I saw a patch of vines upon the hill

Above Étampes; and through the mists I saw

Old Jean Guettard, with snowy wind-blown hair,

Nearing the shrouded summit. As he climbed,

Slowly the last thin veils dissolved away.

He lifted up his eyes to see the Rock.

The hill was bare. His facts were well confirmed.

Sun, wind, and rain, and the sharp chisels of frost

Had broken it down. The Rock was on its way

In brook and river, with all the drifting hills,