Not blither is the mountain roe; The storm came on before its time;" The wretched parents all that night At daybreak on a hill they stood And thence they saw the bridge of wood And turning homeward now, they cried, Then downward from the steep hill's edge And then an open field they crossed, They followed from the snowy bank, Yet some maintain that to this day That you may see sweet Lucy Gray CAUTIONS: a. The whole poem must be read in a quiet level tone-letting the incidents speak for themselves. b. Here a change of tone is necessary; but this line must be read slowly and deliberately. c. All these lines have the verse-accent upon insignificant words: by, to, and to. The way to avoid the accent is, first, to make a slight pause before these words; and secondly, to connect them rapidly with the nouns they belong to. THE VOICE OF SPRING. THE TRAVELLER IN AFRICA. 97 These verses were written by the DUCHESS OF DEVON on an incident which occurred to Mungo Park, the great African traveller. Park was often persecuted by men, but never met with an unkindness from a woman. CAUTIONS: a. The verse-accent in this line is on I. This must be avoided The emphasis is on coming. b. Avoid the verse-accent on this word; and make a short pause after gnats. And-the-gnats are-on-the-wing. II THE BARLEY-MOWERS' SONG. Barley-mowers must be true, Bending all with spirits blithe, Day and night, and night and day, MARY HOWITT. CAUTION: This poem should be read with great distinctness. The verse is in tended to give the idea of barley-mowers keeping time with their swing; but the sense must be most attended to. MEANINGS: 1. Blithe, light-hearted, merry. 2. Swath, the breadth of barley cut down by each stroke of the scythe. THE INCHCAPE ROCK. This poem, by SOUTHEY, tells the story of what is called "poetical justice," executed on a daring and cruel pirate. His own crime was the immediate cause of his ruin. One fine spring day, having nothing to do, Sir Ralph the Rover, out of mere fiendish malice, takes it into his head to cut down a bell which was used to warn poor sailors off a dangerous reef of rocks on the coast of Forfarshire. He sails away, and forgets his crime. He comes back; and in a thick sea-fog is wrecked on that very reef. The ballad is in Southey's best style; and his ballads are the best of his poetical writings. No stir in the air, no stir in the sea," Without either sign or sound of their shock, So little THE INCHCAPE ROCK. The good old Abbot of Aberbrothock When the rock was hid by the surges' swell, The sun in heaven was shining gay, b The sea-birds screamed as they wheeled around, The buoy of the Inchcape Bell was seen He felt the cheering power of spring, His eye was on the Inchcape float; The boat is lowered, the boatmen row, Down sunk the bell with a gurgling sound, The bubbles rose and burst around; 99 Quoth Sir Ralph, "The next who comes to this Rock Won't bless the Abbot of Aberbrothock." Sir Ralph the Rover sailed away, He scoured the seas for many a day; And now grown rich with plundered store, He steers his course for Scotland's shore. So thick a haze 3 o'erspreads the sky, On the deck the Rover takes his stand, So dark it is Quoth Sir Ralph, "It will be lighter sóon, "Can'st hear," said one, "the breakers roar ? But I wish I could hear the Inchcape Bell." They hear no sound; the swell is strong; Sir Ralph the Rover tore his hair, But even in his dying fear One dreadful sound could the Rover hear CAUTIONS: a. This, though seemingly easy, is really a difficult poem to read. There is a constant danger, arising from the simplicity and colloquial character of the style, of being driven by the verse-accent on unimportant words. Thus, in the second line, a careless reader would place the accent on she. b. Take care not to put the accent upon on. Slur it over; and put a slight emphasis on that. MEANINGS: 1. Inch is a Celtic word meaning island, and is found all over Scotland and Ireland. Thus the word Inchcape means the Island-Cape. 2. Scoured, sailed over. 3. Haze, fog, mist. 4. Knell, tolling for a funeral. THE MOUNTAIN AND THE SQUIRREL. THE mountain and the squirrel Had a quarrel; And the former called the latter "Little prig1" Bun2 replied, "You are doubtless very big; But all sorts of things and weather Must be taken in together To make up a year, And a sphere:3 And I think it's no disgrace To occupy my place. |