Bradford Academy - Chimes Yearbook (Haverhill, MA)

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N L he ga7ed with unaccustomed eyes at the rush and hurry of city life To one wx ho had spent his childhood in the country where all are friends the cold indifferent atmosphere of the city was incomprehensible He who had lived among the pure hearted and sincere children of Nature saw for the first time men women and children living the lives of degra dfrtion insincerity and wanton revelry He saw and shuddered for it threatened to shatter his ideals of human life But after a time his horror was seasoned by grief and sorrow for the Spirit of Nature was with him then and The soul of Beauty and endurin life Vouchsafed her inspiration and diffused l'hrou h mea re lines and colors and the press Cf self destroying transitory things Composure and ennobling Harmony 1 . 7 C y C , . c , ' 7 . gg A ' ' Y! 7 J .C 7 H . .A 7 0' . D . . y v , . O' O' D an 1 -, .. , , - 17 , H . . ,, . . . . It was this Spirit of Nature which made him see past this misery and suffering, the golden goal toward which mankind is tending. It made him look more closely into the heart of man and gave himi a deeper human understanding. After a sojourn of several months in London and atrip to Wales, Vlfordsworth decided to go to France that he might fit himself to be a tutor and so satisfy his guardians, who desired him to settle upon some occupation and also to satisfy his own longing for travel. It was just at the dawn of the first French Republic when the people of France were swayed by the idea of Liberty, Equality and Fraternityfi At first all this had little influence on Wordsworth. After a time, however, he became very intimate with a strong republican adherent, Beaupuis. Through this man WVordsworth's interest was thoroughly aroused and his enthusiasm was intense. Even though he did not fully understand the political situation, his sympathies were with the oppressed, who seemed to be fighting against the aristocracy for their rights. Even the mad terror of the September massacres did not shake his belief in the fight for liberty. He would even have taken part himself if he had not been recalled to England on account of a lack of funds. So he watched conditions from over the waters with a feverish interest. But now the oppressed in their turn became the oppressors and changed a war of self-defence to one of conquest. This was one of the greatest dis- appointments of lVordsworth's life.. He had so firmly believed in the principles for which the French had fought that it seemed such ideals could not fail. He could not understand how those who had shed blood for the cause could in their turn become tyrants. Then followed for 96

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ANNALS lt was at this time that human life came to be of a more v't l 1 a umble folk of the hills interest to him. He learned to understand the h who by their daily occupations were in direct contact with the out-ofi door world which was so much a part of him. I Shepiigffflflilitfiiseyiieiesfflelifrwogdliaf in the -mst? and the them for the purity and sincerit ofa emgsfw hlm and beloved 'Wlichaell' we get this feelin fy' eu, emotlonsi In- hls poem -A C Q g o his love and understanding of the simple shepherd s life through their mutual love for Nature, though the shepherds love is much less subtle and more clearly defined. The summer quickly passed and Wordgwgfth returned to resume his course at Cambridge. But now the trivial pleasures had lost all their glamor and the remembrance of his wanderings and his communion with the silent forms of Nature elevated his spirits. He loved to spend his time out of doors in the college grounds or reading those poets who, by their works, have left a legacy to mankind which has helped and inspired innumerable minds. The vacations were spent roaming through old haunts with his sister Dorothy whose love and sympathy were all his life a continual source of inspiration and encouragement. Sometimes, too, Mary Hutchinson, who afterwards became his Wife, accompanied them in their rambles. It was she of whom he wrote A perfect woman, nobly planned, To warn, to comfort and command, And yet a spirit still, and bright XVith something of angelic light. During his third vacation Wordsworth decided to visit the Alps with a college friend. They stopped on their way in Paris. It wasiat the time of the Revolution, just after the fall of the Bastille. But Words- worth did not then feel any vital interest in the principles of the Revo- lution. He Hheard, he saw, he felt, but with no intimate concern. On reaching Switzerland and climbing the ice-capped peaks of the Alps, XVordsworth derived an indescribable joy from the majesty of those mountains. Tn his own words - every sound or sight, In its degree of power, Hdminlftefed To grandeur or to tenderness. One year after his return from the Alps,Wordsworth left college after having received his degree of BA. His future course was as yet undriterg mined, and without any dehnite pla11S Ol' hOPeS he Went te London' er 95

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ANNALS XKY.O1glSVg7O1'f,l'1 a time when he analyzed the motives and impulses ef the mint of man that he might come to some conclusion in regard to such con ra ictory actions. The precepts of Nature were forgotten whne his-mind groped blindly for a solution of this problem. This was the period of his soul's last and lowest ebbf' His sister Dorothy was the greatest help to him now, and through her tender love and sympathy she brought him out of his depression and turned his mind again to Nature. Here he found a counterpoise Which, when the spirit of evil reached its height, maintained fer him 3, secret happiness. lt was a different Nature now to him. It had perhaps lost some of the heavenly light with which he had surrounded it in his youthful imagination. This is best expressed in his own words For I have learned To look on nature, not as in the hours Of thoughtless youthg but hearing oftentimes The still sad music of humanity, Nor harsh, nor grating, though of ample power To chasten and subdue. And I have felt A presence that disturbs me with the joy Cf elevated thoughts, a sense sublime Of something far more deeply interfused, Xlihose dwelling is in the light of setting suns, And the round ocean, and the living air, And the blue sky, and the mind of many A motion and a spirit, that impels All thinking things, all objects of thought And rolls through all thingsf' These lines seem to explain the results of the gradual growth of d VVordsworth's soul better than any others. The spirit which he ha first ascribed to Nature alone, he now saw to be the spirit that had its dwelling also in the min common bond. In this gradual evolution of his mind u lYordsworth had formed his philosophy of life. From Nature JDO Nature's God is the essence of his philosophy. In a few words' Nature was to him a living thing, always ready with its lessons, its inspirations, its sympathy, if we but open our hearts to receive it. lt lends a re- straining hand to the violence of human passions and calms the per- turbed heart. lt gives a delicate sensibility. From Natuyre ma? can attain bgth mefal and physical beauty. ln a word it is God s reve ation of himself to the human race and one must feel .this PGI'V3d1ng Spfflt before he can receive the wisdom and truth Wh1Ch Such Commumon d of man, in this way uniting the universe by a nder the iniiuence of Nature, - HELEN T. ELDER. imparts. 97 ,......,...--.---uw.,