[37:1] First published in 1834.

[37:2] It is probable that the recipient of the Amelia was the mother of Coleridge's first love, Mary Evans.

LINENOTES:

Title] Sent to Mrs. —— with an Amelia. MS. O.

[10]

double] doubled MS. O.

WRITTEN AFTER A WALK BEFORE SUPPER[37:3]

Tho' much averse, dear Jack, to flicker,
 To find a likeness for friend V—ker,
 I've made thro' Earth, and Air, and Sea,
 A Voyage of Discovery!
 And let me add (to ward off strife) 5
 For V—ker and for V—ker's Wife—
 She large and round beyond belief,
 A superfluity of beef!
 Her mind and body of a piece,
 And both composed of kitchen-grease. 10
 In short, Dame Truth might safely dub her
 Vulgarity enshrin'd in blubber!
 He, meagre bit of littleness,
 All snuff, and musk, and politesse;
 So thin, that strip him of his clothing, 15
 He'd totter on the edge of Nothing!
 In case of foe, he well might hide
 Snug in the collops of her side.
Ah then, what simile will suit?
 Spindle-leg in great jack-boot? 20
 Pismire crawling in a rut?
 Or a spigot in a butt?
 Thus I humm'd and ha'd awhile,
 When Madam Memory with a smile
 Thus twitch'd my ear—'Why sure, I ween, 25
 In London streets thou oft hast seen
 The very image of this pair:
 A little Ape with huge She-Bear
 Link'd by hapless chain together:
 An unlick'd mass the one—the other 30
 An antic small with nimble crupper——'
 But stop, my Muse! for here comes supper.

1792.

FOOTNOTES:

[37:3] First published in 1796, and secondly in P. and D. W., 1877-80. These lines, described as 'A Simile', were sent in a letter to the Rev. George Coleridge, dated August 9 [1792]. The Rev. Fulwood Smerdon, the 'Vicar' of the original MS., succeeded the Rev. John Coleridge as vicar of Ottery St. Mary in 1781. He was the 'Edmund' of 'Lines to a Friend', &c., vide post, pp. 74, 75.

LINENOTES:

Title] Epistle iii. Written, &c., 1796.

[1]

dear Jack] at folk Letter, 1792.

[2]

A simile for Vicar Letter, 1792.

[6]

For Vicar and for Vicar's wife Letter, 1792.

[7]

large] gross Letter, 1792.

[12]

enshrin'd] enclos'd

[19]

will] can Letter, 1792.

[23]

I ha'd and hem'd Letter, 1792.

[24]

Madam] Mrs. Letter, 1792.

[28]

huge] large Letter, 1792.

[29]

Link'd] Tied Letter, 1792.

[31]

small] lean Letter, 1792: huge 1796, 1877, 1888, 1893. For Antic huge read antic small 'Errata', 1796 p. [189].

IMITATED FROM OSSIAN[38:1]

The stream with languid murmur creeps,
 In Lumin's flowery vale:
 Beneath the dew the Lily weeps
 Slow-waving to the gale.
'Cease, restless gale!' it seems to say, 5
 'Nor wake me with thy sighing!
 The honours of my vernal day
 On rapid wing are flying.
'To-morrow shall the Traveller come
 Who late beheld me blooming: 10
 His searching eye shall vainly roam
 The dreary vale of Lumin.'
With eager gaze and wetted cheek
 My wonted haunts along,
 Thus, faithful Maiden! thou shalt seek 15
 The Youth of simplest song.
But I along the breeze shall roll
 The voice of feeble power;
 And dwell, the Moon-beam of thy soul,
 In Slumber's nightly hour. 20

1793.

FOOTNOTES:

[38:1] First published in 1796: included in 1803, 1828, 1829, and 1834. The following note was attached in 1796 and 1803:—The flower hangs its [heavy] head waving at times to the gale. 'Why dost thou awake me, O Gale?' it seems to say, 'I am covered with the drops of Heaven. The time of my fading is near, the blast that shall scatter my leaves. Tomorrow shall the traveller come; he that saw me in my beauty shall come. His eyes will search the field, [but] they will not find me. So shall they search in vain for the voice of Cona, after it has failed in the field.'—Berrathon, see Ossian's Poems, vol. ii. [ed. 1819, p. 481].

LINENOTES:

Title] Ode MS. E.

[10]

That erst, &c. MS. E.

[15]

faithful] lovely MS. E.

[16]

simplest] gentle MS. E.

THE COMPLAINT OF NINATHÓMA[39:1]

FROM THE SAME

How long will ye round me be swelling,
 O ye blue-tumbling waves of the sea?
 Not always in caves was my dwelling,
 Nor beneath the cold blast of the tree.
 Through the high-sounding halls of Cathlóma 5
 In the steps of my beauty I strayed;
 The warriors beheld Ninathóma,
 And they blesséd the white-bosom'd Maid!
 A Ghost! by my cavern it darted!
 In moon-beams the Spirit was drest— 10
 For lovely appear the Departed
 When they visit the dreams of my rest!
 But disturb'd by the tempest's commotion
 Fleet the shadowy forms of delight—
 Ah cease, thou shrill blast of the Ocean! 15
 To howl through my cavern by night.

1793.

FOOTNOTES:

[39:1] First published in 1796: included in 1803, 1828, 1829, and 1834. These lines were included in a letter from Coleridge to Mary Evans, dated Feb. 7, 1793. In 1796 and 1803 the following note was attached:—'How long will ye roll around me, blue-tumbling waters of Ocean. My dwelling is not always in caves; nor beneath the whistling tree. My [The] feast is spread in Torthoma's Hall. [My father delighted in my voice.] The youths beheld me in [the steps of] my loveliness. They blessed the dark-haired Nina-thomà.'—Berrathon [Ossian's Poems, 1819, ii. 484].

LINENOTES:

Title] Effusion xxx. The Complaint, &c., 1796.

[5]

halls] Hall Letter, 1793.

[8]

white-bosom'd] dark-tressed Letter, 1793.

[8-9]
By my friends, by my Lovers discarded,
 Like the flower of the Rock now I waste,
 That lifts her fair head unregarded,
 And scatters its leaves on the blast.

Letter, 1793.

[13]

disturb'd] dispers'd Letter, 1793.

SONGS OF THE PIXIES[40:1]

The Pixies, in the superstition of Devonshire, are a race of beings invisibly small, and harmless or friendly to man. At a small distance from a village in that county, half-way up a wood-covered hill, is an excavation called the Pixies' Parlour. The roots of old trees form its ceiling; and on its sides are innumerable cyphers, among which the author discovered his own cypher and those of his brothers, cut by the hand of their childhood. At the foot of the hill flows the river Otter.

To this place the Author, during the summer months of the year 1793, conducted a party of young ladies; one of whom, of stature elegantly small, and of complexion colourless yet clear, was proclaimed the Faery Queen. On which occasion the following Irregular Ode was written.

I
Whom the untaught Shepherds call
 Pixies in their madrigal,
 Fancy's children, here we dwell:
 Welcome, Ladies! to our cell.
 Here the wren of softest note 5
Builds its nest and warbles well;
 Here the blackbird strains his throat;
 Welcome, Ladies! to our cell.
II
When fades the moon to shadowy-pale,
 And scuds the cloud before the gale, 10
 Ere the Morn all gem-bedight
 Hath streak'd the East with rosy light,
 We sip the furze-flower's fragrant dews
 Clad in robes of rainbow hues;
 Or sport amid the shooting gleams 15
 To the tune of distant-tinkling teams,
 While lusty Labour scouting sorrow
 Bids the Dame a glad good-morrow,
 Who jogs the accustom'd road along,
 And paces cheery to her cheering song. 20
III
But not our filmy pinion
 We scorch amid the blaze of day,
 When Noontide's fiery-tresséd minion
 Flashes the fervid ray.
 Aye from the sultry heat 25
 We to the cave retreat
 O'ercanopied by huge roots intertwin'd
 With wildest texture, blacken'd o'er with age:
 Round them their mantle green the ivies bind,
 Beneath whose foliage pale 30
 Fann'd by the unfrequent gale
 We shield us from the Tyrant's mid-day rage.
IV
Thither, while the murmuring throng
 Of wild-bees hum their drowsy song,
 By Indolence and Fancy brought, 35
 A youthful Bard, 'unknown to Fame,'
 Wooes the Queen of Solemn Thought,
 And heaves the gentle misery of a sigh
 Gazing with tearful eye,
 As round our sandy grot appear 40
 Many a rudely-sculptur'd name
 To pensive Memory dear!
 Weaving gay dreams of sunny-tinctur'd hue,
 We glance before his view:
 O'er his hush'd soul our soothing witcheries shed 45
 And twine the future garland round his head.
V
When Evening's dusky car
 Crown'd with her dewy star
 Steals o'er the fading sky in shadowy flight;
 On leaves of aspen trees 50
 We tremble to the breeze
 Veil'd from the grosser ken of mortal sight.
 Or, haply, at the visionary hour,
 Along our wildly-bower'd sequester'd walk,
 We listen to the enamour'd rustic's talk; 55
 Heave with the heavings of the maiden's breast,
 Where young-eyed Loves have hid their turtle nest;
 Or guide of soul-subduing power
 The glance that from the half-confessing eye
 Darts the fond question or the soft reply. 60
VI
Or through the mystic ringlets of the vale
 We flash our faery feet in gamesome prank;
 Or, silent-sandal'd, pay our defter court,
 Circling the Spirit of the Western Gale,
 Where wearied with his flower-caressing sport, 65
 Supine he slumbers on a violet bank;
 Then with quaint music hymn the parting gleam
 By lonely Otter's sleep-persuading stream;
 Or where his wave with loud unquiet song
 Dash'd o'er the rocky channel froths along; 70
 Or where, his silver waters smooth'd to rest,
 The tall tree's shadow sleeps upon his breast.
VII
Hence thou lingerer, Light!
 Eve saddens into Night.
 Mother of wildly-working dreams! we view 75
 The sombre hours, that round thee stand
 With down-cast eyes (a duteous band!)
 Their dark robes dripping with the heavy dew.
 Sorceress of the ebon throne!
 Thy power the Pixies own, 80
 When round thy raven brow
 Heaven's lucent roses glow,
 And clouds in watery colours drest
 Float in light drapery o'er thy sable vest:
 What time the pale moon sheds a softer day 85
 Mellowing the woods beneath its pensive beam:
 For mid the quivering light 'tis ours to play,
 Aye dancing to the cadence of the stream.
VIII
Welcome, Ladies! to the cell
 Where the blameless Pixies dwell: 90
 But thou, Sweet Nymph! proclaim'd our Faery Queen,
 With what obeisance meet
 Thy presence shall we greet?
 For lo! attendant on thy steps are seen
 Graceful Ease in artless stole, 95
 And white-robed Purity of soul,
 With Honour's softer mien;
 Mirth of the loosely-flowing hair,
 And meek-eyed Pity eloquently fair,
 Whose tearful cheeks are lovely to the view, 100
 As snow-drop wet with dew.
IX
Unboastful Maid! though now the Lily pale
 Transparent grace thy beauties meek;
 Yet ere again along the impurpling vale,
 The purpling vale and elfin-haunted grove, 105
 Young Zephyr his fresh flowers profusely throws,
 We'll tinge with livelier hues thy cheek;
 And, haply, from the nectar-breathing Rose
 Extract a Blush for Love!

1793.

FOOTNOTES:

[40:1] First published in 1796: included in 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829, and 1834. The Songs of the Pixies forms part of the volume of MS. Poems presented to Mrs. Estlin, and of a quarto MS. volume which the poet retained for his own use.

LINENOTES:

This preface appears in all editions. Previous to 1834 the second paragraph read:—To this place the Author conducted a party of young Ladies, during the Summer months of the year 1793, &c.

The Songs of the Pixies, an irregular Ode. The lower orders of the people in Devonshire have a superstition concerning the existence of 'Pixies', a race of beings supposed to be invisibly small, and harmless or friendly to man. At a small village in the county, half-way up a Hill, is a large excavation called the 'Pixies'' Parlour. The roots of the trees growing above it form the ceiling—and on its sides are engraved innumerable cyphers, among which the author descried his own and those of his Brothers, cut by the rude hand of their childhood. At the foot of the Hill flows the River Otter. To this place the Author had the Honour of conducting a party of Young Ladies during the Summer months, on which occasion the following Poem was written. MS. E.

Note. The emendations in ll. 9, 11, 12, 15, 16 are peculiar to the edition of 1834, and are, certainly, Coleridge's own handiwork.

[9]

to] all MS. 4o, MS. E, 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829.

[11]

Ere Morn with living gems bedight MS. 4o, MS. E, 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829.

[12]

Hath streak'd] Purples MS. 4o, MS. E, 1796, 1828, 1829: Streaks 1797, 1803. rosy] streaky MS. E, 1796, 1828, 1829: purple 1797, 1803.

After l. 14 the following lines appear in MS. 4o, MS. E, 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828:

Richer than the deepen'd bloom
 That glows on Summer's lily-scented (scented 1797, 1803) plume.
[15]

shooting] rosy MS. 4o, MS. E, 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829.

[15-16]

gleam . . . team MS. 4o, MS. E, 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829.

[16]

To the tune of] Sooth'd by the MS. 4o, MS. E, 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829.

[20]

Timing to Dobbin's foot her cheery song. MS. E, MS. 4o erased.

[21]

our] the MS. E.

[35]

By rapture-beaming Fancy brought MS. E, MS. 4o erased.

[37]

Oft wooes MS. E: our faery garlands MS. 4o, MS. E, 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829.

[53-5]
Or at the silent visionary hour
 Along our rude sequester'd walk
 We list th' enamour'd Shepherd's talk.

MS. E.

Or at the silent

MS. 4o erased.

[54]

wildly-bower'd] wild 1797, 1803.

[57]

hid] built MS. 4o, MS. E, 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829.

[58]

of] with MS. E.

[59]
The Electric Flash that from the melting eye,

MS. 4o, MS. E, 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829.

[60]

or] and MS. E, 1796, 1797, 1803, 1828, 1829.

[61-5]
Or haply in the flower-embroider'd vale
 We ply our faery feet in gamesome prank;
 Or pay our wonted court
 Circling the Spirits of the Western Gale,
 Where tir'd with vernal sport

MS. E.

[63]
Or in deft homage pay our silent court

MS. 4o erased.

[68-70]
By lonely Otter's 'peace-persuading' stream
 Or where his frothing wave with merry song
 'Dash'd o'er the rough rock lightly leaps along'

MS. E.

[68]

peace-persuading stream MS. 4o erased.

[69-70]
Or where his waves with loud unquiet song
 Dash'd o'er the rocky channel froth along

MS. 4o, 1796 ('froths' in text, 'froth' errata).

[70]

froths] froth 1828, 1829.

[75-7]
Mother of wild'ring dreams thy course pursue.
 With downcast eyes around thee stand
 The sombre Hours, a duteous band.

MS. E.

[92]

obedience MS. 4o, 1796: Correction made in Errata.

[94]

For lo! around thy MS. E.

[97]

softer] gentler MS. E.

[99]

meek-eyed] meekest MS. E.

[100]

cheeks are] cheek is MS. E.

[104-5]
Yet ere again the impurpled vale
 And elfin-haunted grove

MS. 4o.

[104-6]
Yet ere again the purpling vale
 And elfin-haunted Grove
 Young Zephyr with fresh flowrets strews.

MS. 4o, MS. E.

[108]

nectar-breathing] nectar-dropping MS. E.

[109]

for] of MS. E.

THE ROSE[45:1]

As late each flower that sweetest blows
 I pluck'd, the Garden's pride!
 Within the petals of a Rose
 A sleeping Love I spied.
Around his brows a beamy wreath 5
 Of many a lucent hue;
 All purple glow'd his cheek, beneath,
 Inebriate with dew.
I softly seiz'd the unguarded Power,
 Nor scared his balmy rest: 10
 And placed him, caged within the flower,
 On spotless Sara's breast.
But when unweeting of the guile
 Awoke the prisoner sweet,
 He struggled to escape awhile 15
 And stamp'd his faery feet.
Ah! soon the soul-entrancing sight
 Subdued the impatient boy!
 He gazed! he thrill'd with deep delight!
 Then clapp'd his wings for joy. 20
'And O!' he cried—'Of magic kind
 What charms this Throne endear!
 Some other Love let Venus find—
 I'll fix my empire here.'[46:1]

1793.

FOOTNOTES: