And tempting Fancy to ascend, -Wings at my shoulders seem to play; On those bright steps that heaven-ward raise Come forth, ye drooping old men, look abroad, And wake him with such gentle heed As may attune his soul to meet the dower 4. Such hues from their celestial Urn This glimpse of glory, why renewed? Dread Power! whom peace and calmness serve From THEE if I would swerve; Oh, let thy grace remind me of the light 'Tis past, the visionary splendour fades ; And night approaches with her shades. (1818.) [From the Prelude. 1799-1805.] [APPARITION ON THE LAKE] Dust as we are, the immortal spirit grows Within my mind, should e'er have borne a part, The calm existence that is mine when I Am worthy of myself! Praise to the end! Thanks to the means which Nature deigned to employ; Whether her fearless visitings, or those That came with soft alarm, like hurtless light More palpable, as best might suit her aim. One summer evening (led by her) I found A little boat tied to a willow tree Within a rocky cave, its usual home. Straight I unloosed her chain, and stepping in Of sparkling light. But now, like one who rows, With an unswerving line, I fixed my view Upon the summit of a craggy ridge, The horizon's utmost boundary; far above I dipped my oars into the silent lake, Upreared its head. I struck and struck again, That spectacle, for many days, my brain [MORNING AFTER THE BALL.] And yet, for chastisement of these regrets, Doth here rise up against me. 'Mid a throng Of maids and youths, old men, and matrons staid, A medley of all tempers, I had passed The night in dancing, gaiety, and mirth, With din of instruments and shuffling feet, And glancing forms, and tapers glittering, And unaimed prattle flying up and down; Spirits upon the stretch, and here and there Slight shocks of young love-liking interspersed, Whose transient pleasure mounted to the head, And tingled through the veins. Ere we retired, The cock had crowed, and now the eastern sky Was kindling, not unseen, from humble copse And open field, through which the pathway wound, And homeward led my steps. Magnificent The morning rose, in memorable pomp, Glorious as ere I had beheld-in front, The sea lay laughing at a distance; near, The solid mountains shone, bright as the clouds, Grain-tinctured, drenched in empyrean light; And in the meadows and the lower grounds Was all the sweetness of a common dawnDews, vapours, and the melody of birds, And labourers going forth to till the fields. Ah! need I say, dear Friend! that to the brim My heart was full; I made no vows, but vows Were then made for me; bond unknown to me Was given, that I should be, else sinning greatly, A dedicated Spirit. On I walked In thankful blessedness, which yet survives. [DEFILE OF GONDO.] The brook and road Were fellow-travellers in this gloomy strait, And in the narrow rent at every turn The types and symbols of Eternity, Of first, and last, and midst, and without end. [ASCENT OF SNOWDON.] It was a close, warm, breezeless summer night, Wan, dull, and glaring, with a dripping fog Low-hung and thick that covered all the sky; But, undiscouraged, we began to climb The mountain-side. The mist soon girt us round, And, after ordinary travellers' talk With our conductor, pensively we sank Each into commerce with his private thoughts: |