80 90 To settle here on earth, or in mid air; And practised distances to cringe, not fight. . . . Gabriel. To say and straight unsay, pretending first Wise to fly pain, professing next the spy, Was this your discipline and faith engaged, supreme? Power And thou, sly hypocrite, who now wouldst seem To dispossess him, and thyself to reign? But mark what I areed thee now: Avaunt! 100 Fly thither whence thou fled'st. hour If from this See also ARCADES Lines 25-83.-'Stay, gentle Swains!''vesture's hem.'-(Speech of the Genius of the Wood.) COMUS Lines 244-330.-'Can any mortal mixture'- -'lead on!'-(Dialogue between Comus and the Lady.) PARADISE LOST III.-1-55.-'Hail, holy Light!' IV.-31-112. -'mortal sight.' 'O thou, that, with surpassing glory'. -'shall know.' -(Satan addresses the Sun.) V.-153-208.-'These are thy glorious works' X.-272-324.-'So saying, with delight' X.-504-584. Serpents.) -'dispels the dark !' 'three places led.'-(The PARADISE REGAINED IV.-44-87. The city which thou seest ' 'removed:' 236-284. 'Look once more'- -'with empire joined.' (Vision of Rome and Athens.) SAMSON AGONISTES Lines 1076-1267 (omitting 1178-1223.—' Fair honour ’– 'I come not, Samson' -'small enforce.')— -'attempt the deed.' (Samson and Harapha.) Lines 1596-1659.-'Occasions drew me''stood without.' (Messenger relates the Death of Samson.) Lines 1708-1744.- Come, come; no time'- -loss of eyes.' (Manoah's Passages from L'ALLEGRO and IL PENSEROSO. WILLIAM MORRIS (1834-1896) THE DEATH OF JASON BUT on a day The sun was far upon his downward way, And grey shade from the hills of Cenchrea But Jason, looking out across the sea, And take no heed of what all men desire? crown Of grey old Pelion, that alone I knew, 'Once did I win a noble victory; I won a kingdom, and I cast it by For rest and peace, and rest and peace are gone. I had a fair love, that loved me alone, And all my life would seem but perfect gain. 'Alas! what hope is this? is it in vain I long to see her? Lo, am I not young? 40 50 60 70 80 90 And, 'midst all this, what honour may I win, How should I clasp again my love, mine own, vain! Cast off my moody sorrow utterly, And once more live my life as in times past, And 'mid the chance of war the die will cast. 'And surely, whatso great deeds have been done, Since with my fellows the Gold Fleece I won, Still, here, some wild bull clears the frightened fields; There, a great lion cleaves the sevenfold shields; There, dwells some giant robber of the land; There, whirls some woman-slayer's red right hand.' So saying, gazing still across the sea, Heavy with days and nights of misery, His eyes waxed dim, and calmer still he grew, Still pondering over times and things he knew; While now the sun had sunk behind the hill, And from a whitethorn nigh a thrush did fill The balmy air with echoing minstrelsy, And cool the night-wind blew across the sea, And round about the soft-winged bats did 1 sweep. So 'midst all this at last he fell asleep, Had dropped a timber here, and there an oar, But now the stempost, that had carried well 1 1Ο 20 HENRY NEWBOLT A BALLAD OF JOHN NICHOLSON IT fell in the year of Mutiny, At darkest of the night, John Nicholson by Jalandhar came On his way to Delhi fight. And as he by Jalandhar came He thought what he must do, 'God grant your Highness length of days, On the morrow through Jalandhar town The chief of them was Mehtab Singh, He marked his fellows how they put 'They have ruled us for a hundred years, In truth I know not how; But though they be fain of mastery, Right haughtily before them all They had not been an hour together, Then swiftly came John Nicholson 3 'You are overhasty, Mehtab Singh,'Oh, but his voice was low! He held his wrath with a curb of iron, That furrowed cheek and brow. 'You are overhasty, Mehtab Singh, The Captains passed in silence forth But there within John Nicholson 'Have ye served us for a hundred years 'Were I the one last Englishman Drawing the breath of life, And you the master-rebel of all That stir this land to strife 'Were I,' he said, but a Corporal, So long as the soul was in my body 'Take off, take off those shoes of pride, When Mehtab Singh came to the door When Mehtab Singh rode from the gate 70 RIDING at dawn, riding alone, A horseman crossed him, staggering blind. 'The Devil's abroad in false Vellore, Without a word, without a groan, Sudden and swift Gillespie turned; The blood roared in his ears like fire, Like fire the road beneath him burned. He thundered back to Arcot gate, He thundered up through Arcot town, Before he thought a second thought In the barrack yard he lighted down. 'Trumpeter, sound for the Light Dragoons, Sound to saddle and spur,' he said; 'He that is ready may ride with me, And he that can may ride ahead.' Fierce and fain, fierce and fain, Behind him went the troopers grim, They rode as ride the Light Dragoons, But never a man could ride with him. Their rowels ripped their horses' sides, Heavily came the Sergeant's voice: 'There are two living, and forty dead.' 'A rope, a rope!' Gillespie cried: They bound their belts to serve his need; There was not a rebel behind the wall But laid his barrel and drew his bead. There was not a rebel among them all He dressed the line, he led the charge, The troopers rode the reeking flight: The end of them that stab by night. They've kept the tale a hundred years, 40 50 THE QUARTER-GUNNER'S YARN We now saw the enemy bearing ahead, The Victory led, to her flag it was due, But Lord Nelson he hailed them with masterful grace, 'Cap'n Harvey, I'll thank you to keep in your place.' To begin with we closed the Bucentaure alone, An eighty-gun ship, and their Admiral's own; We raked her but once, and the rest of the day Like a hospital hulk on the water she lay. To our battering next the Redoubtable struck, But her sharpshooters gave us the worst of the luck, Lord Nelson was wounded, most cruel to tell, 'They've done for me, Hardy,' he cried as he fell. To the cockpit in silence they carried him past, And sad were the looks that were after him cast; His face with a kerchief he tried to conceal, But we knew him too well from the truck to the keel. 4 |