Thou hast made me endless, such is thy pleasure. This frail vessel thou emptiest again and again, and fillest it ever with fresh life. This little flute of a reed thou hast carried over hills and dales, and hast breathed through it melodies eternally new. At the immortal touch of thy hands my little heart loses its limits...
"The Brides of Enderby," by Jean Ingelow (1830-97). This poem is very dramatic, and the music of the refrain has done much to make it popular. But the pathos is that which endears it. The old mayor climb'd the belfry tower, The ringers ran by two, by three; "Pull, if ye never pull'd before; Good ringers, pull your...
"A Musical Instrument" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-61). This poem is the supreme masterpiece of Mrs. Browning. The prime thought in it is the sacrifice and pain that must go to make a poet of any genius. "The great god sighed for the cost and the pain." What was he doing, the great god Pan, Down in the...
"A Wish" (by Samuel Rogers, 1763-1855) and "Lucy" (by Wordsworth, 1770-1850) are two gems that can be valued only for the spirit of quiet and modesty diffused by them. Mine be a cot beside the hill; A bee-hive's hum shall soothe my ear; A willowy brook that turns a mill With many a fall shall linger near. The...
"Jesus the Carpenter"—"same trade as me"—strikes a high note in favour of honest toil. (1848-.) "Isn't this Joseph's son?"—ay, it is He; Joseph the carpenter—same trade as me— I thought as I'd find it—I knew it was here— But my sight's getting queer. I don't know right where as His shed must ha' stood— But often, as I've...
ON TURNING ONE DOWN WITH THE PLOW IN APRIL, 1786 Wee, modest, crimson-tipped flower, Thou's met me in an evil hour; For I maun crush amang the stoure Thy slender stem: To spare thee now is past my power, Thou bonny gem. Alas! it's no thy neebor sweet, The bonny lark, companion meet, Bending thee 'mang the dewy...
ON TURNING UP HER NEST WITH THE PLOW, NOVEMBER, 1785 "To a Mouse" and "To a Mountain Daisy," by Robert Burns (1759-96), are the ineffable touches of tenderness that illumine the sturdy plowman. The contrast between the strong man and the delicate flower or creature at his mercy makes tenderness in man a vital point in character. The...
