--He is insensibly subdued
To settled quiet: he is one by whom
All effort seems forgotten; one to whom
Long
patience
hath [1] such mild composure given, 10
That patience now doth seem a thing of which
He hath no need.
Wordsworth - 1
--Published 1798.
[If I recollect right, these verses were an overflowing from 'The Old
Cumberland Beggar'.--I. F.]
They were published in the first edition of "Lyrical Ballads" (1798),
but 'The Old Cumberland Beggar' was not published till 1800. In an early
MS., however, the two are incorporated.
In the edition of 1798, the poem was called, 'Old Man Travelling; Animal
Tranquillity and Decay, a Sketch'. In 1800, the title was 'Animal
Tranquillity and Decay. A Sketch'. In 1845, it was 'Animal Tranquillity
and Decay'.
It was included among the "Poems referring to the Period of Old
Age."--Ed.
* * * * *
THE POEM
The little hedgerow birds,
That peck along the road, regard him not.
He travels on, and in his face, his step,
His gait, is one expression: every limb,
His look and bending figure, all bespeak 5
A man who does not move with pain, but moves
With thought.
--He is insensibly subdued
To settled quiet: he is one by whom
All effort seems forgotten; one to whom
Long
patience
hath [1] such mild composure given, 10
That patience now doth seem a thing of which
He hath no need.
He is by nature led
To peace so perfect that the young behold
With envy, what the Old Man hardly feels. [2]
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1805.
...has... 1798.]
[Variant 2:
1815.
--I asked him whither he was bound, and what
The object of his journey; he replied
"Sir! I am going many miles to take
A last leave of my son, a mariner,
Who from a sea-fight has been brought to Falmouth,
And there is dying in an hospital." 1798.
