Page:The Recluse, Wordsworth, 1888.djvu/59

Rh As that which urged me to a daring feat,

Deep pools, tall trees, black chasms, and dizzy crags,

And tottering towers: I loved to stand and read

Their looks forbidding, read and disobey,

Sometimes in act and evermore in thought.

With impulses, that scarcely were by these

Surpassed in strength, I heard of danger met

Or sought with courage; enterprise forlorn

By one, sole keeper of his own intent,

Or by a resolute few, who for the sake

Of glory fronted multitudes in arms.

Yea, to this hour I cannot read a Tale

Of two brave vessels matched in deadly fight,

And fighting to the death, but I am pleased

More than a wise man ought to be; I wish,