415

Of forward youth—that scruples not to solve
Doubts, and determine questions, by the rules
Of inexperienced judgment, ever prone
To overweening faith; and is inflamed,
By courage, to demand from real life
The test of act and suffering, to provoke
Hostility-how dreadful when it comes,
Whether affliction be the foe, or guilt!

420

"A child of earth, I rested, in that stage Of my past course to which these thoughts advert,

425

Upon earth's native energies; forgetting
That mine was a condition which required
Nor energy, nor fortitude- -a calm
Without vicissitude; which, if the like
Had been presented to my view elsewhere,
I might have even been tempted to despise.
But no-for the serene was also bright;
Enlivened happiness with joy o'erflowing, 430
With joy, and-oh! that memory should

survive

To speak the word—with rapture! Nature's

boon,

435

Life's genuine inspiration, happiness
Above what rules can teach, or fancy feign;
Abused, as all possessions are abused
That are not prized according to their worth.
And yet, what worth? what good is given to

men,

More solid than the gilded clouds of heaven? What joy more lasting than a vernal flower?— None! 'tis the general plaint of human kind 44° In solitude: and mutually addressed

From each to all, for wisdom's sake:-This

truth

The priest announces from his holy seat:

And, crowned with garlands in the summer

grove,

The poet fits it to his pensive lyre.
Yet, ere that final resting-place be gained,
Sharp contradictions may arise, by doom
Of this same life, compelling us to grieve
That the prosperities of love and joy

445

Should be permitted, oft-times, to endure 450 So long, and be at once cast down for ever. Oh! tremble, ye, to whom hath been assigned A course of days composing happy months, And they as happy years; the present still So like the past, and both so firm a pledge 455 Of a congenial future, that the wheels Of pleasure move without the aid of hope : For Mutability is Nature's bane;

And slighted Hope will be avenged; and, when Ye need her favours, ye shall find her not; 460 But in her stead-fear-doubt-and agony!"

This was the bitter language of the heart:
But, while he spake, look, gesture, tone of voice,
Though discomposed and vehement, were such
As skill and graceful nature might suggest 465
To a proficient of the tragic scene

Standing before the multitude, beset
With dark events. Desirous to divert

470

Or stem the current of the speaker's thoughts, We signified a wish to leave that place Of stillness and close privacy, a nook That seemed for self-examination made; Or, for confession, in the sinner's need, Hidden from all men's view. To our attempt He yielded not; but, pointing to a slope

Of

mossy turf defended from the sun,

And on that couch inviting us to rest,
Full on that tender-hearted Man he turned

475

A serious eye, and his speech thus renewed.

"You never saw, your eyes did never look 480 On the bright form of Her whom once I loved:Her silver voice was heard upon the earth, A sound unknown to you; else, honoured

Friend!

490

Your heart had borne a pitiable share
Of what I suffered, when I wept that loss, 485
And suffer now, not seldom, from the thought
That I remember, and can weep no more.
Stripped as I am of all the golden fruit
Of self-esteem; and by the cutting blasts
Of self-reproach familiarly assailed;
Yet would I not be of such wintry bareness
But that some leaf of your regard should hang
Upon my naked branches :-lively thoughts
Give birth, full often, to unguarded words;
I grieve that, in your presence, from my
tongue

Too much of frailty hath already dropped;
But that too much demands still more.

You know,

495

Revered Compatriot—and to you, kind Sir,
(Not to be deemed a stranger, as you come
Following the guidance of these welcome feet 500
To our secluded vale) it may be told—
That my

demerits did not sue in vain To One on whose mild radiance many gazed With hope, and all with pleasure. This fair

Bride

505

In the devotedness of youthful love,
Preferring me to parents, and the choir
Of gay companions, to the natal roof,
And all known places and familiar sights
(Resigned with sadness gently weighing down
Her trembling expectations, but no more

510

515

Than did to her due honour, and to me Yielded, that day, a confidence sublime In what I had to build upon)-this Bride, Young, modest, meek, and beautiful, I led To a low cottage in a sunny bay, Where the salt sea innocuously breaks, And the sea breeze as innocently breathes, On Devon's leafy shores;—a sheltered hold, In a soft clime encouraging the soil To a luxuriant bounty!-As our steps Approach the embowered abode-our chosen

seat

520

See, rooted in the earth, her kindly bed,
The unendangered myrtle, decked with flowers,
Before the threshold stands to welcome us!
While, in the flowering myrtle's neighbour-
hood,

525

Not overlooked but courting no regard, Those native plants, the holly and the yew, Gave modest intimation to the mind How willingly their aid they would unite With the green myrtle, to endear the hours 530 Of winter, and protect that pleasant place. -Wild were the walks upon those lonely

Downs,

Track leading into track; how marked, how

worn

Into bright verdure, between fern and gorse,
Winding away its never ending line
On their smooth surface, evidence was none:
But, there, lay open to our daily haunt,

A

range of unappropriated earth,

535

Where youth's ambitious feet might move at

large; Whence, unmolested wanderers, we beheld 54° The shining giver of the day diffuse

His brightness o'er a tract of sea and land

Gay as our spirits, free as our desires;
As our enjoyments, boundless.-From those
heights

We dropped, at pleasure, into sylvan combs; 545
Where harbours of impenetrable shade,
And mossy seats, detained us side by side,
With hearts at ease, and knowledge in our
hearts

'That all the grove and all the day was ours.'

555

"O happy time! still happier was at hand; 550 For Nature called my Partner to resign Her share in the pure freedom of that life, Enjoyed by us in common.-To my hope, To my heart's wish, my tender Mate became The thankful captive of maternal bonds; And those wild paths were left to me alone. There could I meditate on follies past; And, like a weary voyager escaped From risk and hardship, inwardly retrace A course of vain delights and thoughtless

guilt,

560

And self-indulgence-without shame pursued. There, undisturbed, could think of and could thank

Her whose submissive spirit was to me
Rule and restraint-my guardian-shall I say
That earthly Providence, whose guiding love 565
Within a port of rest had lodged me safe;
Safe from temptation, and from danger far?
Strains followed of acknowledgment addressed
To an Authority enthroned above

The reach of sight; from whom, as from their

source,

570

Proceed all visible ministers of good
That walk the earth--Father of heaven and

earth,