But it would be a great error to imagine that he was not an attentive observer of public events.

He was an ardent lover of his country and of mankind.

He watched the progress of civil affairs in England with a vigilant eye, and he brought the actions of public men to the test of the great and lasting principles of equity and truth.

He extended his range of view to events in foreign parts, especially on the continent of Europe.

Few persons, though actually engaged in the great struggle of that period, felt more deeply than WORDSWORTH did in his peaceful retreat for the calamities of European nations, suffering at that time from the imbecility of their governments, and from the withering oppression of a prosperous despotism.