add, that his minor Pieces, which have been long before the public, when they shall be properly arranged, will be found by the attentive Reader to have such connection with the main Work as may give them claim to be likened to the little cells, oratories, and sepulchral recesses, ordinarily included in those edifices. The Author would not have deemed himself justified in saying, upon this occasion, so much of performances either unfinished or unpublished, if he had not thought that labor bestowed by him upon what he has heretofore and now laid before the Public, entitled him to candid attention for such a statement as he thinks necessary to throw light upon his endeavors to please, and, he would hope, to benefit, his countrymen. Nothing further need be added, than that the first and third parts of The Recluse will consist chiefly of meditations in the Author's own person; and that in the intermediate part (The Excursion) the intervention of characters speaking is employed, and something of a dramatic form adopted. It is not the Author's intention formally to announce a system: it was more animating to him to proceed in a different course; and if he shall succeed in conveying to the mind clear thoughts, lively images, and strong feelings, the Reader will have no difficulty in extracting the system for himself. And in the mean time the following passage, taken from the conclusion of the first book of The Recluse, may be acceptable as a kind of Prospectus of the design and scope of the whole Poem. "On Man, on Nature, and on Human Life, Fair trains of imagery before me rise, Pure, or with no unpleasing sadness mixed; And dear remembrances, whose presence soothes The good and evil of our mortal state. To these emotions, whencesoe'er they come, I would give utterance in numerous verse. Of blessed consolations in distress; Of moral strength, and intellectual Power; I sing:-'fit audience let me find, though few!' "So prayed, more gaining than he asked, the Bard, In holiest mood. Urania, I shall need Thy guidance, or a greater Muse, if such Of shouting Angels, and the empyreal thrones, I pass them unalarmed. Not Chaos, not The darkest pit of lowest Erebus, Nor aught of blinder vacancy, scooped out By help of dreams, can breed such fear and awe Into our Minds, into the Mind of Man,- Which craft of delicate Spirits hath composed An hourly neighbor. Paradise, and groves Sought in the Atlantic Main, — why should they be - Can it be called) which they with blended might Accomplish:- this is our high argument. -Such grateful haunts foregoing, if I oft Must turn elsewhere, to travel near the tribes And fellowships of men, and see ill sights Within the walls of cities, may these sounds Descend, prophetic Spirit! that inspir'st Dreaming on things to come; and dost possess Of mighty Poets: upon me bestow A gift of genuine insight; that my Song With star-like virtue in its place may shine, Shedding benignant influence, and secure, Itself, from all malevolent effect Of those mutations that extend their sway Throughout the nether sphere! - And if with this This Vision; when and where, and how he lived; Be not this labor useless. If such theme May sort with highest objects, then dread Power! Whose gracious favor is the primal source Express the image of a better time, More wise desires, and simpler manners; -nurse |