Page:The poetical works of Matthew Arnold, 1897.djvu/521

Rh With common cares unmingling, and apart,

Haunting the shrouded chambers of his heart;

Till life unstirr'd by action, life became

Threaded and lighten'd by a track of flame;

An inward light, that, with its streaming ray

On the dark current of his changeless day,

Bound all his being with a silver chain—

Like a swift river through a silent plain!

High thoughts were his, when by the gleaming flood,

With heart new strung, and stern resolve, he stood;

Where rode the tall dark ships, whose loosen'd sail

All idly flutter'd in the eastern gale;

High thoughts were his; but Memory's glance the while

Fell on the cherish'd past with tearful smile;

And peaceful joys and gentler thoughts swept by,

Like summer lightnings o'er a darken'd sky.

The peace of childhood, and the thoughts that roam,

Like loving shadows, round that childhood's home;

Joys that had come and vanish'd, half unknown,

Then slowly brighten'd, as the days had flown;

Years that were sweet or sad, becalm'd or toss'd

On life's wild waves—the living and the lost.

Youth stain'd with follies: and the thoughts of ill

Crush'd, as they rose, by manhood's sterner will.

Repentant prayers, that had been strong to save;

And the first sorrow, which is childhood's grave!

All shapes that haunt remembrance—soft and fair,

Like a green land at sunset, all were there!

Eyes that he knew, old faces unforgot,

Gaz'd sadly down on his unrestful lot,

And Memory's calm clear voice, and mournful eye,

Chill'd every buoyant hope that floated by;