A nun demure of lowly port;
Or sprightly maiden, of Love's court,
In thy simplicity the sport
Of all temptations; 20
A queen in crown of rubies drest;
A starveling in a scanty vest;
Are all, as seems [3] to suit thee best,
Thy appellations.
Or sprightly maiden, of Love's court,
In thy simplicity the sport
Of all temptations; 20
A queen in crown of rubies drest;
A starveling in a scanty vest;
Are all, as seems [3] to suit thee best,
Thy appellations.
William Wordsworth
.
.
1815.
Did we behold, fair sights that might repay 1815.
Yet did the glowing west in all its power 1827.
The text of 1827 is otherwise identical with that of 1837. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: Called by Wordsworth, "The Hamilton Hills" in the editions
from 1807 to 1827. --Ed. ]
The following extract from Dorothy Wordsworth's Journal indicates, as
fully as any other passage in it, the use which her brother occasionally
made of it. We have the "Grecian Temple," and the "Minster with its
Tower":
"Before we had crossed the Hambleton Hill and reached the point
overlooking Yorkshire it was quite dark. We had not wanted, however,
fair prospects before us, as we drove along the flat plain of the high
hill; far, far off from us, in the western sky, we saw shapes of
castles, ruins among groves--a great, spreading wood, rocks, and
single trees--a Minster with its Tower unusually distinct, Minarets in
another quarter, and a round Grecian Temple also; the colours of the
sky of a bright grey, and the forms of a sober grey, with a dome. As
we descended the hill there was no distinct view, but of a great
space, only near us, we saw the wild (and as the people say)
bottomless Tarn in the hollow at the side of the hill. It seemed to be
made visible to us only by its own light, for all the hill about us
was dark. "
Wordsworth and his sister crossed over the Hambleton (or Hamilton)
Hills, on their way from Westmoreland to Gallow Hill, Yorkshire, to
visit the Hutchinsons, before they went south to London and Calais,
where they spent the month of August, 1802. But after his marriage to
Mary Hutchinson, on the 4th of October, Wordsworth, his wife, and
sister, recrossed these Hambleton Hills on their way to Grasmere, which
they reached on the evening of the 6th October. The above sonnet was
composed on the evening of the 4th October, as the Fenwick note
indicates. --Ed.
* * * * *
TO H. C.
SIX YEARS OLD
Composed 1802. --Published 1807
One of the "Poems referring to the Period of Childhood. "--Ed.
O thou! whose fancies from afar are brought;
Who of thy words dost make a mock apparel,
And fittest to unutterable thought
The breeze-like motion and the self-born carol;
Thou faery voyager! that dost float 5
In such clear water, that thy boat
May rather seem
To brood on air [A] than on an earthly stream;
Suspended in a stream as clear as sky,
Where earth and heaven do make one imagery; 10
O blessed vision! happy child!
Thou [1] art so exquisitely wild,
I think of thee with many fears
For what may be thy lot in future years.
I thought of times when Pain might be thy guest, 15
Lord of thy house and hospitality;
And Grief, uneasy lover! never rest
But when she sate within the touch of thee.
O too industrious folly!
O vain and causeless melancholy! 20
Nature will either end thee quite;
Or, lengthening out thy season of delight,
Preserve for thee, by individual right,
A young lamb's heart among the full-grown flocks.
What hast thou to do with sorrow, 25
Or the injuries of to-morrow?
Thou art a dew-drop, which the morn brings forth,
Ill fitted to sustain [2] unkindly shocks,
Or to be trailed along the soiling earth;
A gem that glitters while it lives, 30
And no forewarning gives;
But, at the touch of wrong, without a strife
Slips in a moment out of life.
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1845.
That . . . 1807. ]
[Variant 2:
1827.
Not doom'd to jostle with . . . 1807.
Not framed to undergo . . . 1815. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: See Carver's Description of his Situation upon one of the
Lakes of America. --W. W. 1807. ]
These stanzas were addressed to Hartley Coleridge. The lines,
'I think of thee with many fears
For what may be thy lot in future years,'
taken in connection with his subsequent career, suggest the similarly
sad "presentiment" with which the 'Lines composed above Tintern Abbey'
conclude. The following is the postscript to a letter by his father, S.
T. C. , addressed to Sir Humphry Davy, Keswick, July 25, 1800:
"Hartley is a spirit that dances on an aspen leaf; the air that yonder
sallow-faced and yawning tourist is breathing, is to my babe a
perpetual nitrous oxide. Never was more joyous creature born. Pain
with him is so wholly trans-substantiated by the joys that had rolled
on before, and rushed on after, that oftentimes five minutes after his
mother has whipt him he has gone up and asked her to whip him again. "
('Fragmentary Remains, Literary and Scientific', of Sir Humphry Davy,
Bart. , pp. 78, 79. )--Ed.
* * * * *
TO THE DAISY
Composed 1802. --Published 1807
"Her [A] divine skill taught me this,
That from every thing I saw
I could some instruction draw,
And raise pleasure to the height
Through the meanest object's sight.
By the murmur of a spring,
Or the least bough's rustelling;
By a Daisy whose leaves spread
Shut when Titan goes to bed;
Or a shady bush or tree;
She could more infuse in me
Than all Nature's beauties can
In some other wiser man. "
G. WITHER. [1]
[Composed in the orchard, Town-end, Grasmere. --I. F. ]
One of the "Poems of the Fancy. "--Ed.
In youth from rock to rock I went,
From hill to hill in discontent
Of pleasure high and turbulent,
Most pleased when most uneasy;
But now my own delights I make,--5
My thirst at every rill can slake, [2]
And gladly Nature's love partake,
Of Thee, sweet Daisy! [3]
Thee Winter in the garland wears
That thinly decks his few grey hairs; 10
Spring parts the clouds with softest airs,
That she may sun thee; [4]
Whole Summer-fields are thine by right;
And Autumn, melancholy Wight!
Doth in thy crimson head delight 15
When rains are on thee.
In shoals and bands, a morrice train,
Thou greet'st the traveller in the lane;
Pleased at his greeting thee again;
Yet nothing daunted, 20
Nor grieved if thou be set at nought: [5]
And oft alone in nooks remote
We meet thee, like a pleasant thought,
When such are wanted.
Be violets in their secret mews 25
The flowers the wanton Zephyrs choose;
Proud be the rose, with rains and dews
Her head impearling,
Thou liv'st with less ambitious aim,
Yet hast not gone without thy fame; 30
Thou art indeed by many a claim
The Poet's darling.
If to a rock from rains he fly,
Or, some bright day of April sky,
Imprisoned by hot sunshine lie 35
Near the green holly,
And wearily at length should fare;
He needs [6] but look about, and there
Thou art! --a friend at hand, to scare
His melancholy. 40
A hundred times, by rock or bower,
Ere thus I have lain couched an hour,
Have I derived from thy sweet power
Some apprehension;
Some steady love; some brief delight; [7] 45
Some memory that had taken flight;
Some chime [8] of fancy wrong or right;
Or stray invention.
If stately passions in me burn,
And one [9] chance look to Thee should turn, 50
I drink out of an humbler urn
A lowlier pleasure;
The homely sympathy that heeds
The common life, our nature breeds;
A wisdom fitted to the needs 55
Of hearts at leisure.
Fresh-smitten by the morning ray,
When thou art up, alert and gay,
Then, cheerful Flower! my spirits play
With kindred gladness: [10] 60
And when, at dusk, by dews opprest
Thou sink'st, the image of thy rest
Hath often eased my pensive breast
Of careful sadness. [11]
And all day long I number yet, 65
All seasons through, another debt,
Which I, wherever thou art met,
To thee am owing; [12]
An instinct call it, a blind sense;
A happy, genial influence, 70
Coming one knows not how, nor whence,
Nor whither going.
Child of the Year! that round dost run
Thy pleasant course,--when day's begun
As ready to salute the sun 75
As lark or leveret,
Thy long-lost praise thou shalt regain; [B]
Nor be less dear to future men
Than in old time;--thou not in vain [13]
Art Nature's favourite. [C] 80
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1: The extract from Wither was first prefixed to this poem in
the edition of 1815. The late Mr. Dykes Campbell was of opinion that
Charles Lamb had suggested this motto to Wordsworth, as 'The Shepherd's
Hunting' was Lamb's "prime favourite" amongst Wither's poems. It may be
as well to note that his quotation was erroneous in two places. His
"instruction" should be "invention" (l. 3), and his "the" (in l. 4)
should be "her. "--Ed. ]
[Variant 2:
1807.
To gentle sympathies awake, MS. ]
[Variant 3:
1807.
And Nature's love of Thee partake,
Her much-loved Daisy! 1836.
The text of 1840 returns to the reading of 1807.
Of her sweet Daisy. C. ]
[Variant 4:
1836.
When soothed a while by milder airs,
Thee Winter in the garland wears
That thinly shades his few grey hairs;
Spring cannot shun thee; 1807.
When Winter decks his few grey hairs
Thee in the scanty wreath he wears;
Spring parts the clouds with softest airs,
That she may sun thee; 1827. ]
[Variant 5:
1836.
. . . in the lane;
If welcome once thou count'st it gain;
Thou art not daunted,
Nor car'st if thou be set at naught; 1807.
If welcom'd . . . 1815.
The text of 1827 returns to that of 1807. ]
[Variant 6:
1820
He need. . . . . 1807]
[Variant 7:
1807
. . . . some chance delight; MS. ]
[Variant 8:
1807
Some charm. . . . . C. ]
[Variant 9:
1807
And some. . . . . MS. ]
[Variant 10:
1836.
When, smitten by the morning ray,
I see thee rise alert and gay,
Then, chearful Flower! my spirits play
With kindred motion: 1807.
With kindred gladness: 1815.
Then Daisy! do my spirits play,
With cheerful motion. MS. ]
[Variant 11:
1815.
At dusk, I've seldom mark'd thee press
The ground, as if in thankfulness
Without some feeling, more or less,
Of true devotion. 1807.
The ground in modest thankfulness MS. ]
[Variant 12:
1807.
But more than all I number yet
O bounteous Flower! another debt
Which I to thee wherever met
Am daily owing; MS. ]
[Variant 13:
1836.
Child of the Year! that round dost run
Thy course, bold lover of the sun,
And chearful when the day's begun
As morning Leveret,
Thou long the Poet's praise shalt gain;
Thou wilt be more belov'd by men
In times to come; thou not in vain 1807.
Thy long-lost praise thou shalt regain;
Dear shalt thou be to future men
As in old time;--1815.
Dear thou shalt be 1820.
The text of 1827 returns to that of 1815. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: His Muse. --W. W. 1815.
The extract is from 'The Shepherds Hunting', eclogue fourth, ll.
368-80. --Ed. ]
[Footnote B: See, in Chaucer and the elder Poets, the honours formerly
paid to this flower. --W. W. 1815. ]
[Footnote C: This Poem, and two others to the same Flower, which the
Reader will find in the second Volume, were written in the year 1802;
which is mentioned, because in some of the ideas, though not in the
manner in which those ideas are connected, and likewise even in some of
the expressions, they bear a striking resemblance to a Poem (lately
published) of Mr. Montgomery, entitled, 'A Field Flower'. This being
said, Mr. Montgomery will not think any apology due to him; I cannot
however help addressing him in the words of the Father of English Poets:
'Though it happe me to rehersin--
That ye han in your freshe songis saied,
Forberith me, and beth not ill apaied,
Sith that ye se I doe it in the honour
Of Love, and eke in service of the Flour. '
W. W. 1807.
In the edition of 1836, the following variation of the text of this note
occurs: "There is a resemblance to passages in a Poem. "--Ed. ]
For illustration of the last stanza, see Chaucer's Prologue to 'The
Legend of Good Women'.
'As I seyde erst, whanne comen is the May,
That in my bed ther daweth me no day,
That I nam uppe and walkyng in the mede,
To seen this floure agein the sonne sprede,
Whan it up rysith erly by the morwe;
That blisful sight softneth al my sorwe,
So glad am I, whan that I have presence
Of it, to doon it alle reverence,
As she that is of alle floures flour. '
. . .
To seen this flour so yong, so fresshe of hewe,
Constreynde me with so gredy desire,
That in myn herte I feele yet the fire,
That made me to ryse er yt wer day,
And this was now the firste morwe of May,
With dredful hert, and glad devocioun
For to ben at the resurreccion
Of this flour, whan that yt shulde unclose
Agayne the sonne, that roos as rede as rose
. . .
And doune on knes anoon ryght I me sette,
And as I koude, this fresshe flour I grette,
Knelying alwey, til it unclosed was,
Upon the smale, softe, swote gras.
Again, in The 'Cuckoo and the Nightingale', after a wakeful night, the
Poet rises at dawn, and wandering forth, reaches a "laund of white and
green. "
'So feire oon had I nevere in bene,
The grounde was grene, y poudred with dayse,
The floures and the gras ilike al hie,
Al grene and white, was nothing elles sene. '
Ed.
* * * * *
TO THE SAME FLOWER [A]
Composed 1802. --Published 1807
[Composed in the orchard, Town-end, Grasmere. -I. F. ]
One of the "Poems of the Fancy. "--Ed.
With little here to do or see
Of things that in the great world be,
Daisy! again I talk to thee, [1]
For thou art worthy,
Thou unassuming Common-place 5
Of Nature, with that homely face,
And yet with something of a grace,
Which Love makes for thee!
Oft on the dappled turf at ease
I sit, and play with similes, [2] 10
Loose types of things through all degrees,
Thoughts of thy raising:
And many a fond and idle name
I give to thee, for praise or blame,
As is the humour of the game, 15
While I am gazing.
A nun demure of lowly port;
Or sprightly maiden, of Love's court,
In thy simplicity the sport
Of all temptations; 20
A queen in crown of rubies drest;
A starveling in a scanty vest;
Are all, as seems [3] to suit thee best,
Thy appellations.
A little cyclops, with one eye 25
Staring to threaten and defy,
That thought comes next--and instantly
The freak is over,
The shape will vanish--and behold
A silver shield with boss of gold, 30
That spreads itself, some faery bold
In fight to cover!
I see thee glittering from afar--
And then thou art a pretty star;
Not quite so fair as many are 35
In heaven above thee!
Yet like a star, with glittering crest,
Self-poised in air thou seem'st to rest;--
May peace come never to his nest,
Who shall reprove thee! 40
Bright _Flower! _ [4] for by that name at last,
When all my reveries are past,
I call thee, and to that cleave fast,
Sweet silent creature!
That breath'st with me in sun and air, 45
Do thou, as thou art wont, repair
My heart with gladness, and a share
Of thy meek nature!
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1845.
Sweet Daisy! oft I talk to thee, 1807.
Yet once again I talk . . 1836. ]
[Variant 2:
1820.
Oft do I sit by thee at ease,
And weave a web of similies, 1807. ]
[Variant 3:
1827.
. . . seem . . . 1807. ]
[Variant 4:
1836.
Sweet Flower! . . . . 1807. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: The two following Poems were overflowings of the mind in
composing the one which stands first in the first Volume (i. e. the
previous Poem),--W. W. 1807. ]
In his editions 1836-1849 Wordsworth gave 1805 as the year in which this
poem was composed, but the Fenwick note prefixed to it renders this
impossible. It evidently belongs to the same time, and "mood," as the
previous poem. --Ed.
* * * * *
TO THE DAISY (#2)
Composed 1802. --Published 1807
[This and the other Poems addressed to the same flower were composed at
Town-end, Grasmere, during the earlier part of my residence there. I
have been censured for the last line but one--"thy function
apostolical"--as being little less than profane. How could it be thought
so? The word is adopted with reference to its derivation, implying
something sent on a mission; and assuredly this little flower,
especially when the subject of verse, may be regarded, in its humble
degree, as administering both to moral and to spiritual purposes. --I. F. ]
This was included among the "Poems of the Fancy" from 1815 to 1832. In
1837 it was transferred to the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection. "--Ed.
Bright Flower! whose home is everywhere,
Bold in maternal Nature's care,
And all the long year through the heir [1]
Of joy and [2] sorrow.
Methinks that there abides in thee 5
Some concord [3] with humanity,
Given to no other flower I see
The forest thorough!
Is it that Man is soon deprest? [4]
A thoughtless Thing! who, once unblest, 10
Does little on his memory rest,
Or on his reason,
And [5] Thou would'st teach him how to find
A shelter under every wind,
A hope for times that are unkind 15
And every season?
Thou wander'st the wide world about,
Uncheck'd by pride or scrupulous doubt,
With friends to greet thee, or without,
Yet pleased and willing; 20
Meek, yielding to the occasion's call,
And all things suffering from all,
Thy function apostolical
In peace fulfilling. [6]
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1840.
Bright Flower, whose home is every where!
A Pilgrim bold in Nature's care,
And all the long year through the heir 1807.
Bright flower, whose home is every where!
A Pilgrim bold in Nature's care,
And oft, the long year through, the heir 1827.
Confiding Flower, by Nature's care
Made bold,--who, lodging here or there,
Art all the long year through the heir 1837. ]
[Variant 2:
1850.
. . . or . . . 1807. ]
[Variant 3:
1807.
Communion . . . 1837.
The text of 1840 returns to that of 1807. ]
[Variant 4:
1807.
And wherefore? Man is soon deprest; 1827.
The text of 1837 returns to that of 1807. ]
[Variant 5:
1807.
But . . . 1827.
The text of 1837 returns to that of 1807. ]
[Variant 6:
1807.
This stanza was omitted in the editions of 1827 and 1832, but replaced
in 1837. ]
The three preceding poems 'To the Daisy' evidently belong to the same
time, and are, as Wordsworth expressly says, "overflowings of the mind
in composing the one which stands first. " Nevertheless, in the revised
edition of 1836-7, he gave the date 1802 to the first, 1803 to the
third, and 1805 to the second of them. In the earlier editions 1815 to
1832, they are all classed among the "Poems of the Fancy," but in the
edition of 1837, and afterwards, the last, "Bright Flower! whose home is
everywhere," is ranked among the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection. "
They should manifestly be placed together. Wordsworth's fourth poem 'To
the Daisy', which is an elegy on his brother John, and belongs to a
subsequent year--having no connection with the three preceding poems,
will be found in its chronological place. --Ed.
* * * * *
LOUISA
AFTER ACCOMPANYING HER ON A MOUNTAIN EXCURSION
Composed 1802. --Published 1807
[Town-end 1805. --I. F. ]
One of the "Poems founded on the Affections. " From 1807 to 1832 the
title was simply 'Louisa'. --Ed.
I met Louisa in the shade,
And, having seen that lovely Maid,
Why should I fear to say [1]
That, nymph-like, she is fleet and strong, [2]
And down the rocks can leap along 5
Like rivulets in May?
[3]
She loves her fire, her cottage-home;
Yet o'er the moorland will she roam
In weather rough and bleak;
And, when against the wind she strains, 10
Oh! might I kiss the mountain rains
That sparkle on her cheek.
Take all that's mine "beneath the moon," [A]
If I with her but half a noon
May sit beneath the walls 15
Of some old cave, or mossy nook,
When up she winds along the brook [4]
To hunt the waterfalls.
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1807.
Though, by a sickly taste betrayed,
Some will dispraise the lovely Maid,
With fearless pride I say 1836.
The text of 1845 returns to that of 1807. ]
[Variant 2:
1845.
That she is ruddy, fleet, and strong; 1807.
That she is healthful, . . . 1836. ]
[Variant 3: In the editions of 1807 to 1843 occurs the following verse,
which was omitted from subsequent editions:
And she hath smiles to earth unknown;
Smiles, that with motion of their own
Do spread, and sink, and rise;
That come and go with endless play,
And ever, as they pass away,
Are hidden in her eyes. ]
[Variant 4:
1807.
When she goes barefoot up the brook MS. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: Compare Young's 'Night Thoughts', where the phrase occurs
three times. See also 'Lear', act IV. scene vi. l. 26:
'For all beneath the moon. '
Haywood, 'The English Traveller', v. 1:
'All things that dwell beneath the moon. '
It was also used by William Drummond, in one of his sonnets,
'I know that all beneath the moon decays. '
Ed. ]
Wordsworth gave as the date of the composition of this poem the year
1805; but he said of the following one, 'To a Young Lady, who had been
Reproached for taking Long Walks in the Country'--"composed at the same
time" and "designed to make one piece"--that it was written in 1803.
But it is certain that these following lines appeared in 'The Morning
Post', on Feb. 12, 1802, where they are headed 'To a beautiful Young
Lady, who had been harshly spoken of on account of her fondness for
taking long walks in the Country'. There is difficulty, both in
ascertaining the exact date of composition, and in knowing who "Louisa"
or the "Young Lady" was. Mrs. Millicent G. Fawcett wrote to me several
years ago, suggesting, with some plausibility, a much earlier date, if
Dorothy Wordsworth was the lady referred to. She referred me to
Dorothy's letter to her aunt, Mrs. Crackenthorpe, written from
Windybrow, Keswick, in 1794, when staying there with her brother; and
says
"What inclined me to think that the poem was written earlier than 1805
was that it anticipates Dorothy's marriage, and this would more
naturally be present as a probable event in W. W. 's mind in 1794 or
thereabouts than in 1805, after Dorothy had dedicated her life to her
brother, to the exclusion of all wish to make a home of her own by
marriage. The expression 'Healthy as a shepherd boy' is also more
applicable to a girl of twenty-two than to a woman of thirty-three. Do
you think it possible that the poem may have been written in 1794, and
not published till later, when its application would be less evident
to the family circle? "
Dorothy Wordsworth's letter will be quoted in full in a later volume,
but the following extract from it may be given now:
"I cannot pass unnoticed that part of your letter in which you speak
of my 'rambling about the country on foot. ' So far from considering
this as a matter for condemnation I rather thought it would have given
my friends pleasure that I had courage to make use of the strength
with which Nature has endowed me, when it not only procured me
infinitely more pleasure than I should have received from sitting in a
post-chaise, but was also the means of saving me at least thirty
shillings. "
I do not think the date of composition can be so early as 1794. What may
be called internal, or structural, evidence is against it. Wordsworth
never could have written these two poems till after his settlement at
Dove Cottage. Besides, in 1794, he could have no knowledge of a possible
"nest in a green dale, a harbour and a hold"; while at that time his
sister had certainly no "cottage home. " I believe they were written
after he took up his residence at Town-end (the date being uncertain);
and that they refer to his sister, and not to his wife. It has been
suggested by Mr. Ernest Coleridge (see 'The Athenaeum', Oct. 21, 1893)
that they refer to Mary Hutchinson: but there is no evidence of
Wordsworth taking long country walks with her before their marriage, or
that she was "nymph-like," "fleet and strong," that she loved to "roam
the moorland," "in weather rough and bleak," or that she "hunted
waterfalls. " The reference to his sister is confirmed by the omission of
the delightful second stanza of the poem in the last edition revised by
the poet, that of 1849, when she was a confirmed invalid at Rydal Mount.
Those "smiles to earth unknown," had then ceased for ever. The reason
why Wordsworth erased so delightful and wonderful a stanza, is to me
only explicable on the supposition, that it was his sister he referred
to, she who had accompanied him in former days, in so many of his "long
walks in the country. " His wife never did this; she had not the physical
strength to do it; and, if she had been the person referred to,
Wordsworth would hardly, in 1845, have erased such a description of her,
as occurs in the stanza written in 1802, when she was still so vigorous.
Besides, Mary Wordsworth was in no sense "a Child of Nature," as Dorothy
was: while the testimony of the Wordsworth household is explicit, that
it was to his sister, and not to his wife, that the poet referred. I
find no difficulty in the allusion made in the second poem to Dorothy
being yet possibly a "Wife and Friend"; nor to the fact that it was
originally addressed "To a beautiful Young Lady. " Neither Dorothy nor
Mary Wordsworth were physically "beautiful," according to our highest
standards; although the poet addressed the latter as "a Phantom of
delight," and as "a lovely apparition. " It is quite true that it was
Mary Wordsworth's old age that was "serene and bright," while Dorothy's
was the very reverse; but the poet's anticipation of the future was
written when his sister was young, and was by far the stronger of the
two. --Ed.
* * * * *
TO A YOUNG LADY, WHO HAD BEEN REPROACHED FOR TAKING LONG WALKS IN THE
COUNTRY [A]
Composed 1802. --Published 1807
[Composed at the same time and on the same view as "I met Louisa in the
shade:" indeed they were designed to make one piece. --I. F. ]
From 1815 to 1832 this was classed among the "Poems proceeding from
Sentiment and Reflection. " In 1836 it was transferred to the group of
"Poems of the Imagination. "--Ed.
Dear Child of Nature, let them rail!
--There is a nest in a green dale,
A harbour and a hold;
Where thou, a Wife and Friend, shalt see
Thy own heart-stirring days, [1] and be 5
A light to young and old.
There, healthy as a shepherd boy,
And treading among flowers of joy
Which at no season fade, [2]
Thou, while thy babes around thee cling, 10
Shalt show us how divine a thing
A Woman may be made.
Thy thoughts and feelings shall not die,
Nor leave thee, when grey hairs are nigh
A melancholy slave; 15
But an old age serene [3] and bright,
And lovely as a Lapland night,
Shall lead thee to thy grave.
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1836.
Thy own delightful days, . . . 1802. ]
[Variant 2:
1836.
As if thy heritage were joy,
And pleasure were thy trade. 1802.
And treading among flowers of joy,
That at no season fade, 1827. ]
[Variant 3:
1815.
. . . alive . . . 1802. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: For the original title of this poem,--as published in 'The
Morning Post and Gazetteer',--see the note to the previous poem. When
first published it was unsigned. --Ed. ]
See the editorial note to the preceding poem. --Ed.
* * * * *
1803
The poems associated with the year 1803 consist mainly of the "Memorials
of a Tour in Scotland," which Wordsworth and his sister took--along with
Coleridge--in the autumn of that year, although many of these were not
written till some time after the Tour was finished. 'The Green Linnet'
and 'Yew-trees' were written in 1803, and some sonnets were composed in
the month of October; but, on the whole, 1803 was not a fruitful year in
Wordsworth's life, as regards his lyrics and smaller poems. Doubtless
both 'The Prelude' and 'The Excursion' were revised in 1803. --Ed.
* * * * *
THE GREEN LINNET
Composed 1803. --Published 1807
[Composed in the orchard, Town-end, Grasmere, where the bird was often
seen as here described. --I. F. ]
One of the "Poems of the Fancy. "--Ed.
Did we behold, fair sights that might repay 1815.
Yet did the glowing west in all its power 1827.
The text of 1827 is otherwise identical with that of 1837. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: Called by Wordsworth, "The Hamilton Hills" in the editions
from 1807 to 1827. --Ed. ]
The following extract from Dorothy Wordsworth's Journal indicates, as
fully as any other passage in it, the use which her brother occasionally
made of it. We have the "Grecian Temple," and the "Minster with its
Tower":
"Before we had crossed the Hambleton Hill and reached the point
overlooking Yorkshire it was quite dark. We had not wanted, however,
fair prospects before us, as we drove along the flat plain of the high
hill; far, far off from us, in the western sky, we saw shapes of
castles, ruins among groves--a great, spreading wood, rocks, and
single trees--a Minster with its Tower unusually distinct, Minarets in
another quarter, and a round Grecian Temple also; the colours of the
sky of a bright grey, and the forms of a sober grey, with a dome. As
we descended the hill there was no distinct view, but of a great
space, only near us, we saw the wild (and as the people say)
bottomless Tarn in the hollow at the side of the hill. It seemed to be
made visible to us only by its own light, for all the hill about us
was dark. "
Wordsworth and his sister crossed over the Hambleton (or Hamilton)
Hills, on their way from Westmoreland to Gallow Hill, Yorkshire, to
visit the Hutchinsons, before they went south to London and Calais,
where they spent the month of August, 1802. But after his marriage to
Mary Hutchinson, on the 4th of October, Wordsworth, his wife, and
sister, recrossed these Hambleton Hills on their way to Grasmere, which
they reached on the evening of the 6th October. The above sonnet was
composed on the evening of the 4th October, as the Fenwick note
indicates. --Ed.
* * * * *
TO H. C.
SIX YEARS OLD
Composed 1802. --Published 1807
One of the "Poems referring to the Period of Childhood. "--Ed.
O thou! whose fancies from afar are brought;
Who of thy words dost make a mock apparel,
And fittest to unutterable thought
The breeze-like motion and the self-born carol;
Thou faery voyager! that dost float 5
In such clear water, that thy boat
May rather seem
To brood on air [A] than on an earthly stream;
Suspended in a stream as clear as sky,
Where earth and heaven do make one imagery; 10
O blessed vision! happy child!
Thou [1] art so exquisitely wild,
I think of thee with many fears
For what may be thy lot in future years.
I thought of times when Pain might be thy guest, 15
Lord of thy house and hospitality;
And Grief, uneasy lover! never rest
But when she sate within the touch of thee.
O too industrious folly!
O vain and causeless melancholy! 20
Nature will either end thee quite;
Or, lengthening out thy season of delight,
Preserve for thee, by individual right,
A young lamb's heart among the full-grown flocks.
What hast thou to do with sorrow, 25
Or the injuries of to-morrow?
Thou art a dew-drop, which the morn brings forth,
Ill fitted to sustain [2] unkindly shocks,
Or to be trailed along the soiling earth;
A gem that glitters while it lives, 30
And no forewarning gives;
But, at the touch of wrong, without a strife
Slips in a moment out of life.
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1845.
That . . . 1807. ]
[Variant 2:
1827.
Not doom'd to jostle with . . . 1807.
Not framed to undergo . . . 1815. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: See Carver's Description of his Situation upon one of the
Lakes of America. --W. W. 1807. ]
These stanzas were addressed to Hartley Coleridge. The lines,
'I think of thee with many fears
For what may be thy lot in future years,'
taken in connection with his subsequent career, suggest the similarly
sad "presentiment" with which the 'Lines composed above Tintern Abbey'
conclude. The following is the postscript to a letter by his father, S.
T. C. , addressed to Sir Humphry Davy, Keswick, July 25, 1800:
"Hartley is a spirit that dances on an aspen leaf; the air that yonder
sallow-faced and yawning tourist is breathing, is to my babe a
perpetual nitrous oxide. Never was more joyous creature born. Pain
with him is so wholly trans-substantiated by the joys that had rolled
on before, and rushed on after, that oftentimes five minutes after his
mother has whipt him he has gone up and asked her to whip him again. "
('Fragmentary Remains, Literary and Scientific', of Sir Humphry Davy,
Bart. , pp. 78, 79. )--Ed.
* * * * *
TO THE DAISY
Composed 1802. --Published 1807
"Her [A] divine skill taught me this,
That from every thing I saw
I could some instruction draw,
And raise pleasure to the height
Through the meanest object's sight.
By the murmur of a spring,
Or the least bough's rustelling;
By a Daisy whose leaves spread
Shut when Titan goes to bed;
Or a shady bush or tree;
She could more infuse in me
Than all Nature's beauties can
In some other wiser man. "
G. WITHER. [1]
[Composed in the orchard, Town-end, Grasmere. --I. F. ]
One of the "Poems of the Fancy. "--Ed.
In youth from rock to rock I went,
From hill to hill in discontent
Of pleasure high and turbulent,
Most pleased when most uneasy;
But now my own delights I make,--5
My thirst at every rill can slake, [2]
And gladly Nature's love partake,
Of Thee, sweet Daisy! [3]
Thee Winter in the garland wears
That thinly decks his few grey hairs; 10
Spring parts the clouds with softest airs,
That she may sun thee; [4]
Whole Summer-fields are thine by right;
And Autumn, melancholy Wight!
Doth in thy crimson head delight 15
When rains are on thee.
In shoals and bands, a morrice train,
Thou greet'st the traveller in the lane;
Pleased at his greeting thee again;
Yet nothing daunted, 20
Nor grieved if thou be set at nought: [5]
And oft alone in nooks remote
We meet thee, like a pleasant thought,
When such are wanted.
Be violets in their secret mews 25
The flowers the wanton Zephyrs choose;
Proud be the rose, with rains and dews
Her head impearling,
Thou liv'st with less ambitious aim,
Yet hast not gone without thy fame; 30
Thou art indeed by many a claim
The Poet's darling.
If to a rock from rains he fly,
Or, some bright day of April sky,
Imprisoned by hot sunshine lie 35
Near the green holly,
And wearily at length should fare;
He needs [6] but look about, and there
Thou art! --a friend at hand, to scare
His melancholy. 40
A hundred times, by rock or bower,
Ere thus I have lain couched an hour,
Have I derived from thy sweet power
Some apprehension;
Some steady love; some brief delight; [7] 45
Some memory that had taken flight;
Some chime [8] of fancy wrong or right;
Or stray invention.
If stately passions in me burn,
And one [9] chance look to Thee should turn, 50
I drink out of an humbler urn
A lowlier pleasure;
The homely sympathy that heeds
The common life, our nature breeds;
A wisdom fitted to the needs 55
Of hearts at leisure.
Fresh-smitten by the morning ray,
When thou art up, alert and gay,
Then, cheerful Flower! my spirits play
With kindred gladness: [10] 60
And when, at dusk, by dews opprest
Thou sink'st, the image of thy rest
Hath often eased my pensive breast
Of careful sadness. [11]
And all day long I number yet, 65
All seasons through, another debt,
Which I, wherever thou art met,
To thee am owing; [12]
An instinct call it, a blind sense;
A happy, genial influence, 70
Coming one knows not how, nor whence,
Nor whither going.
Child of the Year! that round dost run
Thy pleasant course,--when day's begun
As ready to salute the sun 75
As lark or leveret,
Thy long-lost praise thou shalt regain; [B]
Nor be less dear to future men
Than in old time;--thou not in vain [13]
Art Nature's favourite. [C] 80
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1: The extract from Wither was first prefixed to this poem in
the edition of 1815. The late Mr. Dykes Campbell was of opinion that
Charles Lamb had suggested this motto to Wordsworth, as 'The Shepherd's
Hunting' was Lamb's "prime favourite" amongst Wither's poems. It may be
as well to note that his quotation was erroneous in two places. His
"instruction" should be "invention" (l. 3), and his "the" (in l. 4)
should be "her. "--Ed. ]
[Variant 2:
1807.
To gentle sympathies awake, MS. ]
[Variant 3:
1807.
And Nature's love of Thee partake,
Her much-loved Daisy! 1836.
The text of 1840 returns to the reading of 1807.
Of her sweet Daisy. C. ]
[Variant 4:
1836.
When soothed a while by milder airs,
Thee Winter in the garland wears
That thinly shades his few grey hairs;
Spring cannot shun thee; 1807.
When Winter decks his few grey hairs
Thee in the scanty wreath he wears;
Spring parts the clouds with softest airs,
That she may sun thee; 1827. ]
[Variant 5:
1836.
. . . in the lane;
If welcome once thou count'st it gain;
Thou art not daunted,
Nor car'st if thou be set at naught; 1807.
If welcom'd . . . 1815.
The text of 1827 returns to that of 1807. ]
[Variant 6:
1820
He need. . . . . 1807]
[Variant 7:
1807
. . . . some chance delight; MS. ]
[Variant 8:
1807
Some charm. . . . . C. ]
[Variant 9:
1807
And some. . . . . MS. ]
[Variant 10:
1836.
When, smitten by the morning ray,
I see thee rise alert and gay,
Then, chearful Flower! my spirits play
With kindred motion: 1807.
With kindred gladness: 1815.
Then Daisy! do my spirits play,
With cheerful motion. MS. ]
[Variant 11:
1815.
At dusk, I've seldom mark'd thee press
The ground, as if in thankfulness
Without some feeling, more or less,
Of true devotion. 1807.
The ground in modest thankfulness MS. ]
[Variant 12:
1807.
But more than all I number yet
O bounteous Flower! another debt
Which I to thee wherever met
Am daily owing; MS. ]
[Variant 13:
1836.
Child of the Year! that round dost run
Thy course, bold lover of the sun,
And chearful when the day's begun
As morning Leveret,
Thou long the Poet's praise shalt gain;
Thou wilt be more belov'd by men
In times to come; thou not in vain 1807.
Thy long-lost praise thou shalt regain;
Dear shalt thou be to future men
As in old time;--1815.
Dear thou shalt be 1820.
The text of 1827 returns to that of 1815. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: His Muse. --W. W. 1815.
The extract is from 'The Shepherds Hunting', eclogue fourth, ll.
368-80. --Ed. ]
[Footnote B: See, in Chaucer and the elder Poets, the honours formerly
paid to this flower. --W. W. 1815. ]
[Footnote C: This Poem, and two others to the same Flower, which the
Reader will find in the second Volume, were written in the year 1802;
which is mentioned, because in some of the ideas, though not in the
manner in which those ideas are connected, and likewise even in some of
the expressions, they bear a striking resemblance to a Poem (lately
published) of Mr. Montgomery, entitled, 'A Field Flower'. This being
said, Mr. Montgomery will not think any apology due to him; I cannot
however help addressing him in the words of the Father of English Poets:
'Though it happe me to rehersin--
That ye han in your freshe songis saied,
Forberith me, and beth not ill apaied,
Sith that ye se I doe it in the honour
Of Love, and eke in service of the Flour. '
W. W. 1807.
In the edition of 1836, the following variation of the text of this note
occurs: "There is a resemblance to passages in a Poem. "--Ed. ]
For illustration of the last stanza, see Chaucer's Prologue to 'The
Legend of Good Women'.
'As I seyde erst, whanne comen is the May,
That in my bed ther daweth me no day,
That I nam uppe and walkyng in the mede,
To seen this floure agein the sonne sprede,
Whan it up rysith erly by the morwe;
That blisful sight softneth al my sorwe,
So glad am I, whan that I have presence
Of it, to doon it alle reverence,
As she that is of alle floures flour. '
. . .
To seen this flour so yong, so fresshe of hewe,
Constreynde me with so gredy desire,
That in myn herte I feele yet the fire,
That made me to ryse er yt wer day,
And this was now the firste morwe of May,
With dredful hert, and glad devocioun
For to ben at the resurreccion
Of this flour, whan that yt shulde unclose
Agayne the sonne, that roos as rede as rose
. . .
And doune on knes anoon ryght I me sette,
And as I koude, this fresshe flour I grette,
Knelying alwey, til it unclosed was,
Upon the smale, softe, swote gras.
Again, in The 'Cuckoo and the Nightingale', after a wakeful night, the
Poet rises at dawn, and wandering forth, reaches a "laund of white and
green. "
'So feire oon had I nevere in bene,
The grounde was grene, y poudred with dayse,
The floures and the gras ilike al hie,
Al grene and white, was nothing elles sene. '
Ed.
* * * * *
TO THE SAME FLOWER [A]
Composed 1802. --Published 1807
[Composed in the orchard, Town-end, Grasmere. -I. F. ]
One of the "Poems of the Fancy. "--Ed.
With little here to do or see
Of things that in the great world be,
Daisy! again I talk to thee, [1]
For thou art worthy,
Thou unassuming Common-place 5
Of Nature, with that homely face,
And yet with something of a grace,
Which Love makes for thee!
Oft on the dappled turf at ease
I sit, and play with similes, [2] 10
Loose types of things through all degrees,
Thoughts of thy raising:
And many a fond and idle name
I give to thee, for praise or blame,
As is the humour of the game, 15
While I am gazing.
A nun demure of lowly port;
Or sprightly maiden, of Love's court,
In thy simplicity the sport
Of all temptations; 20
A queen in crown of rubies drest;
A starveling in a scanty vest;
Are all, as seems [3] to suit thee best,
Thy appellations.
A little cyclops, with one eye 25
Staring to threaten and defy,
That thought comes next--and instantly
The freak is over,
The shape will vanish--and behold
A silver shield with boss of gold, 30
That spreads itself, some faery bold
In fight to cover!
I see thee glittering from afar--
And then thou art a pretty star;
Not quite so fair as many are 35
In heaven above thee!
Yet like a star, with glittering crest,
Self-poised in air thou seem'st to rest;--
May peace come never to his nest,
Who shall reprove thee! 40
Bright _Flower! _ [4] for by that name at last,
When all my reveries are past,
I call thee, and to that cleave fast,
Sweet silent creature!
That breath'st with me in sun and air, 45
Do thou, as thou art wont, repair
My heart with gladness, and a share
Of thy meek nature!
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1845.
Sweet Daisy! oft I talk to thee, 1807.
Yet once again I talk . . 1836. ]
[Variant 2:
1820.
Oft do I sit by thee at ease,
And weave a web of similies, 1807. ]
[Variant 3:
1827.
. . . seem . . . 1807. ]
[Variant 4:
1836.
Sweet Flower! . . . . 1807. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: The two following Poems were overflowings of the mind in
composing the one which stands first in the first Volume (i. e. the
previous Poem),--W. W. 1807. ]
In his editions 1836-1849 Wordsworth gave 1805 as the year in which this
poem was composed, but the Fenwick note prefixed to it renders this
impossible. It evidently belongs to the same time, and "mood," as the
previous poem. --Ed.
* * * * *
TO THE DAISY (#2)
Composed 1802. --Published 1807
[This and the other Poems addressed to the same flower were composed at
Town-end, Grasmere, during the earlier part of my residence there. I
have been censured for the last line but one--"thy function
apostolical"--as being little less than profane. How could it be thought
so? The word is adopted with reference to its derivation, implying
something sent on a mission; and assuredly this little flower,
especially when the subject of verse, may be regarded, in its humble
degree, as administering both to moral and to spiritual purposes. --I. F. ]
This was included among the "Poems of the Fancy" from 1815 to 1832. In
1837 it was transferred to the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection. "--Ed.
Bright Flower! whose home is everywhere,
Bold in maternal Nature's care,
And all the long year through the heir [1]
Of joy and [2] sorrow.
Methinks that there abides in thee 5
Some concord [3] with humanity,
Given to no other flower I see
The forest thorough!
Is it that Man is soon deprest? [4]
A thoughtless Thing! who, once unblest, 10
Does little on his memory rest,
Or on his reason,
And [5] Thou would'st teach him how to find
A shelter under every wind,
A hope for times that are unkind 15
And every season?
Thou wander'st the wide world about,
Uncheck'd by pride or scrupulous doubt,
With friends to greet thee, or without,
Yet pleased and willing; 20
Meek, yielding to the occasion's call,
And all things suffering from all,
Thy function apostolical
In peace fulfilling. [6]
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1840.
Bright Flower, whose home is every where!
A Pilgrim bold in Nature's care,
And all the long year through the heir 1807.
Bright flower, whose home is every where!
A Pilgrim bold in Nature's care,
And oft, the long year through, the heir 1827.
Confiding Flower, by Nature's care
Made bold,--who, lodging here or there,
Art all the long year through the heir 1837. ]
[Variant 2:
1850.
. . . or . . . 1807. ]
[Variant 3:
1807.
Communion . . . 1837.
The text of 1840 returns to that of 1807. ]
[Variant 4:
1807.
And wherefore? Man is soon deprest; 1827.
The text of 1837 returns to that of 1807. ]
[Variant 5:
1807.
But . . . 1827.
The text of 1837 returns to that of 1807. ]
[Variant 6:
1807.
This stanza was omitted in the editions of 1827 and 1832, but replaced
in 1837. ]
The three preceding poems 'To the Daisy' evidently belong to the same
time, and are, as Wordsworth expressly says, "overflowings of the mind
in composing the one which stands first. " Nevertheless, in the revised
edition of 1836-7, he gave the date 1802 to the first, 1803 to the
third, and 1805 to the second of them. In the earlier editions 1815 to
1832, they are all classed among the "Poems of the Fancy," but in the
edition of 1837, and afterwards, the last, "Bright Flower! whose home is
everywhere," is ranked among the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection. "
They should manifestly be placed together. Wordsworth's fourth poem 'To
the Daisy', which is an elegy on his brother John, and belongs to a
subsequent year--having no connection with the three preceding poems,
will be found in its chronological place. --Ed.
* * * * *
LOUISA
AFTER ACCOMPANYING HER ON A MOUNTAIN EXCURSION
Composed 1802. --Published 1807
[Town-end 1805. --I. F. ]
One of the "Poems founded on the Affections. " From 1807 to 1832 the
title was simply 'Louisa'. --Ed.
I met Louisa in the shade,
And, having seen that lovely Maid,
Why should I fear to say [1]
That, nymph-like, she is fleet and strong, [2]
And down the rocks can leap along 5
Like rivulets in May?
[3]
She loves her fire, her cottage-home;
Yet o'er the moorland will she roam
In weather rough and bleak;
And, when against the wind she strains, 10
Oh! might I kiss the mountain rains
That sparkle on her cheek.
Take all that's mine "beneath the moon," [A]
If I with her but half a noon
May sit beneath the walls 15
Of some old cave, or mossy nook,
When up she winds along the brook [4]
To hunt the waterfalls.
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1807.
Though, by a sickly taste betrayed,
Some will dispraise the lovely Maid,
With fearless pride I say 1836.
The text of 1845 returns to that of 1807. ]
[Variant 2:
1845.
That she is ruddy, fleet, and strong; 1807.
That she is healthful, . . . 1836. ]
[Variant 3: In the editions of 1807 to 1843 occurs the following verse,
which was omitted from subsequent editions:
And she hath smiles to earth unknown;
Smiles, that with motion of their own
Do spread, and sink, and rise;
That come and go with endless play,
And ever, as they pass away,
Are hidden in her eyes. ]
[Variant 4:
1807.
When she goes barefoot up the brook MS. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: Compare Young's 'Night Thoughts', where the phrase occurs
three times. See also 'Lear', act IV. scene vi. l. 26:
'For all beneath the moon. '
Haywood, 'The English Traveller', v. 1:
'All things that dwell beneath the moon. '
It was also used by William Drummond, in one of his sonnets,
'I know that all beneath the moon decays. '
Ed. ]
Wordsworth gave as the date of the composition of this poem the year
1805; but he said of the following one, 'To a Young Lady, who had been
Reproached for taking Long Walks in the Country'--"composed at the same
time" and "designed to make one piece"--that it was written in 1803.
But it is certain that these following lines appeared in 'The Morning
Post', on Feb. 12, 1802, where they are headed 'To a beautiful Young
Lady, who had been harshly spoken of on account of her fondness for
taking long walks in the Country'. There is difficulty, both in
ascertaining the exact date of composition, and in knowing who "Louisa"
or the "Young Lady" was. Mrs. Millicent G. Fawcett wrote to me several
years ago, suggesting, with some plausibility, a much earlier date, if
Dorothy Wordsworth was the lady referred to. She referred me to
Dorothy's letter to her aunt, Mrs. Crackenthorpe, written from
Windybrow, Keswick, in 1794, when staying there with her brother; and
says
"What inclined me to think that the poem was written earlier than 1805
was that it anticipates Dorothy's marriage, and this would more
naturally be present as a probable event in W. W. 's mind in 1794 or
thereabouts than in 1805, after Dorothy had dedicated her life to her
brother, to the exclusion of all wish to make a home of her own by
marriage. The expression 'Healthy as a shepherd boy' is also more
applicable to a girl of twenty-two than to a woman of thirty-three. Do
you think it possible that the poem may have been written in 1794, and
not published till later, when its application would be less evident
to the family circle? "
Dorothy Wordsworth's letter will be quoted in full in a later volume,
but the following extract from it may be given now:
"I cannot pass unnoticed that part of your letter in which you speak
of my 'rambling about the country on foot. ' So far from considering
this as a matter for condemnation I rather thought it would have given
my friends pleasure that I had courage to make use of the strength
with which Nature has endowed me, when it not only procured me
infinitely more pleasure than I should have received from sitting in a
post-chaise, but was also the means of saving me at least thirty
shillings. "
I do not think the date of composition can be so early as 1794. What may
be called internal, or structural, evidence is against it. Wordsworth
never could have written these two poems till after his settlement at
Dove Cottage. Besides, in 1794, he could have no knowledge of a possible
"nest in a green dale, a harbour and a hold"; while at that time his
sister had certainly no "cottage home. " I believe they were written
after he took up his residence at Town-end (the date being uncertain);
and that they refer to his sister, and not to his wife. It has been
suggested by Mr. Ernest Coleridge (see 'The Athenaeum', Oct. 21, 1893)
that they refer to Mary Hutchinson: but there is no evidence of
Wordsworth taking long country walks with her before their marriage, or
that she was "nymph-like," "fleet and strong," that she loved to "roam
the moorland," "in weather rough and bleak," or that she "hunted
waterfalls. " The reference to his sister is confirmed by the omission of
the delightful second stanza of the poem in the last edition revised by
the poet, that of 1849, when she was a confirmed invalid at Rydal Mount.
Those "smiles to earth unknown," had then ceased for ever. The reason
why Wordsworth erased so delightful and wonderful a stanza, is to me
only explicable on the supposition, that it was his sister he referred
to, she who had accompanied him in former days, in so many of his "long
walks in the country. " His wife never did this; she had not the physical
strength to do it; and, if she had been the person referred to,
Wordsworth would hardly, in 1845, have erased such a description of her,
as occurs in the stanza written in 1802, when she was still so vigorous.
Besides, Mary Wordsworth was in no sense "a Child of Nature," as Dorothy
was: while the testimony of the Wordsworth household is explicit, that
it was to his sister, and not to his wife, that the poet referred. I
find no difficulty in the allusion made in the second poem to Dorothy
being yet possibly a "Wife and Friend"; nor to the fact that it was
originally addressed "To a beautiful Young Lady. " Neither Dorothy nor
Mary Wordsworth were physically "beautiful," according to our highest
standards; although the poet addressed the latter as "a Phantom of
delight," and as "a lovely apparition. " It is quite true that it was
Mary Wordsworth's old age that was "serene and bright," while Dorothy's
was the very reverse; but the poet's anticipation of the future was
written when his sister was young, and was by far the stronger of the
two. --Ed.
* * * * *
TO A YOUNG LADY, WHO HAD BEEN REPROACHED FOR TAKING LONG WALKS IN THE
COUNTRY [A]
Composed 1802. --Published 1807
[Composed at the same time and on the same view as "I met Louisa in the
shade:" indeed they were designed to make one piece. --I. F. ]
From 1815 to 1832 this was classed among the "Poems proceeding from
Sentiment and Reflection. " In 1836 it was transferred to the group of
"Poems of the Imagination. "--Ed.
Dear Child of Nature, let them rail!
--There is a nest in a green dale,
A harbour and a hold;
Where thou, a Wife and Friend, shalt see
Thy own heart-stirring days, [1] and be 5
A light to young and old.
There, healthy as a shepherd boy,
And treading among flowers of joy
Which at no season fade, [2]
Thou, while thy babes around thee cling, 10
Shalt show us how divine a thing
A Woman may be made.
Thy thoughts and feelings shall not die,
Nor leave thee, when grey hairs are nigh
A melancholy slave; 15
But an old age serene [3] and bright,
And lovely as a Lapland night,
Shall lead thee to thy grave.
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1836.
Thy own delightful days, . . . 1802. ]
[Variant 2:
1836.
As if thy heritage were joy,
And pleasure were thy trade. 1802.
And treading among flowers of joy,
That at no season fade, 1827. ]
[Variant 3:
1815.
. . . alive . . . 1802. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: For the original title of this poem,--as published in 'The
Morning Post and Gazetteer',--see the note to the previous poem. When
first published it was unsigned. --Ed. ]
See the editorial note to the preceding poem. --Ed.
* * * * *
1803
The poems associated with the year 1803 consist mainly of the "Memorials
of a Tour in Scotland," which Wordsworth and his sister took--along with
Coleridge--in the autumn of that year, although many of these were not
written till some time after the Tour was finished. 'The Green Linnet'
and 'Yew-trees' were written in 1803, and some sonnets were composed in
the month of October; but, on the whole, 1803 was not a fruitful year in
Wordsworth's life, as regards his lyrics and smaller poems. Doubtless
both 'The Prelude' and 'The Excursion' were revised in 1803. --Ed.
* * * * *
THE GREEN LINNET
Composed 1803. --Published 1807
[Composed in the orchard, Town-end, Grasmere, where the bird was often
seen as here described. --I. F. ]
One of the "Poems of the Fancy. "--Ed.
