * *
VARIANT ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1820.
. . . itself . . . 1807. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: In old English "yet" means "continuously" or "always"; and
it is still used in Cumberland with this signification. --Ed. ]
* * * * *
"GREAT MEN HAVE BEEN AMONG US; HANDS THAT PENNED"
Composed September, 1802. --Published 1807
Great men have been among us; hands that penned
And tongues that uttered wisdom--better none:
The later Sidney, Marvel, Harrington,
Young Vane, [A] and others who called Milton friend.
These moralists could act and comprehend: 5
They knew how genuine glory was put on;
Taught us how rightfully a nation shone
In splendour: what strength was, that would not bend
But in [1] magnanimous meekness. France, 'tis strange,
Hath brought forth no such souls as we had then. 10
Perpetual emptiness! unceasing change!
No single volume paramount, no code,
No master spirit, no determined road;
But equally a want of books and men!
* * * * *
VARIANT ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1807.
But to . . . MS. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: See Clarendon's 'History of the Rebellion', book iii. --Ed. ]
* * * * *
"IT IS NOT TO BE THOUGHT OF THAT THE FLOOD"
Composed September, 1802. --Published 1807 [A]
It is not to be thought of that the Flood
Of British freedom, which, to the open sea
Of the world's praise, from dark antiquity
Hath flowed, "with pomp of waters, unwithstood,"[B]
Roused though it be full often to a mood 5
Which spurns the check of salutary bands, [1]
That this most famous Stream in bogs and sands
Should perish; and to evil and to good
Be lost for ever. In our halls is hung
Armoury of the invincible Knights of old: 10
We must be [2] free or die, who speak the tongue
That Shakespeare spake; the faith and morals hold
Which Milton held. --In every thing we are sprung
Of Earth's first blood, have titles manifold.
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1827.
. . . unwithstood,
Road by which all might come and go that would,
And bear out freights of worth to foreign lands; 1803. ]
[Variant 2:
1807.
. . . must live . . . 1803. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: It was first printed in 'The Morning Post', April 16. 1803,
and signed W. L. D. --Ed. ]
[Footnote B: Compare Daniel's 'Civil War', book ii. stanza 7. --Ed. ]
* * * * *
"WHEN I HAVE BORNE IN MEMORY WHAT HAS TAMED"
Composed September, 1802. --Published 1807 [A]
When I have borne in memory what has tamed
Great Nations, how ennobling thoughts depart
When men change swords for ledgers, and desert
The student's bower for gold, some fears unnamed
I had, my Country! --am I to be blamed? 5
Now, [1] when I think of thee, and what thou art,
Verily, in the bottom of my heart,
Of those unfilial fears I am ashamed. [2]
For dearly must we prize thee; we who find
In thee a bulwark for the cause of men; [3] 10
And I by my affection was beguiled:
What wonder if a Poet now and then,
Among the many movements of his mind,
Felt for thee as a lover or a child!
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1.
1845.
But,. . . 1803. ]
[Variant 2.
1807.
I of those fears of mine am much ashamed. 1803. ]
[Variant 3.
1845.
But dearly do I prize thee for I find
In thee a bulwark of the cause of men; 1803.
But dearly must we prize thee; we who find 1807.
. . . for the cause of men; 1827.
Most dearly 1838.
The text of 1840 returns to that of 1827. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: But printed previously in 'The Morning Post', September 17,
1803, under the title 'England', and signed W. L. D. Also, see
Coleridge's 'Poems on Political Events', 1828-9. --Ed. ]
* * * * *
COMPOSED AFTER A JOURNEY ACROSS THE HAMBLETON HILLS, [A] YORKSHIRE
Composed October 4, 1802. --Published 1807
[Composed October 4th, 1802, after a journey over the Hambleton Hills,
on a day memorable to me--the day of my marriage. The horizon commanded
by those hills is most magnificent. The next day, while we were
travelling in a post-chaise up Wensleydale, we were stopped by one of
the horses proving restive, and were obliged to wait two hours in a
severe storm before the post-boy could fetch from the inn another to
supply its place. The spot was in front of Bolton Hall, where Mary Queen
of Scots was kept prisoner, soon after her unfortunate landing at
Workington. The place then belonged to the Scroops, and memorials of her
are yet preserved there.
To beguile the time I composed a Sonnet. The
subject was our own confinement contrasted with hers; but it was not
thought worthy of being preserved. --I. F. ]
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets. "--Ed.
Dark and more dark the shades of evening fell;
The wished-for point was reached--but at an hour
When little could be gained from that rich dower [1]
Of prospect, whereof many thousands tell.
Yet did the glowing west with marvellous power 5
Salute us; there stood Indian citadel,
Temple of Greece, and minster with its tower
Substantially expressed--a place for bell
Or clock to toll from! Many a tempting isle,
With groves that never were imagined, lay 10
'Mid seas how steadfast! objects all for the eye
Of silent rapture; but we felt the while [2]
We should forget them; they are of the sky,
And from our earthly memory fade away.
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1837.
Ere we had reach'd the wish'd-for place, night fell:
We were too late at least by one dark hour,
And nothing could we see of all that power
Of prospect, . . . 1807.
Dark, and more dark, the shades of Evening fell;
The wish'd-for point was reach'd--but late the hour;
And little could we see of all that power 1815.
And little could be gained from all that dower 1827. ]
[Variant 2:
1837.
The western sky did recompence us well
With Grecian Temple, Minaret, and Bower;
And, in one part, a Minster with its Tower
Substantially distinct, a place for Bell
Or Clock to toll from. Many a glorious pile
Did we behold, sights that might well repay
All disappointment! and, as such, the eye
Delighted in them; but we felt, the while, 1807.
Substantially expressed--. . . 1815.
Did we behold, fair sights that might repay 1815.
Yet did the glowing west in all its power 1827.
The text of 1827 is otherwise identical with that of 1837. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: Called by Wordsworth, "The Hamilton Hills" in the editions
from 1807 to 1827. --Ed. ]
The following extract from Dorothy Wordsworth's Journal indicates, as
fully as any other passage in it, the use which her brother occasionally
made of it. We have the "Grecian Temple," and the "Minster with its
Tower":
"Before we had crossed the Hambleton Hill and reached the point
overlooking Yorkshire it was quite dark. We had not wanted, however,
fair prospects before us, as we drove along the flat plain of the high
hill; far, far off from us, in the western sky, we saw shapes of
castles, ruins among groves--a great, spreading wood, rocks, and
single trees--a Minster with its Tower unusually distinct, Minarets in
another quarter, and a round Grecian Temple also; the colours of the
sky of a bright grey, and the forms of a sober grey, with a dome. As
we descended the hill there was no distinct view, but of a great
space, only near us, we saw the wild (and as the people say)
bottomless Tarn in the hollow at the side of the hill. It seemed to be
made visible to us only by its own light, for all the hill about us
was dark. "
Wordsworth and his sister crossed over the Hambleton (or Hamilton)
Hills, on their way from Westmoreland to Gallow Hill, Yorkshire, to
visit the Hutchinsons, before they went south to London and Calais,
where they spent the month of August, 1802. But after his marriage to
Mary Hutchinson, on the 4th of October, Wordsworth, his wife, and
sister, recrossed these Hambleton Hills on their way to Grasmere, which
they reached on the evening of the 6th October. The above sonnet was
composed on the evening of the 4th October, as the Fenwick note
indicates. --Ed.
* * * * *
TO H. C.
SIX YEARS OLD
Composed 1802. --Published 1807
One of the "Poems referring to the Period of Childhood. "--Ed.
O thou! whose fancies from afar are brought;
Who of thy words dost make a mock apparel,
And fittest to unutterable thought
The breeze-like motion and the self-born carol;
Thou faery voyager! that dost float 5
In such clear water, that thy boat
May rather seem
To brood on air [A] than on an earthly stream;
Suspended in a stream as clear as sky,
Where earth and heaven do make one imagery; 10
O blessed vision! happy child!
Thou [1] art so exquisitely wild,
I think of thee with many fears
For what may be thy lot in future years.
I thought of times when Pain might be thy guest, 15
Lord of thy house and hospitality;
And Grief, uneasy lover! never rest
But when she sate within the touch of thee.
O too industrious folly!
O vain and causeless melancholy! 20
Nature will either end thee quite;
Or, lengthening out thy season of delight,
Preserve for thee, by individual right,
A young lamb's heart among the full-grown flocks.
What hast thou to do with sorrow, 25
Or the injuries of to-morrow?
Thou art a dew-drop, which the morn brings forth,
Ill fitted to sustain [2] unkindly shocks,
Or to be trailed along the soiling earth;
A gem that glitters while it lives, 30
And no forewarning gives;
But, at the touch of wrong, without a strife
Slips in a moment out of life.
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1845.
That . . . 1807. ]
[Variant 2:
1827.
Not doom'd to jostle with . . . 1807.
Not framed to undergo . . . 1815. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: See Carver's Description of his Situation upon one of the
Lakes of America. --W. W. 1807. ]
These stanzas were addressed to Hartley Coleridge. The lines,
'I think of thee with many fears
For what may be thy lot in future years,'
taken in connection with his subsequent career, suggest the similarly
sad "presentiment" with which the 'Lines composed above Tintern Abbey'
conclude. The following is the postscript to a letter by his father, S.
T. C. , addressed to Sir Humphry Davy, Keswick, July 25, 1800:
"Hartley is a spirit that dances on an aspen leaf; the air that yonder
sallow-faced and yawning tourist is breathing, is to my babe a
perpetual nitrous oxide. Never was more joyous creature born. Pain
with him is so wholly trans-substantiated by the joys that had rolled
on before, and rushed on after, that oftentimes five minutes after his
mother has whipt him he has gone up and asked her to whip him again. "
('Fragmentary Remains, Literary and Scientific', of Sir Humphry Davy,
Bart. , pp. 78, 79. )--Ed.
* * * * *
TO THE DAISY
Composed 1802. --Published 1807
"Her [A] divine skill taught me this,
That from every thing I saw
I could some instruction draw,
And raise pleasure to the height
Through the meanest object's sight.
By the murmur of a spring,
Or the least bough's rustelling;
By a Daisy whose leaves spread
Shut when Titan goes to bed;
Or a shady bush or tree;
She could more infuse in me
Than all Nature's beauties can
In some other wiser man. "
G. WITHER. [1]
[Composed in the orchard, Town-end, Grasmere. --I. F. ]
One of the "Poems of the Fancy. "--Ed.
In youth from rock to rock I went,
From hill to hill in discontent
Of pleasure high and turbulent,
Most pleased when most uneasy;
But now my own delights I make,--5
My thirst at every rill can slake, [2]
And gladly Nature's love partake,
Of Thee, sweet Daisy! [3]
Thee Winter in the garland wears
That thinly decks his few grey hairs; 10
Spring parts the clouds with softest airs,
That she may sun thee; [4]
Whole Summer-fields are thine by right;
And Autumn, melancholy Wight!
Doth in thy crimson head delight 15
When rains are on thee.
In shoals and bands, a morrice train,
Thou greet'st the traveller in the lane;
Pleased at his greeting thee again;
Yet nothing daunted, 20
Nor grieved if thou be set at nought: [5]
And oft alone in nooks remote
We meet thee, like a pleasant thought,
When such are wanted.
Be violets in their secret mews 25
The flowers the wanton Zephyrs choose;
Proud be the rose, with rains and dews
Her head impearling,
Thou liv'st with less ambitious aim,
Yet hast not gone without thy fame; 30
Thou art indeed by many a claim
The Poet's darling.
If to a rock from rains he fly,
Or, some bright day of April sky,
Imprisoned by hot sunshine lie 35
Near the green holly,
And wearily at length should fare;
He needs [6] but look about, and there
Thou art! --a friend at hand, to scare
His melancholy. 40
A hundred times, by rock or bower,
Ere thus I have lain couched an hour,
Have I derived from thy sweet power
Some apprehension;
Some steady love; some brief delight; [7] 45
Some memory that had taken flight;
Some chime [8] of fancy wrong or right;
Or stray invention.
If stately passions in me burn,
And one [9] chance look to Thee should turn, 50
I drink out of an humbler urn
A lowlier pleasure;
The homely sympathy that heeds
The common life, our nature breeds;
A wisdom fitted to the needs 55
Of hearts at leisure.
Fresh-smitten by the morning ray,
When thou art up, alert and gay,
Then, cheerful Flower! my spirits play
With kindred gladness: [10] 60
And when, at dusk, by dews opprest
Thou sink'st, the image of thy rest
Hath often eased my pensive breast
Of careful sadness. [11]
And all day long I number yet, 65
All seasons through, another debt,
Which I, wherever thou art met,
To thee am owing; [12]
An instinct call it, a blind sense;
A happy, genial influence, 70
Coming one knows not how, nor whence,
Nor whither going.
Child of the Year! that round dost run
Thy pleasant course,--when day's begun
As ready to salute the sun 75
As lark or leveret,
Thy long-lost praise thou shalt regain; [B]
Nor be less dear to future men
Than in old time;--thou not in vain [13]
Art Nature's favourite. [C] 80
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1: The extract from Wither was first prefixed to this poem in
the edition of 1815. The late Mr. Dykes Campbell was of opinion that
Charles Lamb had suggested this motto to Wordsworth, as 'The Shepherd's
Hunting' was Lamb's "prime favourite" amongst Wither's poems. It may be
as well to note that his quotation was erroneous in two places. His
"instruction" should be "invention" (l. 3), and his "the" (in l. 4)
should be "her. "--Ed. ]
[Variant 2:
1807.
To gentle sympathies awake, MS. ]
[Variant 3:
1807.
And Nature's love of Thee partake,
Her much-loved Daisy! 1836.
The text of 1840 returns to the reading of 1807.
Of her sweet Daisy. C. ]
[Variant 4:
1836.
When soothed a while by milder airs,
Thee Winter in the garland wears
That thinly shades his few grey hairs;
Spring cannot shun thee; 1807.
When Winter decks his few grey hairs
Thee in the scanty wreath he wears;
Spring parts the clouds with softest airs,
That she may sun thee; 1827. ]
[Variant 5:
1836.
. . . in the lane;
If welcome once thou count'st it gain;
Thou art not daunted,
Nor car'st if thou be set at naught; 1807.
If welcom'd . . . 1815.
The text of 1827 returns to that of 1807. ]
[Variant 6:
1820
He need. . . . . 1807]
[Variant 7:
1807
. . . . some chance delight; MS. ]
[Variant 8:
1807
Some charm. . . . . C. ]
[Variant 9:
1807
And some. . . . . MS. ]
[Variant 10:
1836.
When, smitten by the morning ray,
I see thee rise alert and gay,
Then, chearful Flower! my spirits play
With kindred motion: 1807.
With kindred gladness: 1815.
Then Daisy! do my spirits play,
With cheerful motion. MS. ]
[Variant 11:
1815.
At dusk, I've seldom mark'd thee press
The ground, as if in thankfulness
Without some feeling, more or less,
Of true devotion. 1807.
The ground in modest thankfulness MS. ]
[Variant 12:
1807.
But more than all I number yet
O bounteous Flower! another debt
Which I to thee wherever met
Am daily owing; MS. ]
[Variant 13:
1836.
Child of the Year! that round dost run
Thy course, bold lover of the sun,
And chearful when the day's begun
As morning Leveret,
Thou long the Poet's praise shalt gain;
Thou wilt be more belov'd by men
In times to come; thou not in vain 1807.
Thy long-lost praise thou shalt regain;
Dear shalt thou be to future men
As in old time;--1815.
Dear thou shalt be 1820.
The text of 1827 returns to that of 1815. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: His Muse. --W. W. 1815.
The extract is from 'The Shepherds Hunting', eclogue fourth, ll.
368-80. --Ed. ]
[Footnote B: See, in Chaucer and the elder Poets, the honours formerly
paid to this flower. --W. W. 1815. ]
[Footnote C: This Poem, and two others to the same Flower, which the
Reader will find in the second Volume, were written in the year 1802;
which is mentioned, because in some of the ideas, though not in the
manner in which those ideas are connected, and likewise even in some of
the expressions, they bear a striking resemblance to a Poem (lately
published) of Mr. Montgomery, entitled, 'A Field Flower'. This being
said, Mr. Montgomery will not think any apology due to him; I cannot
however help addressing him in the words of the Father of English Poets:
'Though it happe me to rehersin--
That ye han in your freshe songis saied,
Forberith me, and beth not ill apaied,
Sith that ye se I doe it in the honour
Of Love, and eke in service of the Flour. '
W. W. 1807.
In the edition of 1836, the following variation of the text of this note
occurs: "There is a resemblance to passages in a Poem. "--Ed.
[Variant 2:
1845.
. . . gaudy . . . 1803.
. . . brilliant . . . 1827. ]
[Variant 3:
1845.
A negro woman, . . . 1803. ]
[Variant 4:
1827.
Yet silent . . . 1803. ]
[Variant 5:
1827.
Dejected, downcast, meek, and more than tame: 1803.
Dejected, meek, yea pitiably tame, 1807. ]
[Variant 6:
1827.
But on our proffer'd kindness still did lay 1803. ]
[Variant 7:
1845.
. . . or at the same
Was silent, motionless in eyes and face.
She was a negro woman, out of France,
Rejected, like all others of that race:
Not one of whom may now find footing there.
What is the meaning of this ordinance?
Dishonour'd Despots, tell us if ye dare. 1803.
. . . driv'n from France,
Rejected like all others of that race,
Not one of whom may now find footing there;
This the poor Out-cast did to us declare,
Nor murmur'd at the unfeeling Ordinance. 1807.
Meanwhile those eyes retained their tropic fire,
Which, burning independent of the mind,
Joined with the lustre of her rich attire
To mock the outcast--O ye Heavens, be kind!
And feel, thou Earth, for this afflicted Race! 1827.
Yet still those eyes retained their tropic fire, 1837. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: First printed in 'The Morning Post', February 11, 1803,
under the title of 'The Banished Negroes', and signed W. L. D. --Ed. ]
It was a natural arrangement which led Wordsworth to place this sonnet,
in his edition of 1807, immediately after the one addressed 'To
Toussaint L'Ouverture'. --Ed.
* * * * *
SEPTEMBER, 1802, NEAR DOVER [A]
Composed September, 1802. --Published 1807
Inland, within a hollow vale, I stood;
And saw, while sea was calm and air was clear,
The coast of France--the coast of France how near!
Drawn almost into frightful neighbourhood.
I shrunk; for verily the barrier flood 5
Was like a lake, or river bright and fair,
A span of waters; yet what power is there!
What mightiness for evil and for good! [B]
Even so doth God protect us if we be
Virtuous and wise. Winds blow, and waters roll, 10
Strength to the brave, and Power, and Deity;
Yet in themselves are nothing! One decree
Spake laws to _them_, and said that by the soul
Only, the Nations shall be great and free.
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: From 1807 to 1843 the title was 'September, 1802'; "near
Dover" appeared in the "Sonnets" of 1838, but did not become a permanent
part of the title until 1845. --Ed. ]
[Footnote B: Compare in S. T. 'Coleridge's Ode to the Departing Year',
stanza vii. :
'And Ocean 'mid his uproar wild
Speaks safety to his island-child. '
Ed. ]
In 'The Friend' (ed. 1818, vol. i. p. 107), Coleridge writes:
"The narrow seas that form our boundaries, what were they in times of
old? The convenient highway for Danish and Norman pirates. What are
they now? Still, but a 'Span of Waters. ' Yet they roll at the base of
the Ararat, on which the Ark of the Hope of Europe and of Civilization
rested! "
He then quotes this sonnet from the line "Even so doth God protect us if
we be. "
The note appended to the sonnet, 'Composed in the Valley near Dover, on
the day of Landing' (p. 341), shows that this one refers to the same
occasion; and that while "Inland, within a hollow vale," Wordsworth was,
at the same time, on the Dover Cliffs; the "vale" being one of the
hollow clefts in the headland, which front the Dover coast-line. The
sonnet may, however, have been finished afterwards in London. --Ed.
* * * * *
WRITTEN IN LONDON, SEPTEMBER, 1802
Composed September, 1802. --Published 1807
[This was written immediately after my return from France to London,
when I could not but be struck, as here described, with the vanity and
parade of our own country, especially in great towns and cities, as
contrasted with the quiet, and I may say the desolation, that the
Revolution had produced in France. This must be borne in mind, or else
the reader may think that in this and the succeeding Sonnets I have
exaggerated the mischief engendered and fostered among us by undisturbed
wealth. It would not be easy to conceive with what a depth of feeling I
entered into the struggle carried on by the Spaniards for their
deliverance from the usurped power of the French. Many times have I gone
from Allan Bank in Grasmere Vale, where we were then residing, to the
top of Raise-gap, as it is called, so late as two o'clock in the
morning, to meet the carrier bringing the newspapers from Keswick.
Imperfect traces of the state of mind in which I then was may be found
in my tract on the Convention of Cintra, as well as in these
Sonnets. --I. F. ]
O FRIEND! [A] I know not which way I must look [1]
For comfort, being, as I am, opprest,
To think that now our life is only drest
For show; mean handy-work of craftsman, cook,
Or groom! --We must run glittering like a brook 5
In the open sunshine, or we are unblest:
The wealthiest man among us is the best:
No grandeur now in nature or in book
Delights us. Rapine, avarice, expense,
This is idolatry; and these we adore: 10
Plain living and high thinking are no more:
The homely beauty of the good old cause
Is gone; our peace, our fearful innocence,
And pure religion breathing household laws. [B]
* * * * *
VARIANT ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1807.
O thou proud City! which way shall I look 1838.
The text of 1840 returns to that of 1807. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: The "Friend" was Coleridge. In the original MS. it stands
"Coleridge! I know not," etc. Wordsworth changed it in the proof
stage. --Ed. ]
[Footnote B: Compare--in Hartley Coleridge's 'Lives of Distinguished
Northerners'--what is said of this sonnet, in his life of Anne Clifford,
where the passing cynicism of Wordsworth's poem is pointed out. --Ed. ]
Wordsworth stayed in London from August 30th to September 22nd 1802. --Ed.
* * * * *
LONDON, 1802
Composed September, 1802. --Published 1807
Milton! thou should'st be living at this hour:
England hath need of thee: she is a fen
Of stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen,
Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower,
Have forfeited their ancient English dower 5
Of inward happiness. We are selfish men;
Oh! raise us up, return to us again;
And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power.
Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart:
Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea: 10
Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free,
So didst thou travel on life's common way,
In cheerful godliness; and yet [A] thy heart
The lowliest duties on herself [1] did lay.
* * * * *
VARIANT ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1820.
. . . itself . . . 1807. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: In old English "yet" means "continuously" or "always"; and
it is still used in Cumberland with this signification. --Ed. ]
* * * * *
"GREAT MEN HAVE BEEN AMONG US; HANDS THAT PENNED"
Composed September, 1802. --Published 1807
Great men have been among us; hands that penned
And tongues that uttered wisdom--better none:
The later Sidney, Marvel, Harrington,
Young Vane, [A] and others who called Milton friend.
These moralists could act and comprehend: 5
They knew how genuine glory was put on;
Taught us how rightfully a nation shone
In splendour: what strength was, that would not bend
But in [1] magnanimous meekness. France, 'tis strange,
Hath brought forth no such souls as we had then. 10
Perpetual emptiness! unceasing change!
No single volume paramount, no code,
No master spirit, no determined road;
But equally a want of books and men!
* * * * *
VARIANT ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1807.
But to . . . MS. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: See Clarendon's 'History of the Rebellion', book iii. --Ed. ]
* * * * *
"IT IS NOT TO BE THOUGHT OF THAT THE FLOOD"
Composed September, 1802. --Published 1807 [A]
It is not to be thought of that the Flood
Of British freedom, which, to the open sea
Of the world's praise, from dark antiquity
Hath flowed, "with pomp of waters, unwithstood,"[B]
Roused though it be full often to a mood 5
Which spurns the check of salutary bands, [1]
That this most famous Stream in bogs and sands
Should perish; and to evil and to good
Be lost for ever. In our halls is hung
Armoury of the invincible Knights of old: 10
We must be [2] free or die, who speak the tongue
That Shakespeare spake; the faith and morals hold
Which Milton held. --In every thing we are sprung
Of Earth's first blood, have titles manifold.
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1827.
. . . unwithstood,
Road by which all might come and go that would,
And bear out freights of worth to foreign lands; 1803. ]
[Variant 2:
1807.
. . . must live . . . 1803. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: It was first printed in 'The Morning Post', April 16. 1803,
and signed W. L. D. --Ed. ]
[Footnote B: Compare Daniel's 'Civil War', book ii. stanza 7. --Ed. ]
* * * * *
"WHEN I HAVE BORNE IN MEMORY WHAT HAS TAMED"
Composed September, 1802. --Published 1807 [A]
When I have borne in memory what has tamed
Great Nations, how ennobling thoughts depart
When men change swords for ledgers, and desert
The student's bower for gold, some fears unnamed
I had, my Country! --am I to be blamed? 5
Now, [1] when I think of thee, and what thou art,
Verily, in the bottom of my heart,
Of those unfilial fears I am ashamed. [2]
For dearly must we prize thee; we who find
In thee a bulwark for the cause of men; [3] 10
And I by my affection was beguiled:
What wonder if a Poet now and then,
Among the many movements of his mind,
Felt for thee as a lover or a child!
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1.
1845.
But,. . . 1803. ]
[Variant 2.
1807.
I of those fears of mine am much ashamed. 1803. ]
[Variant 3.
1845.
But dearly do I prize thee for I find
In thee a bulwark of the cause of men; 1803.
But dearly must we prize thee; we who find 1807.
. . . for the cause of men; 1827.
Most dearly 1838.
The text of 1840 returns to that of 1827. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: But printed previously in 'The Morning Post', September 17,
1803, under the title 'England', and signed W. L. D. Also, see
Coleridge's 'Poems on Political Events', 1828-9. --Ed. ]
* * * * *
COMPOSED AFTER A JOURNEY ACROSS THE HAMBLETON HILLS, [A] YORKSHIRE
Composed October 4, 1802. --Published 1807
[Composed October 4th, 1802, after a journey over the Hambleton Hills,
on a day memorable to me--the day of my marriage. The horizon commanded
by those hills is most magnificent. The next day, while we were
travelling in a post-chaise up Wensleydale, we were stopped by one of
the horses proving restive, and were obliged to wait two hours in a
severe storm before the post-boy could fetch from the inn another to
supply its place. The spot was in front of Bolton Hall, where Mary Queen
of Scots was kept prisoner, soon after her unfortunate landing at
Workington. The place then belonged to the Scroops, and memorials of her
are yet preserved there.
To beguile the time I composed a Sonnet. The
subject was our own confinement contrasted with hers; but it was not
thought worthy of being preserved. --I. F. ]
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets. "--Ed.
Dark and more dark the shades of evening fell;
The wished-for point was reached--but at an hour
When little could be gained from that rich dower [1]
Of prospect, whereof many thousands tell.
Yet did the glowing west with marvellous power 5
Salute us; there stood Indian citadel,
Temple of Greece, and minster with its tower
Substantially expressed--a place for bell
Or clock to toll from! Many a tempting isle,
With groves that never were imagined, lay 10
'Mid seas how steadfast! objects all for the eye
Of silent rapture; but we felt the while [2]
We should forget them; they are of the sky,
And from our earthly memory fade away.
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1837.
Ere we had reach'd the wish'd-for place, night fell:
We were too late at least by one dark hour,
And nothing could we see of all that power
Of prospect, . . . 1807.
Dark, and more dark, the shades of Evening fell;
The wish'd-for point was reach'd--but late the hour;
And little could we see of all that power 1815.
And little could be gained from all that dower 1827. ]
[Variant 2:
1837.
The western sky did recompence us well
With Grecian Temple, Minaret, and Bower;
And, in one part, a Minster with its Tower
Substantially distinct, a place for Bell
Or Clock to toll from. Many a glorious pile
Did we behold, sights that might well repay
All disappointment! and, as such, the eye
Delighted in them; but we felt, the while, 1807.
Substantially expressed--. . . 1815.
Did we behold, fair sights that might repay 1815.
Yet did the glowing west in all its power 1827.
The text of 1827 is otherwise identical with that of 1837. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: Called by Wordsworth, "The Hamilton Hills" in the editions
from 1807 to 1827. --Ed. ]
The following extract from Dorothy Wordsworth's Journal indicates, as
fully as any other passage in it, the use which her brother occasionally
made of it. We have the "Grecian Temple," and the "Minster with its
Tower":
"Before we had crossed the Hambleton Hill and reached the point
overlooking Yorkshire it was quite dark. We had not wanted, however,
fair prospects before us, as we drove along the flat plain of the high
hill; far, far off from us, in the western sky, we saw shapes of
castles, ruins among groves--a great, spreading wood, rocks, and
single trees--a Minster with its Tower unusually distinct, Minarets in
another quarter, and a round Grecian Temple also; the colours of the
sky of a bright grey, and the forms of a sober grey, with a dome. As
we descended the hill there was no distinct view, but of a great
space, only near us, we saw the wild (and as the people say)
bottomless Tarn in the hollow at the side of the hill. It seemed to be
made visible to us only by its own light, for all the hill about us
was dark. "
Wordsworth and his sister crossed over the Hambleton (or Hamilton)
Hills, on their way from Westmoreland to Gallow Hill, Yorkshire, to
visit the Hutchinsons, before they went south to London and Calais,
where they spent the month of August, 1802. But after his marriage to
Mary Hutchinson, on the 4th of October, Wordsworth, his wife, and
sister, recrossed these Hambleton Hills on their way to Grasmere, which
they reached on the evening of the 6th October. The above sonnet was
composed on the evening of the 4th October, as the Fenwick note
indicates. --Ed.
* * * * *
TO H. C.
SIX YEARS OLD
Composed 1802. --Published 1807
One of the "Poems referring to the Period of Childhood. "--Ed.
O thou! whose fancies from afar are brought;
Who of thy words dost make a mock apparel,
And fittest to unutterable thought
The breeze-like motion and the self-born carol;
Thou faery voyager! that dost float 5
In such clear water, that thy boat
May rather seem
To brood on air [A] than on an earthly stream;
Suspended in a stream as clear as sky,
Where earth and heaven do make one imagery; 10
O blessed vision! happy child!
Thou [1] art so exquisitely wild,
I think of thee with many fears
For what may be thy lot in future years.
I thought of times when Pain might be thy guest, 15
Lord of thy house and hospitality;
And Grief, uneasy lover! never rest
But when she sate within the touch of thee.
O too industrious folly!
O vain and causeless melancholy! 20
Nature will either end thee quite;
Or, lengthening out thy season of delight,
Preserve for thee, by individual right,
A young lamb's heart among the full-grown flocks.
What hast thou to do with sorrow, 25
Or the injuries of to-morrow?
Thou art a dew-drop, which the morn brings forth,
Ill fitted to sustain [2] unkindly shocks,
Or to be trailed along the soiling earth;
A gem that glitters while it lives, 30
And no forewarning gives;
But, at the touch of wrong, without a strife
Slips in a moment out of life.
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1845.
That . . . 1807. ]
[Variant 2:
1827.
Not doom'd to jostle with . . . 1807.
Not framed to undergo . . . 1815. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: See Carver's Description of his Situation upon one of the
Lakes of America. --W. W. 1807. ]
These stanzas were addressed to Hartley Coleridge. The lines,
'I think of thee with many fears
For what may be thy lot in future years,'
taken in connection with his subsequent career, suggest the similarly
sad "presentiment" with which the 'Lines composed above Tintern Abbey'
conclude. The following is the postscript to a letter by his father, S.
T. C. , addressed to Sir Humphry Davy, Keswick, July 25, 1800:
"Hartley is a spirit that dances on an aspen leaf; the air that yonder
sallow-faced and yawning tourist is breathing, is to my babe a
perpetual nitrous oxide. Never was more joyous creature born. Pain
with him is so wholly trans-substantiated by the joys that had rolled
on before, and rushed on after, that oftentimes five minutes after his
mother has whipt him he has gone up and asked her to whip him again. "
('Fragmentary Remains, Literary and Scientific', of Sir Humphry Davy,
Bart. , pp. 78, 79. )--Ed.
* * * * *
TO THE DAISY
Composed 1802. --Published 1807
"Her [A] divine skill taught me this,
That from every thing I saw
I could some instruction draw,
And raise pleasure to the height
Through the meanest object's sight.
By the murmur of a spring,
Or the least bough's rustelling;
By a Daisy whose leaves spread
Shut when Titan goes to bed;
Or a shady bush or tree;
She could more infuse in me
Than all Nature's beauties can
In some other wiser man. "
G. WITHER. [1]
[Composed in the orchard, Town-end, Grasmere. --I. F. ]
One of the "Poems of the Fancy. "--Ed.
In youth from rock to rock I went,
From hill to hill in discontent
Of pleasure high and turbulent,
Most pleased when most uneasy;
But now my own delights I make,--5
My thirst at every rill can slake, [2]
And gladly Nature's love partake,
Of Thee, sweet Daisy! [3]
Thee Winter in the garland wears
That thinly decks his few grey hairs; 10
Spring parts the clouds with softest airs,
That she may sun thee; [4]
Whole Summer-fields are thine by right;
And Autumn, melancholy Wight!
Doth in thy crimson head delight 15
When rains are on thee.
In shoals and bands, a morrice train,
Thou greet'st the traveller in the lane;
Pleased at his greeting thee again;
Yet nothing daunted, 20
Nor grieved if thou be set at nought: [5]
And oft alone in nooks remote
We meet thee, like a pleasant thought,
When such are wanted.
Be violets in their secret mews 25
The flowers the wanton Zephyrs choose;
Proud be the rose, with rains and dews
Her head impearling,
Thou liv'st with less ambitious aim,
Yet hast not gone without thy fame; 30
Thou art indeed by many a claim
The Poet's darling.
If to a rock from rains he fly,
Or, some bright day of April sky,
Imprisoned by hot sunshine lie 35
Near the green holly,
And wearily at length should fare;
He needs [6] but look about, and there
Thou art! --a friend at hand, to scare
His melancholy. 40
A hundred times, by rock or bower,
Ere thus I have lain couched an hour,
Have I derived from thy sweet power
Some apprehension;
Some steady love; some brief delight; [7] 45
Some memory that had taken flight;
Some chime [8] of fancy wrong or right;
Or stray invention.
If stately passions in me burn,
And one [9] chance look to Thee should turn, 50
I drink out of an humbler urn
A lowlier pleasure;
The homely sympathy that heeds
The common life, our nature breeds;
A wisdom fitted to the needs 55
Of hearts at leisure.
Fresh-smitten by the morning ray,
When thou art up, alert and gay,
Then, cheerful Flower! my spirits play
With kindred gladness: [10] 60
And when, at dusk, by dews opprest
Thou sink'st, the image of thy rest
Hath often eased my pensive breast
Of careful sadness. [11]
And all day long I number yet, 65
All seasons through, another debt,
Which I, wherever thou art met,
To thee am owing; [12]
An instinct call it, a blind sense;
A happy, genial influence, 70
Coming one knows not how, nor whence,
Nor whither going.
Child of the Year! that round dost run
Thy pleasant course,--when day's begun
As ready to salute the sun 75
As lark or leveret,
Thy long-lost praise thou shalt regain; [B]
Nor be less dear to future men
Than in old time;--thou not in vain [13]
Art Nature's favourite. [C] 80
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1: The extract from Wither was first prefixed to this poem in
the edition of 1815. The late Mr. Dykes Campbell was of opinion that
Charles Lamb had suggested this motto to Wordsworth, as 'The Shepherd's
Hunting' was Lamb's "prime favourite" amongst Wither's poems. It may be
as well to note that his quotation was erroneous in two places. His
"instruction" should be "invention" (l. 3), and his "the" (in l. 4)
should be "her. "--Ed. ]
[Variant 2:
1807.
To gentle sympathies awake, MS. ]
[Variant 3:
1807.
And Nature's love of Thee partake,
Her much-loved Daisy! 1836.
The text of 1840 returns to the reading of 1807.
Of her sweet Daisy. C. ]
[Variant 4:
1836.
When soothed a while by milder airs,
Thee Winter in the garland wears
That thinly shades his few grey hairs;
Spring cannot shun thee; 1807.
When Winter decks his few grey hairs
Thee in the scanty wreath he wears;
Spring parts the clouds with softest airs,
That she may sun thee; 1827. ]
[Variant 5:
1836.
. . . in the lane;
If welcome once thou count'st it gain;
Thou art not daunted,
Nor car'st if thou be set at naught; 1807.
If welcom'd . . . 1815.
The text of 1827 returns to that of 1807. ]
[Variant 6:
1820
He need. . . . . 1807]
[Variant 7:
1807
. . . . some chance delight; MS. ]
[Variant 8:
1807
Some charm. . . . . C. ]
[Variant 9:
1807
And some. . . . . MS. ]
[Variant 10:
1836.
When, smitten by the morning ray,
I see thee rise alert and gay,
Then, chearful Flower! my spirits play
With kindred motion: 1807.
With kindred gladness: 1815.
Then Daisy! do my spirits play,
With cheerful motion. MS. ]
[Variant 11:
1815.
At dusk, I've seldom mark'd thee press
The ground, as if in thankfulness
Without some feeling, more or less,
Of true devotion. 1807.
The ground in modest thankfulness MS. ]
[Variant 12:
1807.
But more than all I number yet
O bounteous Flower! another debt
Which I to thee wherever met
Am daily owing; MS. ]
[Variant 13:
1836.
Child of the Year! that round dost run
Thy course, bold lover of the sun,
And chearful when the day's begun
As morning Leveret,
Thou long the Poet's praise shalt gain;
Thou wilt be more belov'd by men
In times to come; thou not in vain 1807.
Thy long-lost praise thou shalt regain;
Dear shalt thou be to future men
As in old time;--1815.
Dear thou shalt be 1820.
The text of 1827 returns to that of 1815. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: His Muse. --W. W. 1815.
The extract is from 'The Shepherds Hunting', eclogue fourth, ll.
368-80. --Ed. ]
[Footnote B: See, in Chaucer and the elder Poets, the honours formerly
paid to this flower. --W. W. 1815. ]
[Footnote C: This Poem, and two others to the same Flower, which the
Reader will find in the second Volume, were written in the year 1802;
which is mentioned, because in some of the ideas, though not in the
manner in which those ideas are connected, and likewise even in some of
the expressions, they bear a striking resemblance to a Poem (lately
published) of Mr. Montgomery, entitled, 'A Field Flower'. This being
said, Mr. Montgomery will not think any apology due to him; I cannot
however help addressing him in the words of the Father of English Poets:
'Though it happe me to rehersin--
That ye han in your freshe songis saied,
Forberith me, and beth not ill apaied,
Sith that ye se I doe it in the honour
Of Love, and eke in service of the Flour. '
W. W. 1807.
In the edition of 1836, the following variation of the text of this note
occurs: "There is a resemblance to passages in a Poem. "--Ed.
