Which once, [70] be weather as it might,
  Had still a nest within a nest,
  Thy shelter—­and their mother’s breast! 
  Then most of all, then far the most, 850
  Do I regret what we have lost;
  Am grieved for that unhappy sin
  Which robbed us of good Benjamin;—­
  And of his stately Charge, which none
  Could keep alive when He was gone! 855

* * * * *

VARIANTS ON THE TEXT

[Variant 1: 

1819.

  The Night-hawk is singing his frog-like tune,
  Twirling his watchman’s rattle about—­1805.  MS. [a]

  The dor-hawk, solitary bird,
  Round the dim crags on heavy pinions wheeling,
  Buzzes incessantly, a tiresome tune;
  That constant voice is all that can be heard 1820.

  ... on heavy pinions wheeling,
  With untired voice sings an unvaried tune;
  Those burring notes are all that can be heard 1836.

The text of 1845 returns to the first version of 1819.]

[Variant 2: 

1819.

    Now that the children are abed
  The little glow-worms nothing dread,
  Such prize as their bright lamps would be. 
  Sooth they come in company,
  And shine in quietness secure,
  On the mossy bank by the cottage door,
  As safe as on the loneliest moor. 
  In the play, or on the hill,
  Everything is hushed and still;
  The clouds show here and there a spot
  Of a star that twinkles not,
  The air as in ...

From a MS. copy of the poem in Henry Crabb Robinson’s ‘Diary, etc’. 1812.

    Now that the children’s busiest schemes
  Do all lie buried in blank sleep,
  Or only live in stirring dreams,
  The glow-worms fearless watch may keep;
  Rich prize as their bright lamps would be,
  They shine, a quiet company,
  On mossy bank by cottage-door,
  As safe as on the loneliest moor. 
  In hazy straits the clouds between,
  And in their stations twinkling not,
  Some thinly-sprinkled stars are seen,
  Each changed into a pallid spot. 1836.

The text of 1845 returns to that of 1819.]

[Variant 3: 

1836.

  The mountains rise to wond’rous height,
  And in the heavens there is a weight; 1819.

  And in the heavens there hangs a weight; 1827.

In the editions of 1819 to 1832, these two lines follow the line “Like the stifling of disease.”]

[Variant 4: 

1819.

  ... faint ... 1836.

The text of 1845 returns to that of 1819.]

[Variant 5: 

1819.

  But welcome dews ... 1836.

The text of 1845 returns to that of 1819.]

[Variant 6: 

1819.

  ... or ... 1836.