Page:The Prelude, Wordsworth, 1850.djvu/362

340 From the great City, else it must have proved

To me a heart-depressing wilderness;

But much was wanting: therefore did I turn

To you, ye pathways, and ye lonely roads;

Sought you enriched with everything I prized,

With human kindnesses and simple joys.

Oh! next to one dear state of bliss, vouchsafed

Alas! to few in this untoward world,

The bliss of walking daily in life's prime

Through field or forest with the maid we love,

While yet our hearts are young, while yet we breathe

Nothing but happiness, in some lone nook,

Deep vale, or any where, the home of both,

From which it would be misery to stir:

Oh! next to such enjoyment of our youth,

In my esteem, next to such dear delight,

Was that of wandering on from day to day

Where I could meditate in peace, and cull

Knowledge that step by step might lead me on

To wisdom; or, as lightsome as a bird

Wafted upon the wind from distant lands,

Sing notes of greeting to strange fields or groves,

Which lacked not voice to welcome me in turn:

And, when that pleasant toil had ceased to please,