Seems like he might have deleted those lines because they could be taken as critical of the government...
The poem contains certain political allusions. According to Bugg, the reader's understanding of Wordsworth's commentary on the state of politics provided in spite of the "repressive climate" is what makes the poem so impactful.
[11] The location of the old man's son's arrival is intentional – by mentioning Falmouth, a military port, Wordsworth alludes to the war that Great Britain waged against the French revolutionaries in the 1790s.
[12][11] Benis argues that the poem is "directly critical of official authority".
[13] The exchange between the old man and the gentleman – presented in the form of direct speech in the 1798 version – illustrates a clash of viewpoints; the old man represents a person affected by the conflict between England and France, and the speaker – someone who benefits from it.
[12] By giving the old man a chance to speak for himself, Wordsworth confronts the reader with the drastic reality and "harsh dailiness of war".
[14] Considering the political situation of Britain at the time, discourse condemning the government's doings seemed "unpatriotic, even seditious".
[13]According to Lucas, the changes the author introduced within the poem illustrate Wordsworth's final disconnection from his former radical beliefs and support for the
French Revolution, and eventual subscription to the conservative,
Tory views.
[15]