What difference do you think this would have made in his life?

How can we keep this joy in our hearts?

Memorize these lines.

Words and Phrases for Discussion

"The Child is father of the Man'

THE SPACIOUS FIRMAMENT

JOSEPH ADDISON

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) was an English writer. He received his education at Oxford College. For a time he was a member of Parliament. As a man he was kind and generous and as a writer he had grace and refinement.

1

The spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue ethereal sky,

And spangled heavens, a shining frame,
Their great Original proclaim:

Th' unwearied Sun, from day to day,
Does his Creator's power display,

And publishes to every land.

The work of an Almighty hand.

2

Soon as the evening shades prevail,
The Moon takes up the wondrous tale,
And, nightly, to the listening Earth,
Repeats the story of her birth:

While all the stars that round her burn,
And all the planets in their turn,
Confirm the tidings as they roll,

And spread the truth from pole to pole.

3

What though, in solemn silence, all Move round the dark terrestrial ball? What though no real voice nor sound Amid their radiant orbs be found: In Reason's ear they all rejoice, And utter forth a glorious voice, Forever singing as they shine, "The Hand that made us is divine."

HELPS TO STUDY
Notes and Questions

Words and Phrases for Discussion

"spacious firmament''

THE SEA

BRYAN WALLER PROCTER

Bryan Waller Procter (1787-1874) was an English poet. He was born in London. He wrote under the name of Barry Cornwall. "The Sea' is one of his best poems.

1

The sea! the sea! the open sea!

The blue, the fresh, the ever free!
Without a mark, without a bound,

It runneth the earth's wide regions round;
It plays with the clouds; it mocks the skies;
Or like a cradled creature lies.

2

I'm on the sea! I'm on the sea!

I am where I would ever be;

With the blue above, and the blue below,
And silence whereso'er I go;

If a storm should come and awake the deep,
What matter? I shall ride and sleep.

3

I love, oh, how I love to ride.

On the fierce, foaming, bursting tide,
When every mad wave drowns the moon
Or whistles aloft his tempest tune,
And tells how goeth the world below,
And why the sou'west blasts do blow.

4

I never was on the dull, tame shore,
But I lov'd the great sea more and more,
And backwards flew to her billowy breast,
Like a bird that seeketh its mother's nest;

And a mother she was, and is, to me;
For I was born on the open sea!

5

The waves were white, and red the morn,
In the noisy hour when I was born;
And the whale it whistled, the porpoise roll'd,
And the dolphins bared their backs of gold;
And never was heard such an outcry wild
As welcom'd to life the ocean child!

6

I've liv'd since then in calm and strife,

Full fifty summers, a sailor's life,

With wealth to spend and power to range,

But never have sought nor sighed for change;
And Death, whenever he comes to me,
Shall come on the wild, unbounded sea!

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH*

The Cock is crowing,
The stream is flowing,

The small birds twitter,
The lake doth glitter,
The green field sleeps in the sun;
The oldest and youngest

Are at work with the strongest;
The cattle are grazing,

Their heads never raising;

There are forty feeding like one!
Like an army defeated

The snow hath retreated,
And now doth fare ill

On the top of the bare hill;

The ploughboy is whooping-anon—anon:
There's joy in the mountains;

There's life in the fountains;
Small clouds are sailing,
Blue sky prevailing;

The rain is over and gone!

HELPS TO STUDY

Notes and Questions

What things mentioned in this poem have you noticed in the spring?

What things mentioned in this poem may be seen in the city? * For Biography, see p. 89.

What things can be seen only in
the country?
What is meant by "forty feeding
like one''?