I rose while yet the cattle, heat-opprest, Crowded together under rustling trees Brushed by the current of the water-breeze; And for _their_ sakes, and love of all that rest, On Duddon's margin, in the sheltering nest; 5 For all the startled scaly tribes that slink Into his coverts, and each fearless link Of dancing insects forged upon his breast; For these, and hopes and recollections worn Close to the vital seat of human clay; 10 Glad meetings, tender partings, that upstay The drooping mind of absence, by vows sworn In his pure presence near the trysting thorn-- I thanked the Leader of my onward way. XXIX "NO RECORD TELLS OF LANCE OPPOSED TO LANCE" No record tells of lance opposed to lance, Horse charging horse, 'mid these retired domains; Tells that[463] their turf drank purple from the veins Of heroes, fallen, or struggling to advance, Till doubtful combat issued in a trance 5 Of victory, that struck through heart and reins Even to the inmost seat of mortal pains, And lightened o'er the pallid countenance. Yet, to the loyal and the brave, who lie In the blank earth, neglected and forlorn, 10 The passing Winds memorial tribute pay; The Torrents chant their praise, inspiring scorn Of power usurped; with proclamation high, And glad acknowledgment, of lawful sway.[GE] VARIANTS: [Footnote 462: Mr. J. Denton, quoted in Whellan's _History and Topography_, p. 410.] [Footnote 463: 1827. Nor that ... 1820. ] FOOTNOTES: [Footnote GE: "On the left or east bank of the Duddon, a little higher than Ulpha Bridge, near a farmhouse called New Close is a small enclosure, 44 feet square, with two old fir-trees and a quantity of laurels, which there can be little doubt is the scene of Sonnet XXIX. The enclosure, known to the country people as the Sepulchre, is an old burial-place of the Society of Friends, none having been interred there since 1755, when a Friend from Birker, a small hamlet about four miles distant, was buried.[464] The following two lines literally describe the condition of the little burial-ground:-- Yet, to the loyal and the brave, who lie In the blank earth, neglected and forlorn;-- the earth is 'blank,' because there is not a single tombstone, and the graves are (at any rate at the present time) most literally 'neglected and forlorn,' for the place is a tangle of rank grass and untrimmed bushes. About the year 1842 it was planted with fruit-trees, but when Wordsworth saw it, it probably presented much the same appearance as at present. The opening lines-- No record tells of lance opposed to lance, etc., and indeed the whole sonnet obtains a new significance from the association of the spot which it describes with the _men of peace_." (Herbert Rix.)