The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth, Vol. VII

I, who accompanied with faithful pace[5]

Cerulean Duddon from its[6] cloud-fed spring,[7]

And loved with spirit ruled by his to sing

Of mountain-quiet and boon nature's grace;[8]

I, who essayed the nobler Stream to trace 5

Of Liberty,[9] and smote the plausive string

Till the checked torrent, proudly triumphing,

Won for herself a lasting resting-place;[10]

Now seek upon the heights of Time the source

Of a Holy River,[11]on whose banks are found 10

Sweet pastoral flowers, and laurels that have crowned

Full oft the unworthy brow of lawless force;

And,[12] for delight of him who tracks its course,[13]

Immortal amaranth and palms abound.

FOOTNOTES:

[5] 1827.

I, who descended with glad step to chase 1822.

[6] 1850.

... his ... 1822.

The text of 1857 (edited by Mr. Carter) returned to that of 1822.

[7] See "The River Duddon, a Series of Sonnets" (vol. vi. p. 225).-Ed.

[8] 1827.

And of my wild Companion dared to sing,

In verse that moved with strictly-measured pace; 1822.

[9] See the series of "Poems dedicated to National Independence and Liberty."-Ed.

[10] 1827.

... Torrent, fiercely combating,

In victory found her natural resting-place; 1822.

[11] Compare the last sonnet of this Series (Part III. XLVII., p. 108).-Ed.

[12] 1837.

Where, ... 1822.

[13] It may not be unworthy of note that in the first edition of this sonnet Wordsworth made the stream of the Duddon masculine, that of Liberty feminine, and that of the Church neuter.-Ed.

* * *

If there be prophets on whose spirits rest

Past things, revealed like future, they can tell

What Powers, presiding o'er the sacred well

Of Christian Faith, this savage Island blessed

With its first bounty. Wandering through the west,

Did holy Paul[14] a while in Britain dwell, 6

And call the Fountain forth by miracle,

And with dread signs the nascent Stream invest?

Or He, whose bonds dropped off, whose prison doors

Flew open, by an Angel's voice unbarred?[15] 10

Or some of humbler name, to these wild shores

Storm-driven; who, having seen the cup of woe

Pass from their Master, sojourned here to guard

The precious Current they had taught to flow?

FOOTNOTES:

[14] Stillingfleet adduces many arguments in support of this opinion, but they are unconvincing. The latter part of this Sonnet refers to a favourite notion of Roman Catholic writers, that Joseph of Arimathea and his companions brought Christianity into Britain, and built a rude church at Glastonbury; alluded to hereafter, in a passage upon the dissolution of monasteries.-W. W. 1822.

[15] St. Peter.-Ed.

* * *

Screams round the Arch-druid's brow the seamew[16]-white

As Menai's foam; and toward the mystic ring

Where Augurs stand, the Future questioning,

Slowly the cormorant aims her heavy flight,

Portending ruin to each baleful rite, 5

That, in the lapse, of ages,[17] hath crept o'er

Diluvian truths, and patriarchal lore.

Haughty the Bard: can these meek doctrines blight

His transports? wither his heroic strains?

But all shall be fulfilled;-the Julian spear 10

A way first opened;[18] and, with Roman chains,

The tidings come of Jesus crucified;

They come-they spread-the weak, the suffering, hear;

Receive the faith, and in the hope abide.

FOOTNOTES:

[16] This water-fowl was, among the Druids, an emblem of those traditions connected with the deluge that made an important part of their mysteries. The Cormorant was a bird of bad omen.-W. W. 1822.

[17] 1827.

... seasons ... 1822.

[18] The reference is to the conquest of Britain by Julius C?sar.-Ed.

* * *