"HE NEVER SMILED AGAIN."-Mrs. Hemans. FELICIA DOROTHEA HEMANS (1793-1835), a distinguished English poetess, was born at Liverpool, but spent her early life in Wales. Her best poem is the Forest Sanctuary, but her minor pieces are most popular, such as The Graves of a Household, The Voice of Spring, &c. She died at Dublin. THE bark* that held a prince went down, 5 He lived, for life may long be borne 10 Why comes not death to those who mourn? There stood proud forms* around his throne, But which could fill the place of one- Before him passed the young and fair In pleasure's reckless* train, 15 But seas dashed o'er his son's bright hair : He never smiled again! Bark, also spelt meaning a Son, Prince William, son of Henry I., drowned in 1120, on his return from Normandy, a province in France. Break its chain, before death comes and ends one's grief and sufferings. Proud forms, persons of high birth or title. Reckless, not caring for consequences. Festal, in the midst of mirth and joy, as at a feast. Minstrel, a man who sang verses, accompanying himself on the harp. Tourney, tournament, a mock fight, in which knights fought to show their skill in arms. Knightly ring, a company of knights. Knighthood was the highest distinction for those who followed the profession of arms. Blent, mingled or mixed. Strain, sound, song. He, Henry I., who died in 1135. Graves which true love had bathed with tears Fresh hopes were born for other years: * He never smiled again! THE FIRE OF DRIFT-WOOD. WE sat within the farm-house old, Port, a harbour, a Not far away we saw the port,*— The strange, old-fashioned, silent town,- a The wooden houses, quaint * and brown. fore stripped of its We sat and talked until the night, cannon, &c. Quaint, odd. Gloom, partial Jark ness. Secret, unknown, hidden, Descending, filled the little room; Our voices only broke the gloom.* We spake of many a vanished scene, And who was changed, and who was dead; And all that fills the hearts of friends, Swerving, wandering, The first slight swerving* of the heart, departing from a cus tom, turning aside. That words are powerless to express, Or say it in too great excess. Tones, &c, the sounds The very tones* in which we spake of our voices. Had something strange, I could but mark; 30 Oft died the words upon our lips, And, as their splendour * flashed and failed, 40 * Until they made themselves a part Of fancies floating through the brain,— That send no answers back again. 45 O flames that glowed!* O hearts that yearned! They were indeed too much akin,* The drift-wood fire without that burned, * Glow, to shine with Yearn, to feel an The thoughts that burned and glowed within, closely, relationship. THE HOMES OF ENGLAND.—Mrs. Hemans. 10 Through shade and sunny gleam, Stately, very grand, noble in appearance. Ancestral trees, very old, planted by the forefathers of the present owners. Greensward, turf. green And the swan glides* past them with the sound Glides, moves quickly Of some rejoicing stream. The merry Homes of England! What gladsome looks of household love There woman's voice flows forth in song, Or childhood's tale is told; 15 Or lips move tunefully along Some glorious page of old.* and with ease. Hearth, the fireside. Ruddy light, the bright red light of the fire. Glorious page of old, some story of olden times in which great and noble deeds are mentioned. Bower, a shady enclosure or recess in a garden; the homes from appear, the number of trees surrounding them, as if they were built in bowers. Silvery brooks, the Hamlet-fane, the vil- Nook, a quiet little Lowly, the poor. Eaves, that part of the roof which juts beyond the walls. Hearts of native proof, brave, strong men; men of courage. Hallowed, looked upon as being holy. The blessed Homes of England! Is laid the holy quietness That breathes from Sabbath hours! Of breeze and leaf are born. The cottage Homes of England! They are smiling o'er the silvery brooks,* Through glowing orchards* forth they peep, And fearless there the lowly * sleep, The free, fair Homes of England; May hearts of native proof* be reared And green for ever be the groves, Where first the child's glad spirit loves 40 THE IVY GREEN.-Dickens. CHARLES DICKENS (1812-1870), a native of Landport, Portsmouth. In early life he was connected with the press as a parliamentary reporter. The Pickwick Papers early established his reputation as the greatest living humorist. He was admired by a universal circle of readers. Chief works: Nicholas Nickleby, Old Curiosity Shop, David Copperfield, Dombey and Son, Bleak House, &c. Dainty, being very Whim, a fancy, a Rare, uncommon. On a dainty* plant is the Ivy* green, That creepeth o'er ruins old! On right choice food are his meals, I ween,* In his cell so lone and cold. The walls must be crumbled, the stones decay'd, 5 And the mould'ring dust that years have made Creeping where no life is seen, * A rare old plant is the Ivy green. 10 Fast he stealeth on, though he wears no wings, 20 Creeping where grim death has been, Whole ages have fled, and their works decay'd, But the stout old Ivy shall never fade 25 The brave old plant in its lonely days 30 For the stateliest* building man can raise Creeping on where time has been, A rare old plant is the Ivy Green. Staunch, trusty, sound, firm. Hug, to clasp tightly. Hale, healthy. Stately, very beautt ful, grand to look at. LORD ULLIN'S DAUGHTER.—Campbell. THOMAS CAMPBELL (1777-1844) was a native of Glasgow, and rose to early fame by the publication of his Pleasures of Hope in 1799. Other poems: Gertrude of Wyoming, a tale of Pennsylvania; Theodoric, a Swiss story; and a number of lyrics, which are, perhaps, the finest in the language. A CHIEFTAIN,* to the Highlands* bound, 5 "Now, who be ye would cross Lochgyle,* Chieftain, the head of a clan. Highlands, the mountainous districts in the north and west of Scotland. Ferry, a place where people are rowed across a water. Lochgyle, a small arm of the sea which runs off in a north-west direction from Loch Long. Ulva's isle, a small island on the west coast of Mull, Glen, a narrow valley among the mountains. Heather, the heath, & small evergreen shrub. |