A willing, nay,1 at times, a forward part;

Yet with the grace of one who in the world
Had learned the art of pleasing, and had now
Occasion given him to display his skill,
Upon the steadfast 'vantage-ground of truth.
He gazed, with admiration unsuppressed,
Upon the landscape of the sun-bright vale,
Seen, from the shady room in which we sate,
In softened perspective; and more than once
Praised the consummate harmony serene
Of gravity and elegance, diffused
Around the mansion and its whole domain;
Not, doubtless, without help of female taste
And female care-"A blessed lot is yours!'
The words escaped his lip, with a tender sigh
Breathed over them but suddenly the door
Flew open, and a pair of lusty Boys 2
Appeared, confusion checking their delight.
-Not brothers they in feature or attire,
But fond companions, so I guessed, in field,
And by the river's margin-whence they come,
Keen anglers with unusual spoil elated.3
One bears a willow-pannier on his back,

:

The boy of plainer garb, whose blush survives
More deeply tinged.

Twin might the other be

And by the river-side-from which they come,
A pair of Anglers, laden with their spoil.
And by the river's margin- whence they come,
Anglers elated with unusual spoil.

1814.

1814.

1814.

1827.

To that fair girl who from the garden-mount
Bounded triumphant entry this for him!1
Between his hands he holds a smooth blue stone,
On whose capacious surface see outspread 2
Large store of gleaming crimson-spotted trouts ;
Ranged side by side, and lessening by degrees 3
Up to the dwarf that tops the pinnacle.
Upon the board he lays the sky-blue stone

With its rich freight; their number he proclaims;
Tells from what pool the noblest had been dragged;
And where the very monarch of the brook,
After long struggle, had escaped at last―
Stealing alternately at them and us

(As doth his comrade too) a look of pride:
And, verily, the silent creatures made
A splendid sight, together thus exposed;
Dead-but not sullied or deformed by death,
That seemed to pity what he could not spare.

But O, the animation in the mien

Of those two boys! yea in the very words
With which the young narrator was inspired,
When, as our questions led, he told at large
Of that day's prowess! Him might I compare,

1827.

The Boy of plainer garb, and more abashed
In countenance,-more distant and retired.
Twin might the Other be to that fair Girl
Who bounded tow'rds us from the garden mount.
Triumphant entry this to him!—for see,

1814.

His looks,1 tones, gestures, eager eloquence,
To a bold brook that 2 splits for better speed,
And at the self-same moment, works its way
Through many channels, ever and anon

Parted and re-united: his compeer

To the still lake, whose stillness is to sight
As beautiful-as grateful to the mind.
-But to what object shall the lovely Girl
Be likened?

3

She whose countenance and air

Unite the graceful qualities of both,

Even as she shares the pride and joy of both.

My grey-haired Friend was moved; his vivid eye Glistened with tenderness; his mind, I knew,

Was full; and had, I doubted not, returned,
Upon this impulse, to the theme-erewhile
Abruptly broken of.
The ruddy boys

Withdrew, on summons to their well-earned meal; 4
And He to whom all tongues resigned their rights

With willingness, to whom the general ear

Listened with readier patience than to strain

Of music, lute or harp, a long delight

That ceased not when his voice had ceased-as One Who from truth's central point serenely views

The compass of his argument-began

Mildly, and with a clear and steady tone.

Did now withdraw to take their well-earned meal; 1814.

Book Ainth.

DISCOURSE OF THE WANDERER, AND AN EVENING VISIT TO THE LAKE.*

ARGUMENT.

Wanderer asserts that an active principle pervades the Universe, its noblest seat the human soul-How lively this principle is in Childhood— Hence the delight in old Age of looking back upon Childhood-The dignity, powers, and privileges of Age asserted-These not to be looked for generally but under a just government—Right of a human Creature to be exempt from being considered as a mere Instrument1— The condition of multitudes deplored2—Former conversation recurred to, and the Wanderer's opinions set in a clearer light 3—Truth placed within reach of the humblest-Equality-Happy state of the two Boys again adverted to-Earnest wish expressed for a System of National Education established universally by Government —Glorious effects of this foretold-Walk to the Lake-Grand spectacle from the side of a hill-Address of Priest to the Supreme Being-in the course of which he contrasts with ancient Barbarism the present appearance of the scene before him—The change ascribed to Christianity—Apostrophe to his flock, living and dead-Gratitude to the AlmightyReturn over the Lake-Parting with the Solitary--Under what circumstances.

Vicious inclinations are best kept under by giving good
ones an opportunity to shew themselves.

1814.

Deplored from want of due respect to this truth on the
part of their superiors in society.

1814.

Wanderer breaks off-Walk to the Lake-embark—
Description of scenery and amusements.

1814.

Upon the side of Loughrigg Fell, at the foot of the Lake, and looking down upon it and the whole Vale, and its accompanying mountains, the 'Pastor' is supposed by me to stand, when at sunset he addresses his companions."-I. F. MS.-ED.

"To every Form of being is assigned,"
Thus calmly spake the venerable Sage,
"An active Principle:-howe'er removed
From sense and observation, it subsists
In all things, in all natures; in the stars
Of azure heaven, the unenduring clouds,
In flower and tree, in every pebbly stone
That paves the brooks, the stationary rocks,
The moving waters, and the invisible air.
Whate'er exists hath properties that spread
Beyond itself, communicating good,
A simple blessing, or with evil mixed;
Spirit that knows no insulated spot,
No chasm, no solitude; from link to link
It circulates, the Soul of all the worlds.*
This is the freedom of the universe;
Unfolded still the more, more visible,

The more we know; and yet is reverenced least,
And least respected in the human Mind,
Its most apparent home. The food of hope

Is meditated action; robbed of this
Her sole support, she languishes and dies.
We perish also; for we live by hope
And by desire; we see by the glad light
And breathe the sweet air of futurity;
And so we live, or else we have no life.
To-morrow-nay perchance this very hour
(For every moment hath its own1 to-morrow!)
Those blooming Boys, whose hearts are almost sick
With present triumph, will be sure to find

Compare Tintern Abbey, Vol. I. p. 269.

A motion or a spirit, that impels

All thinking things, all objects of all thought,
And rolls through all things.

1814.

-ED.