[844] Compare the _View from the top of Black Comb_ (vol. iv. p. 279); also the Inscription, _Written with a Slate Pencil on a Stone, on the Side of the Mountain of Black Comb_ (vol. iv. p. 281). The atmospheric phenomena referred to in the sonnet are frequently seen from the Cumberland hills, overspreading the peaks and ridges of the Isle of Man; and a similar appearance is often visible on the Cumbrian hills, as seen from Mona.--ED. XIII AT SEA OFF THE ISLE OF MAN Bold words affirmed, in days when faith was strong And doubts and scruples seldom teazed the brain, That[845] no adventurer's bark had power to gain These shores if he approached them bent on wrong; For, suddenly up-conjured from the Main, 5 Mists rose to hide the Land--that search, though long And eager, might be still pursued in vain. O Fancy, what an age was _that_ for song! That age, when not by _laws_ inanimate, As men believed, the waters were impelled, 10 The air controlled, the stars their courses held; But element and orb on _acts_ did wait Of _Powers_ endued with visible form, instinct With will, and to their work by passion linked. FOOTNOTES: [845] 1837. ... strong, That ... 1835. XIV "DESIRE WE PAST ILLUSIONS TO RECAL" Desire we past illusions to recal? To reinstate wild Fancy, would we hide Truth whose thick veil Science has drawn aside? No,--let this Age, high as she may, instal In her esteem the thirst that wrought man's fall, 5 The universe is infinitely wide; And conquering Reason, if self-glorified, Can nowhere move uncrossed by some new wall Or gulf of mystery, which thou alone, Imaginative Faith! canst overleap, 10 In progress toward the fount of Love,--the throne Of Power whose ministers the[846] records keep Of periods fixed, and laws established, less Flesh to exalt than prove its nothingness. FOOTNOTES: [846] 1837. Of Power, whose ministering Spirits ... 1835. XV ON ENTERING DOUGLAS BAY, ISLE OF MAN "Dignum laude virum Musa vetat mori."[847] The feudal Keep, the bastions of Cohorn,[848] Even when they rose to check or to repel Tides of aggressive war, oft served as well Greedy ambition, armed to treat with scorn Just limits; but yon Tower, whose smiles adorn 5 This perilous bay, stands clear of all offence; Blest work it is of love and innocence, A Tower of refuge built for the else forlorn.[849] Spare it, ye waves, and lift the mariner, Struggling for life, into its saving arms! 10 Spare, too, the human helpers! Do they stir 'Mid your fierce shock like men afraid to die? No; their dread service nerves the heart it warms, And they are led by noble HILLARY.[850] FOOTNOTES: