Till they were pluck'd together; a blue flower She sits, for that departed Mother's sake.- Of calm abstraction through the face diffused Words have something told More than the pencil can, and verily More than is needed; but the precious Art Of Death and Time, the marvels it hath wrought. Stretch'd forth with trembling hope? In every realm, Thousands, in each variety of tongue That Europe knows, would echo this appeal; One above all, a Monk who waits on God In character, and depth of feeling, shown By labours that have touch'd the hearts of kings, The pile of buildings, composing the palace and convent of San Lorenzo, has, in common usage, lost its proper name in that of the Escurial, a village at the foot of the hill upon which the splendid edifice, built by Philip the Second, stands. 5 This "British Painter" was Wilkie. And are endear'd to simple cottagers,) Came, in that service, to a glorious work, Breathed out these words: "Here daily do we sit, By shock of circumstance or lapse of years, 6 They are in truth the Substance, we the Shadows." But why this stealing tear? Companion mute, [1834. NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE AND LIBERTY. COMPOSED BY THE SEA-SIDE, NEAR CALAIS, AUGUST, 1802. FAIR Star of evening, Splendour of the West, Shouldst be my Country's emblem; and shouldst wink, 6 The anecdote of the saying of the monk, in sight of Titian's picture, was told me in this house by Mr. Wilkie, and was, I believe, first communicated to the public in this poem, which I was composing at the time Southey heard the story from Miss Hutchinson, and transferred it to The Doctor.- Author's Notes, 1843. Bright Star! with laughter on her banners, drest CALAIS, AUGUST, 1802. Is it a reed that's shaken by the wind, Lords, lawyers, statesmen, squires of low degree, With first-firuit offerings crowd to bend the knee In haste, nor springing with a transient shower: 1801. 9 I GRIEVED for Buonaparte, with a vain And an unthinking grief! The tenderest mood Wisdom doth live with children round her knees: 7 In the Summer of 1802, Wordsworth and his sister made a short visit to France, and arrived at Calais on the 31st of July. Of this trip Miss Wordsworth wrote a brief Diary, noting the things that particularly interested them during their stay at Calais. The Diary furnishes the following in illustration of this sonnet: "Delightful walks in the evening; seeing far off in the West the coast of England, like a cloud, crested with Dover Castle, the evening star, and the glory of the sky: the reflections in the water were more beautiful than the sky itself; purple waves brighter than precious stones for ever melting away upon the sands." 8 Early in August, 1802, Napoleon was made First Consul for life, with the whole forces of the State centred in his hands. Of course the nation was in transports at this swift progress backwards towards the one-man power and the despotism of the sword. 9 Napoleon was by birth and blood an Italian, both his parents being of that stock, and was born February 5, 1768. Corsica was incorporated with France in June fol lowing; and he afterwards gave out that he was born in August, 1769, that he might pass for a Frenchman by birth. Wordsworth always gives the name with the Italian pronunciation. It is said that Napoleon took it in dudgeon to have his name so pro nounced. Books, leisure, perfect freedom, and the talk By which true Sway doth mount; this is the stalk CALAIS, AUGUST 15, 1802. FESTIVALS have I seen that were not names: ON THE EXTINCTION OF THE VENETIAN REPUBLIC. ONCE did She hold the gorgeous East in fee; 1 Alluding to the poet's first visit to France, which was in the Summer of 1790, when the revolutionary ardour was in its full glow of triumph and hope, and Wordsworth himself was in full sympathy with it. 2 At this time, 1802, the poet was all out of heart for the cause of freedom in France: on the Continent of Europe he could see nothing but arguments of despair. In this state of things, with all the surroundings looking so dark, he might weli think that, if men would find any thing to sustain their hopes, they must search within, and explore the better forces of human nature in their own breasts. 3 Venice was ruthlessly seized by Napoleon in 1796, her government revolution. ized into fraternity with that of France; and finally she was made over by him to Austria in the treaty of Leoben, April, 1797. TO TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE. TOUSSAINT, the most unhappy man of men! Wilt thou find patience? Yet die not; do thou Live, and take comfort. Thou hast left behind Powers that will work for thee; air, earth, and skies; And love, and man's unconquerable mind. COMPOSED IN THE VALLEY NEAR DOVER, ON THE DAY OF LANDING. HERE, on our native soil, we breathe once more. The cock that crows, the smoke that curls, that sound SEPTEMBER, 1802. NEAR DOVER. 4 This heroic Negro chief was the most redoubted champion for the freedom which the Constituent Assembly had given to the slaves of Saint Domingo. In 1802, Napoleon sent over a large army, to regain possession of the island, and bring it back to its old condition. After a long resistance, Toussaint was at last treacher. ously ensnared and captured, and sent to France. For some time it was not known what became of him; but he is now said to have been confined in the castle of Joux, in the Jura, where he died soon after, whether by natural or violent means, is un known. 5 I quote again from Miss Wordsworth's Diary: "On the 29th August left Calais at twelve in the morning for Dover; bathed, and sat on the Dover cliffs, and looked upon France; we could see the shores almost as plain as if it were but an Englisk lake." |