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.] [Footnote F: Name of one of the vallies of the Chartreuse.] [Footnote G: If any of my readers should ever visit the Lake of Como, I recommend it to him to take a stroll along this charming little pathway: he must chuse the evening, as it is on the western side of the Lake. We pursued it from the foot of the water to it's head: it is once interrupted by a ferry.] [Footnote H: Solo, e pensoso i più deserti campi Vò misurando à passi tardi, e lenti. 'Petrarch'.] [Footnote I: The river along whose banks you descend in crossing the Alps by the Semplon pass. From the striking contrast of it's features, this pass I should imagine to be the most interesting among the Alps.] [Footnote J: Most of the bridges among the Alps are of wood and covered: these bridges have a heavy appearance, and rather injure the effect of the scenery in some places.] [Footnote K: "Red came the river down, and loud, and oft The angry Spirit of the water shriek'd." HOME'S 'Douglas'.] [Footnote L: The Catholic religion prevails here, these cells are, as is well known, very common in the Catholic countries, planted, like the Roman tombs, along the road side.]