Page:The Excursion, Wordsworth, 1814.djvu/144

118 I grieve that, in your presence, from my tongue

Too much of frailty hath already dropped;

But that too much demands still more.

You know,

Revered Compatriot;—and to you, kind Sir

(Not to be deemed a Stranger as you come

Following the guidance of these welcome feet

To our secluded Vale) it may be told,

That my demerits did not sue in vain

To One, on whose mild radiance many gazed

With hope, and all, with pleasure. This fair Bride—

In the devotedness of youthful Love

Preferring me to Parents, and the choir

Of gay companions, to the natal roof,

And all known places and familiar sights,

(Resigned with sadness gently weighing down

Her trembling expectations, but no more

Than did to her due honour, and to me

Yielded, that day, a confidence sublime

In what I had to build upon)—this Bride,

Young, modest, meek, and beautiful, I led

To a low Cottage in a sunny Bay,

Where the salt sea innocuously breaks,