Old Cumbria Gazetteer - railways, Cumbria: poetry 1833-1891


included in:-	railways, Cumbria
	railways, Cumbria: poetry 1833-1891
notes:-	William Wordsworth wrote a sonnet in favour of railway and other developments, 1833:-
	"Steamboats, Viaducts, and Railways"
	"Motions and Means, on land and sea at war With old poetic feeling, not for this, Shall ye, by Poets even, be judged amiss! Nor shall your presence, howso'er it mar The loveliness of Nature, prove a bar To the Mind's gaining that prophetic sense Of future change, that point of vision, whence May be discovered what in soul ye are. In spite of all that beauty may disown In your harsh features, Nature doth embrace Her lawful offspring in Man's art; and Time, Pleased with your triumphs o'er his brother Space, Accepts from your bold hands the proffered crown Of hope, and smiles on you with cheer sublime."
	But in he was against railways coming into the district of The Lakes, another sonnet, 1844:-
	"Is then no nook of English ground secure From rash assault? Schemes of retirement sown In youth, and 'mid the busy world kept pure As when their earliest flowers of hope were blown, Must perish; - how can they this blight endure? And must he too the ruthless change bemoan Who scorns a false utilitarian lure 'Mid his paternal fields at random thrown? Baffle the threat, bright Scene, from Orrest-head Given to the pausing traveller's rapturous glance: Plead for thy peace, thou beautiful romance Of nature; and, if human hearts be dead, Speak, passing winds; ye torrents, with your strong And constant voice, protest against the wrong."

notes:-	and later, J K Stephen, 1891:-
	"Poetic Lamentation on the Insufficiency of Steam Locomotion in the Lake District"
	"Bright Summer spreads his various hue O'er nestling vales and mountains steep, Glad birds are singing in the blue In joyous chorus bleat the sheep. But men are walking to and fro, Are riding, driving far and near, And nobody as yet can go By train to Buttermere."
	"The sunny lake, the mountain track, The leafy groves are little gain, While Rydal's pleasant pathways lack The rattle of the passing train. But oh! what poet would not sing That heaven-kissing rocky cone, On whose steep side the railway king Shall set his smoky throne?"
	"Helvellyn in those happy days With tunnelled base and grimy peak Will mark the lamp's approaching rays, Will hear the whistle's warning shriek: Will note the coming of the mails, And watch with unremitting stare The dusky grove of iron rails Which leads to Euston-square."
	"Wake, England, wake! 'tis now the hour To sweep away this black disgrace - The want of locomotive power In so enjoyable a place. Nature has done her part, and why Is mightier man in his to fail? I want to hear the porters cry 'Change here for Ennerdale!'"
	"Man! nature musts be sought and found In lonely pools, on verdant banks; Go, fight her on her chosen ground, Turn shapely Thirlmere into tanks: Pursue her to her last retreats, And if perchance a garden plot Is found among the London streets, Smoke, steam and spare it not."
	"Presumptuous nature! do not rate Unduly high thy humble lot, Nor vainly strive to emulate The fame of Stephenson and Watt. The beauties which thy lavish pride Has scattered through the smiling land Are little worth till sanctified By man's completing hand."
	by J K Stephen, 1891.

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