Of the stern agony, and shroud, and pall, To Nature's teachings, while from all around- Yet a few days, and thee The all-beholding sun shall see no more In all his course; nor yet in the cold ground, Thy image. Earth, that nourished thee, shall claim To mix forever with the elements; To be a brother to the insensible rock, And to the sluggish clod which the rude swain The oak Shall send his roots abroad, and pierce thy mold. nor couldst thou wish Shalt thou retire alone, Thou shalt lie down The powerful of the earth, the wise, the good, Fair forms and hoary seers of ages past, All in one mighty sepulcher. The hills, That make the meadows green; and, poured round all, 1 the young, that is, the ancient world Are but the solemn decorations all Of the great tomb of man. The golden sun The flight of years began, have laid them down Shall one by one be gathered to thy side So live, that when thy summons comes to join The innumerable caravan that moves To the pale realms of shade, where each shall take His chamber in the silent halls of death, Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night, Scourged to his dungeon; but, sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave TO A WATERFOWL WHITHER, midst falling dew, While glow the heavens with the last steps of day, Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue Thy solitary way? Vainly the fowler's eye Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong, As, darkly limned 1 upon the crimson sky, Thy figure floats along. Seek'st thou the plashy brink There is a Power whose care Lone wandering, but not lost. All day thy wings have fanned, 1 outlined 2 adj. empty, vacant; compare Gray And soon that toil shall end; Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and rest, And scream among thy fellows; reeds shall bend Thou 'rt gone, the abyss of heaven He who, from zone to zone, Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight, HERE, in the quiet earth, they laid apart Of gentle womankind, Timidly shrinking from the breath of blame : Of sweeter sadness chased the smile away. From "The Conqueror's Grave" CARLYLE 1795-1881 THOMAS CARLYLE was born in Scotland in 1795, and died in London February 5, 1881. He was the son of a Dumfriesshire farmer. He studied at Edinburgh University, and is said to have intended to enter the ministry, but abandoned the purpose. His first essays in literature consisted of contributions to several magazines. Next he translated Goethe's "Wilhelm Meister," and in his labors acquired a warm and lasting love for German literature. "Sartor Resartus," in which he laid the first substantial foundation of his fame, was published in book form in 1834. It is a characteristic composition, exhibiting the originality and brilliancy of his thought, and the peculiarities and force of his style, in full relief. Three years later appeared his "History of the French Revolution." Among his later works are “Past and Present," "Cromwell's Letters and Speeches," Lives of Schiller and Sterling, and "The Life of Frederick the Great." |