"Sisters and brothers, little maid, "How many? Seven in all," she said, "And where are they? I pray you tell." She answered, “Seven are we; And two are gone to sea. Two of us in the churchyard lie, And, in the churchyard cottage, I "You say that two at Conway dwell, Yet ye are seven !—I pray you tell, Then did the little maid reply, If two are in the churchyard laid, "Their graves are green, they may be seen," The little maid replied, "Twelve steps or more from And they are side by side. my mother's door, exquisite appreciation of natural beauty lies the chief charm of his poetry. His sonnets deserve to be far better known than they are as yet; and the steadily-increasing popularity of his works generally may be taken as an acknowledgment of their worth. Wordsworth succeeded Southey as poet laureate.] And when the ground was white with snow, And I could run and slide, My brother John was forced to go, And he lies by her side." HEAR thee speak of the better land; Shall we not seek it, and weep no more? Is it where the flower of the orange blows, And the fire-flies glance through the myrtle boughs?" [Of the poetry of FELICIA HEMANS, Scott is related to have deplored that, with so many and such fair blossoms, it had yielded so little fruit. The criticism, though not devoid of truth, was severe Though Mrs. Hemans, unfortunately, never concentrated her great powers sufficiently to produce a poem displaying all her excellencies, she has achieved an undoubted right to a high rank among English poets. She died in 1835, aged 40.] D "Is it where the feathery palm-trees rise, "Is it far away in some region old, "Eye hath not seen it, my gentle boy! MRS. HEMANS. [THOMAS CAMPBELL, one of the most distinguished among modern poets, was born at Glasgow, in 1777. At the early age of 22 he wrote his fine poem, the "Pleasures of Hope; " but it is upon his Odes and Ballads that his fame chiefly rests. Of these, the most universally appreciated are, "Ye Mariners of England," "Lord Ullin's Daughter," and the "Battle of the Baltic." Of the fight of Hohenlinden he was an eye-witness. He died in 1844.] |