EDMUND SPENSER (1553-1599) was born in London, and educated at Cambridge. He is one of the greatest English poets; his chief work is the Faerie Queene, an allegorical poem, designed to celebrate the principal virtues. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. So forth issued the Seasons of the year; Then came the jolly Summer, being dight * wore, from which, as he had chauffèd * been, heated sore. Then came the Autumn, all in yellow clad, 5 ΙΟ 15 20 Had by the belly oft him pinched sore; To reap the ripened fruits the which the earth * Lastly came Winter, clothed all in frize,* Chattering his teeth for cold that did him chill, 30 Whilst on his hoary* beard his breath did freeze, And the dull drops that from his purpled bill As from a limbeck * did adown distil; In his right hand a tippèd staff he held, With which his feeble steps he stayed still, 35 For he was faint with cold and weak with eld * That scarce his loosèd limbs he able was to weld.* Yold, yielded, given. Frize (frieze), a coarse kind of cloth, with Hoary, grey. nap on one side of it. Bill, nose. Limbeck, a vessel used in distilling. Eld, old age. Weld, to use, to manage. 5 THE SPANISH CHAMPION.*-Mrs. Hemans. THE warrior bowed his crested head, and tamed * And sued the haughty* king to free his long- * "I bring thee here my fortress keys, I bring I pledge my faith, my liege,* my lord-oh! "Rise! rise! even now thy father comes, a * ransomed man this day; Mount thy good steed, and thou and I will Then lightly rose that loyal son, and bounded And urged, as if with lance in hand, his And lo! from far, as on they pressed, there came a glittering * band, 10 With one that 'mid them stately rode, as a leader in the land: "Now haste, Bernardo, haste! for there, in The father whom thy grateful heart hath Sued, begged, im plored. Spain, had been kept in prison for many years by the king. At length his son, Bernardo del Carpio, took up arms to effect his release. Captive train, the prisoners taken in battle. Liege, lord, a feudal superior; one having vassals or liegemen. Ransomed, redeemed, saved. Glittering, bright, beautiful to behold. Yearned, desired very much. * Champion, a hero, one who fights in single combat for himself or for another. F His dark eye flashed, his proud breast heaved, his cheek's He reached that grey-haired chieftain's side, and there A lowly knee to earth he bent, his father's hand he 15 What was there in its touch that all his fiery spirit shook ? That hand was cold, a frozen thing-it dropped from his He looked up to the face above-the face was of the A plume waved o'er that noble brow-the brow was He met at length his father's eyes, but in them was no 20 Up from the ground he sprang, and gazed; but who can * They hushed their very hearts who saw its horror and amaze: They might have chained him, as before that noble form he stood; For the power was stricken from his arm, and from his "Father!" at length he murmured low, and wept like 25 (Talk not of grief till thou hast seen the tears of warlike men-) He thought on all his glorious hopes, on all his high renown; * Then flung the falchion * from his side, and in the dust And, covering with his steel-gloved hand his darkly mournful brow, "No more, there is no more," he said, " to lift the sword 30 for now; My king is false ! my hope betrayed! my father-oh! the worth, The glory, and the loveliness, are passed away from earth!" Up from the ground he sprang once more, and seized the Amid the pale and wildered * looks of all the courtier train ; 35 And with a fierce, o'ermastering* grasp, the rearing war- And sternly set them face to face—the king before the O'ermaster ing, overpowering "Came I not forth upon thy pledge,* my father's hand Pledge, pro- Be still, and gaze thou on, false king! and tell me what The voice, the glance, the heart I sought-give answer, 40 If thou wouldst clear thy perjured * soul, send life "Into these glassy eyes put light-be still, keep down mise. Perjurer, one who knowingly takes a false oath. Ire, anger, Bid these white lips a blessing speak-this earth is not rage. Give me back him for whom I strove, for whom my blood was shed! Thou canst not!—and, O king! his dust be mountains 45 He loosed the steed-his slack hand fell; upon the silent face He cast one long, deep, troubled look, then turned from His hope was crushed-his after-fate untold in martial His banner led the spears no more amidst the hills of Martial strain, warlike music. Spain, a hilly country in the southwest of Europe. HOW THEY BROUGHT THE GOOD NEWS FROM ROBERT BROWNING (1812- ), born at Camberwell, and educated at London University, ranks among the foremost of living poets. He possesses a wonderful power of condensed expression, and his writings are deeply thoughtful and expressive. Chief works: Men and Women, The Ring and the Book, Dramatic Lyrics, and other poems. I sprang to the stirrup, and Joris, and he; I galloped, Dirck galloped, we galloped all three ; undrew ; "Speed!" echoed * the wall to us galloping through: Echo, to send back a sound, Ghent, the chief town of East Flanders, in Belgium. Aix-la-Chapelle, a city in Rhenish Prussia. The two towns are more than a hundred miles apart. Postern, a small door or gate in or by the side of a larger entrance-gate, Pique, a lance carried at the saddle. A whit, a point, a jot. Lokeren, in East Flanders, Belgium. Boom, Düffeld, Mechlin, in Antwerp Mechlin is noted for its lace. Behind shut the postern,* the lights sank to rest, Not a word to each other, we kept the great pace, place; 5 I turned in my saddle, and made its girths tight, Rebuckled the check-strap, chained slacker the bit, 'Twas moonset at starting; but while we drew near So Joris broke silence with, "Yet there is time!" At Aerschot, up leaped of a sudden the sun, Resolute, bold. Haze, mist. Intelligence, quickness to understand. Askance, sideways Spumeflakes, flakes of foam. Aye and anon, now and then. Hasselt, in Belgium. Roos (Ger. Ross), a com mon name for a horse. 15 20 And his low head and crest, just one sharp ear bent 25 back * For my voice, and the other pricked out on his track; anon * His fierce lips shook upwards in galloping on. By Hasselt,* Dirck groaned, and cried Joris, "Stay spur! Your Roos galloped bravely, the fault's not in her, Of her chest, saw the stretched neck and staggering knees, And sunk tail, and horrible heave of the flank, So we were left galloping, Joris and I, 30 35 |