Society were touched with kind concern,

And gentle 'Nature grieved, that one should die ;' Or, if the change demanded no regret,

Observed the liberating stroke—and blessed.

And whence that tribute? wherefore these regards? Not from the naked Heart alone of Man (Though claiming high distinction upon earth As the sole spring and fountain-head of tears, His own peculiar utterance for distress Or gladness)-No," the philosophic Priest Continued, "tis not in the vital seat Of feeling to produce them, without aid From the pure soul, the soul sublime and pure ; With her two faculties of eye and ear,

The one by which a creature, whom his sins

Have rendered prone, can upward look to heaven ;
The other that empowers him to perceive

The voice of Deity, on height and plain,

Whispering those truths in stillness, which the WORD,

To the four quarters of the winds, proclaims.

Not without such assistance could the use

Of these benign observances prevail:

Thus are they born, thus fostered, thus maintained;

And by the care prospective of our wise

Forefathers, who, to guard against the shocks
The fluctuation and decay of things,

Embodied and established these high truths

In solemn institutions :-men convinced

That life is love and immortality, +
The being one, and one the element.
There lies the channel, and original bed,
From the beginning, hollowed out and scooped
For Man's affections-else betrayed and lost,
And swallowed up 'mid deserts infinite!
This is the genuine course, the aim, and end
Of prescient reason; all conclusions else
Are abject, vain, presumptuous, and perverse.
The faith partaking of those holy times,
Life, I repeat, is energy of love/
'Divine or human; exercised in pain,
In strife, and tribulation; and ordained,
If so approved and sanctified, to pass,
Through shades and silent rest, to endless joy."

END OF THE FIFTH BOOK.

THE EXCURSION.

BOOK VI.

THE CHURCH-YARD AMONG THE MOUNTAINS.

ARGUMENT.

PAGE 205, Poet's Address to the State and Church of England-208, The Pastor not inferior to the ancient Worthies of the Church208, He begins his Narratives with an instance of unrequited Love -210, Anguish of mind subdued-and how-213, The lonely Miner-214, An instance of perseverance-215, Which leads by contrast to an example of abused talents, irresolution, and weakness -219, Solitary, applying this covertly to his own case, asks for an instance of some Stranger, whose dispositions may have led him to end his days here-220, Pastor, in answer, gives an account of the harmonising influence of Solitude upon two men of opposite principles, who had encountered agitations in public life-223, The rule by which Peace may be obtained expressed, and where—224, Solitary hints at an overpowering Fatality-225, Answer of the Pastor-226, What subjects he will exclude from his Narratives -227, Conversation upon this-229, Instance of an unamiable character, a Female, and why given-233, Contrasted with this, a meek sufferer, from unguarded and betrayed love-244, Instance of heavier guilt, and its consequences to the Offender-245, With this instance of a Marriage Contract broken is contrasted one of a Widower, evidencing his faithful affection towards his deceased wife by his care of their female Children.