A Power is passing from the earth To breathless Nature's dark abyss; But when the great and good depart[1] What is it more than this-- 20 That Man, who is from God sent forth, Doth yet again to God return?-- Such ebb and flow must ever be, Then wherefore should we mourn? Charles James Fox died September 13, 1806. He was Minister for Foreign Affairs at the time, having assumed office on the 5th February, shortly after the death of William Pitt. Wordsworth's sadness on this occasion, his recognition of Fox as great and good, and as "a Power" that was "passing from the earth," may have been due partly to personal and political sympathy, but also probably to Fox's appreciation of the better side of the French Revolution, and to his welcoming the pacific proposals of Talleyrand, perhaps also to his efforts for the abolition of slavery. The "lonely road" referred to in these _Lines_, was, in all likelihood, the path from Town-end towards the Swan Inn past the Hollins, Grasmere. A "mighty unison of streams" may be heard there any autumn evening after a stormy day, and especially after long continued rain, the sound of waters from Easdale, from Greenhead Ghyll, and the slopes of Silver How, blending with that of the Rothay in the valley below. Compare Dorothy Wordsworth's _Recollections of a Tour made in Scotland_, in 1803, p. 229 (edition 1874).--ED. VARIANTS: [1] 1837. But when the Mighty pass away 1807. FOOTNOTES: [A] Importuna e grave salma. (Michael Angelo.)--W. W. 1807. NOVEMBER, 1806 Composed 1806.--Published 1807 Classed among the "Sonnets dedicated to Liberty," re-named in 1845, "Poems dedicated to National Independence and Liberty."--ED. Another year!--another deadly blow! Another mighty Empire overthrown! And We are left, or shall be left, alone; The last that dare[1] to struggle with the Foe. 'Tis well! from this day forward we shall know 5 That in ourselves our safety must be sought; That by our own right hands it must be wrought; That we must stand unpropped, or be laid low. O dastard whom such foretaste[2] doth not cheer! We shall exult, if they who rule the land 10 Be men who hold its many blessings dear, Wise, upright, valiant; not a servile[3] band, Who are to judge of danger which they fear, And honour which they do not understand.[A] Napoleon won the battle of Jena on the 14th October 1806, entered Potsdam on the 25th, and Berlin on the 28th; Prince Hohenlohe laid down his arms on the 6th November; Blücher surrendered at Lübeck on the 7th; Magdeburg was taken on the 8th; on the 14th the French occupied Hanover; and on the 21st Napoleon issued his Berlin decree for the blockade of England--ED. VARIANTS: [1] 1827. ... dares ... 1807. [2] 1807.