"But should suspense permit the foe to cry, Old frailties then recurred :—but lofty thought, "And thou, though strong in love, art all too weak I counsel thee by fortitude to seek Our blest re-union in the shades below. The invisible world with thee hath sympathized ; “Learn by a mortal yearning to ascend Aloud she shrieked! for Hermes reappears! Round the dear shade she would have clung-'tis vain : Swift, toward the realms that know not earthly day, By no weak pity might the gods be moved; Yet tears to human suffering are due; om out the tomb of him for whom she died; 1 A narrow strait between Asia and Europe. And ever, when such stature they had gained 94. Ode to Duty. STERN daughter of the voice of God! From vain temptations dost set free; And calm'st the weary strife of frail humanity. There are who ask not if thine eye Be on them; who, in love and truth, Upon the genial sense of youth: Glad hearts! without reproach or blot; Who do thy work, and know it not! Long may the kindly impulse last! But thou, if they should totter, teach them to stand fast! Serene will be our days and bright, And happy will our nature be, When love is an unerring light, And joy its own security. And they a blissful course may hold Even now, who, not unwisely bold, Live in the spirit of this creed; Yet find that other strength, according to their need. I, loving freedom, and untried; The task, in smoother walks to stray; But thee I now would serve more strictly, if I may. Through no disturbance of my soul, But in the quietness of thought: Me this unchartered freedom tires ; Stern lawgiver! yet thou dost wear Flowers laugh before thee on their beds; And fragrance in thy footing treads ; Thou dost preserve the stars from wrong; And the most ancient heavens, through thee, are fresh and strong. To humbler functions, awful power! The confidence of reason give; And, in the light of truth, thy bondman, let me live! W. WORDSWORTH. 95. The Fairies. If ye will with Mab find grace, Set each platter in his place; Water in, ere sun be set. Wash your pails and cleanse your dairies, Sluts are loathsome to the fairies; Sweep your house; who doth not so, Mab will pinch her by the toe. R. HERRICK. 96. The Bag of the Bee. ABOUT the sweet bag of a bee And whose the pretty prize should be 97. The Message. R. HERRICK. SEND home my long-strayed eyes to me, That they be Made by thee Fit for no good sight, keep them still. To make jestings Of protestings, Keep it still, 'tis none of mine. Yet send me back my heart and eyes, And dost languish That will none, Or prove as false as thou dost now. J. DONNE. 98. A Cruel Mistress. WE read of kings, and gods, that kindly took But my Saint frowns, though to her honoured name I consecrate a never-dying flame. Th' Assyrian king did none i' th' furnace throw But those that to his image did not bow; Of such a goddess no times leave record, 99. T. CAREW. The Message of the Rose. Go, lovely rose ! Tell her that wastes her time and me, When I resemble her to thee How sweet and fair she seems to be. Tell her that's young, And shuns to have her graces spied, In deserts, where no men abide, Small is the worth Of beauty from the light retired; Suffer herself to be desired, And not blush so to be admired. I Nebuchadnezzar ordered that all those who refused to fall down and worship the golden image he had made should be cast into a fiery furnace. |