ese, we may say with Matthew Arnold, "It
might seem that Nature not only gave him the matter for his poem, but
wrote his poem for him."

[Illustration: WILLIAM WORDSWORTH. _From a life sketch in Fraser's
Magazine_.]

Wordsworth lacks humor and his compass is limited; but within that
compass he is surpassed by no poet since Milton. On the other hand, no
great poet ever wrote more that is almost worthless. Matthew Arnold
did much for Wordsworth's renown by collecting his priceless poems and
publishing them apart from the mediocre work. Among the fine
productions, his sonnets occupy a high place. Only Shakespeare and
Milton in our language excel him in this form of verse.

Wordsworth is greatest as a poet of nature. To him nature seemed to
possess a conscious soul, which expressed itself in the primrose, the
rippling lake, or the cuckoo's song, with as much intelligence as
human lips ever displayed in whispering a secret to the ear of love.
This interpretation of nature gives him a unique position among
English poets. Neither Shakespeare nor Milton had any such general
conception of nature.

[Illustration: RYDAL MOUNT NEAR AMBLESIDE, THE HOME OF WORDSWORTH'S
OLD AGE.]

The bereaved, the downcast, and those in need of companionship turn
naturally to Wordsworth. He said that it was his aim "to console the
afflicted, to add sunshine to daylight." His critics often say that he
does not recognize the indifference, even the cruelty of nature; but
that he chooses, instead, to present the world as a manifestation of
love and care for all creatures. When he was shown where a cruel
huntsman and his dogs had chased a poor hart to its death, Wordsworth
wrote:--

"This beast not unobserved by nature fell;
His death was mourned by sympathy divine.

"The Being that is in the clouds and air,
That is in the green leaves among the groves,
Maintains a deep and reverential care
For the unoffending creatures whom he loves."[15]

Whatever view we take of the indifference of nature or of the
suffering in existence, it is necessary for us, in order to live
hopeful and kindly lives, to feel with Wordsworth that the great
powers of the universe are not devoid of sympathy, and that they
encourage in us the development of "a spirit of love" for all earth's
creatures. It was Wordsworth's deepest conviction that any one alive
to the presence of nature's conscious spiritual force, that "rolls
through all things"--

"Shall fe