Page:The Excursion, Wordsworth, 1814.djvu/186

160 He paused, as if unwilling to proceed,

Through consciousness that silence in such place

Was best,—the most affecting eloquence.

But soon his thoughts returned upon themselves,

And, in soft tone of speech, he thus resumed.

"Ah! if the heart, too confidently raised,

Perchance too lightly occupied, or lulled

Too easily, despise or overlook

The vassalage that binds her to the earth,

Her sad dependance upon time, and all

The trepidations of mortality,

What place so destitute and void—but there

The little Flower her vanity shall check;

The trailing Worm reprove her thoughtless pride?

These craggy regions, these chaotic wilds,

Does that benignity pervade, that warms

The Mole contented with her darksome walk

In the cold ground; and to the Emmet gives

Her foresight; and the intelligence that makes

The tiny Creatures strong by social league;

Supports the generations, multiplies