But He, who was on land, at sea,
My Brother, too, in loving thee,
Although he loved more silently,
Sleeps by his native shore.

Ah! hopeful, hopeful was the day
When to that Ship he bent his way,
To govern and to guide:

His wish was gained a little time

Would bring him back in manhood's prime

And free for life, these hills to climb;

With all his wants supplied.

And full of hope day followed day
While that stout Ship at anchor lay
Beside the shores of Wight;

The May had then made all things green;
And, floating there, in pomp serene,

That Ship was goodly to be seen,

His pride and his delight!

Yet then, when called ashore, he sought
The tender peace of rural thought:
In more than happy mood

To your abodes, bright daisy Flowers!
He then would steal at leisure hours,

And loved you glittering in your bowers
A starry multitude.

But hark the word!-the ship is gone;

Returns from her long course:

Sets sail-in season due,

-

anon

Once more on English earth they stand:
But, when a third time from the land

They parted, sorrow was at hand
For Him and for his crew.

Ill-fated Vessel! - ghastly shock!

At length delivered from the rock, The deep she hath regained;

And through the stormy night they steer;

Labouring for life, in hope and fear,

To reach a safer shore

Yet not to be attained!

- how near,

"Silence!" the brave Commander cried :
To that calm word a shriek replied,
It was the last death-shriek.

-A few (my soul oft sees that sight)
Survive upon the tall mast's height;
But one dear remnant of the night—
For Him in vain I seek.

Six weeks beneath the moving sea
He lay in slumber quietly;

Unforced by wind or wave

To quit the Ship for which he died,

(All claims of duty satisfied);

And there they found him at her side;

And bore him to the grave.

Vain service! yet not vainly done
For this, if other end were none,
That He, who had been cast
Upon a way of life unmeet

For such a gentle Soul and sweet,
Should find an undisturbed retreat
Near what he loved, at last-

That neighbourhood of grove and field
To Him a resting-place should yield,
A meek man and a brave!

The birds shall sing and ocean make

A mournful murmur for his sake;

And Thou, sweet Flower, shalt sleep and wake
Upon his senseless grave.

ELEGIAC VERSES

IN MEMORY OF MY BROTHER, JOHN WORDSWORTH, Commander of the E. I. Company's ship The Earl of Abergavenny, in which he perished by calamitous shipwreck, Feb. 6, 1805.1

I

THE Sheep-boy whistled loud, and lo!

That instant, startled by the shock,

The Buzzard mounted from the rock

Deliberate and slow:

1 Composed near the Mountain track that leads from Grasmere through Grisdale Hawes, where it descends towards Paterdale.

"Here did we stop; and here looked round,

While each into himself descends."

The point is two or three yards below the outlet of Grisdale tarn, on a foot-road by which a horse may pass to Paterdale

on the left, and the summit of Fairfield on the right.

a ridge of Helvellyn (Wordsworth's Note.)

Lord of the air, he took his flight;
Oh! could he on that woeful night
Have lent his wing, my Brother dear,
For one poor moment's space to Thee,
And all who struggled with the Sea,
When safety was so near.

II

Thus in the weakness of my heart
I spoke (but let that pang be still)
When rising from the rock at will,
I saw the Bird depart.

And let me calmly bless the Power

That meets me in this unknown Flower. Affecting type of him I mourn!

With calmness suffer and believe,

And grieve, and know that I must grieve,

Not cheerless, though forlorn.

III

Here did we stop; and here looked round. While each into himself descends,

For that last thought of parting Friends
That is not to be found.

Hidden was Grasmere Vale from sight,
Our home and his, his heart's delight,

His quiet heart's selected home.
But time before him melts away,
And he hath feeling of a day

Of blessedness to come.

GRISEDALE Tarn and Pass, with Ullswater

in distance; from Seat Sandal.

"Here did we stop; and here looked round While each into himself descends,

For that last thought of parting Friends That is not to be found."

- Elegiac Verses, p. 182.