) MOUNTAIN Stream! the Shepherd and his Cot

re privileged Inmates of deep solitude; For would the nicest Anchorite exclude field or two of brighter green, or plot f tillage-ground, that seemeth like a spot f stationary sunshine: - thou hast viewed hese only, Duddon! with their paths renewed

y fits and starts, yet this contents thee not. hee hath some awful Spirit impelled to leave,

terly to desert, the haunts of men, ough simple thy companions were and few;

id through this wilderness a passage cleave

tended but by thy own voice, save when e clouds and fowls of the air thy way pursue !

XVI

AMERICAN TRADITION

1820. 1820

SUCH fruitless questions may not long be guile

Or plague the fancy 'mid the sculptured shows

Conspicuous yet where Oroonoko flows; There would the Indian answer with a smile Aimed at the White Man's ignorance, the while,

Of the GREAT WATERS telling how they

rose,

Covered the plains, and, wandering where they chose,

Mounted through every intricate defile, Triumphant -- Inundation wide and deep, O'er which his Fathers urged, to ridge and

steep

Else unapproachable, their buoyant way; And carved, on mural cliff's undreaded side, Sun, moon, and stars, and beast of chase or prey;

Whate'er they sought, shunned, loved, or deified!

XVII RETURN

1820. 1820

A DARK plume fetch me from yon blasted

yew,

Perched on whose top the Danish Raven croaks;

Aloft, the imperial Bird of Rome invokes Departed ages, shedding where he flew Loose fragments of wild wailing, that be

strew

The clouds and thrill the chambers of the rocks;

And into silence hush the timorous flocks, That, calmly couching while the nightly dew Moistened each fleece, beneath the twinkling stars

Slept amid that lone Camp on Hardknot's height,

Whose Guardians bent the knee to Jove and Mars:

Or, near that mystic Round of Druid frame
Tardily sinking by its proper weight
Deep into patient Earth, from whose smooth
breast it came !

In crystal clearness Dian's looking-glass; And, gazing, saw that Rose, which from the prime

Derives its name, reflected, as the chime
Of echo doth reverberate some sweet sound:
The starry treasure from the blue profound
She longed to ravish; - shall she plunge, or
climb

The humid precipice, and seize the guest
Of April, smiling high in upper air?
Desperate alternative! what fiend could
dare

To prompt the thought? — Upon the steep rock's breast

The lonely Primrose yet renews its bloom, Untouched memento of her hapless doom!

XXIII

SHEEP WASHING

1820. 1820

SAD thoughts, avaunt! partake we their blithe cheer

Who gathered in betimes the unshorn flock To wash the fleece, where haply bands of rock,

Checking the stream, make a pool smooth and clear

As this we look on. Distant Mountains hear,
Hear and repeat, the turmoil that unites
Clamour of boys with innocent despites
Of barking dogs, and bleatings from strange
fear.

And what if Duddon's spotless flood receive
Unwelcome mixtures as the uncouth noise
Thickens, the pastoral River will forgive
Such wrong; nor need we blame the li-
censed joys,

Though false to Nature's quiet equipoise: Frank are the sports, the stains are fugitive.

XXVI

1820. 1820

RETURN, Content! for fondly I pursued, Even when a child, the Streams heard, unseen;

un

Through tangled woods, impending rocks between;

Or, free as air, with flying inquest viewed The sullen reservoirs whence their bold brood Pure as the morning, fretful, boisterous, keen,

-

On Duddon's margin, in the sheltering nest;

For all the startled scaly tribes that slink
Into his coverts, and each fearless link
Of dancing insects forged upon his breast;
For these, and hopes and recollections wor
Close to the vital seat of human clay;
Glad meetings, tender partings, that up-
stay

The drooping mind of absence, by vow:

sworn

In his pure presence near the trysting thorn

I thanked the Leader of my onward way.

XXIX

1820. 1820

No record tells of lance opposed to lance, Horse charging horse, 'mid these retired domains;

Tells that their turf drank purple from the veins

Of heroes, fallen, or struggling to advance,
Till doubtful combat issued in a trance
Of victory, that struck through heart and
reins

Even to the inmost seat of mortal pains,
And lightened o'er the pallid countenance.
Yet, to the loyal and the brave, who lie
In the blank earth, neglected and forlorn,
The passing Winds memorial tribute pay;
The Torrents chant their praise, inspiring

Not so with such as loosely wear the chain

That binds them, pleasant River! to thy

side:

Through the rough copse wheel thou with hasty stride;

I choose to saunter o'er the grassy plain, Sure, when the separation has been tried, That we, who part in love, shall meet again.

And blue-topped hills, behold him from afar;

In stately mien to sovereign Thames allied, Spreading his bosom under Kentish downs, With commerce freighted, or triumphant

war.

XXXIII CONCLUSION

1820. 1820

BUT here no cannon thunders to the gale;
Upon the wave no haughty pendants cast
A crimson splendour: lowly is the mast
That rises here, and humbly spread, the
sail;

While, less disturbed than in the narrow
Vale

Through which with strange vicissitudes he passed,

The Wanderer seeks that receptacle vast Where all his unambitious functions fail And may thy Poet, cloud-born Stream! be free

The sweets of earth contentedly resigned, And each tumultuous working left behind At seemly distance - to advance like Thee; Prepared, in peace of heart, in calm of mind And soul, to mingle with Eternity!

XXXIV

AFTER-THOUGHT

1820. 1820

I THOUGHT of Thee, my partner and my guide,
As being past away. Vain sympathies!
For, backward, Duddon, as I cast my eyes,
I see what was, and is, and will abide;
Still glides the Stream, and shall for ever
glide;

The Form remains, the Function never dies;
While we, the brave, the mighty, and the wise,
We Men, who in our morn of youth defied
The elements, must vanish; - be it so!
Enough, if something from our hands have
power

To live, and act, and serve the future hour; And if, as toward the silent tomb we go, Through love, through hope, and faith's tran scendent dower,

We feel that we are greater than we know.