... Laud relied Upon the strength which Innocence supplied, 1822. [237] 1827. ... breathed ... 1822. [238] In his address, before his execution, Archbishop Laud said, "I am not in love with this passage through the Red Sea, and I have prayed _ut transiret calix iste_, but if not, God's will be done."--ED. XLVI AFFLICTIONS OF ENGLAND Harp! could'st thou venture, on thy boldest string, The faintest note to echo which the blast Caught from the hand of Moses as it pass'd O'er Sinai's top, or from the Shepherd-king, Early awake, by Siloa's brook, to sing 5 Of dread Jehovah; then, should wood and waste Hear also of that name, and mercy cast Off to the mountains, like a covering Of which the Lord was weary. Weep, oh! weep, Weep with the good,[239] beholding King and Priest 10 Despised by that stern God to whom they raise Their suppliant hands; but holy is the feast He keepeth; like the firmament his ways: His statutes like the chambers of the deep.[240] FOOTNOTES: [239] 1827. As good men wept, ... 1822. [240] See Psalm xxxvi. 5, 6.--ED. PART III FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE PRESENT TIMES [When I came to this part of the series I had the dream described in this Sonnet.[241] The figure was that of my daughter, and the whole passed exactly as here represented. The Sonnet was composed on the middle road leading from Grasmere to Ambleside: it was begun as I left the last house of the vale, and finished, word for word as it now stands, before I came in view of Rydal. I wish I could say the same of the five or six hundred I have written: most of them were frequently retouched in the course of composition, and, not a few, laboriously. I have only further to observe that the intended Church which prompted these Sonnets was erected on Coleorton Moor towards the centre of a very populous parish between three and four miles from Ashby-de-la-Zouch, on the road to Loughborough, and has proved, I believe, a great benefit to the neighbourhood.--I.F.] FOOTNOTES: [241] The first of Part III. p. 74.--ED. I "I SAW THE FIGURE OF A LOVELY MAID" I saw the figure of a lovely Maid Seated alone beneath a darksome tree, Whose fondly-overhanging canopy Set off her brightness with a pleasing shade. No Spirit was she; _that_[242] my heart betrayed, 5 For she was one I loved exceedingly; But while I gazed in tender reverie (Or was it sleep that with my Fancy played?) The bright corporeal presence--form and face-- Remaining still distinct grew thin and rare, 10 Like sunny mist;--at length the golden hair, Shape, limbs, and heavenly features, keeping pace Each with the other in a lingering race Of dissolution, melted into air. FOOTNOTES: [242] 1837. Substance she seem'd (and _that_ ... 1822. II