And sable stole of Cyprus lawn, 2. There, held in holy passion still, Aye round about Jove's altar sing; That in trim gardens takes his pleasure; 3. But, first and chiefest, with thee bring 4. Sweet bird, that shunn'st the noise of folly, I woo, to hear thy evensong; And, missing thee, I walk unseen On the dry, smooth-shaven green, To behold the wandering moon 5. Oft, on a plat of rising ground, 6. Or let my lamp at midnight hour Be seen in some high, lonely tower, What worlds, or what vast regions, hold In sceptered pall come sweeping by, Presenting Thebes, or Pelops' line, Or what (though rare) of later age II.-SOBER DAY SCENES IN FOREST, CLOISTER, AND HER MITAGE. 7. Thus, Night, oft see me in thy pale career, Not tricked and frounced, as she was wont With the Attic boy to hunt, But kerchiefed in a comely cloud, While rocking winds are piping loud, Or ushered with a shower still, Where the rude ax with heavéd stroke 9. There in close covert by some brook, Entice the dewy-feathered sleep; 10. And let some strange, mysterious dream And as I wake, sweet music breathe Sent by some spirit to mortals good, Or the unseen genius of the wood. 11. But let my due feet never fail To walk the studious cloister's pale, As may with sweetness, through mine ear, And bring all heaven before mine eyes. 12. And may, at last, my weary age And I with thee will choose to live. John Milton. FOR PREPARATION.-I. Omission of thirty lines from the beginning and eighteen from the middle of this poem. "Il Penseroso " (the pensive or thoughtful, hence "Melancholy"). "Cynthia" (the moon-drives a yoke of dragons attached to her chariot). II. Deign (dan), Měl'-an-ehŏl-y, wan'-der-ing, plăt, rīş'-ing, eoun'ter-feit (-fit), heärth (härth), drow'-şy, gôr'-ġeous, růs'-tling (růsʼling), däunt, mys-te'-ri-oŭs, pōr'-trai-ture, gen'-ius, ehoir (kwir), če'-sta-sieş. III. "Less Philomel," etc. (3)—un omitted for '? "Do attain "-why not doth attain? IV. Pensive, devout, demure, sable, stole, "wonted state," commercing with the skies," rapt, Philomel, Cynthia, sullen, "out watch the Bear," Hermes, Plato, element, Tragedy, "Thebes, or Pelops' line," "Jove's altar," "fall of Troy," buskined, ushered, Sylvan (-us), garish, "cloister's pale," antic (-ique), pillows, dight, hermitage. V. "Decent shoulders" (decent = becoming, the old Latin meaning). "Forget thyself to marble" (until there is no more trace of emotion than in a marble statue). "Spare Fast" (which lets the mind soar into the heavens). "Hist along" (bring by commands of hush). "Chantress " (the nightingale). "Thrice-great Hermes” (“ Hermes Trismegistus," the famous mystical work, studied for its deeply concealed wisdom). "That hath forsook her mansion" (referring to Plato's doctrine of the descent of the soul, as presented in the "Phædo "). "Rightly spell "—what meaning has spell? CXLI. GARDEN PLANTS. 1. Lettuce has always been loyal. Herodotus tells us that it was served at royal tables some centuries before the Christian era, and one of the Roman families ennobled its name with that of Lactucinii. So spinach, asparagus, and celery have been held in high repute among the eastern nations, as with us; and the parable of the mustard seed shows that that plant was known in Christ's time. 2. The Greeks are said to have esteemed radishes so highly that, in offering oblations to Apollo, they presented them in beaten gold. And the Emperor Tiberius held parsnips in such high repute that he had them |