Page:The Excursion, Wordsworth, 1814.djvu/147

121 There, undisturbed, could think of, and could thank

Her—whose submissive spirit was to me

Rule and restraint, my Guardian;—shall I say

That earthly Providence, whose guiding love

Within a port of rest had lodged me safe;

Safe from temptation, and from danger far?

Strains followed of acknowledgment addressed

To an Authority enthroned above

The reach of sight; from whom, as from their source,

Proceed all visible ministers of good

That walk the earth—Father of heaven and earth,

Father and king, and judge, adored and feared!

These acts of mind, and memory, and heart,

And spirit,—interrupted and relieved

By observations—transient as the glance

Of flying sunbeams, or to the outward form

Cleaving with power inherent and intense,

As the mute insect fixed upon the plant

On whose soft leaves it hangs, and from whose cup

Draws imperceptibly its nourishment,—

Endeared my wanderings; and the Mother's kiss,

And Infant's smile, awaited my return.