To his worn cheek; or with uneasy shame
For those cold humours of habitual spleen,
Which, fondly seeking in dispraise of Man
Solace and self-excuse, had sometimes urged
To self-abuse, a not ineloquent tongue.
-Right tow'rds the sacred Edifice his steps
Had been directed; and we saw him now
Intent upon a monumental Stone,
Whose uncouth Form was grafted on the wall
Or rather seemed to have grown into the side
Of the rude Pile; as oft-times trunks of trees,
Where Nature works in wild and craggy spots,
Are seen incorporate with the living rock;
To endure for aye. The Vicar, taking note

Of his employment, with a courteous smile
Exclaimed, "The sagest Antiquarian's eye

That task would foil." And, with these added words,
He thitherward advanced, "Tradition tells
That, in Eliza's golden days, a Knight
Came on a War-horse sumptuously attired,
And fixed his home in this sequestered Vale.
'Tis left untold if here he first drew breath,
Or as a Stranger reached this deep recess,

Unknowing and unknown. A pleasing thought
I sometimes entertain, that, haply bound

To Scotland's court in service of his Queen,

Or sent on mission to some northern Chief

Of England's Realm, this Vale he might have seen
With transient observation; and thence caught
An Image fair, which, brightening in his soul
When years admonished him of failing strength
And he no more rejoiced in war's delights,
Had power to draw him from the world-resolved
To make that paradise his chosen home

To which his peaceful Fancy oft had turned.
-Vague thoughts are these; but, if belief may rest
Upon unwritten story fondly traced

From sire to son, in this obscure Retreat

The Knight arrived, with pomp of spear and shield,
And borne upon a Charger covered o'er

With gilded housings. And the lofty Steed-
His sole companion, and his faithful friend,
Whom he, in gratitude, let loose to range

In fertile pastures—was beheld with eyes
Of admiration and delightful awe,

By those untravelled Dalesmen. With less pride,

Yet free from touch of envious discontent,
They saw a Mansion at his bidding rise,

Like a bright star, amid the lowly band

Of their rude Homesteads. Here the Warrior dwelt, And in that Mansion Children of his own,

Or Kindred, gathered round him. As a Tree

That falls and disappears, the House is gone;

And, through improvidence, or want of love
For ancient worth and honourable things,

The spear and shield are vanished, which the Knight
Hung in his rustic Hall. One ivied arch

Myself have seen, a gateway, last remains

Of that Foundation in domestic care

Raised by his hands. And now no trace is left
Of the mild-hearted Champion, save this Stone,
Faithless memorial! and his family name
Borne by yon clustering cottages, that sprang
From out the ruins of his stately Lodge:
These, and the name and title at full length,-
Sir Alfred Irthing, with appropriate words
Accompanied, still extant, in a wreath
Or posy-girding round the several fronts

Of three clear-sounding and harmonious bells,
That in the steeple hang, his pious gift."

"So fails, so languishes, grows dim, and dies," The grey-haired Wanderer pensively exclaimed, "All that this World is proud of. From their spheres The stars of human glory are cast down;

Perish the roses and the flowers of Kings,

Princes and Emperors, and the crowns and palms
Of all the Mighty, withered and consumed!
Nor is power given to lowliest Innocence
Long to protect her own. The Man himself
Departs; and soon is spent the Line of those
Who, in the bodily image, in the mind,

In heart or soul, in station or pursuit,
Did most resemble him. Degrees and Ranks,
Fraternities and Orders-heaping high
New wealth upon the burthen of the old,
And placing trust in privilege confirmed
And re-confirmed-are scoffed at with a smile
Of greedy foretaste, from the secret stand
Of Desolation, aimed: to slow decline

These yield, and these to sudden overthrow ;
Their virtue, service, happiness, and state.

Expire; and Nature's pleasant robe of green,
Humanity's appointed shroud, enwraps

Their monuments and their memory. The vast Frame

Of social nature changes evermore

Her organs and her members, with decay
Restless, and restless generation, powers
And functions dying and produced at need,-
And by this law the mighty Whole subsists:
With an ascent and progress in the main ;
Yet oh! how disproportioned to the hopes

And expectations of self-flattering minds!

-The courteous Knight, whose bones are here interred, Lived in an age conspicuous as our own

For strife and ferment in the minds of men;

Whence alteration, in the forms of things,

Various and vast. A memorable age!
Which did to him assign a pensive lot,

-To linger mid the last of those bright.Clouds,
That, on the steady breeze of honour, sailed
In long procession calm and beautiful.

He, who had seen his own bright Order fade,