Page:The Excursion, Wordsworth, 1814.djvu/200

174 Amid the wrangling Schools—a hung,

Beautiful Region! o'er thy Towns and Farms,

Statues and Temples, and memorial Tombs;

And emanations were perceived; and acts

Of immortality, in Nature's course,

Exemplified by mysteries, that were felt

As bonds, on grave Philosopher imposed

And armed Warrior; and in every grove

A gay or pensive tenderness prevailed

When piety more awful had relaxed.

—"Take, running River, take these Locks of mine"—

Thus would the Votary say—"this severed hair,

"My Vow fulfilling, do I here present,

"Thankful for my beloved Child's return.

"Thy banks, Cephisus, he again hath trod,

"Thy murmurs heard; and drunk the chrystal lymph

"With which thou dost refresh the thirsty lip,

"And moisten all day long these flowery fields."

And doubtless, sometimes, when the hair was shed

Upon the flowing stream, a thought arose

Of Life continuous, Being unimpaired;

That hath been, is, and where it was and is

There shall be,—seen, and heard, and felt, and known,