... its gray line. Murmuring his unambitious verse alone, Or in sweet converse with beloved Friends. No more must he frequent it. Yet might power Follow the yearnings of the spirit, he Reluctantly departing, would consign This walk, his heart's possession, to the care Of those pure Minds that reverence the Muse. MS. FAREWELL LINES[435] Composed 1826.--Published 1842 [These lines were designed as a farewell to Charles Lamb and his sister, who had retired from the throngs of London to comparative solitude in the village of Enfield--I.F.] One of the "Poems founded on the Affections."--ED. "High bliss is only for a higher state,"[436] But, surely, if severe afflictions borne With patience merit the reward of peace, Peace ye deserve; and may the solid good, Sought by a wise though late exchange, and here 5 With bounteous hand beneath a cottage-roof To you accorded, never be withdrawn, Nor for the world's best promises renounced. Most soothing was it for a welcome Friend, Fresh from the crowded city, to behold 10 That lonely union, privacy so deep, Such calm employments, such entire content. So when the rain is over, the storm laid, A pair of herons oft-times have I seen, Upon a rocky islet, side by side, 15 Drying their feathers in the sun, at ease; And so, when night with grateful gloom had fallen, Two glow-worms in such nearness that they shared, As seemed, their soft self-satisfying light, Each with the other, on the dewy ground, 20 Where He that made them blesses their repose.-- When wandering among lakes and hills I note, Once more, those creatures thus by nature paired, And guarded in their tranquil state of life, Even, as your happy presence to my mind 25 Their union brought, will they repay the debt, And send a thankful spirit back to you, With hope that we, dear Friends! shall meet again. FOOTNOTES: