The soul when smitten thus By a sublime _idea_, whencesoe'er Vouchsafed for union or communion, feeds On the pure bliss, and takes her rest with God.

675 Thus from a very early age, O Friend! My thoughts by slow gradations had been drawn To human-kind, and to the good and ill Of human life: Nature had led me on; And oft amid the "busy hum" I seemed [s] 680 To travel independent of her help, As if I had forgotten her; but no, The world of human-kind outweighed not hers In my habitual thoughts; the scale of love, Though filling daily, still was light, compared 685 With that in which _her_ mighty objects lay.
* * * * * VARIANTS ON THE TEXT [Variant 1: ...

which ...
MS.

letter to Sir George Beaumont, 1805.] [Variant 2: Is yon assembled in the gay green field?
MS.

letter to Sir George Beaumont, 1805.] [Variant 3: ...