106.-ODE TO PEACE.-Cowper.

1 Come, peace of mind, delightful guest! return, and make thy downy nest once more in this sad heart: nor riches I, nor power pursue, nor hold forbidden joys in view; we therefore need not part. 2 Where wilt thou dwell, if not with me, from avarice and ambition free, and pleasure's fatal wiles? for whom, alas! dost thou prepare the sweets that I was wont to share the banquet of thy smiles? 3 The great, the gay, shall they partake the heaven that thou alone canst make? and wilt thou quit the stream that murmurs through the dewy mead, the grove, and the sequester'd shade, to be a guest with them? For thee I panted, thee I prized; for thee I gladly sacrificed whate'er I loved before: and shall I see thee start away, and helpless, hopeless, hear thee say-" Farewell, we meet no more ?"

107.-THE RHYTHM OF BERNARD DE MORLAIX.-Neale (translated).

Brief life is here our portion; brief sorrow, short-liv'd care;
The life that knows no ending, the tearless life, is there.

O happy retribution! short toil, eternal rest;

For mortals and for sinners a mansion with the blest!

That we should look, poor wanderers, to have our home on high!
That worms should seek for dwellings beyond the starry sky!

To all, one happy guerdon of one celestial grace;

For all, for all who mourn their fall, is one eternal place;
And martyrdom hath roses upon that heavenly ground:
And white and virgin lilies for virgin-souls abound.
There grief is turned to pleasure; such pleasure, as below
No human voice can utter, no human heart can know.
And now we fight the battle, but then shall wear the crown
Of full, and everlasting, and passionless renown:
And now we watch and struggle, and now we live in hope,
And Sion, in her anguish, with Babylon must cope:
But He whom now we trust in shall then be seen and known;
And they that know and see Him shall have Him for their own.
The miserable pleasures of the body shall decay:

The bland and flattering struggles of the flesh shall pass away:
And none shall there be jealous; and none shall there contend:
Fraud, clamour, guile-what say I?—all ill, all ill shall end!
And there is David's Fountain, and life in fullest glow;
And there the light is golden, and milk and honey flow :
The light that hath no evening, the health that hath no sore,
The life that hath no ending, but lasteth evermore.

157

SELECTIONS FROM LYRICAL POETRY

FOR

SENIOR PUPILS.

I-From English Authors.

1.-UNDER THE GREENWOOD TREE.-Shakespeare.

1 Under the greenwood tree who loves to lie with me, and tune his merry note unto the sweet bird's throat, come hither, come hither, come hither! Here shall he see no enemy,-but winter and rough weather! 2 Who doth ambition shun, and loves to lie i' the sun; seeking the food he eats, and pleas'd with what he gets; come hither, come hither, come hither! Here shall he see no enemy,—but winter and rough weather!

2.-TAKE, OH, TAKE THOSE LIPS AWAY!-Shakespeare
Take, oh, take those lips away,

That so sweetly were forsworn ;

And those eyes, the break of day,
Lights that do mislead the morn:

But my kisses bring again,

Seals of love, but sealed in vain!

8.-SIGH NO MORE, LADIES.-Shakespeare

Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more! men were deceivers ever;
One foot in sea, and one on shore-to one thing constant never.
Then sigh not so, but let them go; and be you blithe and bonny,
Converting all your sounds of woe into, "Hey nonny, nonny !"
Sing no more ditties, sing no mo❜e of dumps so dull and heavy;
The fraud of men was ever so, since summer first was leafy.
Then sigh not so, but let them go; and be you blithe and bonny,
Converting all your sounds of woe into, "Hey nonny, nonny !"

L

4.-HARK! HARK! THE LARK!-Shakespeare.

Hark, hark! the lark at Heaven's gate sings, as Phoebus 'gins arise
His steeds to water at those springs on chaliced flowers that lies;
And winking May-buds now begin to ope their golden eyes:
With everything that pretty bin, my lady sweet, arise !

5.-BLOW, BLOW, THOU WINTER WIND.-Shakespeare.

Blow, blow, thou winter wind! thou art not so unkind as man's ingratitude! Thy tooth is not so keen, because thou art not seen; although thy breath be rude! 2 Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky! thou dost not bite so nigh as benefits forgot! Though thou the waters warp, thy sting is not so sharp as friend remember'd not.

6.-ARIEL'S SONG.-Shakespeare.

Where the bee sucks, there lurk I;

In a cowslip's bell I lie;

There I couch when owls do cry.
On the bat's back I do fly,

After summer, merrily :

Merrily, merrily, shall I live now,

Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.

7.-FAIRY SONG.-Shakespeare.

Over hill, over dale, thorough bush, thorough brier,-over park, over pale, thorough flood, thorough fire,-I do wander everywhere, swifter than the moone's sphere; and I serve the fairy queen, to dew her orbs upon the green; the cowslips tall her pensioners be; in their gold coats spots you see; those be rubies, fairy favours; in those freckles live their savours: I must go seek some dew-drops here, and hang a pearl in every cowslip's

ear.

8.-YOUTH AND AGE.-Shakespeare.

1 Crabbed Age and Youth cannot live together; Youth is full of pleasure-Age is full of care; Youth like summer morn-Age like winter weather. Youth like summer brave-Age like winter bare. 2 Youth is full of sport-Age's breath is short; Youth is nimble, Age is lame; Youth is hot and bold-Age is weak and cold; Youth is wild, and Age is tame. 3 Age, I do abhor thee-Youth, I do adore thee! Oh, my Love, my Love is gone. Age, I do defy thee! Oh, sweet shepherd, hie thec-methinks thou stay'st too long!

9.-DIRGE OF LOVE.-Shakespeare.

Come away, come away, Death, and in sad cypress let me be laid;
Fly away, fly away, breath; I am slain by a fair cruel maid.

My shroud of white, stuck all with yew, O prepare it!

My part of death, no one so true did share it.

Not a flower, not a flower sweet, on my black coffin let there be strown; Not a friend, not a friend greet my poor corpse, where my bones shall be

thrown:

A thousand thousand sighs to save, lay me, O where

Sad true lover never find my grave, to weep there.

10.-DIRGE FOR FIDELE.-Shakespeare.

1 Fear no more the heat o' the sun, nor the furious winter's rages; thou thy worldly task hast done, home art gone, and ta'en thy wages: golden lads and girls all must, as chimney-sweepers, come to dust: 2 Fear no more the frown o' the great-thou art past the tyrant's stroke; care no more to clothe and eat; to thee the reed is as the oak: the sceptre, learning, physic-must all follow this, and come to dust. Fear no more the lightning flash, nor the all-dreaded thunder-stone; fear not slander, censure rash; thou hast finish'd joy and moan: all lovers young, all lovers, must consign to thee, and come to dust!

11.-A SEA DIRGE.-Shakespeare.

3

Full fathom five thy father lies: of his bones are coral made; those are pearls that were his eyes: nothing of him that doth fade, but doth suffer a sea change into something rich and strange. Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell: hark! now I hear them—Ding, dong, bell.

12.-THE APPROACH OF THE FAIRIES.-Shakespeare.

Now the hungry lion roars, and the wolf behowls the moon ; whilst the heavy ploughman snores, all with weary task foredone. Now the wasted brands do glow, whilst the scritch owl, scritching loud, puts the wretch that lies in woe, in remembrance of a shroud. Now it is the time of night that the graves, all gaping wide, every one lets forth his sprite, in the churchway paths to glide: and we fairies, that do run, by the triple Hecate's team, from the presence of the sun, following darkness like a dream, now are frolic; not a mouse shall disturb this hallowed house: I am sent with broom before, to sweep the dust behind the door. Through the house give glimmering light; by the dead and drowsy fire, every elf and fairy sprite,

hop as light as bird from brier; and this ditty after me, sing and dance it trippingly. First rehearse this song by rote, to each word a warbling note; hand in hand, with fairy grace, we will sing, and bless this place.

13.-MADRIGAL.-Shakespeare.

Reply, reply.
Reply, reply.

Tell me where is Fancy bred, or in the heart, or in the head? How begot, how nourishèd? It is engender'd in the eyeswith gazing fed; and Fancy dies in the cradle where it lies: let us all ring Fancy's knell; I'll begin it-Ding, dong, bell.

14.-VOICE AND VERSE.-Milton.

Blest pair of Sirens, pledges of Heaven's joy,
Sphere-born harmonious Sisters, Voice and Verse!
Wed your divine sounds, and mixt power employ
Dead things with inbreathed sense able to pierce;
And to our high-raised phantasy present
That undisturbéd Song of pure consent,
Aye sung, before the sapphire-colour'd throne,
To Him that sits thereon,

With saintly shout and solemn jubilee;
Where the bright Seraphim in burning row
Their loud uplifted angel-trumpets blow;
And the Cherubic host in thousand quires
Touch their immortal harps of golden wires,
With those just Spirits that wear victorious palms—
Hymns devout and holy psalms

Singing everlastingly :

That we on earth, with undiscording Voice
May rightly answer that melodious noise :-
As once we did, till disproportion'd Sin

Jarr'd against Nature's chime, and with harsh din
Broke the fair music that all creatures made

To their great Lord; whose will their motion sway'd

In perfect diapason, whilst they stood

In first obedience, and their state of good.

-O may we soon again renew that Song,

And keep in tune with Heaven; till God ere long
To His celestial concert us unite,

To live with Him, and sing in endless morn of light!