The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth Volume Ii Part 77

[Variant 3:

1837.

What a picture! 'tis drawn without nature or art, 1800.]

The full t.i.tle of this poem, in "Lyrical Ballads," 1800, is 'A Character, in the ant.i.thetical Manner'. It was omitted from all subsequent editions till 1837. With this early friend, Robert Jones--a fellow collegian at St. John's College, Cambridge--Wordsworth visited the Continent (France and Switzerland), during the long vacation of 1790; and to him he dedicated the first edition of 'Descriptive Sketches', in 1793. With him he also made a pedestrian tour in Wales in 1791. Jones afterwards became the inc.u.mbent of Soulderne, near Deddington, in Oxfords.h.i.+re; and Wordsworth described his parsonage there in the sonnet, beginning "Where holy ground begins, unhallowed ends."

(See Wordsworth's note to the sonnet 'Composed near Calais', p.

333.)--Ed.

INSCRIPTION FOR THE SPOT WHERE THE HERMITAGE STOOD ON ST. HERBERT'S ISLAND, DERWENT-WATER

Composed 1800.--Published 1800

Included in 1815 among the "Poems referring to the Period of Old Age,"

and in all subsequent editions among the "Inscriptions."--Ed.

If thou in the dear love of some one Friend Hast been so happy that thou know'st what thoughts Will sometimes in the happiness of love Make the heart sink, [A] then wilt thou reverence This quiet spot; and, Stranger! not unmoved 5 Wilt thou behold this shapeless heap of stones, The desolate ruins of St. Herbert's Cell.

Here stood his threshold; here was spread the roof That sheltered him, a self-secluded Man, After long exercise in social cares 10 And offices humane, intent to adore The Deity, with undistracted mind, And meditate on everlasting things, In utter solitude.--But he had left A Fellow-labourer, whom the good Man loved 15 As his own soul. And, when with eye upraised To heaven he knelt before the crucifix, While o'er the lake the cataract of Lodore Pealed to his orisons, and when he paced Along the beach of this small isle and thought 20 Of his Companion, he would pray that both (Now that their earthly duties were fulfilled) Might die in the same moment. Nor in vain So prayed he:--as our chronicles report, Though here the Hermit numbered his last day 25 Far from St. Cuthbert his beloved Friend, Those holy Men both died in the same hour. [1]

VARIANT ON THE TEXT

[Variant 1:

1832.

The text of this poem underwent so many changes, which are not easily shown by the plan adopted throughout this edition--portions of the earliest version of 1800 being abandoned and again adopted, and the whole arrangement of the pa.s.sages being altered--that it seems desirable to append the entire text of 1800, and extensive parts of that of subsequent years. The final text of 1832 is printed above.

If thou in the dear love of some one friend Hast been so happy, that thou know'st what thoughts Will, sometimes, in the happiness of love Make the heart sink, then wilt thou reverence This quiet spot.--St. Herbert hither came And here, for many seasons, from the world Remov'd, and the affections of the world He dwelt in solitude. He living here, This island's sole inhabitant! had left A Fellow-labourer, whom the good Man lov'd As his own soul; and when within his cave Alone he knelt before the crucifix While o'er the lake the cataract of Lodore Peal'd to his orisons, and when he pac'd Along the beach of this small isle and thought Of his Companion, he had pray'd that both Might die in the same moment. Nor in vain So pray'd he:--as our Chronicles report, Though here the Hermit number'd his last days, Far from St. Cuthbert his beloved friend, Those holy men both died in the same hour. 1800.

The text of the editions of 1802 and 1805 (which are identical), omits one line of the text of 1800. The pa.s.sage reads:

He dwelt in solitude.--But he had left A Fellow-labourer, whom ...

And the following variants occur in 1802 and 1805:

Make the heart sick, ....

... he would pray that both

The text of 1815, which is continued in 1820, begins thus:

This Island, guarded from profane approach By mountains high and waters widely spread, Is that recess to which St. Herbert came In life's decline; a self-secluded Man, After long exercise in social cares And offices humane, intent to adore The Deity, with undistracted mind, And meditate on everlasting things.

--Stranger! this shapeless heap of stones and earth (Long be its mossy covering undisturbed!) Is reverenced as a vestige of the Abode In which, through many seasons, from the world Removed, and the affections of the world, He dwelt in solitude.--But he had left A Fellow-labourer, ... 1815 and 1820.

In 1827 the poem began thus:

Stranger! this shapeless heap of stones and earth Is the last relic of St. Herbert's Cell.

Here stood his threshold; here was spread the roof That sheltered him, a self-secluded Man, 1827.]

FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT

[Footnote A: Compare the last stanza of "Strange fits of pa.s.sion have I known," p. 79 of this volume.--Ed.]

The "shapeless heap of stones" in St. Herbert's Island, which were "desolate ruins" in 1800, are even more "shapeless" and "desolate" now, but they can easily be identified. The island is near the centre of the lake, and is in area about four acres. The legend of St. Herbert dates from the middle of the seventh century. The rector of Clifton, Westmoreland, Dr. Robinson, writing in 1819, says:

"The remains of his hermitage are still visible, being built of stone and mortar, and formed into two apartments, one of which, about twenty feet long and sixteen feet wide, seems to have been his chapel; the other, of less dimensions, his cell. Near these ruins the late Sir Wilfred Lawson (to whose representative the island at present belongs) erected some years ago a small octagonal cottage, which, being built of unhewn stone, and artificially mossed over, has a venerable appearance."

(See _Guide to the Lakes_, by John Robinson, D.D., 1819). This cottage has now disappeared. The following version of this "Inscription" occurs in a letter from Wordsworth to Lady Beaumont, dated 26th November 1811:

This Island, guarded from profane approach By mountains high and waters widely spread, Gave to St. Herbert a benign retreat.

Upon a staff supported, and his Brow White with the peaceful diadem of age.

Hither he came--a self-secluded Man, ...

Behold that shapeless Heap of stones and earth!

"Tis reverenced as a Vestige of the Abode ...

...--And when within his Cell Alone he knelt before the crucifix,

In a previous letter to Sir George Beaumont, dated 16th November 1811:

By mountains high and waters widely spread, Is that Seclusion which St. Herbert chose; ...