W andering, through many a year, ’mongst Cumbria’s hills,

O ’er her wild fells, sweet vales, and sunny lakes,

R ich stores of thought thy musing mind distils,

D ay-dreams of poesy thy soul awakes:—

S uch was thy life—a poet’s life, I ween;

W orshipper thou of Nature! every scene

O f beauty stirred thy fancy’s deeper mood,

R eflection calmed the current of thy blood:

T hus in the wide “Excursion” of thy mind,

H igh thoughts in words of worth we still may find.