Poetry Books

TheButterfly’s Ball and the Grasshopper’s FeastsExcited the spleen of the Birds and the Beasts:For their mirth and good cheer—of the Bee was the theme,And the Gnat blew his horn, as he danc’d in the beam.’Twas humm’d by the Beetle, ’twas buzz’d by the Fly,And sung by the myriads that sport through the sky.The Quadrupeds listen’d with sullen displeasure,But the tenants of air were... more...

YE votaries of Fashion, who have it to boast,That your names to posterity will not be lost;That the lastdue honor paidTo the still-blooming Dowager’s gay Masquerade;That the Minister’s Dinner has blaz’d in,That the Countess’s Gala has jingled in rhymes;Oh! tell me, who would not endeavour to please,And exert ev’ry nerve, for rewards such as these?[p6]It was early in Spring—but no matter what... more...

THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. She comes, she comes—the burden of the deeps!Beneath her wails the universal sea!With clanking chains and a new god, she sweeps,And with a thousand thunders, unto thee!The ocean-castles and the floating hosts—Ne'er on their like looked the wild water!—WellMay man the monster name "Invincible."O'er shuddering waves she gathers to thy coasts!The horror that... more...

INTRODUCTION The Kalevala, or the Land of Heroes, as the word may be freely rendered, is the national epic of Finland, and as that country and its literature are still comparatively little known to English readers, some preliminary explanations are here necessary. On reference to a map of Europe, it will be seen that the north-western portion of the Russian Empire forms almost a peninsula, surrounded,... more...

Preface Robert Burns was born near Ayr, Scotland, 25th of January, 1759. He was the son of William Burnes, or Burness, at the time of the poet's birth a nurseryman on the banks of the Doon in Ayrshire. His father, though always extremely poor, attempted to give his children a fair education, and Robert, who was the eldest, went to school for three years in a neighboring village, and later, for... more...

PROEM "SO LET THEM PASS, THESE SONGS OF MINE"   So let them pass, these songs of mine,  Into oblivion, nor repine;  Abandoned ruins of large schemes,  Dimmed lights adrift from nobler dreams,   Weak wings I sped on quests divine,  So let them pass, these songs of mine.  They soar, or sink ephemeral—  I care not greatly which befall!   For if no song I e'er had... more...

ARGUMENT. Apollo, enraged at the insult offered to his priest, Chryses, sends a pestilence upon the Greeks. A council is called, and Agamemnon, being compelled to restore the daughter of Chryses, whom he had taken from him, in revenge deprives Achilles of Hippodameia. Achilles resigns her, but refuses to aid the Greeks in battle, and at his request, his mother, Thetis, petitions Jove to honour her... more...

There was a little woman,As I have heard tell,She went to market,Her Eggs for to sell.She went to Market,All on a Market day,And she fell asleep,On the King’s highway.By came a Pedlar,His name it was Stout,And he cut her petticoats,All round about.He cut her PetticoatsUp to her knees,Which made the little womanBegan for to freeze.When this little woman,Began to awake,She began to shiver,And she began... more...

JACK and JILL,Went up the hill,To fetch a pail of water,Jack fell down,And broke his crown,And Jill came tumbling after.Then up JACK got,And home did trot,As fast as he could caper;DAME GILL did the job,To plaster his nob,With Vinegar and brown paper.Then JILL came in,And she did grin,To see JACK’S paper plaster,Her mother put her,A fools cap on,For laughing at Jack’s disaster.This made JILL... more...

INTRODUCTION Scepticism is as much the result of knowledge, as knowledge is of scepticism. To be content with what we at present know, is, for the most part, to shut our ears against conviction; since, from the very gradual character of our education, we must continually forget, and emancipate ourselves from, knowledge previously acquired; we must set aside old notions and embrace fresh ones; and, as... more...