"Now,
Matthew!
William Wordsworth
]
[Variant 5:
1820.
. . . his bough 1800. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: Compare the 'Winters Tale', act IV. scene iii. ll. 140-2:
'when you do dance, I wish you
A wave o' the sea, that you might ever do
Nothing but that, etc. '
Ed. ]
* * * * *
THE FOUNTAIN
A CONVERSATION
Composed 1799. --Published 1800
One of the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection. "--Ed.
We talked with open heart, and tongue
Affectionate and true,
A pair of friends, though I was young,
And Matthew seventy-two.
We lay beneath a spreading oak, 5
Beside a mossy seat;
And from the turf a fountain broke,
And gurgled at our feet.
"Now, Matthew! " said I, "let us match [1]
This water's pleasant tune 10
With some old border-song, or catch
That suits a summer's noon;
"Or of the church-clock and the chimes
Sing here beneath the shade,
That half-mad thing of witty rhymes 15
Which you last April made! "
In silence Matthew lay, and eyed
The spring beneath the tree;
And thus the dear old Man replied,
The grey-haired man of glee: 20
"No check, no stay, this Streamlet fears; [2]
How merrily it goes!
'Twill murmur on a thousand years,
And flow as now it flows.
"And here, on this delightful day, 25
I cannot choose but think
How oft, a vigorous man, I lay
Beside this fountain's brink.
"My eyes are dim with childish tears,
My heart is idly stirred, 30
For the same sound is in my ears
Which in those days I heard.
"Thus fares it still in our decay:
And yet the wiser mind
Mourns less for what age takes away 35
Than what it leaves behind. [A]
"The blackbird amid leafy trees,
The lark above the hill, [3]
Let loose their carols when they please,
Are quiet when they will. 40
"With Nature never do _they_ wage
A foolish strife; they see
A happy youth, and their old age
Is beautiful and free:
"But we are pressed by heavy laws; 45
And often, glad no more,
We wear a face of joy, because
We have been glad of yore.
"If there be [4] one who need bemoan
His kindred laid in earth, 50
The household hearts that were his own;
It is the man of mirth.
"My days, my Friend, are almost gone,
My life has been approved,
And many love me; but by none 55
Am I enough beloved. "
"Now both himself and me he wrongs,
The man who thus complains!
I live and sing my idle songs
Upon these happy plains; 60
"And, Matthew, for thy children dead
I'll be a son to thee! "
At this he grasped my hand, [5] and said,
"Alas! that cannot be. "
We rose up from the fountain-side; 65
And down the smooth descent
Of the green sheep-track did we glide;
And through the wood we went;
And, ere we came to Leonard's rock,
He sang those witty rhymes 70
About the crazy old church-clock,
And the bewildered chimes.
[Variant 5:
1820.
. . . his bough 1800. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: Compare the 'Winters Tale', act IV. scene iii. ll. 140-2:
'when you do dance, I wish you
A wave o' the sea, that you might ever do
Nothing but that, etc. '
Ed. ]
* * * * *
THE FOUNTAIN
A CONVERSATION
Composed 1799. --Published 1800
One of the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection. "--Ed.
We talked with open heart, and tongue
Affectionate and true,
A pair of friends, though I was young,
And Matthew seventy-two.
We lay beneath a spreading oak, 5
Beside a mossy seat;
And from the turf a fountain broke,
And gurgled at our feet.
"Now, Matthew! " said I, "let us match [1]
This water's pleasant tune 10
With some old border-song, or catch
That suits a summer's noon;
"Or of the church-clock and the chimes
Sing here beneath the shade,
That half-mad thing of witty rhymes 15
Which you last April made! "
In silence Matthew lay, and eyed
The spring beneath the tree;
And thus the dear old Man replied,
The grey-haired man of glee: 20
"No check, no stay, this Streamlet fears; [2]
How merrily it goes!
'Twill murmur on a thousand years,
And flow as now it flows.
"And here, on this delightful day, 25
I cannot choose but think
How oft, a vigorous man, I lay
Beside this fountain's brink.
"My eyes are dim with childish tears,
My heart is idly stirred, 30
For the same sound is in my ears
Which in those days I heard.
"Thus fares it still in our decay:
And yet the wiser mind
Mourns less for what age takes away 35
Than what it leaves behind. [A]
"The blackbird amid leafy trees,
The lark above the hill, [3]
Let loose their carols when they please,
Are quiet when they will. 40
"With Nature never do _they_ wage
A foolish strife; they see
A happy youth, and their old age
Is beautiful and free:
"But we are pressed by heavy laws; 45
And often, glad no more,
We wear a face of joy, because
We have been glad of yore.
"If there be [4] one who need bemoan
His kindred laid in earth, 50
The household hearts that were his own;
It is the man of mirth.
"My days, my Friend, are almost gone,
My life has been approved,
And many love me; but by none 55
Am I enough beloved. "
"Now both himself and me he wrongs,
The man who thus complains!
I live and sing my idle songs
Upon these happy plains; 60
"And, Matthew, for thy children dead
I'll be a son to thee! "
At this he grasped my hand, [5] and said,
"Alas! that cannot be. "
We rose up from the fountain-side; 65
And down the smooth descent
Of the green sheep-track did we glide;
And through the wood we went;
And, ere we came to Leonard's rock,
He sang those witty rhymes 70
About the crazy old church-clock,
And the bewildered chimes.
