THE GOODNESS OF PROVIDENCE. THE Lord my pasture shall prepare, Though in the paths of death I tread, With sudden greens and herbage crown'd, Joseph Addison: 1672-1719. Best known by his contributions to the Spectator, Guardian, and Tatler, periodical papers on news, social subjects, and literature. His chief works in poetry are The Campaign and Cato, but his verse is inferior to his prose. Addison was made Secretary of State in 1717. 1 glebe-grassy plain. 2 crook-a shepherd's staff. 3 devious-strange and intricate. beguile-ameliorate, or soften by kind encouragement. GOD THE COMFORTER. O THOU who dry'st the mourner's tear! The friends, who in our sunshine live, When joy no longer soothes nor cheers, A moment's sparkle o'er our tears, Oh who would bear life's stormy doom, Come, brightly wafting through the gloom. Then sorrow, touched by Thee, grows bright As darkness shows us worlds of light We never saw by day! Thomas Moore: 1779-1852. Author of Irish Melodies, Lalla Rookh, and other poems. His verse is very musical, and its sweetness sometimes cloys. The Irish Melodies are the most graceful in thought, tender in feeling, and simple and refined in form of all his writings,-they are the best known, and will probably always remain the most popular. 1 peace-branch--the sending of an olive-branch was a token or an overture of peace in ancient times. THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS. AND is there care in heaven? And is there love To serve to wicked man, to serve His wicked foe! Edmund Spenser: 1553–1599. One of the finest among the fine poets of his time, and the best that had appeared since Chaucer, 'the father of English Poetry.' His chief work was the Faerie Queene. He was presented by Elizabeth with the estate and castle of Kilcolman, in Ireland, which he lost in the rebellion under Tyrone, 1598. ODE ON CREATION. (Paraphrase of part of 19th Psalm.) THE spacious firmament on high, With all the blue ethereal sky, 5 And spangled heavens, a shining frame, 1 compassion of... move— -pity for . . . awaken. ethereal - airy. Th' unwearied sun, from day to day, Soon as the evening shades prevail, What though, in solemn silence, all Joseph Addison: 1672-1719. LIGHT OUT OF DARKNESS. GOD moves in a mysterious way Deep in unfathomable mines Of never-failing skill, He treasures up His bright designs, And works His sovereign will. 1 In these lines allusion is made to the ancient belief that the planets moved in crystal spheres, to sounds of music. Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take, Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, His purposes will ripen fast, The bud may have a bitter taste, Blind unbelief is sure to err, God is His own interpreter, And He will make it plain. William Cowper: 1731-1800. Cowper's work in poetry is simple and unaffected-'a pure mirror of affections, regrets, feelings, and desires which we have all felt or would wish to cherish.' His purity of thought and style was in strong contrast with and protest against the artificial conceits and extravagances that marked the literature of his time. Cowper's history was very sad. Constitutional melan. choly and occasional insanity disqualified him for mingling much with men, and he led the life of a religious and literary recluse. THE DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB. THE Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold, And his cohorts1 were gleaming in purple and gold ; And the sheen 2 of their spears was like stars on the sea, When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee. Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green, That host with their banners at sunset were seen : Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown, That host on the morrow lay withered and strown. 1 cohorts-bands of warriors. 2 sheen--brightness, glittering. |