[A]

Composed 1812.--Published 1827

"Let me be allowed the aid of verse to describe the evolutions
which these visitants sometimes perform, on a fine day towards the
close of winter."--_Extract from the Author's Book on the
Lakes._--W. W. 1827.

[Observed frequently over the lakes of Rydal and Grasmere.--I. F.]

Placed among the "Poems of the Imagination."--ED.

Mark how the feathered tenants of the flood,
With grace of motion that might scarcely seem[B]
Inferior to angelical, prolong
Their curious pastime! shaping in mid air
(And sometimes with ambitious wing that soars 5
High as the level of the mountain-tops)
A circuit ampler than the lake beneath--
Their own domain; but ever, while intent
On tracing and retracing that large round,
Their jubilant activity evolves 10
Hundreds of curves and circlets, to and fro,
Upward and downward, progress intricate
Yet unperplexed, as if one spirit swayed
Their indefatigable flight. 'Tis done--
Ten times, or more, I fancied it had ceased; 15
But lo! the vanished company again
Ascending; they approach--I hear their wings,
Faint, faint at first; and then an eager sound,
Past in a moment--and as faint again!
They tempt the sun to sport amid their plumes; 20
They tempt the water, or the gleaming ice,
To show them a fair image; 'tis themselves,
Their own fair forms, upon the glimmering plain,
Painted more soft and fair as they descend
Almost to touch;--then up again aloft, 25
Up with a sally and a flash of speed,
As if they scorned both resting-place and rest!

FOOTNOTES:

[A] This is part of the canto of _The Recluse_, entitled "Home at
Grasmere."--ED.

[B] For the original text, which differs from this, see _The Recluse_,
vol. viii. of this edition.--ED.

1813

See the note to the previous year, 1812.--ED.

VIEW FROM THE TOP OF BLACK COMB

Composed 1813.--Published 1815

Black Comb stands at the southern extremity of Cumberland: its base
covers a much greater extent of ground than any other mountain in these
parts; and, from its situation, the summit commands a more extensive
view than any other point in Britain.--W. W. 1827.

[Mrs. Wordsworth and I, as mentioned in the _Epistle to Sir G.
Beaumont_, lived sometime under its shadow.--