Page:The Excursion, Wordsworth, 1814.djvu/390

364 Among the Tenantry of Thorpe and Vill;

Or straggling Burgh, of ancient charter proud,

And dignified by battlements and towers

Of some stern Castle, mouldering on the brow

Of a green hill or bank of rugged stream.

The foot-path faintly marked, the horse-track wild,

And formidable length of plashy lane,

(Prized avenues ere others had been shaped

Or easier links connecting place with place)

Have vanished,—swallowed up by stately roads

Easy and bold, that penetrate the gloom

Of England's farthest Glens. The Earth has lent

Her waters, Air her breezes; and the Sail

Of traffic glides with ceaseless interchange,

Glistening along the low and woody dale,

Or on the naked mountain's lofty side.

Meanwhile, at social Industry's command,

How quick, how vast an increase! From the germ

Of some poor Hamlet, rapidly produced

Here a huge Town, continuous and compact,

Hiding the face of earth for leagues—and there,

Where not a Habitation stood before,

The Abodes of men irregularly massed