Page:The Excursion, Wordsworth, 1814.djvu/118

92 Below me was the earth; this little Vale

Lay low beneath my feet; 'twas visible—

I saw not, but I felt that it was there.

That which I saw was the revealed abode

Of Spirits in beatitude: my heart

Swelled in my breast.—"I have been dead," I cried,

"And now I live! Oh! wherefore do I live?"

And with that pang I prayed to be no more!—

—But I forget our Charge, as utterly

I then forgot him:—there I stood and gazed;

The apparition faded not away,

And I descended.—Having reached the House

I found its rescued Inmate safely lodged,

And in serene possession of himself,

Beside a genial fire; that seemed to spread

A gleam of comfort o'er his pallid face.

Great shew of joy the Housewife made, and truly

Was glad to find her conscience set at ease;

And not less glad, for sake of her good name,

That the poor Sufferer had escaped with life.

But, though he seemed at first to have received

No harm, and uncomplaining as before

Went through his usual tasks, a silent change