A Contemplation
MS Wellesley, 143-6.
Indulg'd by ev'ry active thought
When upwards they wou'd fly
Nor can Ambition be a fault
If plac'd above the skyWhen humbld first we meekly crave
Remission for the past
We from the fore-tasts which we have
May guesse our Joys at lastThen let my Contemplation soar
And Heav'n my Subject be
Though low on Earth in nature poor
Some prospect we may seeAnd now that scene before me stands
And large Possessions there
Where none usurps anothers Lands
And Theives we do not fearAll Care all Sorrow all Surprise
Fly from that World of peace
Where tears are wip'd from clouded Eyes
And Sighs for ever ceaseDecay or Sicknesse find no place
In that untainted Air
But still th'incorruptable Face
Shall as at first be fairAgility in pace or flight
The Blessed shall convey
Where e're the Lamb more fair then light
Shall lead the radiant wayWhilst Praises in Seraphick Sounds
The blisful road shall trace
And musick seem to passe the bounds
Even of unbounded SpaceSuch balmy Odours shall disperse
As from the Bridegroom's pores
The holy Canticles rehearse
Fell on the Bolts and DoorsWhen to his Spouse the well belov'd
More white then Jordans Flocks
Spake whilest her hand the Barrs remov'd
And dew-drops fill'd his locksThe Crosse shall there triumphant rise
And ev'ry Eye shall scan
That promis'd Ensign in the skies
Close by the Son of ManWith Christ there Charles's Crown shall meet
Which Martirdom adorns
And prostrate lye beneath his feet
My Coronet of ThornsThe Lord to whom my life is joyn'd
For Conscience here opprest
Shall there full retribution find
And none his Claimes molestHypocrisy and feign'd pretence
To cover foul Dissigns
Shall blusshing fly as far from thence
As to the deepest MinesWe there shall know the use of Foes
Whom here we have forgiven
When we shall thank them for those woes
Which pav'd our way to HeavenThere all good things that we have mist
With Int'rest shall return
Whilst those who have each wish possest
Shall for that fullnesse mournThere Coventry of Tufton's Line
For piety renown'd
Shall in transcending virtues Shine
And Equally be Crown'dAround her shall the Chains be spread
Of Captives she has freed
And ev'ry Mouth that she has fed
Shall testify the deedWhilst Scools supplied to mend our youth
Shall on the List be shown
A Daughter and a Mother both
In Her the Church shall ownThe Gospell crosse the seas rehearst
By her diffusive aid
And fifty-thousand pounds dispers'd
Shall there be largely paidMy Heart by her supporting Love
In all its Cares upheld
For that, to see her Crown improve
With transports shall be fill'dFrom Gratitude what graces flow
What endlesse pleasures spring
From Prayers whilst we remain below
Above whilst Praise we SingAnd Mammon wert thou well employ'd
What Mansions might be wonne
Whilst Woolsey's Pallace lyes destroy'd
And Marlbrough's is not done.Whilst to this Heav'n my Soul Aspires
All Suff'rings here are light
He travells pleas'd who but desires
A Sweet Repose at Night
1988 Ellis d'Alessandro prints Wellesley text, 174-6; McGovern & Hinnant, 138-141.
1992 McGovern 217-9.
The imagery and focus recall Anne's "Solitude" (which appeared unacknowledged in 1696 Tate). It is an improvement because Anne speaks so simply and directly. In earlier poems she is obsessed by guilt, self-pity, and an intense drive into death. She remembers Margaret Tufton, Lady Coventry, a relation of Thomas Thynne, the 1st Viscount Weymouth whose mother's maiden name was Coventry, and whose favorite niece, according to Anne, was Catherine Tufton (she's mentioned in Anne Finch's poem for Serena's birthday); she died January 1, 1710, according to Heneage's diary (F-H 282, p 29). Anne asserts that Lady Coventry and another "Tufton" (Lamira, Lady Salisbury) supported her with love, did many good deeds and will at last be reunited together forever in Heaven. Finch is still feeling guilty (over her "ambition"); also pathetic is the way she has to cope with what she sees as deliberately sent to her (death from God) and particularly the comment that she can only hope that poetry is not a fault when "plac'd above the sky."
These stanzas follow the above Sunday evening's performance in the MS Wellesley, and may be linked to it as well as to the three devotional poems after Anne Finch's 1715 illness. Cameron suggests her personal bitterness on Heneage's behalf which breaks through here and there in the poem ("The Lord to whom my life is joyn'd/For conscience here opprest/Shall there full retirbution find ... ") dates this between Heneage's second Chancery trial, August 5, 1715, and November 8, 1716 when the receivers actually came onto the Winchilsea estate to take possession of what they were owed. The comment on Blenhein in the poem ("And Marlbrough's [Palace] is not done") would also seem to date the poem after the summer of 1716 when famously building was once again resumed, but family apartments themselves still not habitable (Blenheim was begun in 1706).
Page Last Updated 8 January 2003