35 40 45 "But why do I talk of Death? O God! that bread should be so dear, "Work-work--work! My labour never flags; And what are its wages? A bed of straw, That shattered roof,-and this naked floor,- And a wall so blank, my shadow I thank "Work-work-work! From weary chime to chime,* 50 Phantom, ghost, apparition. Chime to chime, from one hour to another. Benumbed, stupified. Twit, mock. A respite, &c., to cease from her labour but for a short time. Leisure, spare time. 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. Dight, adorned. Paramours, mates, loves. Stours, encounters, battles. Gilt morion, a gilded helmet, having no visor, copied from the Moors by the Spaniards. A garland, &c., a garland fair to see. Chauffed (chafed), heated, made hot by rubbing. Libbard, leopard. So forth issued the Seasons of the year; First lusty Spring, all dight* in leaves and flowers * Then came the jolly Summer, being dight wore, Had hunted late the libbard or the boar, Then came the Autumn, all in yellow clad, 5 ΙΟ 15 20 Had by the belly oft him pinchèd sore; To reap the ripened fruits the which the earth * Fold, yielded. Frize, a coarse kind of cloth, with nap on one side of it. Bill, nose. Limbeck, a vessel used in distilling. 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 loosed limbs he able was to Weld, to use, to weld.* Eld, old age. manage. 5 10 THE SPANISH CHAMPION.*—Mrs. Hemans. THE warrior bowed his crested head, and tamed his heart of fire, * * 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, With one that 'mid them stately rode, as a "Now haste, Bernardo, haste! for there, in The father-whom thy grateful heart hath Sued, begged, im plored. in prison for many his release. Captive train, the prisoners taken in battle. Liege, submission, that he would become his faithful subject. 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. 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 was placed on horseback by command A plume waved o'er that noble brow-the brow was He met at length his father's eyes, but in them was no sight! of the king. Up from the ground he sprang, and gazed; but who can Renown, a great name, celebrity. Falchion, a short curved sword, Wildered, astonished, surprised. Courtier, a person who lives at court. paint that gaze? 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 20 "Father!" at length he murmured low, and wept like 25 childhood then (Talk not of grief till thou hast seen the tears of warlike men-) He thought on all his glorious hopes, on all his high 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 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 horse led, And sternly set them face to face-the king before the dead! "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 Bid these white lips a blessing speak-this earth is not Give me back him for whom I strove, for whom my Thou canst not?—and, O king! his dust be mountains 45 He loosed the steed-his slack hand fell; upon the 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 mise. Perjurer, one who knowingly takes a false oath. HOW THEY BROUGHT THE GOOD NEWS FROM GHENT TO AIX.-R. Browning. 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. |