HOME-THOUGHTS, FROM THE SEA.

Nobly, nobly Cape Saint Vincent to the north-west died away;Sunset ran, one glorious blood-red, reeking into Cadiz Bay;Bluish mid the burning water, full in face Trafalgar lay;In the dimmest north-east distance, dawned Gibraltar grand and gray;“Here and here did England help me—how can I help England?”—say,5Whoso turns as I, this evening, turn to God to praise and pray,While Jove’s planet rises yonder, silent over Africa.

Nobly, nobly Cape Saint Vincent to the north-west died away;

Sunset ran, one glorious blood-red, reeking into Cadiz Bay;

Bluish mid the burning water, full in face Trafalgar lay;

In the dimmest north-east distance, dawned Gibraltar grand and gray;

“Here and here did England help me—how can I help England?”—say,5

Whoso turns as I, this evening, turn to God to praise and pray,

While Jove’s planet rises yonder, silent over Africa.

THE PATRIOT.

AN OLD STORY.

I.It was roses, roses, all the way,With myrtle mixed in my path like mad,The house-roofs seemed to heave and sway,The church-spires flamed, such flags they had,A year ago on this very day!5II.The air broke into a mist with bells,The old walls rocked with the crowds and cries,Had I said, “Good folk, mere noise repels—But give me your sun from yonder skies!”They had answered, “And afterward, what else?”10III.Alack, it was I who leaped at the sun,To give it my loving friends to keep.Nought man could do have I left undone,And you see my harvest, what I reapThis very day, now a year is run.15IV.There’s nobody on the house-tops now—Just a palsied few at the windows set—For the best of the sight is, all allow,At the Shambles’ Gate—or, better yet,By the very scaffold’s foot, I trow.20V.I go in the rain, and, more than needs,A rope cuts both my wrists behind,And I think, by the feel, my forehead bleeds,For they fling, whoever has a mind,Stones at me for my year’s misdeeds.25VI.Thus I entered, and thus I go!In triumphs, people have dropped down dead;“Thou, paid by the world,—what dost thou oweMe?” God might question: now instead’Tis God shall repay! I am safer so.30

It was roses, roses, all the way,

With myrtle mixed in my path like mad,

The house-roofs seemed to heave and sway,

The church-spires flamed, such flags they had,

A year ago on this very day!5

II.

The air broke into a mist with bells,

The old walls rocked with the crowds and cries,

Had I said, “Good folk, mere noise repels—

But give me your sun from yonder skies!”

They had answered, “And afterward, what else?”10

III.

Alack, it was I who leaped at the sun,

To give it my loving friends to keep.

Nought man could do have I left undone,

And you see my harvest, what I reap

This very day, now a year is run.15

IV.

There’s nobody on the house-tops now—

Just a palsied few at the windows set—

For the best of the sight is, all allow,

At the Shambles’ Gate—or, better yet,

By the very scaffold’s foot, I trow.20

I go in the rain, and, more than needs,

A rope cuts both my wrists behind,

And I think, by the feel, my forehead bleeds,

For they fling, whoever has a mind,

Stones at me for my year’s misdeeds.25

VI.

Thus I entered, and thus I go!

In triumphs, people have dropped down dead;

“Thou, paid by the world,—what dost thou owe

Me?” God might question: now instead

’Tis God shall repay! I am safer so.30

LOVE AMONG THE RUINS.

Where the quiet-coloured end of evening smilesMiles and milesOn the solitary pastures where our sheepHalf-asleepTinkle homeward through the twilight, stray or stop5As they crop—Was the site once of a city great and gay,(So they say)Of our country’s very capital, its princeAges since10Held his court in, gathered councils, wielding farPeace or war.Now—the country does not even boast a tree,As you see,To distinguish slopes of verdure, certain rills15From the hillsIntersect and give a name to, (else they runInto one,)Where the domed and daring palace shot its spiresUp like fires20O’er the hundred-gated circuit of a wallBounding all,Made of marble, men might march on nor be pressedTwelve abreast.And such plenty and perfection, see, of grass25Never was!Such a carpet as, this summer-time, o’erspreadsAnd embedsEvery vestige of the city, guessed alone,Stock or stone—30Where a multitude of men breathed joy and woeLong ago;Lust of glory pricked their hearts up, dread of shameStruck them tame;And that glory and that shame alike, the gold35Bought and sold.Now,—the single little turret that remainsOn the plains,By the caper overrooted, by the gourdOverscored,40While the patching houseleek’s head of blossom winksThrough the chinks—Marks the basement whence a tower in ancient timeSprang sublime,And a burning ring, all around, the chariots traced45As they raced,And the monarch and his minions and his damesViewed the games.And I know, while thus the quiet-coloured eveSmiles to leave50To their folding, all our many-tinkling fleeceIn such peace,And the slopes and rills in undistinguished grayMelt away—That a girl with eager eyes and yellow hair55Waits me thereIn the turret whence the charioteers caught soulFor the goal,When the king looked, where she looks now, breathless, dumbTill I come.60But he looked upon the city, every side,Far and wide,All the mountains topped with temples, all the glades’Colonnades,All the causeys, bridges, aqueducts,—and then,65All the men!When I do come she will speak not, she will stand,Either handOn my shoulder, give her eyes the first embraceOf my face,70Ere we rush, ere we extinguish sight and speechEach on each.In one year they sent a million fighters forthSouth and North,And they built their gods a brazen pillar high75As the sky,Yet reserved a thousand chariots in full force—Gold, of course.Oh heart! oh blood that freezes, blood that burns!Earth’s returns80For whole centuries of folly, noise and sin!Shut them in,With their triumphs and their glories and the rest!Love is best.

Where the quiet-coloured end of evening smiles

Miles and miles

On the solitary pastures where our sheep

Half-asleep

Tinkle homeward through the twilight, stray or stop5

As they crop—

Was the site once of a city great and gay,

(So they say)

Of our country’s very capital, its prince

Ages since10

Held his court in, gathered councils, wielding far

Peace or war.

Now—the country does not even boast a tree,

As you see,

To distinguish slopes of verdure, certain rills15

From the hills

Intersect and give a name to, (else they run

Into one,)

Where the domed and daring palace shot its spires

Up like fires20

O’er the hundred-gated circuit of a wall

Bounding all,

Made of marble, men might march on nor be pressed

Twelve abreast.

And such plenty and perfection, see, of grass25

Never was!

Such a carpet as, this summer-time, o’erspreads

And embeds

Every vestige of the city, guessed alone,

Stock or stone—30

Where a multitude of men breathed joy and woe

Long ago;

Lust of glory pricked their hearts up, dread of shame

Struck them tame;

And that glory and that shame alike, the gold35

Bought and sold.

Now,—the single little turret that remains

On the plains,

By the caper overrooted, by the gourd

Overscored,40

While the patching houseleek’s head of blossom winks

Through the chinks—

Marks the basement whence a tower in ancient time

Sprang sublime,

And a burning ring, all around, the chariots traced45

As they raced,

And the monarch and his minions and his dames

Viewed the games.

And I know, while thus the quiet-coloured eve

Smiles to leave50

To their folding, all our many-tinkling fleece

In such peace,

And the slopes and rills in undistinguished gray

Melt away—

That a girl with eager eyes and yellow hair55

Waits me there

In the turret whence the charioteers caught soul

For the goal,

When the king looked, where she looks now, breathless, dumb

Till I come.60

But he looked upon the city, every side,

Far and wide,

All the mountains topped with temples, all the glades’

Colonnades,

All the causeys, bridges, aqueducts,—and then,65

All the men!

When I do come she will speak not, she will stand,

Either hand

On my shoulder, give her eyes the first embrace

Of my face,70

Ere we rush, ere we extinguish sight and speech

Each on each.

In one year they sent a million fighters forth

South and North,

And they built their gods a brazen pillar high75

As the sky,

Yet reserved a thousand chariots in full force—

Gold, of course.

Oh heart! oh blood that freezes, blood that burns!

Earth’s returns80

For whole centuries of folly, noise and sin!

Shut them in,

With their triumphs and their glories and the rest!

Love is best.

THE ISLES OF GREECE.

I.The isles of Greece, the isles of Greece!Where burning Sappho loved and sung,Where grew the arts of war and peace,—Where Delos rose and Phœbus sprung!Eternal summer gilds them yet,5But all, except their sun, is set.II.The Scian and the Teian muse,The hero’s harp, the lover’s lute,Have found the fame your shores refuse;Their place of birth alone is mute10To sounds which echo further westThan your sires’ “Islands of the Blest.”III.The mountains look on Marathon—And Marathon looks on the sea;And musing there an hour alone,15I dream’d that Greece might still be free;For standing on the Persians’ grave,I could not deem myself a slave.IV.A king sate on the rocky browWhich looks o’er sea-born Salamis;20And ships, by thousands, lay below,And men in nations;—all were his!He counted them at break of day—And when the sun set, where were they?V.And where are they? and where art thou25My country? On thy voiceless shoreThe heroic lay is tuneless now—The heroic bosom beats no more!And must thy lyre, so long divine,Degenerate into hands like mine?30VI.’Tis something, in the dearth of fame,Though link’d among a fetter’d race,To feel at least a patriot’s shame,Even as I sing, suffuse my face;For what is left the poet here?35For Greeks a blush—for Greece a tear.VII.Mustwebut weep o’er days more blest?Mustwebut blush?—Our fathers bled.Earth! render back from out thy breastA remnant of our Spartan dead!40Of the three hundred grant but three,To make a new Thermopylæ!VIII.What, silent still? and silent all?Ah! no;—the voices of the deadSound like a distant torrent’s fall,45And answer, “Let one living head,But one arise—we come, we come!”’Tis but the living who are dumb.IX.In vain—in vain; strike other chords;Fill high the cup with Samian wine!50Leave battles to the Turkish hordes,And shed the blood of Scio’s vine!Hark! rising to the ignoble call—How answers each bold Bacchanal!X.You have the Pyrrhic dance as yet,55Where is the Pyrrhic phalanx gone?Of two such lessons why forgetThe nobler and the manlier one?You have the letters Cadmus gave—Think ye he meant them for a slave?60XI.Fill high the bowl with Samian wine!We will not think of themes like these!It made Anacreon’s song divine:He served—but served Polycrates—A tyrant; but our masters then65Were still, at least, our countrymen.XII.The tyrant of the CheroneseWas freedom’s best and bravest friend;Thattyrant was Miltiades!Oh! that the present hour would lend70Another despot of the kind!Such chains as his were sure to bind.XIII.Fill high the bowl with Samian wine!On Suli’s rock, and Parga’s shoreExists the remnant of a line75Such as the Doric mothers bore;And there, perhaps, some seed is sown,The Heracleidan blood might own.XIV.Trust not for freedom to the Franks—They have a king who buys and sells;80In native swords, and native ranks,The only hope of courage dwells;But Turkish force, and Latin fraud,Would break your shield, however broad.XV.Fill high the bowl with Samian wine!85Our virgins dance beneath the shade—I see their glorious black eyes shine;But gazing on each glowing maid,Mine own the burning tear-drop laves,To think such breasts must suckle slaves.90XVI.Place me on Sunium’s marbled steep,Where nothing, save the waves and I,May hear our mutual murmurs sweep;There, swan-like, let me sing and die:A land of slaves shall ne’er be mine—95Dash down yon cup of Samian wine!

The isles of Greece, the isles of Greece!

Where burning Sappho loved and sung,

Where grew the arts of war and peace,—

Where Delos rose and Phœbus sprung!

Eternal summer gilds them yet,5

But all, except their sun, is set.

II.

The Scian and the Teian muse,

The hero’s harp, the lover’s lute,

Have found the fame your shores refuse;

Their place of birth alone is mute10

To sounds which echo further west

Than your sires’ “Islands of the Blest.”

III.

The mountains look on Marathon—

And Marathon looks on the sea;

And musing there an hour alone,15

I dream’d that Greece might still be free;

For standing on the Persians’ grave,

I could not deem myself a slave.

IV.

A king sate on the rocky brow

Which looks o’er sea-born Salamis;20

And ships, by thousands, lay below,

And men in nations;—all were his!

He counted them at break of day—

And when the sun set, where were they?

And where are they? and where art thou25

My country? On thy voiceless shore

The heroic lay is tuneless now—

The heroic bosom beats no more!

And must thy lyre, so long divine,

Degenerate into hands like mine?30

VI.

’Tis something, in the dearth of fame,

Though link’d among a fetter’d race,

To feel at least a patriot’s shame,

Even as I sing, suffuse my face;

For what is left the poet here?35

For Greeks a blush—for Greece a tear.

VII.

Mustwebut weep o’er days more blest?

Mustwebut blush?—Our fathers bled.

Earth! render back from out thy breast

A remnant of our Spartan dead!40

Of the three hundred grant but three,

To make a new Thermopylæ!

VIII.

What, silent still? and silent all?

Ah! no;—the voices of the dead

Sound like a distant torrent’s fall,45

And answer, “Let one living head,

But one arise—we come, we come!”

’Tis but the living who are dumb.

IX.

In vain—in vain; strike other chords;

Fill high the cup with Samian wine!50

Leave battles to the Turkish hordes,

And shed the blood of Scio’s vine!

Hark! rising to the ignoble call—

How answers each bold Bacchanal!

You have the Pyrrhic dance as yet,55

Where is the Pyrrhic phalanx gone?

Of two such lessons why forget

The nobler and the manlier one?

You have the letters Cadmus gave—

Think ye he meant them for a slave?60

XI.

Fill high the bowl with Samian wine!

We will not think of themes like these!

It made Anacreon’s song divine:

He served—but served Polycrates—

A tyrant; but our masters then65

Were still, at least, our countrymen.

XII.

The tyrant of the Cheronese

Was freedom’s best and bravest friend;

Thattyrant was Miltiades!

Oh! that the present hour would lend70

Another despot of the kind!

Such chains as his were sure to bind.

XIII.

Fill high the bowl with Samian wine!

On Suli’s rock, and Parga’s shore

Exists the remnant of a line75

Such as the Doric mothers bore;

And there, perhaps, some seed is sown,

The Heracleidan blood might own.

XIV.

Trust not for freedom to the Franks—

They have a king who buys and sells;80

In native swords, and native ranks,

The only hope of courage dwells;

But Turkish force, and Latin fraud,

Would break your shield, however broad.

XV.

Fill high the bowl with Samian wine!85

Our virgins dance beneath the shade—

I see their glorious black eyes shine;

But gazing on each glowing maid,

Mine own the burning tear-drop laves,

To think such breasts must suckle slaves.90

XVI.

Place me on Sunium’s marbled steep,

Where nothing, save the waves and I,

May hear our mutual murmurs sweep;

There, swan-like, let me sing and die:

A land of slaves shall ne’er be mine—95

Dash down yon cup of Samian wine!

“AS SHIPS, BECALMED AT EVE.”

As ships, becalm’d at eve, that layWith canvas drooping, side by side,Two towers of sail at dawn of dayAre scarce long leagues apart descried;When fell the night, upsprung the breeze,5And all the darkling hours they plied,Nor dreamt but each the self-same seasBy each was cleaving, side by side:E’en so—but why the tale revealOf those, whom year by year unchanged,10Brief absence join’d anew to feel,Astounded, soul from soul estranged?At dead of night their sails were fill’d,And onward each rejoicing steer’d—Ah, neither blame, for neither will’d,15Or wist, what first with dawn appear’d!To veer, how vain! On, onward strain,Brave barks! In light, in darkness too,Through winds and tides one compass guidesTo that, and your own selves, be true.20But O blithe breeze! and O great seas,Though ne’er, that earliest parting past,On your wide plain they join again,Together lead them home at last.One port, methought, alike they sought,25One purpose hold where’er they fare,—O bounding breeze, O rushing seas!At last, at last, unite them there.

As ships, becalm’d at eve, that lay

With canvas drooping, side by side,

Two towers of sail at dawn of day

Are scarce long leagues apart descried;

When fell the night, upsprung the breeze,5

And all the darkling hours they plied,

Nor dreamt but each the self-same seas

By each was cleaving, side by side:

E’en so—but why the tale reveal

Of those, whom year by year unchanged,10

Brief absence join’d anew to feel,

Astounded, soul from soul estranged?

At dead of night their sails were fill’d,

And onward each rejoicing steer’d—

Ah, neither blame, for neither will’d,15

Or wist, what first with dawn appear’d!

To veer, how vain! On, onward strain,

Brave barks! In light, in darkness too,

Through winds and tides one compass guides

To that, and your own selves, be true.20

But O blithe breeze! and O great seas,

Though ne’er, that earliest parting past,

On your wide plain they join again,

Together lead them home at last.

One port, methought, alike they sought,25

One purpose hold where’er they fare,—

O bounding breeze, O rushing seas!

At last, at last, unite them there.

THE CHAMBERED NAUTILUS.

This is the ship of pearl, which, poets feign,Sails the unshadowed main,—The venturous bark that flingsOn the sweet summer wind its purpled wingsIn gulfs enchanted, where the Siren sings,5And coral reefs lie bare,Where the cold sea-maids rise to sun their streaming hair.Its webs of living gauze no more unfurl;Wrecked is the ship of pearl!And every chambered cell,10Where its dim dreaming life was wont to dwell,As the frail tenant shaped his growing shell,Before thee lies revealed—Its irised ceiling rent, its sunless crypt unsealed!Year after year beheld the silent toil15That spread his lustrous coil;Still, as the spiral grew,He left the past year’s dwelling for the new,Stole with soft step its shining archway through,Built up its idle door,20Stretched in his last-found home and knew the old no more.Thanks for the heavenly message brought by thee,Child of the wandering sea,Cast from her lap forlorn!From thy dead lips a clearer note is born25Than ever Triton blew from wreathèd horn!While on mine ear it rings,Through the deep caves of thought I hear a voice that sings:—Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul.As the swift seasons roll!30Leave thy low-vaulted past!Let each new temple, nobler than the last,Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,Till thou at length art free,Leaving thine outgrown shell by life’s unresting sea!35

This is the ship of pearl, which, poets feign,

Sails the unshadowed main,—

The venturous bark that flings

On the sweet summer wind its purpled wings

In gulfs enchanted, where the Siren sings,5

And coral reefs lie bare,

Where the cold sea-maids rise to sun their streaming hair.

Its webs of living gauze no more unfurl;

Wrecked is the ship of pearl!

And every chambered cell,10

Where its dim dreaming life was wont to dwell,

As the frail tenant shaped his growing shell,

Before thee lies revealed—

Its irised ceiling rent, its sunless crypt unsealed!

Year after year beheld the silent toil15

That spread his lustrous coil;

Still, as the spiral grew,

He left the past year’s dwelling for the new,

Stole with soft step its shining archway through,

Built up its idle door,20

Stretched in his last-found home and knew the old no more.

Thanks for the heavenly message brought by thee,

Child of the wandering sea,

Cast from her lap forlorn!

From thy dead lips a clearer note is born25

Than ever Triton blew from wreathèd horn!

While on mine ear it rings,

Through the deep caves of thought I hear a voice that sings:—

Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul.

As the swift seasons roll!30

Leave thy low-vaulted past!

Let each new temple, nobler than the last,

Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,

Till thou at length art free,

Leaving thine outgrown shell by life’s unresting sea!35

SELECTIONS FOR MEMORIZATION

Prescribed by the Department of Education, in the Province of Ontario.(Extract from Circular 58).Junior Public School Diploma.The High School Reader.

Prescribed by the Department of Education, in the Province of Ontario.

(Extract from Circular 58).

Junior Public School Diploma.

The High School Reader.

The Knights’ Chorus, p. 70; The Evening Wind, p. 93; The Return of the Swallows, p. 111; The Eternal Goodness, p. 118; Sir Galahad, p. 182; On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer, p. 189; A Wood Lyric, p. 191.

Narrative and Lyric Poems.

Gray: Elegy, written in a Country Churchyard;Mrs. Browning: My Kate;Tennyson: Morte d’Arthur, ll. 113-142, “Then spoke King Arthur breathing heavily. . . so flashed and fell the brand Excalibur,” ll. 240-255, “The old order changeth. . . about the feet of God.”

Senior Public School Diploma, Senior High School Entrance,and Entrance into the Model Schools.Narrative and Lyric Poems.

Senior Public School Diploma, Senior High School Entrance,

and Entrance into the Model Schools.

Narrative and Lyric Poems.

Home-Thoughts, from the Sea; “As Ships, Becalm’d—”; The Chambered Nautilus; “You Ask me, Why—”; Enid’s song, “Turn, Fortune, turn thy Wheel”—four stanzas; Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington, Parts VII and VIII; The Traveller, ll. 63-98, “But where to find. . . peculiar pain” and ll. 423-438, “Vain, very vain. . . all our own.”

The Merchant of Venice.

NOTES.

ENOCH ARDEN.

Published in 1864.

2. Evidently a stream comes down through the chasm and the wide mouth of the stream forms a harbour. See line 690.

3.Beyond.At one side of the harbour.

red roofs.Roofs covered with red tile.

6.down.A bare sandy hill.

7.Danish barrows.Burial mounds supposed to date back to the time of the Danes.

16.lumber.Waste material; clumsy, useless articles.

17.swarthy.Black or brown in colour.

18.fluke.The hook or wing of the anchor.

25-6. A suggestion of what is to take place later in the lives of these three.

38. The stronger passions of youth.

63.great and small.Old and young.

67.prone.Sloping down precipitously.

68.To feather.The wood was denser in the hollow (see line 444), than along the upper edges of the slope.

84-8. Enoch Arden was “a rough sailor lad” without education; and Tennyson throughout the poem tries to soften down the prosaic features of his life and to picture him as a man with nobler impulses and resolves.

92-100. An effort to dress up in more attractive form the prosaic fact that Enoch made his living by peddling fish.

93.ocean-spoil.Fish.

94.ocean-smelling osier.Willow baskets having an odour of the sea.

96.market-cross.In old days crosses were frequently erected in market places.

98.portal-warding lion-whelp.The carved figure of a lion placed over the gateway as if to guard the entrance.

99.peacock-yewtree.A yewtree trimmed in the form of a peacock. The yewtree is an evergreen.

100. Enoch provided the fish which were used on Friday.

110. He had competition in his trade.

128-31. A little cloud sometimes throws the sea into shadow around you, but away on the horizon you see a bright spot (an isle of light) on the water, which shows that the sun is shining there. So with Enoch. His misfortune was a shadow on his life, but the future was bright and he knew that the little cloud would pass away.

the offing.The part of the sea that lies some distance off the shore.

154.Appraised.Judged.

168.his old sea-friend.His boat.

172-81. Analyse grammatically.

184.Save as his Annie’s.He laughed at the fears themselves, but was grieved that she should be troubled by fears.

186-7.that mystery, etc.In prayer the divine side of man’s nature comes into communion with the human sympathy of God’s nature.

196.Nay.He sees that Annie does not like his words of seeming disparagement.

212-3. Are these prophecies fulfilled?

222-6. Most of these phrases are taken from the Bible.

235-6. See lines 892-901.

248.chime with.Agree with; to carry out his wishes.

253.still.Always.

266.who best could tell.The physician.

286.passion.What is the predicate?

329.garth.Garden.

340.conies.Rabbits.

342.the offence of charitable.The offence of appearing to give charity.

379.whitening.Showing the light underside of the leaves as the children plunged through the bushes.

382.tawny.Yellowish-brown in colour.

414.fast my wife.Bound to me as my wife.

441.dead flame.The sun was no longer shining brightly on the barrow.

473. Annoyed that their calculations as to the marriage of Philip and Annie had not come true.

493. She had prayed for a sign, but the expectation that some sign might be sent filled her with terror and she could not endure it.

498. “And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah.”—Judgesiv., 5.

504.Malachiiv., 2.

505-6.Markxi., 8-10.

510.So.If.

529.the Biscay.The Bay of Biscay.

531.the summer of the world.The tropics.

532.the Cape.The Cape of Good Hope.

536.the golden isles.The East Indies.

542.sea-circle.The circle of which the horizon formed the boundary. This circle was constantly changing with the progress of the vessel.

543.full-busted figurehead.It was the custom to have a carved figure or bust, generally the image of the Virgin, at the prow of the vessel.

557.so wild that it was tame.Never having seen human beings, they had not learned to fear them.

569.Fire-hollowing.Burning out the centre with fire.

571.God’s warning.God’s warning that he could not help himself, that he could only wait for help to come.

572.lawns.Open grassy spaces in the woods.

573.glades.Narrower spaces than lawns.

579.broad belt.The torrid zone.

586.zenith.The point in the heavens which is directly overhead.

597.globed.Suggests larger and more brilliant stars.

598.hollower.Because of the silence of the night.

602-605. Either the spirit of the old friends and scenes came to him, or his spirit went out to them. Two ways of saying the same thing—that there came before his mind the vague images of former scenes.

many phantoms.Manyimages went to make up the day dream.

610.dewy-glooming.Looking darker in the early morning because covered with dew.

615. A suggestion that in some mysterious way the sound of the marriage bells of Annie and Philip was borne to him.

633.silent.They were so far from the island that they could not hear the sound of the waterfall.

640.rage.Because he could not make himself understood.

642.sweet water.Fresh water.

653.county.This word was changed to “country” in a later edition.

659.down thro’ all his blood.He breathed deeply of the air he loved.

661.ghostly wall.The white chalk cliffs of southern England.

670-2. Through both gorges there came up a mist from the sea. See lines 102-3.

675.holt.Woodland.

tilth.Tilled ground.

679. Why does the poet represent Enoch as returning in the thick mist rather than in the bright sunshine?

688.A bill of sale.A notice that the house was for sale.

690.pool.Harbour.

692.timber-crost antiquity.Built in the old style, with the timbers showing on the outside,—the spaces between being filled in with plaster.

737.shingle.Gravel.

793.tranced.A trance is any state in which the bodily functions are for the time suspended. Here Enoch is in a half-swoon.

797.burthen.A refrain or chorus. Strictly speaking, the word signifies the bass accompaniment or undersong.

801-4. Just as fresh water from a spring in the ocean rises through the salt water and keeps alive the mariner who drinks of it; so prayer springing out of his resolve (will) never to let her know came up through the bitterness of his life and “kept him a living soul.”

807.enow.Enough.

829. The lower edges of the cloud or mist which the wind lifts.

910. “The calling of the sea is a term used, I believe, chiefly in the western parts of England, to signify a ground swell. When this occurs on a windless night, the echo of it rings through the timbers of the old houses in a haven.” (Tennyson.) A ground-swell is a heavy swell due to a violent gale. It is often felt for some days afterwards and on shores which are far distant from the scene of the storm.

MORTE D’ARTHUR.

Published in 1842.

Morte D’Arthur(The Death of Arthur) is a story of King Arthur and The Round Table, based on the legend entitledMorte D’Arthur, which was written by Malory, an English writer of the sixteenth century. King Arthur was a mythical king of the Britons who was supposed to have lived and reigned in the sixth century, and to have united the Britons against the Saxon invaders. According to legend he established a famous order of knighthood known as The Order of The Round Table, so called because of the famous round table, presented to King Arthur by a British king, and capable of seating one hundred and fifty knights. In the course of time the knights of the Round Table became corrupt and forgot their vows, and, led by Modred, the king’s nephew, a number of them rose in rebellion against the king. King Arthur with those knights who remained loyal to him, drove the army of Modred step by step back into Cornwall and beyond it into the land of Lyonnesse, which was said to have extended from Cornwall to the Scilly Isles, but which has since been submerged by the sea. Here in this waste land a great battle was fought, in which the knights on both sides were killed, until at last only King Arthur and his faithful knight Sir Bedivere remained.

5. In his fight with Modred, whom he slew, King Arthur had himself received his death wound.

9.chancel.The part of the church set apart for the altar and the choir.

12.water.Lake.

14.The sequel of to-day.The outcome of to-day’s fight.

21.Camelot.The mythical capital of King Arthur’s kingdom, situated somewhere in the west of England. Malory identifies it with the city of Winchester.

23.Merlin.A magician and seer of King Arthur’s court.

27.Excalibur.The name signifies “cut-steel.”

31.samite.A rich silk stuff, interwoven with threads of gold and silver.

mystic.Having a secret religious significance.

37.middle mere.Middle of the lake.

38.lightly.Quickly, nimbly.

43.hest.Behest, command.

45.shrine.See lines 8 and 9.

46.athwart.Across.

56.haft.Handle.

57.topaz.A rich gem, generally of a yellowish colour.

jacinth.Another form of the word “hyacinth”; a gem of a red colour.

58.subtlest jewellery.Most cunning workmanship.

60. Looking swiftly now on one side of the question, now on the other.

63.many-knotted water-flags.The common iris, growing in tangled confusion. Or “many-knotted” may refer to the joints in the stalk.

74-5.as beseem’d thy fealty.As became thy loyalty.

80.lief.Beloved.

86.chased.Engraved with an inlaid pattern.

94. Obedience is what binds the subject to the ruler.

99.empty breath.Idle words.

102.joust(pronouncedjust). A tilt-at-arms, a tournament.

104.the lonely maiden of the Lake.A mystical being who dwelt in a wonderful cave in a rock within a lake. In the story of the Round Table she symbolizes religion.

110.clouded with his own conceit.His idea that the sword should be preserved as a relic prevented him from clearly seeing his duty.

conceit.A quaint fancy.

121-3. The dying king loses his authority because he has lost the ability to control the will of his subjects by “the power in his eye.”

125. In whom the services of all my knights should be combined.

128.giddy.Light, frivolous.

139.a streamer of the northern morn.A trail of light from the Aurora Borealis (literally “The Northern Dawn”).

140.the moving isles of winter.Icebergs.

170.As in a picture.With no change in the expression.

171.Remorsefully.With pity.

177.nightmare.A dream accompanied by a sensation of stifling.Mareis derived from a verb meaning to crush, to bruise.

182.Clothed with his breath.Enveloped in the vapour from his breath which condensed and congealed.

185.His own thought.His remorse for having deceived the king.

186.Dry clashed his harness.The echo of the sound of his armour was harsh.

193.hove.Past tense ofheave, to rise. A vesselheavesin sight when it rises over the horizon.

194.scarf.Drapery.

197.Black-stoled.With long black robes reaching to the feet.

like a dream.The scene had an appearance of unreality.

198.Three Queens.Malory speaks of the three Queens as being King Arthur’s sister, Morgan le Fay; the Queen of Northgales (Wales); and the Lady of the Lake. On the symbolic side, however, they represent Faith, Hope and Charity.

199.that shivered to the tingling stars.So shrill that even the stars tingled at the sound.

207.she.Charity.

209.casque.Helmet.

213-4. The waning moon which looks pale in the bright morning sunshine.

215-6.greaves and cuisses.Armour for the shins and thighs.

dash’d with drops of onset.Splash’d with stains of the battle.

218.daïs-throne.The daïs was the raised part of the hall; a platform.

222.in rest.On the right side of the coat of mail was a projection to support the lance when not in use.

224.lists.The enclosed ground in which the combats took place.

230.a noble chance.A chance to do some noble deed.

232-3. The star that led the Wise Men to Bethlehem. (SeeMatthewii., 7-11.)

240. If old customs and institutions are changing it is only because new and better ones are taking their place.

241-2. It is in accordance with God’s purpose and his nature that the world should grow better. Changes are necessary, since even a good custom will at length degenerate and become corrupt.

243.what comfort is in me?I cannot comfort you.

251.a blind life.A life without the power of reason.

255.gold chains.There existed an old fancy that the earth was suspended from Heaven by a golden chain. Here, each prayer is a chain binding earth to Heaven.

259.Avilion.A mythical island in the western ocean, in Celtic legend the abode of the blessed after death.

263.crown’d with summer sea.Surrounded by the sea, as the head is encircled by a crown.

267. The belief existed that the swan sang sweetly before her death.

268.Ruffles.Spreads out her feathers.

269.swarthy web.Dark webbed feet.

271. Note that even when the barge bearing King Arthur, who represented “the old order” of things, was disappearing, a new day, with a new order of things, was already dawning.

THE PRISONER OF CHILLON.

The story ofThe Prisoner of Chillonis founded on certain events in the life of Francis Bonnivard, a Swiss patriot, who was imprisoned in the Fortress of Chillon for six years. Bonnivard was born in 1496. He belonged to a noble family, and inherited a rich priory near Geneva. When the republic was attacked in 1519 by Charles III Duke of Savoy, Bonnivard came to its defence. After many adventures he was taken prisoner by the Duke in 1530, and consigned to the dungeon of Chillon. He was liberated in 1536 when the castle fell into the hands of the Swiss patriots. From this time until his death in 1571 he was prominent in the affairs of the republic.

Byron wrote this poem in 1816, a few days after visiting Chillon. At that time he was not familiar with the true facts in the life of Bonnivard and his story contains numerous details which have no foundation in reality.

The castle of Chillon is situated on a rock in Lake Geneva, and is connected with the mainland by a bridge. It was built in 1218, and served both as a fortress and a prison.

11. Bonnivard was imprisoned for political reasons, not on account of his religion.

14.tenets.Beliefs.

25. Not historically true. Francis Bonnivard was the only one of his family who was imprisoned in Chillon.

27.seven pillars.In reality there are eight, one of which is partly built into the wall.

Gothic.A style of architecture introduced during the Middle Ages. Among other characteristics it was marked by high pointed windows and clustered pillars.

35.a marsh’s meteor lamp.The Will o’ the Wisp,—luminous gases rising from the marsh.

38.cankering.Corroding.

52.But.Except.

livid.Leaden coloured; literally, black and blue.

57.the pure elements of earth.Such as pure water and sunlight.

84.sleepless summer.With no night to mark the hours for sleep.

85. The light shining on the snow is personified as the child of the sun, clad in white.

95.had stood.Past subjunctive.

105.a gulf.An abyss.

107.Lake Leman.The Roman name for Lake Geneva.

108. The greatest depth of the lake is 1056 ft.

112.enthrals.Encompasses; holds captive.

121.wanton.Literally, without restraint; hence, playful.

131.had little care.Did not mind it.

138.these.The water and the bread.

141.had grown cold.Past subjunctive.

148.gnash.Literally, to strike or grind together. Does Byron mean this?

153.corse.Corpse; a poetical form of the word.

172-3. He had shown thus far a high spirit, whether natural to him, or something seemingly inspired.

181. The face swollen and working convulsively in the struggle for life.

208.admonished.Reproved. The knowledge that it was hopeless did not prevent his fear.

214.dungeon-dew.The dampness of the dungeon.

230.a selfish death.Suicide.

237.scarce conscious what I wist.Scarcely conscious of what I knew.Consciousis an appositive, not a predicate adjective. The line following is the completion ofwas.

wist.See High School Grammar, page 176.

238. Quite shut off from everything else.

243. He saw nothing. Vacancy absorbed all space.

244.fixedness, without a place.His attention was not fixed on any definite thing; but yet his mind stood still, was inactive.

247-8. His breath was almost motionless. He seemed to have no life, yet was not dead.

249-50. He compares his mind in this state of trance to a stagnant sea, without light, limit, sound or movement.

256.Ran over.Shed tears.

257-8. Because filled with tears.

281.thine.Thy captivity.

284. Distinguishvisitantandvisitor.

317.fell blind.Became suddenly blind.

327.had made.Past subjunctive.

330.the mountains.The Alps.

335.wide long lake.Lake Geneva is about forty-five miles long and its greatest width is about nine miles.

336.Rhone.Where it enters Lake Geneva.

339.town.Vevay or Villeneuve, about six miles distant.

341.a little isle.Byron in a note speaks of this small island as between the entrances of the Rhone and the Villeneuve.

354.Methought.See High School Grammar, page 272.

364.too much oppressed.By the brightness of the world outside at which he had been looking.

368.no hope my eyes to raise.No hope, which would make me raise my eyes.

369.their dreary mote.Their dulness. A mote is a particle of dust.

378.a hermitage.A hermit’s cave or cell; a retreat.

382.sullen. Gloomy.

390.communion. Association with our surroundings.

ELEGY, WRITTEN IN A COUNTRY CHURCHYARD.

First published in 1751.

An Elegy is a poem or song expressing the writer’s feelings of sorrow or mourning. The churchyard referred to in the poem is that of Stoke Pogis in Buckinghamshire, where Gray’s mother lived during the latter part of her life. Gray is buried in this churchyard.

9.yonder ivy-mantled tower.The tower of the village church at StokePoges.

13.that yew-tree’s shade.It has been suggested that this should read, “that yew-trees shade,” because the yew is not a large tree. In that case the meaning would be “those rugged elms that shade the yew-trees of the churchyard.”

16.rude.Lacking refinement, unpolished.

17.incense-breathing.Breathing fragrance.

26.glebe.Sod, turf.

29.Ambition.Ambitious people. Such personification is frequent throughout the poem.

33.The boast of heraldry.The pride of lineage or family descent. Heraldry was the science that dealt with armorial bearings; and a family who were versed in heraldry and knew the meaning and history of their coat-of-arms might be in a position to boast of their lineage.

38.trophies.Memorials to commemorate their great deeds.

39.fretted vault.The arched ceiling ornamented with fretwork.

41.storied urn.A vessel containing the ashes of the dead, and inscribed with a record of his virtues.

animated bust.A life-like image.

43.provoke.Call forth.

41-44. What is the use of such trophies? they cannot bring the dead back to life, and neither honour nor flattery can appeal to those who are dead.

46.pregnant with celestial fire.Filled with the poetic spirit.

48.the living lyre.The musical instrument seeming almost as if it had life.

51. Their poetic fervour (rage) was repressed by poverty.

52.the genial current of their soul.The flow of their finer feelings and emotions.

58.The little tyrant of his fields.The landowner who attempted to tyrannize over him.

60.guiltless of his country’s blood.The general opinion held of Cromwell in the eighteenth century was that he was a cruel tyrant who was “guilty of his country’s blood.” The village Cromwell is guiltless because he has had no opportunity to act the part of a real Cromwell.

61.senates.Assemblies.

64. In the gratitude of the nation they saw the results of their own efforts.

65-72. If their humble lot prevented the development of their best qualities, it also limited their opportunity for doing wrong. It prevented them from becoming tyrannical, from telling what is false, from having to conceal their feelings of shame, and from accepting the flattery which poets too often bestow upon their proud and wealthy patrons.

70.ingenuous.Without artifice, frank, open-hearted.

73. This line is adjectival to the pronountheyimplied intheir.

madding.Maddening, distracting.

76.tenour.Course.

78.still.Always, in all cases.

81.unlettered.Uneducated.

87.the warm precincts of the cheerful day.The warm bright earth.

precincts.Limits, boundaries.

88.nor cast.Without casting.

90.pious drops.Tears which are due to the dying (Lat.pius, dutiful). It soothes the dying to know that some-one is weeping for their loss.

91. Even the dead seem to cry out for remembrance.

93.thee.The poet is addressing himself.

94.artless.Simple, without deceit.

97.Haply.Perhaps.Swain.Country man, rustic.

105.smiling.Modifieshe, l. 106.

108.Or . . or.Either . . or, a poetical form.

123.Science.Knowledge, in the wide sense of the word.

126-8. His merits and his weaknesses are both alike left in the hands of God.

dread abode.Explained by the last line, which is in apposition.

trembling.With fear or anxiety.

MY KATE.

2-3. These women having nothing but their beauty to commend them are forgotten in the long course of life.

sunshine and snow.With complexion rosy and white. Notice how this metaphor is continued through lines 3 and 4.

12. Her face was so expressive that it conveyed almost as much as words.

18.infer.Judge, conclude.

23.as.And in the same way.

26.in thrall.Under her spell.

27.that was all.This was a great deal, but worldly people might not think it much.

29. “And when she had passed it seemed like the ceasing of exquisite music.”—Evangeline.

31.ribald.Coarse in speech and action.

33.see what you have!See the result!

ROSABELLE.

The ballad ofRosabelleis taken fromThe Lay of the Last Minstrel. It is sung at a wedding feast by the bard of the St. Clairs, to whom belonged the castle of Roslin mentioned in the story.

1. The words of the bard in addressing the ladies at the wedding feast.

5. Note the directness with which the story begins. The reader is left to supply his own details as to the speaker and the circumstances.

6.ladye.Lady, a poetical form.

7.Ravensheuch.Literally, Raven’s Crag. A strong castle now in ruins, situated on the Firth of Forth. It was for a long time occupied by the barons of Roslin.

8.Firth.The wide mouth of a river into which the tide enters.

10.inch.Island.sea-mews.Seagulls.

11.Water-sprite.Water-spirit.

18.Roslin.A castle and chapel on the Firth of Forth.

21.the ring.As a test of skill the knights, when riding at full speed, attempted to carry off on the end of the lance a ring suspended from a beam.

25. Roslin Chapel was said to appear on fire previous to the death of one of the family of St. Clair.

31-2. Dryden and Hawthornden are places in the neighbourhood of Roslin.

36.panoply.A full suit of armour.

38.Deep sacristy.The vestry, said to bedeepbecause it extended far back.

altar’s pale.The space enclosed by the altar railing.

39.foliage-bound.Carved with leaves and flowers.

41.pinnet.Pinnacle.

42. “Among the profuse carvings on the pillars and buttresses, the rose is frequently introduced, in allusion to the name (Roslin), with which, however, the flower has no connection.” (Scott.)

44.St. Clair.The St. Clairs were a noble family who ruled over the earldom of Orkney and who held, besides, possessions in the Lowlands.

50. In allusion to the Roman Catholic burial service.

LOCHINVAR.

This song is taken fromMarmion.

20. He means to say that although he was once in love with the fair Ellen, he is so no longer. Love comes very quickly but goes away just as quickly.

the Solway.Solway Firth, an arm of the sea, on the south-west coast of Scotland.

32.galliard.A lively dance.

39.croupe.The place on the horse’s back, behind the saddle.

41.scaur.A precipitous bank or rock.

42.They’ll have fleet steeds that follow.They that succeed in following us will have to have fleet steeds.

TO A SKYLARK.

Written and published in 1820.

The skylark is a European bird, and is not found in America. It makes its nest on the ground but rises high in the air, sometimes beyond the point of vision, to sing. The Canadian Horned Lark, which is common in our fields in early spring, sometimes also sings high in the air above its nest.

12.sunken sun.The sun is still below the horizon.

15.unbodied joy.The lark is so high in the air that it no longer appears to him as a bird; but hearing its song he thinks of it only as an ethereal source of joy.

22-25. The rays of light from the morning star are so keen that even when it has almost vanished in the light of the clear dawn we feel that the star is there. So even after the bird has vanished from sight, we know from the “arrows” of song that it is there.

36-7. He represents the poet as absorbed in his own bright fancies, and in this way hidden from the rest of the world.

47.a dell of dew.A little dewy valley or hollow.

49.aerial hue.Literally, the colour of the air. The glowworm of Britain is said to emit a bluish light.

55.heavy-wingéd thieves.The winds made heavy by the perfume.

56.vernal.Belonging to the Spring.

57.twinkling.Sparkling with the rain upon it.

61.sprite.Spirit.

66.Chorus hymeneal.A marriage song. Hymen was the God of marriage.

77.Languor.A feeling of weakness or exhaustion.

80.sad satiety.Just as one may become satiated with an excess of sweet things, so the poet speaks of even Love, when enjoyed to the full, as bringing with it a feeling of sadness.

82-5. Death is always bringing sorrow into our lives, so that under its shadow we can never be quite happy. But perhaps the skylark knows more about what Death really is, and sees that it is a good thing.

91-5. But even if we had no sadness of any kind in our lives, we could not feel as keen a joy as the song of the skylark expresses.

103.harmonious madness.His rapture would find expression in an ecstasy of song.

ENID.

First published in 1859. When theIdylls of the Kingappeared in their final form, in 1888, the story ofEnidwas divided into two parts, the first part being entitledThe Marriage of Geraint, the second,Geraint and Enid. The poem here given includes only the part ofEnidwhich is now known asThe Marriage of Geraint. Tennyson’s story ofEnidis based upon the prose version of the story, as it appears in theMabinogion, a famous collection of Welsh fairy stories and legends.

Before beginning the study of the poem read the introductory note toMorte D’Arthur.

24-5. The Queen, Guinevere, was the daughter of Leodogran, a tributary king. When Leodogran had given his consent to the marriage of his daughter Guinevere to Arthur, the king sent Lancelot, his truest and bravest knight, to bring Guinevere to the court. Guinevere, not having yet seen the king, fell in love with Lancelot, and her love was returned. This secret love was continued, and under its influence, little by little, the ideals of the knights were lowered. The incidents in the story ofEnidare supposed to have taken place shortly after the marriage of Arthur and Guinevere.

35.caitiff.Base, mean.

39.common sewer.This territory in which the bandits and caitiff knights were gathered is compared to a public drain or sewer which carries off the impurities of the city.

41.marches.Border country, frontiers.

45.Severn.A river of England and Wales, flowing south-west into Bristol Channel.

48.compass’d her with sweet observances.Surrounded her with tokens of his regard.

60.uxoriousness.Fondness for his wife.

78. If the current were less strong the water would break in striking against the stone.

86.all-puissant.All powerful.

93.liefer.More gladly.

100.high.Bright.

145.Whitsuntide.A Church festival which falls on the seventh Sunday after Easter.

146.Caerleon upon Usk.A town in Monmouth. The Usk is a tributary of the Severn.

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