"Yes."

30

Ah, that maternal smile! it answers-
I heard the bell tolled on thy burial day,
I saw the hearse that bore thee slow away,
And, turning from my nursery window, drew
A long, long sigh, and wept a last adieu!
But was it such ?—It was.—Where thou art gone
Adieus and farewells are a sound unknown;
May I but meet thee on that peaceful shore,
The parting word* shall pass my lips no more! 35
Thy maidens grieved themselves at my concern,
Oft gave me promise of thy† quick return.
What ardently I wished, I long believed,
And, disappointed still, was still deceived;
By expectation every day beguiled,
Dupe of to-morrow even from a child.
Thus many a sad to-morrow came and went,
my

Till, all stock of infant sorrow § spent,

I learned at last submission to my lot,

But, though I less deplored thee, ne'er forgot.

40

45

Where once we dwelt our name is heard no more, Children not thine have trod my nursery

floor;

And where the gardener Robin, day by day,
Drew me to school along the public way,
Delighted with my bauble coach, and wrapped 50
In scarlet mantle warm, and velvet capped,||
'Tis now become a history little known,

* 66 Sound;" in Eds. 1798 to 1806, altered in Ed. 1808. + A;" the like.

.66

I Disappointment;" the like.

"Sorrow;" all Eds., except those of 1799, Southey, Grimshawe, Dale, and Bell, which have " sorrows." Printed " cap" in 12mo. Ed. 1798, and "capt" in 8vo. Ed. 1798, the last word of the preceding line being then spelled in both editions" wrapt." "Capt" was continued down to 1808, when "cap" was again adopted and continued

55

That once we called the pastoral house* our own.
Shortlived possession! but the record fair,
That memory keeps of all thy kindness there,
Still outlives many a storm that has effaced
A thousand other themes less deeply traced.
Thy nightly visits to my chamber made,
That thou mightest know me safe and warmly laid;
Thy morning bounties ere I left my home,
The biscuit, or confectionary plum;

60

The fragrant waters on my cheeks bestowed

By thy own hand, till fresh they shone and glowed; All this, and more endearing still than all,

Thy constant flow of love, that knew no fall,

Ne'er roughened by those cataracts and breaks,
That humour interposed too often makes;
All this still legible in Memory's page,

And still to be so to my latest age,
Adds joy to duty, makes me glad to pay
Such honours to thee as my numbers may;
Perhaps a frail memorial, but sincere,

65

70

Not scorned in Heaven, though little noticed here. Could Time, his flight reversed, restore the hours When, playing with thy vesture's tissued flowers, The violet, the pink, and jessamine,

76

80

I pricked them into paper with a pin, (And thou wast happier than myself the while, Wouldst softly speak, and stroke my head and smile), Could those few pleasant days† again appear, Might one wish bring them, would I wish them here? in all Eds. down to 1825, and also by Grimshawe and Dale. Southey having "wrapt" has "capt;" Bell having "wrapped" has "capped."

* Of Berkhamstead.

"Hours;" Eds. 1798 to 1806, altered in 1808.

I would not trust my heart-the dear delight
Seems so to be desired, perhaps I might.-
But no-what here we call our life is such,
So little to be loved, and thou so much,
That I should ill requite thee, to constrain
Thy unbound spirit into bonds again.

90

Thou, as a gallant bark from Albion's coast (The storms all weathered and the ocean crossed) Shoots into port at some well-havened isle, Where spices breathe, and brighter seasons smile, There sits quiescent on the floods that show Her beauteous form reflected clear below, While airs impregnated with incense play

Around her, fanning light her streamers gay;- 95 So thou, with sails how swift! hast reached the shore,

100

" Where tempests never beat nor billows roar;'
And thy loved consort on the dangerous tide
Of life, long since has anchored by thy side.
But me, scarce hoping to attain that rest,
Always from port withheld, always distressed-
Me howling blasts‡ drive devious, tempest-tossed,
Sails ripped, seams opening wide, and compass lost,
And day by day some current's thwarting force
Sets me more distant from a prosperous course. 105
Yet § oh the thought, that thou art safe, and he!
That thought is joy, arrive what may to me.
My boast is not that I deduce my birth

* Garth (C.). But Garth's line (which is in the third canto of the "Dispensary ") runs thus :

"Where billows never break nor tempests roar."

"At;" Eds. 1798 to 1806, altered in 1808.

"Winds;" the like.

"But;" the like. Grimshawe alone, since 1808 has "but."

From loins enthroned, and rulers of the earth;
But higher far my proud pretensions rise-
The son of parents passed into the skies.

110

And now,
Farewell.-Time unrevoked has run
His wonted course, yet what I wished is done.
By Contemplation's help, not sought in vain,
I seem to have lived my childhood o'er again; 115
To have renewed the joys that once were mine,
Without the sin of violating thine;

And while the wings of Fancy still are free,
And I can view this mimic show of thee,
Time has but half succeeded in his theft-
Thyself removed, thy power to soothe me left.

120

FRIENDSHIP.*

HAT Virtue, or what mental grace,
But men unqualified and base
Will boast it their possession?
Profusion apes the noble part

Of Liberality of heart,

And Dullness of Discretion.

5

*There are three versions of this poem, all differing in ways which curiously exemplify the results of the "poetic pains" which Cowper has celebrated in the Task. The lines were written in November, 1782, (see Letter to Unwin of 30th November in that year,) but not printed until 1801, when Mr. Bull added them to the "Poems translated from the French of Madame de la Mothe Guion," published in a 12mo. volume at Newport Pagnel, (p. 104). In 1803 (i. 211) Hay. ley printed another version, and added the various readings between his copy and that of Mr. Bull in foot-notes. Dr. John Johnson reprinted Hayley's copy in his volume of posthumous poetry published in 1815 but without the

If every polished gem we find
Illuminating heart or mind,
Provoke to imitation;

various readings, and both Hayley's copy and Bull's have been published in many editions since 1815, and occasionally printed in different volumes of the same work, without any indication of their connection. Among the Unwin Papers, now in the British Museum, there is a third version, a manuscript in the handwriting of the poet, (Addl. MS. No. 24,155, fol. 143). The differences are so considerable that it is impossible to indicate them in notes only. We have there. fore printed Bull's version in the text, with notes of the variations between it and the Unwin MS., and have given Hayley's copy entire at the foot of the page.

ON FRIENDSHIP.

Amicitia nisi inter bonos esse non potest.-CICERO [LÆLIUS, seo. v.]

[1782.]

WHAT virtue can we name, or grace,

But men unqualified and base

Will boast it their possession?

Profusion apes the noble part
Of Liberality of heart,

And Dulness of Discretion.

But, as the gem of richest cost
Is ever counterfeited most,
So, always, Imitation

Employs the utmost skill she can
To counterfeit the faithful man,
The friend of long duration.

Some will pronounce me too severe-
But long experience speaks me clear;
Therefore, that censure scorning,
I will proceed to mark the shelves,
On which so many dash themselves,
And give the simple warning.
Youth, unadmonished by a guide,
Will trust to any fair outside;

An error soon corrected;