the effect of the cold stone upon her feet, had uttered
the cry which alarmed him. It seemed to us all that this might serve as
a hint for a poem, and the story here told was constructed, and soon
after put into verse by me as it now stands.

[Note.--'Lyulph's Tower'--A pleasure-house built by the late Duke of
Norfolk upon the banks of Ullswater. Force is the word used in the Lake
District for Waterfall.]

XVIII. POEMS OF SENTIMENT AND REFLECTION.

421. _Expostulation and Reply_. [I.]

This poem is a favourite among the Quakers, as I have learnt on many
occasions. It was composed in front of the house at Alfoxden, in the
spring of 1798.

422. _The Tables turned_. [II.]

Composed at the same time [as Expostulation and Reply].

423. *_Lines written in early Spring_. [III.]

1798. Actually composed while I was sitting by the side of the brook
that runs down from the _Comb_, in which stands the village of Alford,
through the grounds of Alfoxden. It was a chosen resort of mine. The
brook fell down a sloping rock, so as to make a waterfall, considerable
for that country; and, across the pool below, had fallen a tree, an ash,
if I rightly remember, from which rose, perpendicularly, boughs in
search of the light intercepted by the deep shade above. The boughs bore
leaves of green, that for want of sunshine had faded into almost
lily-white; and from the underside of this natural sylvan bridge
depended long and beautiful tresses of ivy, which waved gently in the
breeze, that might, poetically speaking, be called the breath of the
waterfall. This motion varied, of course, in proportion to the power of
water in the brook. When, with dear friends, I revisited this spot,
after an interval of more than forty years, this interesting feature of
the scene was gone. To the owner of the place I could not but regret
that the beauty of this retired part of the grounds had not tempted him
to make it more accessible, by a path, not broad or obtrusive, but
sufficient for persons who love such scenes to creep along without
difficulty.

424. *_A Character_.

The principal features are taken from that of my friend Robert Jones.

425. *_To my Sister_. [V.]

Composed in front of Alfoxden House.

My little boy-messenger on this occasion was the son of Basil Montagu.
The larch mentioned in the first stanza was standing when I revisited
the place in May, 1841, more than forty years after. I was disappointed
that it had