THE LOST LEADER. I. JUST for a handful of silver he left us, Just for a riband to stick in his coat- Rags-were they purple, his heart had been proud! Learned his great language, caught his clear accents, Shakespeare was of us, Milton was for us, Burns, Shelley, were with us,-they watch from their graves! He alone breaks from the van and the freemen, He alone sinks to the rear and the slaves ! II. We shall march prospering,—not thro' his presence; One more wrong to man, one more insult to God! Life's night begins : let him never come back to us! Forced praise on our part-the glimmer of twilight, Best fight on well, for we taught him-strike gallantly, Then let him receive the new knowledge and wait us, "The Lost Leader" is supposed to be the poet Wordsworth, who, on accepting the laureateship, abandoned the party of distinguished literary men who had enthusiastically supported the principles of the French Revolution. It is necessary, of course, to enter into the lofty enthusiasm of that party, and for the moment to identify ourselves with it, in order to appreciate the wonderful power and pathos of this exquisite poem. (See Wordsworth's 'French Revolution as it appeared to enthusiasts at its commencement.") The contrasts are very powerful between the one (paltry) gift he gained, and all the others (love, loyalty, life, &c.) they were privileged to devote (far richer than mere possession); and again, between the niggardliness of his new patrons with their dole of silver, contrasted with the enthusiastic devotion of his own followers, who having nothing but " copper," would yet put it all at his service-having nothing but " rags," were yet so liberal with what they had, that had they been purple, he would have been proud indeed, seeing that "a riband to stick in his coat' had proved so great an attraction. In the second stanza the fountains of the great deep of human feeling are broken up. "Life's night begins suggests at once the strength of the previous attachment, and the hopelessness of the broken tie being ever knit again on earth. The best thing is to be counted enemies now, and fight against each other as gallantly as they would have fought together. At the same time there is absolute confidence in the ultimate triumph of the party of freedom-he may "" menace our hearts," but we shall "master his "-and in the ultimate recovery of the lost leader himself, whom he hopes to find "pardoned in heaven, the first by the throne." LOVE AMONG THE RUINS. I. WHERE the quiet coloured end of evening smiles, On the solitary pastures where our sheep Half-asleep Tinkle homeward thro' the twilight, stray or stop Was the site once of a city great and gay, (So they say) Of our country's very capital, its prince, Ages since, Held his court in, gathered councils, wielding far II. Now, the country does not even boast a tree, As you see, To distinguish slopes of verdure, certain rills From the hills Intersect and give a name to, (else they run Into one) Where the domed and daring palace shot its spires O'er the hundred-gated circuit of a wall Bounding all, Made of marble, men might march on nor be pressed Twelve abreast. III. And such plenty and perfection, see, of grass Such a carpet as, this summer-time, o'erspreads Every vestige of the city, guessed alone, Stock or stone Where a multitude of men breathed joy and woe Long ago; Lust of glory pricked their hearts up, dread of shame And that glory and that shame alike, the gold IV. Now, the single little turret that remains On the plains, By the caper overrooted, by the gourd Overscored, While the patching houseleek's head of blossom winks Through the chinks Marks the basement whence a tower in ancient time Sprang sublime, And a burning ring, all round, the chariots traced As they raced, And the monarch and his minions and his dames Viewed the games. V. And I know-while thus the quiet-coloured eve To their folding, all our many tinkling fleece In such peace, And the slopes and rills in undistinguished grey That a girl with eager eyes and yellow hair Waits me there In the turret whence the charioteers caught soul For the goal, When the king looked, where she looks now, breathless, dumb Till I come. VI. But he looked upon the city, every side, Far and wide, All the mountains topped with temples, all the glades All the causeys, bridges, aqueducts, and then, All the men ! When I do come, she will speak not, she will stand On my shoulder, give her eyes the first embrace Of my face, Ere we rush, ere we extinguish sight and speech Each on each. |