the cows you may see him inhale,
And his heart all the while is in Tilsbury Vale.

Now farewell, old Adam! when low [32] thou art laid,
May one blade of grass spring over [33] thy head; 90
And I hope that thy grave, wheresoever it be,
Will hear the wind sigh through the leaves of a tree.

With this picture, which was taken from real life, compare the
imaginative one of 'The Reverie of Poor Susan' [vol. i. p. 226]; and see
(to make up the deficiencies of this class) 'The Excursion, passim'.--W.
W. 1837.

* * * * *

VARIANTS ON THE TEXT

[Variant 1:

1837.

Erect as a sunflower he stands, and the streak
Of the unfaded rose is expressed on his cheek. 1815.

... still enlivens his cheek. 1827.]

[Variant 2:

1840.

There fashion'd that countenance, which, in spite of a stain 1815.]

[Variant 3:

There's an old man in London, the prime of old men,
You may hunt for his match through ten thousand and ten,
Of prop or of staff, does he walk, does he run,
No more need has he than a flow'r of the sun. 1800.

This stanza appeared only in 1800, occupying the place of the three
first stanzas in the final text.]

[Variant 4:

1815.

... name ... 1800.]

[Variant 5:

1815.

Was the Top of the Country, ... 1800.]

[Variant 6:

1827.

Not less than the skill of an Exchequer Teller
Could count the shoes worn on the steps of his cellar. 1800.

How oft have I heard in sweet Tilsbury Vale
Of the silver-rimmed horn whence he dealt his good ale. 1815.]

[Variant 7:

1815.

... plough'd land, ... 1800.]

[Variant 8:

1815.

... the noise of the bowl, 1800]

[Variant 9:

On the works of the world, on the bustle and sound,
Seated still in his boat, he look'd leisurely round;
And if now and then he his hands did employ,
'Twas with vanity, wonder, and infantine joy.

Only in the text of 1800.]

[Variant 10:

1815.

... were ... 1800.]

[Variant 11:

1815.

For they all still imagin'd his hive full of honey;
Like a Church-warden, Adam continu'd his rounds, 1800.]

[Variant 12:

1837.

... this ... 1800.]

[Variant 13:

1815.

... he kept to himself; 1800.]

[Variant 14:

1820.

You lift up your eyes, "O the merciless Jew!"
But in truth he was never more c