—­Tho’ Liberty shall soon, indignant, raise
  Red on his hills his beacon’s comet blaze; 775
  Bid from on high his lonely cannon sound,
  And on ten thousand hearths his shout rebound;
  His larum-bell from village-tow’r to tow’r
  Swing on th’ astounded ear it’s dull undying roar: 
  Yet, yet rejoice, tho’ Pride’s perverted ire 780
  Rouze Hell’s own aid, and wrap thy hills in fire. 
  Lo! from th’ innocuous flames, a lovely birth! 
  With it’s own Virtues springs another earth: 
  Nature, as in her prime, her virgin reign
  Begins, and Love and Truth compose her train; 785
  With pulseless hand, and fix’d unwearied gaze,
  Unbreathing Justice her still beam surveys: 
  No more, along thy vales and viny groves,
  Whole hamlets disappearing as he moves,
  With cheeks o’erspread by smiles of baleful glow, 790
  On his pale horse shall fell Consumption go.

  Oh give, great God, to Freedom’s waves to ride
  Sublime o’er Conquest, Avarice, and Pride,
  To break, the vales where Death with Famine scow’rs,
  And dark Oppression builds her thick-ribb’d tow’rs; 795
  Where Machination her fell soul resigns,
  Fled panting to the centre of her mines;
  Where Persecution decks with ghastly smiles
  Her bed, his mountains mad Ambition piles;
  Where Discord stalks dilating, every hour, 800
  And crouching fearful at the feet of Pow’r,
  Like Lightnings eager for th’ almighty word,
  Look up for sign of havoc, Fire, and Sword; [Ll]
 —­Give them, beneath their breast while Gladness springs,
  To brood the nations o’er with Nile-like wings; 805
  And grant that every sceptred child of clay,
  Who cries, presumptuous, “here their tides shall stay,”
  Swept in their anger from th’ affrighted shore,
  With all his creatures sink—­to rise no more. 
    To-night, my friend, within this humble cot 810
  Be the dead load of mortal ills forgot,
  Renewing, when the rosy summits glow
  At morn, our various journey, sad and slow.

FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT

[Footnote A:  All the notes to this reprint of the edition of 1793 are Wordsworth’s own, as given in that edition.—­Ed.]

[Footnote B:  The lyre of Memnon is reported to have emitted melancholy or chearful tones, as it was touched by the sun’s evening or morning rays.]

[Footnote C:  There are few people whom it may be necessary to inform, that the sides of many of the post-roads in France are planted with a row of trees.]

[Footnote D:  Alluding to crosses seen on the tops of the spiry rocks of the Chartreuse, which have every appearance of being inaccessible.]

[Footnote E:  Names of rivers at the Chartreuse.]