A volant Tribe of Bards on earth are found, Who, while the flattering Zephyrs round them play, On "coignes of vantage"[374] hang their nests of clay; How quickly from that aery hold unbound, Dust for oblivion! To the solid ground 5 Of nature trusts the Mind that builds for aye; Convinced that there, there only, she can lay Secure foundations. As the year runs round, Apart she toils within the chosen ring; While the stars shine,[375] or while day's purple eye 10 Is gently closing with the flowers of spring; Where even the motion of an Angel's wing Would interrupt the intense tranquillity Of silent hills, and more than silent sky.[376] FOOTNOTES: [374] _Macbeth_, act I. scene vi. l. 7.--ED. [375] 1827. ... nests of clay, Work cunningly devised, and seeming sound; But quickly from its airy hold unbound By its own weight, or washed, or blown away With silent imperceptible decay. If man must build, admit him to thy ground, O Truth! to work within the eternal ring, Where the stars shine, ... 1823. [376] Compare Alexander Hume's _Day's Estival_ (1599). This and the preceding sonnet were first published in 1823 in _A Collection of Poems, chiefly manuscript, and from living authors, edited for the benefit of a Friend_, by Joanna Baillie. The collection includes Sir Walter Scott's _Macduff's Cross_, and Southey's _The Cataract of Lodore_.--ED. 1824 The poems written in 1824 were few. They include two addressed to Mrs. Wordsworth, two or three composed at Coleorton, and a couple of memorial sonnets suggested during a tour in North Wales.--ED. TO ---- Composed 1824.--Published 1827 [Written at Rydal Mount. On Mrs. Wordsworth.--I.F.] One of the "Poems founded on the Affections."--ED. Let other bards of angels sing, Bright suns without a spot; But thou art no such perfect thing: Rejoice that thou art not! [377] Heed not tho' none should call thee fair;[378] 5 So, Mary, let it be If nought in loveliness compare With what thou art to me. True beauty dwells in deep retreats, Whose veil is unremoved 10 Till heart with heart in concord beats, And the lover is beloved. FOOTNOTES: [377] Such if thou wert in all men's view, A universal show, What would my Fancy have to do, My Feelings to bestow? A second (additional) stanza in the editions of 1827-43. [378] 1832. The world denies that Thou art fair; 1827. TO ---- Composed 1824.--Published 1827 [Written at Rydal Mount. To Mrs. W.--I. F.] One of the "Poems founded on the Affections."--ED.