Page:The letters of William Blake (1906).djvu/146

And the voice faded mild,
I remained as a Child;
All I ever had known
Before me bright Shone!
I saw you & your wife
By the fountains of Life.
Such the Vision to me
Appeared on the sea.

Mrs. Butts will, I hope, excuse my not having finished the portrait.^[1] I wait for less hurried moments. Our cottage looks more and more beautiful. And though the weather is wet, the air is very mild, much milder than it was in London when we came away. Chichester is a very handsome city, seven miles from us. We can get most conveniences there. The country is not so destitute of accommodations to our wants as I expected it would be. We have had but little time for viewing the country, but what we have seen is most beautiful; and the people are genuine Saxons, handsomer than the people about London. Mrs. Butts will excuse the following lines:

TO MRS. BUTTS.

Wife of the Friend of those I most revere,
Receive this tribute from a Harp sincere;
Go on in Virtuous Seed sowing on Mold
Of Human Vegetation,^[2] & Behold
Your Harvest springing to Eternal Life,
Parent of Youthful Minds, & happy Wife!— W. B.

I am for ever yours, William Blake.

1. A miniature of her husband. See note i, p. 90, and Plate.
2. See note i, p. 76.