MORIENTI SUPERSTES
Yet art thou happier far than she
Who feels the widow's love for thee!
For while her days are days of weeping,
Thou, in peace, in silence sleeping,
In some still world, unknown, remote, 5
The mighty parent's care hast found,
Without whose tender guardian thought
No sparrow falleth to the ground.
? 1794.
THE SIGH[62:1]
When Youth his faery reign began
Ere Sorrow had proclaim'd me man;
While Peace the present hour beguil'd,
And all the lovely Prospect smil'd;
Then Mary! 'mid my lightsome glee [5]
I heav'd the painless Sigh for thee.
And when, along the waves of woe,
My harass'd Heart was doom'd to know
The frantic burst of Outrage keen,
And the slow Pang that gnaws unseen; [10]
Then shipwreck'd on Life's stormy sea
I heaved an anguish'd Sigh for thee!
But soon Reflection's power imprest
A stiller sadness on my breast;
And sickly Hope with waning eye [15]
Was well content to droop and die:
I yielded to the stern decree,
Yet heav'd a languid Sigh for thee!
And though in distant climes to roam,
A wanderer from my native home, [20]
I fain would soothe the sense of Care,
And lull to sleep the Joys that were!
Thy Image may not banish'd be—
Still, Mary! still I sigh for thee.
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
[62:1] First published in 1796: included in 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829. Coleridge dated the poem, June 1794, but the verses as sent to Southey, in a letter dated November, 1794 (Letters of S. T. C., 1895, i. 100, 101), could not have taken shape before the August of that year, after the inception of Pantisocracy and his engagement to Sarah Fricker.
LINENOTES:
[Title]] Ode MS. E: Song Letter, Nov. 1794, Morrison MSS.: Effusion xxxii: The Sigh 1796.
[[7]]
along th'] as tossed on 1803. waves] wilds Letter, 1794, MS. E.
[[9]]
of] the 1803.
[[13]]
power] hand Letter, Nov. 1794, MS. E.
[[18]]
a] the Letter, 1794.
[[21-2]]
I fain would woo a gentle Fair
To soothe the aching sense of Care
Letter, Nov. 1794.
[[21]]
sense of] aching MS. E.
Below [l. 24] June 1794 Poems, 1796.
THE KISS[63:1]
One kiss, dear Maid! I said and sigh'd—
Your scorn the little boon denied.
Ah why refuse the blameless bliss?
Can danger lurk within a kiss?
Yon viewless wanderer of the vale, 5
The Spirit of the Western Gale,
At Morning's break, at Evening's close
Inhales the sweetness of the Rose,
And hovers o'er the uninjur'd bloom
Sighing back the soft perfume. [10]
Vigour to the Zephyr's wing
Her nectar-breathing kisses fling;
And He the glitter of the Dew
Scatters on the Rose's hue.
Bashful lo! she bends her head, [15]
And darts a blush of deeper Red!
Too well those lovely lips disclose
The triumphs of the opening Rose;
O fair! O graceful! bid them prove
As passive to the breath of Love. 20
In tender accents, faint and low,
Well-pleas'd I hear the whisper'd 'No!'
The whispered 'No'—how little meant!
Sweet Falsehood that endears Consent!
For on those lovely lips the while [25]
Dawns the soft relenting smile,
And tempts with feign'd dissuasion coy
The gentle violence of Joy.
? 1794.
FOOTNOTES:
[63:1] First published in 1796: included in 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829, and 1834.
LINENOTES:
[Title]] Ode MS. E: Effusion xxviii 1796: The Kiss 1797, 1828, 1829, 1834: To Sara 1803. MSS. of The Kiss are included in the Estlin volume and in S. T. C.'s quarto copy-book.
[[11-15]]
Vigor to his languid wing
The Rose's fragrant kisses bring,
And He o'er all her brighten'd hue
Flings the glitter of the dew.
See she bends her bashful head.
MS. E.
[[13-14]]
And He o'er all her brighten'd hue
Sheds the glitter of the dew.
MS. 4o erased.
[[18]]
The fragrant triumphs of the Rose. MS. E.
[[26]]
Dawns] Dawn'd MS. E.
[[27]]
And] That MS. E.
TO A YOUNG LADY[64:1]
WITH A POEM ON THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
Much on my early youth I love to dwell,
Ere yet I bade that friendly dome farewell,
Where first, beneath the echoing cloisters pale,
I heard of guilt and wonder'd at the tale!
Yet though the hours flew by on careless wing, [5]
Full heavily of Sorrow would I sing.
Aye as the Star of Evening flung its beam
In broken radiance on the wavy stream,
My soul amid the pensive twilight gloom
Mourn'd with the breeze, O Lee Boo![64:2] o'er thy tomb. [10]
Where'er I wander'd, Pity still was near,
Breath'd from the heart and glisten'd in the tear:
No knell that toll'd but fill'd my anxious eye,
And suffering Nature wept that one should die![65:1]
Thus to sad sympathies I sooth'd my breast, [15]
Calm, as the rainbow in the weeping West:
When slumbering Freedom roused by high Disdain
With giant Fury burst her triple chain!
Fierce on her front the blasting Dog-star glow'd;
Her banners, like a midnight meteor, flow'd; [20]
Amid the yelling of the storm-rent skies!
She came, and scatter'd battles from her eyes!
Then Exultation waked the patriot fire
And swept with wild hand the Tyrtaean lyre:
Red from the Tyrant's wound I shook the lance, [25]
And strode in joy the reeking plains of France!
Fallen is the Oppressor, friendless, ghastly, low,
And my heart aches, though Mercy struck the blow.
With wearied thought once more I seek the shade,
Where peaceful Virtue weaves the Myrtle braid. [30]
And O! if Eyes whose holy glances roll,
Swift messengers, and eloquent of soul;
If Smiles more winning, and a gentler Mien
Than the love-wilder'd Maniac's brain hath seen
Shaping celestial forms in vacant air, [35]
If these demand the empassion'd Poet's care—
If Mirth and soften'd Sense and Wit refined,
The blameless features of a lovely mind;
Then haply shall my trembling hand assign
No fading wreath to Beauty's saintly shrine. [40]
Nor, Sara! thou these early flowers refuse—
Ne'er lurk'd the snake beneath their simple hues;
No purple bloom the Child of Nature brings
From Flattery's night-shade: as he feels he sings.
September 1794.
FOOTNOTES:
[64:1] First published in The Watchman, No. I, March 1, 1796: included in 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829, and 1834. Three MSS. are extant: (1) the poem as sent to Southey in a letter dated Oct. 21, 1794 (see Letters of S. T. C., 1855, i. 94, 95); (2) the Estlin volume; (3) the MS. 4o copy-book.
[64:2] Lee Boo, the son of Abba Thule, Prince of the Pelew Islands, came over to England with Captain Wilson, died of the small-pox, and is buried in Greenwich churchyard. See Keate's Account of the Pelew Islands. 1788.
[65:1] And suffering Nature, &c. Southey's Retrospect.
'When eager patriots fly the news to spread
Of glorious conquest, and of thousands dead;
All feel the mighty glow of victor joy—
* * * * *
But if extended on the gory plain,
And, snatch'd in conquest, some lov'd friend be slain,
Affection's tears will dim the sorrowing eye,
And suffering Nature grieve that one should die.'
From the Retrospect by Robert Southey, published by Dilly [1795, pp. 9, 10]. MS. 4o.
LINENOTES:
[Title]] Verses addressed to a Lady with a poem relative to a recent event in the French Revolution MS. E.
[[2]]
friendly] guardian MS. Letter, 1794, MS. E.
[[3]]
cloisters] cloister MS. E.
[[5]]
careless] rosy MS. E.
[[9]]
My pensive soul amid the twilight gloom MS. Letter, 1794.
[[10]]
Boo] Bo MS. E.
[[12]]
glisten'd] glitter'd MS. Letter, 1794.
[[13]]
anxious] anguish'd MS. Letter, 1794.
[[16]]
Calm] Bright MS. E.
[[17]]
by] with 1829.
[[23]]
waked] woke MS. Letter, 1794, MS. E.
[[24]]
with wilder hand th' empassion'd lyre MS. Letter, 1794: with wilder hand th' Alcaean lyre MS. 4o, MS. E, Watchman, 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829.
[[25]]
wound] wounds MS. Letter, 1794.
[[27]]
In ghastly horror lie th' Oppressors low MS. Letter, 1794, MS. E, MS. 4o, 1796, Watchman.
[[29]]
With sad and wearied thought I seek the shade MS. E: With wearied thought I seek the amaranth shade MS. Letter, 1794.
[[30]]
the] her MS. Letter, 1794, MS. E.
[[32]]
The eloquent messengers of the pure soul MS. Letter, 1794, MS. E, MS. 4o, Watchman, 1796.
[[33]]
winning] cunning MS. Letter, 1794.
[[36]]
empassion'd] wond'ring MS. Letter, 1794.
[[40]]
wreath] flowers MS. Letter, 1794, MS. E.
[[41-4]]
Nor, Brunton! thou the blushing-wreath refuse,
Though harsh her notes, yet guileless is my Muse.
Unwont at Flattery's Voice to plume her wings,
A Child of Nature, as she feels she sings.
MS. Letter, 1794.
Nor——! thou the blushing wreath refuse
Tho' harsh her song, yet guileless is the Muse.
Unwont &c.
MS. E.
[[42-4]]
No Serpent lurks beneath their simple hues.
No purple blooms from Flattery's nightshade brings,
The Child of Nature—as he feels he sings.
MS. 4o erased.
[[43-4]]
Nature's pure Child from Flatt'ry's night-shade brings
No blooms rich-purpling: as he feels he sings.
MS. 4o.
Below [l. 44] September, 1794 1797, 1803: September 1792 1828, 1829, 1834.
TRANSLATION[66:1]
OF WRANGHAM'S 'HENDECASYLLABI AD BRUNTONAM
E GRANTA EXITURAM' [KAL. OCT. MDCCXC]
Maid of unboastful charms! whom white-robed Truth
Right onward guiding through the maze of youth,
Forbade the Circe Praise to witch thy soul,
And dash'd to earth th' intoxicating bowl:
Thee meek-eyed Pity, eloquently fair, 5
Clasp'd to her bosom with a mother's care;
And, as she lov'd thy kindred form to trace,
The slow smile wander'd o'er her pallid face.
For never yet did mortal voice impart
Tones more congenial to the sadden'd heart: 10
Whether, to rouse the sympathetic glow,
Thou pourest lone Monimia's tale of woe;
Or haply clothest with funereal vest
The bridal loves that wept in Juliet's breast.
O'er our chill limbs the thrilling Terrors creep, 15
Th' entrancéd Passions their still vigil keep;
While the deep sighs, responsive to the song,
Sound through the silence of the trembling throng.
But purer raptures lighten'd from thy face,
And spread o'er all thy form an holier grace, 20
When from the daughter's breasts the father drew
The life he gave, and mix'd the big tear's dew.
Nor was it thine th' heroic strain to roll
With mimic feelings foreign from the soul:
Bright in thy parent's eye we mark'd the tear; 25
Methought he said, 'Thou art no Actress here!
A semblance of thyself the Grecian dame,
And Brunton and Euphrasia still the same!'
O soon to seek the city's busier scene,
Pause thee awhile, thou chaste-eyed maid serene, 30
Till Granta's sons from all her sacred bowers
With grateful hand shall weave Pierian flowers
To twine a fragrant chaplet round thy brow,
Enchanting ministress of virtuous woe!
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
[66:1] First published in Poems, by Francis Wrangham, London, 1795, pp. 79-83. First collected in P. and D. W., 1880, ii. 360* (Supplement).
TO MISS BRUNTON[67:1]
WITH THE PRECEDING TRANSLATION
That darling of the Tragic Muse,
When Wrangham sung her praise,
Thalia lost her rosy hues,
And sicken'd at her lays:
But transient was th' unwonted sigh; 5
For soon the Goddess spied
A sister-form of mirthful eye,
And danc'd for joy and cried:
'Meek Pity's sweetest child, proud dame,
The fates have given to you! 10
Still bid your Poet boast her name;
I have my Brunton too.'
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
[67:1] First published in Poems, by Francis Wrangham, 1795, p. 83. First collected in P. and D. W., 1880, ii. 362* (Supplement).
EPITAPH ON AN INFANT[68:1]
Ere Sin could blight or Sorrow fade,
Death came with friendly care:
The opening Bud to Heaven convey'd,
And bade it blossom there.
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
[68:1] First published in the Morning Chronicle, September 23, 1794: included in The Watchman, No. IX, May 5, 1796, Poems 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829, and 1834. These well-known lines, which vexed the soul of Charles Lamb, were probably adapted from 'An Epitaph on an Infant' in the churchyard of Birchington, Kent (A Collection of Epitaphs, 1806, i. 219):—
Ah! why so soon, just as the bloom appears,
Drops the fair blossom in the vale of tears?
Death view'd the treasure in the desart given
And claim'd the right of planting it in Heav'n.
In MS. E a Greek version (possibly a rejected prize epigram) is prefixed with the accompanying footnote.
Ηλυες εἰς αιδην, καὶ δή τυ ποθεῦσι τοκηες:
Ηλυες αδυ βρεφος! τοι βραχυ δυνε φαος.
Ομμα μεν εις σεο σῆμα Πατηρ πικρον ποτιβαλλει
Ευσεβεης δε Θεῳ δωρα διδωσιν ἑα![68:A]
[68:A] Translation of the Greek Epitaph. 'Thou art gone down into the Grave, and heavily do thy Parents feel the Loss. Thou art gone down into the Grave, sweet Baby! Thy short Light is set! Thy Father casts an Eye of Anguish towards thy Tomb—yet with uncomplaining Piety resigns to God his own Gift!'
Equal or Greater simplicity marks all the writings of the Greek Poets.—The above [i. e. the Greek] Epitaph was written in Imitation of them. [S. T. C.]
PANTISOCRACY[68:2]
No more my visionary soul shall dwell
On joys that were; no more endure to weigh
The shame and anguish of the evil day,
Wisely forgetful! O'er the ocean swell
Sublime of Hope, I seek the cottag'd dell [5]
Where Virtue calm with careless step may stray,
And dancing to the moonlight roundelay,
The wizard Passions weave an holy spell.
Eyes that have ach'd with Sorrow! Ye shall weep
Tears of doubt-mingled joy, like theirs who start [10]
From Precipices of distemper'd sleep,
On which the fierce-eyed Fiends their revels keep,
And see the rising Sun, and feel it dart
New rays of pleasance trembling to the heart.
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
[68:2] First published in the Life and Correspondence of R. Southey, 1849, i. 224. First collected 1852 (Notes). Southey includes the sonnet in a letter to his brother Thomas dated Oct. 19, 1794, and attributes the authorship to Coleridge's friend S. Favell, with whom he had been in correspondence. He had already received the sonnet in a letter from Coleridge (dated Sept. 18, 1794), who claims it for his own and apologizes for the badness of the poetry. The octave was included (ll. 129-36) in the second version of the Monody on the Death of Chatterton, first printed in Lancelot Sharpe's edition of the Poems of Chatterton published at Cambridge in 1794. Mrs. H. N. Coleridge (Poems, 1852, p. 382) prints the sonnet and apologizes for the alleged plagiarism. It is difficult to believe that either the first eight or last six lines of the sonnet were not written by Coleridge. It is included in the MS. volume of Poems which Coleridge presented to Mrs. Estlin in 1795. The text is that of Letter Sept. 18, 1794.
LINENOTES:
[Title]] Sonnet MS. E.
[[1]]
my] the MS. E.
[[8]]
Passions weave] Passion wears Letter, Oct. 19 1794, 1852.
[[9]]
Sorrow] anguish Letter, Oct. 19 1794, 1852.
[[10]]
like theirs] as those Letter, Oct. 19 1794, 1852: as they, MS. E.
[[12]]
feel] find Letter, Oct. 19 1794, 1852.
[[14]]
pleasance] pleasure Letter, Oct. 19 1794, 1852.
ON THE PROSPECT OF ESTABLISHING
A PANTISOCRACY IN AMERICA[69:1]
Whilst pale Anxiety, corrosive Care,
The tear of Woe, the gloom of sad Despair,
And deepen'd Anguish generous bosoms rend;—
Whilst patriot souls their country's fate lament;
Whilst mad with rage demoniac, foul intent, 5
Embattled legions Despots vainly send
To arrest the immortal mind's expanding ray
Of everlasting Truth;—I other climes
Where dawns, with hope serene, a brighter day
Than e'er saw Albion in her happiest times, 10
With mental eye exulting now explore,
And soon with kindred minds shall haste to enjoy
(Free from the ills which here our peace destroy)
Content and Bliss on Transatlantic shore.
1795.
FOOTNOTES:
[69:1] First published in the Co-operative Magazine and Monthly Herald, March 6, 1826, and reprinted in the Athenæum, Nov. 5, 1904. First collected in 1907. It has been conjectured, but proof is wanting, that the sonnet was written by Coleridge.
ELEGY[69:2]
IMITATED FROM ONE OF AKENSIDE'S BLANK-VERSE
INSCRIPTIONS [(No.) III.]
Near the lone pile with ivy overspread,
Fast by the rivulet's sleep-persuading sound,
Where 'sleeps the moonlight' on yon verdant bed—
O humbly press that consecrated ground!
For there does Edmund rest, the learnéd swain! [5]
And there his spirit most delights to rove:
Young Edmund! fam'd for each harmonious strain,
And the sore wounds of ill-requited Love.
Like some tall tree that spreads its branches wide,
And loads the West-wind with its soft perfume, [10]
His manhood blossom'd; till the faithless pride
Of fair Matilda sank him to the tomb.
But soon did righteous Heaven her Guilt pursue!
Where'er with wilder'd step she wander'd pale,
Still Edmund's image rose to blast her view, [15]
Still Edmund's voice accus'd her in each gale.
With keen regret, and conscious Guilt's alarms,
Amid the pomp of Affluence she pined;
Nor all that lur'd her faith from Edmund's arms
Could lull the wakeful horror of her mind. [20]
Go, Traveller! tell the tale with sorrow fraught:
Some tearful Maid perchance, or blooming Youth,
May hold it in remembrance; and be taught
That Riches cannot pay for Love or Truth.
? 1794.
FOOTNOTES:
[69:2] First published in the Morning Chronicle, September 23, 1794: included in The Watchman, No. III, March 17, 1794: in Sibylline Leaves, 1817: 1828, 1829, and 1834, but omitted in 1852 as of doubtful origin. The elegy as printed in the Morning Chronicle is unsigned. In The Watchman it is signed T.
LINENOTES:
[Title]] An Elegy Morning Chronicle, Watchman.
[[1]]
the] yon M. C.
[[6]]
And there his pale-eyed phantom loves to rove M. C.
[[10]]
West-wind] Zephyr M. C.
[[11]]
till] ere M. C.
[[12]]
Lucinda sunk M. C.
[[13]]
Guilt] crime M. C.
[[14]]
step] steps M. C.
[[17]]
remorse and tortur'd Guilt's M. C.
[[20]]
Could soothe the conscious horrors of her mind M. C. horror] horrors The Watchman.
[[22]]
tearful] lovely M. C.
THE FADED FLOWER[70:1]
Ungrateful he, who pluck'd thee from thy stalk,
Poor faded flow'ret! on his careless way;
Inhal'd awhile thy odours on his walk,
Then onward pass'd and left thee to decay.
Ah! melancholy emblem! had I seen 5
Thy modest beauties dew'd with Evening's gem,
I had not rudely cropp'd thy parent stem,
But left thee, blushing, 'mid the enliven'd green
And now I bend me o'er thy wither'd bloom,
And drop the tear—as Fancy, at my side, 10
Deep-sighing, points the fair frail Abra's tomb—
'Like thine, sad Flower, was that poor wanderer's pride!
Oh! lost to Love and Truth, whose selfish joy
Tasted her vernal sweets, but tasted to destroy!'
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
[70:1] First published in the Monthly Magazine, August, 1836. First collected in P. W., 1893.
THE OUTCAST[71:1]
Pale Roamer through the night! thou poor Forlorn!
Remorse that man on his death-bed possess,
Who in the credulous hour of tenderness
Betrayed, then cast thee forth to Want and Scorn!
The world is pitiless: the chaste one's pride [5]
Mimic of Virtue scowls on thy distress:
Thy Loves and they that envied thee deride:
And Vice alone will shelter Wretchedness!
O! I could weep to think that there should be
Cold-bosom'd lewd ones, who endure to place [10]
Foul offerings on the shrine of Misery,
And force from Famine the caress of Love;
May He shed healing on the sore disgrace,
He, the great Comforter that rules above!
? 1794.
FOOTNOTES:
[71:1] First published in 1796: included in 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829, and 1834. 'The first half of Effusion xv was written by the Author of "Joan of Arc", an Epic Poem.' Preface to Poems, 1796, p. xi.
LINENOTES:
[Title]] Effusion xv. 1796: Sonnet vii. 1797: Sonnet vi. 1803: Sonnet ix. 1828, 1829, and 1834: An Unfortunate 1893.
[[7]]
Thy kindred, when they see thee, turn aside 1803.
[[9]]
O I am sad 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829.
[[10]]
Men, born of woman 1803.
[[13-14]]
Man has no feeling for thy sore Disgrace:
Keen blows the Blast upon the moulting Dove.
1803.
[[13]]
the] thy 1796, 1797, 1828.
DOMESTIC PEACE[71:2]
[FROM 'THE FALL OF ROBESPIERRE', ACT I, L. 210]
Tell me, on what holy ground
May Domestic Peace be found?
Halcyon daughter of the skies,
Far on fearful wings she flies,
From the pomp of Sceptered State, 5
From the Rebel's noisy hate.
In a cottag'd vale She dwells,
Listening to the Sabbath bells!
Still around her steps are seen
Spotless Honour's meeker mien, 10
Love, the sire of pleasing fears,
Sorrow smiling through her tears,
And conscious of the past employ
Memory, bosom-spring of joy.
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
[71:2] First published in the Fall of Robespierre, 1795: included (as 'Song', p. 13) in 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829, and 1834.
LINENOTES:
[Title]] Effusion xxv. 1796.
ON A DISCOVERY MADE TOO LATE[72:1]
Thou bleedest, my poor Heart! and thy distress
Reasoning I ponder with a scornful smile
And probe thy sore wound sternly, though the while
Swoln be mine eye and dim with heaviness.
Why didst thou listen to Hope's whisper bland? [5]
Or, listening, why forget the healing tale,
When Jealousy with feverous fancies pale
Jarr'd thy fine fibres with a maniac's hand?
Faint was that Hope, and rayless!—Yet 'twas fair
And sooth'd with many a dream the hour of rest: [10]
Thou should'st have lov'd it most, when most opprest,
And nurs'd it with an agony of care,
Even as a mother her sweet infant heir
That wan and sickly droops upon her breast!
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
[72:1] First published in 1796: Selection of Sonnets, Poems 1796: in 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829, and 1834. It was sent in a letter to Southey, dated October 21, 1794. (Letters of S. T. C., 1895, i. 92.)
LINENOTES:
[Title]] Effusion xix. 1796 (in 'Contents' To my Heart): Sonnet II. On a Discovery made too late 1797, 1803, and again in P. and D. W., 1877-80: Sonnet xi. 1828, 1829, 1834.
[[2-4]]
Doth Reason ponder with an anguish'd smile
Probing thy sore wound sternly, tho' the while
Her eye be swollen and dim with heaviness.
Letter, 1794.
[[6]]
the] its Letter, 1794.
[[7]]
feverous] feverish 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829.
[[14]]
wan] pale Letter, 1794.
TO THE AUTHOR OF 'THE ROBBERS'[72:2]
Schiller! that hour I would have wish'd to die,
If thro' the shuddering midnight I had sent
From the dark dungeon of the Tower time-rent
That fearful voice, a famish'd Father's cry—
Lest in some after moment aught more mean [5]
Might stamp me mortal! A triumphant shout
Black Horror scream'd, and all her goblin rout
Diminish'd shrunk from the more withering scene!
Ah! Bard tremendous in sublimity!
Could I behold thee in thy loftier mood 10
Wandering at eve with finely-frenzied eye
Beneath some vast old tempest-swinging wood!
Awhile with mute awe gazing I would brood:
Then weep aloud in a wild ecstasy!
? 1794.
FOOTNOTES:
[72:2] First published in 1796: included in Selection of Sonnets, 1796: in 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829, and 1834. The following 'Note' (Note 6, pp. 180, 181) was printed in 1796, and appears again in 1797 as a footnote, p. 83:—'One night in Winter, on leaving a College-friend's room, with whom I had supped, I carelessly took away with me "The Robbers", a drama, the very name of which I had never before heard of:—A Winter midnight—the wind high—and "The Robbers" for the first time!—The readers of Schiller will conceive what I felt. Schiller introduces no supernatural beings; yet his human beings agitate and astonish more than all the goblin rout—even of Shakespeare.' See for another account of the midnight reading of 'The Robbers', Letter to Southey, November [6], 1794, Letters of S. T. C., 1895, i. 96, 97.
In the Selection of Sonnets, 1796, this note was reduced to one sentence. 'Schiller introduces no Supernatural Beings.' In 1803 the note is omitted, but a footnote to line 4 is appended: 'The Father of Moor in the Play of the Robbers.'
LINENOTES:
[Title]] Effusion xx. To the Author, &c. [To 'Schiller', Contents] 1796: Sonnet viii. To the Author of 'The Robbers' 1797: Sonnet xv. 1803: Sonnet xii. To the Author of the Robbers 1828, 1829, 1834.
Lines 1-4 are printed in the reverse order (4, 3, 2, 1). Selections.
[[5-6]]
That in no after moment aught, less vast
Might stamp me human!
Selections.
That in no after moment aught less vast
Might stamp me mortal!
1797, 1803.
[[8]]
From the more with'ring scene diminish'd past. Selections, 1797, 1803.
MELANCHOLY[73:1]
A FRAGMENT
Stretch'd on a moulder'd Abbey's broadest wall,
Where ruining ivies propp'd the ruins steep—
Her folded arms wrapping her tatter'd pall,
[73:2]Had Melancholy mus'd herself to sleep.
The fern was press'd beneath her hair, [5]
The dark green Adder's Tongue[74:1] was there;
And still as pass'd the flagging sea-gale weak,
The long lank leaf bow'd fluttering o'er her cheek.
That pallid cheek was flush'd: her eager look
Beam'd eloquent in slumber! Inly wrought, [10]
Imperfect sounds her moving lips forsook,
And her bent forehead work'd with troubled thought.
Strange was the dream——
? 1794.
FOOTNOTES:
[73:1] First published in the Morning Post, December 12, 1797 (not, as Coleridge says, the Morning Chronicle); included in Sibylline Leaves, 1817 (with an addition), and, again, in P. and D. W., 1877-80, and (in its first shape) in 1828, 1829, 1834, 1852, and 1893. Sent in Letter to Sotheby, Aug. 26, 1802.
[73:2] Bowles borrowed these lines unconsciously, I doubt not. I had repeated the poem on my first visit [Sept. 1797]. MS. Note, S. T. C. See, too, Letter, Aug. 26, 1802. [Here Melancholy on the pale crags laid, Might muse herself to sleep—Coomb Ellen, written September, 1798.]
[74:1] A Plant found on old walls and in wells and mois[t] [h]edges.—It is often called the Hart's Tongue. M. C. Asplenium Scolopendrium, more commonly called Hart's Tongue. Letter, 1802. A botanical mistake. The plant I meant is called the Hart's Tongue, but this would unluckily spoil the poetical effect. Cedat ergo Botanice. Sibylline Leaves, 1817. A botanical mistake. The plant which the poet here describes is called the Hart's Tongue, 1828, 1829, 1852.
LINENOTES:
[[1]]
Upon a mouldering Letter, Aug. 26, 1802.
[[2]]
Where ruining] Whose running M. C. propp'd] prop Letter, Aug. 26, 1802.
[[7]]
pass'd] came Letter, 1802. sea-gale] sea-gales M. C., Letter, 1802.
[[8]]
The] Her Letter, 1802.
[[9]]
That] Her Letter, 1802.
[[13]]
Not in Letter 1802.
[[13]]
Strange was the dream that fill'd her soul,
Nor did not whisp'ring spirits roll
A mystic tumult, and a fateful rhyme,
Mix'd with wild shapings of the unborn time!
M. C., Sibylline Leaves, 1817.
TO A YOUNG ASS[74:2]
ITS MOTHER BEING TETHERED NEAR IT
Poor little Foal of an oppresséd race!
I love the languid patience of thy face:
And oft with gentle hand I give thee bread,
And clap thy ragged coat, and pat thy head.
But what thy dulled spirits hath dismay'd, [5]
That never thou dost sport along the glade?
And (most unlike the nature of things young)
That earthward still thy moveless head is hung?
Do thy prophetic fears anticipate,
Meek Child of Misery! thy future fate? [10]
The starving meal, and all the thousand aches
'Which patient Merit of the Unworthy takes'?
Or is thy sad heart thrill'd with filial pain
To see thy wretched mother's shorten'd chain?
And truly, very piteous is her lot— [15]
Chain'd to a log within a narrow spot,
Where the close-eaten grass is scarcely seen,
While sweet around her waves the tempting green!
Poor Ass! thy master should have learnt to show
Pity—best taught by fellowship of Woe! [20]
For much I fear me that He lives like thee,
Half famish'd in a land of Luxury!
How askingly its footsteps hither bend?
It seems to say, 'And have I then one friend?'
Innocent foal! thou poor despis'd forlorn! [25]
I hail thee Brother—spite of the fool's scorn!
And fain would take thee with me, in the Dell
Of Peace and mild Equality to dwell,
Where Toil shall call the charmer Health his bride,
And Laughter tickle Plenty's ribless side! 30
How thou wouldst toss thy heels in gamesome play,
And frisk about, as lamb or kitten gay!
Yea! and more musically sweet to me
Thy dissonant harsh bray of joy would be,
Than warbled melodies that soothe to rest [35]
The aching of pale Fashion's vacant breast!
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
[74:2] First published in the Morning Chronicle, December 30, 1794: included in 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829, and 1834. A MS. version, dated October 24, 1794 (see P. W., 1893, pp. 477, 488), was presented by Coleridge to Professor William Smyth, Professor of Modern History at Cambridge, 1807-49; a second version was included in a letter to Southey, dated December 17, 1794 (Letters of S. T. C., 1895, i. 119, 120).
LINENOTES:
[Title]] Monologue to a Young Jack Ass in Jesus Piece. Its mother near it chained to a log MS. Oct. 24, 1794: Address to a Young Jack-Ass and its Tether'd mother MS. Dec. 17, 1794: Address, &c. In familiar verse Morning Chronicle, Dec. 30, 1794: Effusion xxxiii. To a Young Ass, &c. 1796.
[[3]]
gentle] friendly MS. Dec. 1794, M. C.
[[4]]
pat] scratch MS. Oct. 1794, M. C.
[[5]]
spirits] spirit MSS. Oct. Dec. 1794, M. C.
[[6]]
along] upon MS. Dec. 1794, M. C.
[[8]]
That still to earth thy moping head is hung MSS. Oct. Dec. 1794, M. C.
[[9]]
Doth thy prophetic soul MS. Oct. 1794.
[[12]]
Which] That MSS. Oct. Dec. 1794.
[[14]]
shorten'd] lengthen'd MS. Dec. 1794, M. C.
[[16]]
within] upon MSS. Oct. Dec. 1794, M. C.
[[19]]
thy] her 1796.
[[21]]
For much I fear, that He lives e'en as she, 1796.
[[23]]
footsteps hither bend] steps toward me tend MS. Oct. 1794: steps towards me bend MS. Dec. 1794, M. C.: footsteps t'ward me bend 1796.
[[25]]
despised and forlorn MS. Oct. 1794.
[[27]]
would] I'd MSS. Oct. Dec. 1794. in] to MS. Oct. 1794.
[[28]]
Of high-soul'd Pantisocracy to dwell MS. Dec. 1794, M. C.
Where high-soul'd Pantisocracy shall dwell!
Where Mirth shall tickle Plenty's ribless side,[75:A]
And smiles from Beauty's Lip on sunbeams glide,
Where Toil shall wed young Health that charming Lass!
And use his sleek cows for a looking-glass—
Where Rats shall mess with Terriers hand-in-glove
And Mice with Pussy's Whiskers sport in Love
MS. Oct. 1794.
[75:A] This is a truly poetical line of which the author has assured us that he did not mean it to have any meaning. Note by Ed. of MS. Oct. 1794.
[[35-6]]
Than Handel's softest airs that soothe to rest
The tumult of a scoundrel Monarch's Breast.
MS. Oct. 1794.
Than Banti's warbled airs that sooth to rest
The tumult &c.
MS. Dec. 1794.
[[36]]
The tumult of some Scoundrel Monarch's breast.
M. C. 1796.
LINES ON A FRIEND[76:1]
WHO DIED OF A FRENZY FEVER INDUCED BY CALUMNIOUS REPORTS
Edmund! thy grave with aching eye I scan,
And inly groan for Heaven's poor outcast—Man!
'Tis tempest all or gloom: in early youth
If gifted with th' Ithuriel lance of Truth
We force to start amid her feign'd caress [5]
Vice, siren-hag! in native ugliness;
A Brother's fate will haply rouse the tear,
And on we go in heaviness and fear!
But if our fond hearts call to Pleasure's bower
Some pigmy Folly in a careless hour, [10]
The faithless guest shall stamp the enchanted ground,
And mingled forms of Misery rise around:
Heart-fretting Fear, with pallid look aghast,
That courts the future woe to hide the past;
Remorse, the poison'd arrow in his side, [15]
And loud lewd Mirth, to Anguish close allied:
Till Frenzy, fierce-eyed child of moping Pain,
Darts her hot lightning-flash athwart the brain.
Rest, injur'd shade! Shall Slander squatting near
Spit her cold venom in a dead man's ear? [20]
'Twas thine to feel the sympathetic glow
In Merit's joy, and Poverty's meek woe;
Thine all, that cheer the moment as it flies,
The zoneless Cares, and smiling Courtesies.
Nurs'd in thy heart the firmer Virtues grew, [25]
And in thy heart they wither'd! Such chill dew
Wan Indolence on each young blossom shed;
And Vanity her filmy net-work spread,
With eye that roll'd around in asking gaze,
And tongue that traffick'd in the trade of praise. [30]
Thy follies such! the hard world mark'd them well!
Were they more wise, the Proud who never fell?
Rest, injur'd shade! the poor man's grateful prayer
On heaven-ward wing thy wounded soul shall bear.
As oft at twilight gloom thy grave I pass, [35]
And sit me down upon its recent grass,
With introverted eye I contemplate
Similitude of soul, perhaps of—Fate!
To me hath Heaven with bounteous hand assign'd
Energic Reason and a shaping mind, [40]
The daring ken of Truth, the Patriot's part,
And Pity's sigh, that breathes the gentle heart—
Sloth-jaundic'd all! and from my graspless hand
Drop Friendship's precious pearls, like hour-glass sand.
I weep, yet stoop not! the faint anguish flows, [45]
A dreamy pang in Morning's feverous doze.
Is this piled earth our Being's passless mound?
Tell me, cold grave! is Death with poppies crown'd?
Tired Sentinel! mid fitful starts I nod,
And fain would sleep, though pillowed on a clod! [50]
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
[76:1] First published in 1796: included in 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829, and 1834. Four MS. versions are extant, (1) in Letter to Southey, Nov. [6], 1794 (Letters of S. T. C., 1895, i. 98, 99): (2) in letter to George Coleridge, Nov. 6, 1794: (3) in the Estlin copy-book: (4) in the MS. 4o. The Friend was the Rev. Fulwood Smerdon, vicar of Ottery St. Mary, who died in August 1794.
LINENOTES:
[Title]] On the Death of a Friend who died of a Frenzy Fever brought on by anxiety MS. E.
[[1]]
——! thy grave MS. Letter to R. S.: Smerdon! thy grave MS. Letter to G. C.
[[3]]
early] earliest MS. Letters to R. S. and G. C., MS. E.
[[5]]
We] He MS. Letters to R. S. and G. C., MS. E, MS. 4o, 1796.
[[7]]
will] shall MS. Letters to R. S. and G. C., MS. E.
[[8]]
And on he goes MS. Letters to R. S. and G. C., MS. E, 1796: Onward we move 1803.
[[9]]
his fond heart MS. Letters to R. S. and G. C., MS. E, 1796.
[[11]]
quick stamps MS. Letters to R. S. and G. C., MS. E, MS. 4o.
[[12]]
threaten round MS. Letters to R. S. and G. C.
[[17]]
fierce-eyed] frantic MS. Letters to R. S. and G. C., MS. E erased [See Lamb's Letter to Coleridge, June 10, 1796].
[[19]]
squatting] couching MS Letter to G. C., MS. E [See Lamb's Letter, June 10, 1796].
[[23]]
cheer] cheers MS. E.
[[25]]
firmer] generous MS. Letters to R. S. and G. C.: manly MS. E.
[[29]]
roll'd] prowl'd MS. Letters to R. S. and G. C., MS. E.
[[33-4]]
the poor man's prayer of praise
On heavenward wing thy wounded soul shall raise.
1796.
[[35]]
As oft in Fancy's thought MS. Letters to R. S. and G. C.
[[39]]
bounteous] liberal MS. Letters to R. S. and G. C., MS. E.
[[41]]
ken] soul MS. Letter to R. S.
[[46]]
feverous] feverish all MSS. and Eds. 1796-1829.
[[47]]
this] that MS. Letters to R. S. and G. C., MS. E. passless] hapless Letter to G. C.
[[49]]
Sentinel] Centinel all MSS. and Eds. 1796-1829. mid] with Letters to R. S. and G. C.
Below [l. 50] the date (November 1794) is affixed in 1796, 1797, and 1803.
TO A FRIEND[78:1]
[Charles Lamb]
TOGETHER WITH AN UNFINISHED POEM
Thus far my scanty brain hath built the rhyme
Elaborate and swelling: yet the heart
Not owns it. From thy spirit-breathing powers
I ask not now, my friend! the aiding verse,
Tedious to thee, and from thy anxious thought [5]
Of dissonant mood. In fancy (well I know)
From business wandering far and local cares,
Thou creepest round a dear-lov'd Sister's bed
With noiseless step, and watchest the faint look,
Soothing each pang with fond solicitude, [10]
And tenderest tones medicinal of love.
I too a Sister had, an only Sister—
She lov'd me dearly, and I doted on her!
To her I pour'd forth all my puny sorrows
(As a sick Patient in a Nurse's arms) [15]
And of the heart those hidden maladies
That e'en from Friendship's eye will shrink asham'd.
O! I have wak'd at midnight, and have wept,
Because she was not!—Cheerily, dear Charles!
Thou thy best friend shalt cherish many a year: [20]
Such warm presages feel I of high Hope.
For not uninterested the dear Maid
I've view'd—her soul affectionate yet wise,
Her polish'd wit as mild as lambent glories
That play around a sainted infant's head. [25]
He knows (the Spirit that in secret sees,
Of whose omniscient and all-spreading Love
Aught to implore[79:1] were impotence of mind)
That my mute thoughts are sad before his throne,
Prepar'd, when he his healing ray vouchsafes, [30]
Thanksgiving to pour forth with lifted heart,
And praise Him Gracious with a Brother's Joy!
1794.
FOOTNOTES:
[78:1] First published in 1796: included in 1797, 1803, and, again, in 1844. Lines 12-19 ('I too a sister . . . Because she was not') are published in 1834 (i. 35) under the heading 'The Same', i. e. the same as the preceding poem, 'On seeing a Youth affectionately welcomed by a Sister.' The date, December 1794, affixed in 1797 and 1803, is correct. The poem was sent in a letter from Coleridge to Southey, dated December 1794. (Letters of S. T. C., 1895, i. 128.) The 'Unfinished Poem' was, certainly, Religious Musings, begun on Christmas Eve, 1794. The text is that of 1844.
[79:1] I utterly recant the sentiment contained in the lines—
'Of whose omniscient and all-spreading Love
Aught to implore were impotence of mind,'
it being written in Scripture, 'Ask, and it shall be given you,' and my human reason being moreover convinced of the propriety of offering petitions as well as thanksgivings to Deity. [Note of S. T. C., in Poems, 1797 and 1803.]
LINENOTES:
[Title]] To C. Lamb MS. Letter, Dec. 1794: Effusion xxii. To a Friend, &c. 1796: To Charles Lamb with an unfinished Poem 1844.
[[1-3]]
Thus far my sterile brain hath fram'd the song
Elaborate and swelling: but the heart
Not owns it. From thy spirit-breathing power
MS. Letter, Dec. 1794.
[[7]]
Not in MS. Letter, Dec. 1794.
Between [13] and 14
On her soft bosom I reposed my cares
And gain'd for every wound a healing tear.
MS. Letter, 1794.
[[15]]
a] his MS. Letter, 1794, 1796, 1797, 1803.
[[17]]
That shrink asham'd from even Friendship's eye. MS. Letter, 1794, 1796, 1797.
[[18]]
wak'd] woke MS. Letter, 1794, 1796, 1797, 1803.
[[21]]
warm] high: high] warm MS. Letter, 1794. presages] presagings 1803.
[[25]]
sainted] holy MS. Letter, 1794.
[[26]]
that] who MS. Letter, 1794.
[[31]]
To pour forth thanksgiving MS. Letter, 1794, 1796, 1797, 1803.