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. ... he replied That he was going many miles to take A last leave of his son, a mariner, Who from a sea-fight had been brought to Falmouth, And there was dying [i] in an hospital. 1800 to 1805.] * * * * * SUB-FOOTNOTE ON THE VARIANT [Sub-Footnote i: The edition of 1800 has "lying," evidently a misprint.--Ed.] * * * * * APPENDIX I The following is the full text of the original edition of 'Descriptive Sketches', first published in 1793: DESCRIPTIVE SKETCHES IN VERSE. TAKEN DURING A PEDESTRIAN TOUR IN THE ITALIAN, GRISON, SWISS, AND SAVOYARD ALPS. BY W. WORDSWORTH, B.A. OF ST. JOHN'S, CAMBRIDGE. "LOCA PASTORUM DESERTA ATQUE OTIA DIA." 'Lucret'. "CASTELLA IN TUMULIS-- ET LONGE SALTUS LATEQUE VACANTES." 'Virgil'. LONDON: PRINTED FOR J. JOHNSON, ST. PAUL'S CHURCH-YARD. 1793. TO THE REV. ROBERT JONES, FELLOW OF ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. Dear sir, However desirous I might have been of giving you proofs of the high place you hold in my esteem, I should have been cautious of wounding your delicacy by thus publicly addressing you, had not the circumstance of my having accompanied you amongst the Alps, seemed to give this dedication a propriety sufficient to do away any scruples which your modesty might otherwise have suggested. In inscribing this little work to you I consult my heart. You know well how great is the difference between two companions lolling in a post chaise, and two travellers plodding slowly along the road, side by side, each with his little knap-sack of necessaries upon his shoulders. How much more of heart between the two latter!