shared his opinions and felt as he did, stood up in opposition to the reformers of that period, it is questionable whether the Church would ever have recovered its lost ground and become the blessing it now is, and will, I trust, become in a still greater degree, both to those of its communion and to those who unfortunately are separated from it.—I. F.] PART I FROM THE INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY INTO BRITAIN, TO THE CONSUMMATION OF THE PAPAL DOMINION A verse may catch a wandering Soul, that flies I INTRODUCTION 1 I, WHO accompanied with faithful pace The text of 1857 (edited by Mr. Carter) returned to that of 1822. * Compare, in George Herbert's "The Temple," The Church Porch, i. 1— ED. + See "The River Duddon, a Series of Sonnets" (vol. vi. p. 225).—ED. CONJECTURES 5 Of mountain-quiet and boon nature's grace;1 5 ΤΟ 1 II CONJECTURES IF there be prophets on whose spirits rest 1827. And of my wild Companion dared to sing, In verse that moved with strictly-measured pace; 1822. 2 1827. Torrent, fiercely combating, In victory found her natural resting-place; 1822. 6 3 1837. Where, 1822. * See the series of "Poems dedicated to National Independence and Liberty."-ED. + Compare the last sonnet of this Series (Part III. XLVII., p. 1C8).-ED. It may not be unworthy of note that in the first edition of this sonnet Wordsworth made the stream of the Duddon masculine, that of Liberty feminine, and that of the Church neuter.-ED. § Stillingfleet adduces many arguments in support of this opinion, but they are unconvincing. The latter part of this Sonnet refers to a favourite notion of Roman Catholic writers, that Joseph of Arimathea and his com And call the Fountain forth by miracle, And with dread signs the nascent Stream invest? * Or some of humbler name, to these wild shores ΤΟ III TREPIDATION OF THE DRUIDS SCREAMS round the Arch-druid's brow the seamew † As Menai's foam; and toward the mystic ring That, in the lapse of ages,1 hath crept o'er Haughty the Bard: can these meek doctrines blight 5 IO A way first opened; ‡ and, with Roman chains, They come they spread—the weak, the suffering, hear; Receive the faith, and in the hope abide. 1 1827. seasons 1822. panions brought Christianity into Britain, and built a rude church at Glastonbury; alluded to hereafter, in a passage upon the dissolution of monasteries.-W. W. 1822. *St. Peter.-ED. This water-fowl was, among the Druids, an emblem of those traditions connected with the deluge that made an important part of their mysteries. The Cormorant was a bird of bad omen.-W. W. 1822. The reference is to the conquest of Britain by Julius Cæsar.-ED. UNCERTAINTY 7 IV DRUIDICAL EXCOMMUNICATION MERCY and Love have met thee on thy road, As to the one sole fount whence wisdom flowed, 5 10 1 V UNCERTAINTY DARKNESS surrounds us: seeking, we are lost Of Time and shadows of Tradition, crost; 2 1827. And yon thick woods maintain the primal truth, 2 1827. Of silently departed ages crossed; 1822. 1822. 5 * The reference is to Yorkshire. The Brigantes inhabited England from sea to sea, from Cumberland to Durham, but more especially Yorkshire. See Tacitus, Annals, book xii. 32; Ptolemy, Geographia, 27, 1; Camden, Britannia, 556-648.-ED. And where the boatman of the Western Isles Nor characters of Greek or Roman fame, 10 VI PERSECUTION LAMENT! for Diocletian's fiery sword 5 *Compare the four sonnets on Iona, in the "Poems composed or suggested during a Tour in the Summer of 1833."-ED. See note t, p. 13.-ED. "The first man who laid down his life in Britain for the Christian faith was Saint Alban. During the tenth, and most rigorous of the persecutions, a Christian priest, flying from his persecutors, came to the City of Verulamium, and took shelter in Alban's house: he, not being of the faith himself, concealed him for pure compassion; but when he observed the devotion of his guest, how fervent it was, and how firm, his heart was touched. When the persecutors came to search the house, Alban, |