Page:The Excursion, Wordsworth, 1814.djvu/368

342 Ye Rains of April, duly wet this earth!

Spare, burning Sun of Midsummer, these sods,

That they may knit together, and therewith

Our thoughts unite in kindred quietness!

Nor so the Valley shall forget her loss.

Dear Youth! by young and old alike beloved,

To me as precious as my own!—Green herbs

May creep (I wish that they would softly creep)

Over thy last abode, and we may pass

Reminded less imperiously of thee;—

The ridge itself may sink into the breast

Of earth, the great abyss, and be no more;

Yet shall not thy remembrance leave our hearts,

Thy image disappear. The mountain Ash,

Decked with autuumal berries that outshine

Spring's richest blossoms, yields a splendid show,

Amid the leafy woods; and ye have seen,

By a brook side or solitary tarn,

How she her station doth adorn,—the pool

Glows at her feet, and all the gloomy rocks

Are brightened round her. In his native Vale

Such and so glorious did this Youth appear;

A sight that kindled pleasure in all hearts