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In the Downhill of Life

A bridge to the Romantic era

William Collins
William Collins
  • In the downhill of life, when I find I’m declining,
  • May my lot no less fortunate be
  • Than a snug elbow-chair can afford for reclining,
  • And a cot that o’erlooks the wide sea;
  • With an ambling pad-pony to pace o’er the lawn,
  • While I carol away idle sorrow,
  • And blithe as the lark that each day hails the dawn
  • Look forward with hope for tomorrow.
  • With a porch at my door, both for shelter and shade too,
  • As the sunshine or rain may prevail;
  • And a small spot of ground for the use of the spade too,
  • With a barn for the use of the flail;
  • A cow for my dairy, a dog for my game,
  • And a purse when a friend wants to borrow;
  • I’ll envy no Nabob his riches or fame,
  • Nor what honours may wait him tomorrow.
  • From the bleak northern blast may my cot be completely
  • Secured by a neighbouring hill;
  • And at night may repose steal upon me more sweetly
  • By the sound of a murmuring rill;
  • And while peace and plenty I find at my board,
  • With a heart free from sickness and sorrow,
  • With my friends may I share what today may afford,
  • And let them spread the table tomorrow.
  • And when I at last must throw off this frail cov’ring
  • Which I’ve worn for threescore years and ten,
  • On the brink of the grave I’ll not seek to keep hov’ring,
  • Nor my thread wish to spin o’er again;
  • But my face in the glass I’ll serenely survey,
  • And with smiles count each wrinkle and furrow;
  • As this old worn-out stuff, which is threadbare today,
  • May become everlasting tomorrow. 

William Collins (1721–1759) was an English poet whose influence was only second to Thomas Gray (1716–1771) as a poet of the middle decades of the 18th Century. Emotive and wistful in their expression, his lyrical odes mark a distinct departure from the Augustan poets of the previous generation — Alexander Pope and Michael Dryden foremost. Because his work is of florid and effusive sentiments, Collins is often seen, like William Blake, as a bridge to the Romantic era which would follow his generation’s output.

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William Collins
William Collins
  • In the downhill of life, when I find I’m declining,
  • May my lot no less fortunate be
  • Than a snug elbow-chair can afford for reclining,
  • And a cot that o’erlooks the wide sea;
  • With an ambling pad-pony to pace o’er the lawn,
  • While I carol away idle sorrow,
  • And blithe as the lark that each day hails the dawn
  • Look forward with hope for tomorrow.
  • With a porch at my door, both for shelter and shade too,
  • As the sunshine or rain may prevail;
  • And a small spot of ground for the use of the spade too,
  • With a barn for the use of the flail;
  • A cow for my dairy, a dog for my game,
  • And a purse when a friend wants to borrow;
  • I’ll envy no Nabob his riches or fame,
  • Nor what honours may wait him tomorrow.
  • From the bleak northern blast may my cot be completely
  • Secured by a neighbouring hill;
  • And at night may repose steal upon me more sweetly
  • By the sound of a murmuring rill;
  • And while peace and plenty I find at my board,
  • With a heart free from sickness and sorrow,
  • With my friends may I share what today may afford,
  • And let them spread the table tomorrow.
  • And when I at last must throw off this frail cov’ring
  • Which I’ve worn for threescore years and ten,
  • On the brink of the grave I’ll not seek to keep hov’ring,
  • Nor my thread wish to spin o’er again;
  • But my face in the glass I’ll serenely survey,
  • And with smiles count each wrinkle and furrow;
  • As this old worn-out stuff, which is threadbare today,
  • May become everlasting tomorrow. 

William Collins (1721–1759) was an English poet whose influence was only second to Thomas Gray (1716–1771) as a poet of the middle decades of the 18th Century. Emotive and wistful in their expression, his lyrical odes mark a distinct departure from the Augustan poets of the previous generation — Alexander Pope and Michael Dryden foremost. Because his work is of florid and effusive sentiments, Collins is often seen, like William Blake, as a bridge to the Romantic era which would follow his generation’s output.

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