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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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VOL. III.
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VOL. IV.
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THE WHITE DOE OF RYLSTONE;
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ECCLESIASTICAL SONNETS.
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PART I. FROM THE INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY INTO BRITAIN, TO THE CONSUMMATION OF THE PAPAL DOMINION.
 I. 
I. INTRODUCTION.
 II. 
II. CONJECTURES.
 III. 
III. TREPIDATION OF THE DRUIDS.
 IV. 
IV. DRUIDICAL EXCOMMUNICATION.
 V. 
V. UNCERTAINTY.
 VI. 
VI. PERSECUTION.
 VII. 
VII. RECOVERY.
 VIII. 
VIII. TEMPTATIONS FROM ROMAN REFINEMENTS.
 IX. 
IX. DISSENSIONS.
 X. 
X. STRUGGLE OF THE BRITONS AGAINST THE BARBARIANS.
 XI. 
XI. SAXON CONQUEST.
 XII. 
XII. MONASTERY OF OLD BANGOR .
 XIII. 
XIII. CASUAL INCITEMENT.
 XIV. 
XIV GLAD TIDINGS.
 XV. 
XV. PAULINUS
 XVI. 
XVI. PERSUASION.
 XVII. 
XVII. CONVERSION.
 XVIII. 
XVIII. APOLOGY.
 XIX. 
XIX. PRIMITIVE SAXON CLERGY.
 XX. 
XX. OTHER INFLUENCES.
 XXI. 
XXI. SECLUSION.
 XXII. 
XXII. CONTINUED.
 XXIII. 
XXIII. REPROOF.
 XXIV. 
XXIV. SAXON MONASTERIES, AND LIGHTS AND SHADES OF THE RELIGION.
 XXV. 
XXV. MISSIONS AND TRAVELS.
 XXVI. 
XXVI. ALFRED.
 XXVII. 
XXVII. HIS DESCENDANTS.
 XXVIII. 
XXVIII. INFLUENCE ABUSED.
 XXIX. 
XXIX. DANISH CONQUESTS.
 XXX. 
XXX. CANUTE.
 XXXI. 
XXXI. THE NORMAN CONQUEST.
 XXXII. 
XXXII.
 XXXIII. 
XXXIII. THE COUNCIL OF CLERMONT.
 XXXIV. 
XXXIV. CRUSADES.
 XXXV. 
XXXV. RICHARD I.
 XXXVI. 
XXXVI. AN INTERDICT.
 XXXVII. 
XXXVII. PAPAL ABUSES.
 XXXVIII. 
XXXVIII. SCENE IN VENICE.
 XXXIX. 
XXXIX. PAPAL DOMINION.
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PART II. TO THE CLOSE OF THE TROUBLES IN THE REIGN OF CHARLES I.
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PART III. FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE PRESENT TIMES.
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EVENING VOLUNTARIES.
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POEMS, COMPOSED OR SUGGESTED DURING A TOUR, IN THE SUMMER OF 1833.
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POEMS OF SENTIMENT AND REFLECTION.
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SONNETS DEDICATED TO LIBERTY AND ORDER.
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SONNETS UPON THE PUNISHMENT OF DEATH.
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VOL. V.
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[volume]

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III. TREPIDATION OF THE DRUIDS.

Screams round the Arch-druid's brow the seamew —white
As Menai's foam; and toward the mystic ring
Where Augurs stand, the Future questioning,
Slowly the cormorant aims her heavy flight,
Portending ruin to each baleful rite,
That, in the lapse of ages, hath crept o'er
Diluvian truths, and patriarchal lore.
Haughty the Bard: can these meek doctrines blight
His transports? wither his heroic strains?
But all shall be fulfilled;—the Julian spear
A way first opened; and, with Roman chains,
The tidings come of Jesus crucified;
They come—they spread—the weak, the suffering, hear;
Receive the faith, and in the hope abide.
 

This water-fowl was, among the Druids, an emblem of those traditions connected with the deluge that made an important part of their mysteries. The Cormorant was a bird of bad omen.

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