"AND 'TIS MY FAITH THAT EVERY FLOWER ENJOYS THE AIR IT BREATHES."-WILLIAM WORDSWORTH,

THAT INWARD EYE, WHICH IS THE BLISS OF SOLITUDE."-WORDSWORTH.

THE REDBREAST AND THE BUTTERFLY.

157

Did cover with leaves the little children,

So painfully in the wood?

What ailed thee, Robin, that thou couldst pursue

A beautiful creature,

That is gentle by nature?

Beneath the summer sky

From flower to flower let him fly;
'Tis all that he wishes to do.

The cheerer thou of our indoor sadness,
He is the friend of our summer gladness:
What hinders, then, that ye should be

Playmates in the sunny weather,
And fly about in the air together?
His beautiful wings in crimson are dressed,
A crimson as bright as thine own!
If thou would'st be happy in thy nest,
O pious bird! whom man loves best,
Love him, or leave him alone!

[WILLIAM WORDSWORTH.]

"PERSEVERING TO THE LAST, FROM WELL TO BETTER, DAILY SELF-SURPASSED."-WILLIAM WORDSWORTH.

"COME FORTH INTO THE LIGHT OF THINGS, LET NATURE BE YOUR TEACHER."-WILLIAM WORDSWORTH.

158

LEARN, BY A MORTAL YEARNING, TO ASCEND."-WORDSWORTH.

"" THERE IS A COMFORT IN THE STRENGTH OF LOVE."-WORDSWORTH.

"THE HARVEST OF A QUIET EYE, THAT BROODS AND SLEEPS IN HIS OWN HEART."-WILLIAM WORDSWORTH.

"FOR PRIDE, HOWE'ER DISGUISED IN ITS OWN MAJESTY, IS LITTLENESS."-WILLIAM WORDSWORTH.

WITH SORROW OF THE MEANEST THING THAT FEELS."-WORDSWORTH.

"A PRESENCE THAT DISTURBS ME WITH THE JOY OF ELEVATED THOUGHTS."-WILLIAM WORDSWORTH.

160

66 WISDOM AND SPIRIT OF THE UNIVERSE !

SIMON LEE THE OLD HUNTSMAN.

Herald of a mighty band,

Of a joyous train ensuing,
Singing at my heart's command,
In the lanes my thoughts pursuing,

I will sing, as doth behove,

Hymns in praise of what I love!

[WILLIAM WORDSWORTH. This poem is a notable example of the way in which genius turns the humblest and meanest things to high advantage. What thousands have gazed on the Celandine, yet to how few can the lowly flower have suggested the ideas which Wordsworth has embodied! Here is a pregnant reason for gratitude to our poets: without their aid Nature would remain to most of us a sealed book.]

"A CREATURE NOT TOO BRIGHT OR GOOD FOR HUMAN NATURE'S DAILY FOOD."-WILLIAM WORDSWorth.

"A PERFECT WOMAN, NOBLY PLANNED, TO WARN, TO COMFORT, AND COMMAND."-WILLIAM WORDSWORTH.

SIMON LEE THE OLD HUNTSMAN.

IN the sweet shire of Cardigan,

Not far from pleasant Ivor Hall,
An old man dwells, a little man,—
I've heard he once was tall.
Of years he has upon his back,
No doubt, a burthen weighty;
He says he is threescore and ten,
But others say he's eighty.

A long blue livery coat has he,
That's fair behind, and fair before;
Yet, meet him where you will, you see
At once that he is poor.

Full five-and-twenty years he lived
A running huntsman merry;
And though he has but one eye left,

His cheek is like a cherry.

THOU SOUL THAT ART THE ETERNITY OF THOUGHT !"-WORDSWORth.

"AS HIGH AS WE HAVE MOUNTED IN DELIGHT, IN OUR DEJECTION DO WE SINK AS LOW."-WILLIAM WORDSWORTH.

THERE ARE WHOSE CALMER MINDS IT WOULD CONTENT

SIMON LEE THE OLD HUNTSMAN.

No man like him the horn could sound,
And no man was so full of glee;
To say the least, four counties round

Had heard of Simon Lee.

His master's dead, and no one now

Dwells in the hall of Ivor;

Men, dogs, and horses, all are dead;
He is the sole survivor.

And he is lean and he is sick,
His dwindled body's half awry;
His ankles too are swoln and thick;
His legs are thin and dry,

When he was young, he little knew
Of husbandry or tillage,

And now is forced to work, though weak,
-The weakest in the village.

He all the country could outrun,
Could leave both man and horse behind;
And often, ere the race was done,
He reeled and was stone blind.
And still there's something in the world
At which his heart rejoices;
For when the chiming hounds are out,
He dearly loves their voices!

His hunting feats have him bereft
Of his right eye, as you may see;
And then, what limbs those feats have left
To poor old Simon Lee!

He has no son, he has no child;
His wife, an aged woman,

Lives with him, near the waterfall,

Upon the village common.

TO BE AN UNCULLED FLOWERET OF THE GLEN."-WORDSWORTH.

161

"THE MEANEST FLOWER THAT BLOWS CAN GIVE THOUGHTS THAT DO OFTEN LIE TOO DEEP FOR TEARS."-IBID.