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The poetical works of William Wordsworth

... In six volumes ... A new edition
Wordsworth, William (1770-1850)

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VOL. I.
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VOL. II.
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POEMS ON THE NAMING OF PLACES.
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POEMS OF THE FANCY.
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POEMS OF THE IMAGINATION.
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MISCELLANEOUS SONNETS.
  
DEDICATION. TO ------
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PART I.
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PART II.
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PART III.
 I. 
I.
 II. 
II.
 III. 
III.
 IV. 
IV. RECOLLECTION OF THE PORTRAIT OF KING HENRY EIGHTH, TRINITY LODGE, CAMBRIDGE.
 V. 
V. ON THE DEATH OF HIS MAJESTY (GEORGE THE THIRD).
 VI. 
VI.
 VII. 
VII. A PARSONAGE IN OXFORDSHIRE.
 VIII. 
VIII. COMPOSED AMONG THE RUINS OF A CASTLE IN NORTH WALES.
 IX. 
IX. TO THE LADY E. B. AND THE HON. MISS P.
 X. 
X. TO THE TORRENT AT THE DEVIL'S BRIDGE, NORTH WALES, 1824.
 XI. 
XI. IN THE WOODS OF RYDAL.
 XII. 
XII.
 XIII. 
XIII.
 XIV. 
XIV. TO THE CUCKOO.
 XV. 
XV. TO ------
 XVI. 
XVI. THE INFANT M--- M---
 XVII. 
XVII. TO ------, IN HER SEVENTIETH YEAR.
 XVIII. 
XVIII. TO ROTHA Q---.
 XIX. 
XIX. A GRAVE-STONE UPON THE FLOOR IN THE CLOISTERS OF WORCESTER CATHEDRAL.
 XX. 
XX. ROMAN ANTIQUITIES DISCOVERED AT BISHOPSTONE, HEREFORDSHIRE.
 XXI. 
XXI.
 XXII. 
XXII. A TRADITION OF OKER HILL IN DARLEY DALE, DERBYSHIRE.
 XXIII. 
XXIII. FILIAL PIETY.
 XXIV. 
XXIV. TO THE AUTHOR'S PORTRAIT.
 XXV. 
XXV.
 XXVI. 
XXVI. TO B. R. HAYDON, ON SEEING HIS PICTURE OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE ON THE ISLAND OF ST. HELENA.
 XXVII. 
XXVII.
 XXVIII. 
XXVIII.
 XXIX. 
XXIX. ON A PORTRAIT OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON UPON THE FIELD OF WATERLOO, BY HAYDON.
 XXX. 
XXX. COMPOSED ON A MAY MORNING, 1838.
 XXXI. 
XXXI.
 XXXII. 
XXXII. TO A PAINTER.
 XXXIII. 
XXXIII. ON THE SAME SUBJECT.
 XXXIV. 
XXXIV.
 XXXV. 
XXXV.
 XXXVI. 
XXXVI.
 XXXVII. 
XXXVII.
 XXXVIII. 
XXXVIII. A PLEA FOR AUTHORS, MAY 1838.
 XXXIX. 
XXXIX. VALEDICTORY SONNET.
 XL. 
XL. TO THE REV. CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH, D.D., MASTER OF HARROW SCHOOL
 XLI. 
XLI. TO THE PLANET VENUS.
 XLII. 
XLII.
 XLIII. 
XLIII.
 XLIV. 
XLIV.
 XLV. 
XLV. ON THE PROJECTED KENDAL AND WINDERMERE RAILWAY.
 XLVI. 
XLVI.
 XLVII. 
XLVII. AT FURNESS ABBEY.
 XLVIII. 
XLVIII. AT FURNESS ABBEY.
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VOL. III.
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VOL. IV.
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VOL. V.
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[volume]

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271

XXII. DECAY OF PIETY.

Oft have I seen, ere Time had ploughed my cheek,
Matrons and Sires—who, punctual to the call
Of their loved Church, on fast or festival
Through the long year the House of Prayer would seek:
By Christmas snows, by visitation bleak
Of Easter winds, unscared, from hut or hall
They came to lowly bench or sculptured stall,
But with one fervour of devotion meek.
I see the places where they once were known,
And ask, surrounded even by kneeling crowds,
Is ancient Piety for ever flown?
Alas! even then they seemed like fleecy clouds
That, struggling through the western sky, have won
Their pensive light from a departed sun!
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