I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o"er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils, Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the Milky Way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of the bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they Outdid the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay In such a jocund company.
I gazed,--and gazed,--but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.
_William Wordsworth._
MILKY WAY, the belt of light seen at night in the heavens, and is composed of millions of stars.
1st stanza: Explain, "I wandered lonely." To what does the poet compare his loneliness?
What did the poet see "all at once?" Where? What were the daffodils doing?
What picture do the first two lines bring to mind? Describe the picture contained in the remaining lines of this stanza.
2d stanza: How does the poet tell what a great crowd of daffodils there were? How would you tell it?
How does he say the daffodils were arranged? What does _margin_ mean?
How many daffodils did he see? In this stanza, what does he say they were doing?
3d stanza: What is said of the waves? In what did the daffodils surpa.s.s the waves?
What do the third and fourth lines of this stanza mean?
4th stanza: What does "in vacant mood" mean? "In pensive mood?" "Inward eye?"
How does this inward eye make bliss for us in solitude?
What feelings did the thought of what he saw awaken in the heart of the poet?
What changed the wanderer"s loneliness, as told at the beginning of the poem, to gayety, as told towards the end?
Commit the poem to memory.
[Ill.u.s.tration:]
_60_
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THE STORY OF TARCISIUS.
At the time our story opens, a b.l.o.o.d.y persecution of the Church was going on, and all the prisons of Rome were filled with Christians condemned to death for the Faith. Some were to die on the morrow, and to these it was necessary to send the Holy Viatic.u.m to strengthen their souls for the battle before them. On this day, when the hostile pa.s.sions of heathen Rome were unusually excited by the coming slaughter of so many Christian victims, it was a work of more than common danger to discharge this duty.
The Sacred Bread was prepared, and the priest turned round from the altar on which it was placed, to see who would be its safest bearer.
Before any other could step forward, the young acolyte Tarcisius knelt at his feet. With his hands extended before him, ready to receive the sacred deposit, with a countenance beautiful in its lovely innocence as an angel"s, he seemed to entreat for preference, and even to claim it.
"Thou art too young, my child," said the kind priest, filled with admiration of the picture before him.
"My youth, holy father, will be my best protection. Oh! do not refuse me this great honor." The tears stood in the boy"s eyes, and his cheeks glowed with a modest emotion, as he spoke these words. He stretched forth his hands eagerly, and his entreaty was so full of fervor and courage, that the plea was irresistible. The priest took the Divine Mysteries, wrapped up carefully in a linen cloth, then in an outer covering, and put them on his palms, saying--
"Remember, Tarcisius, what a treasure is intrusted to thy feeble care.
Avoid public places as thou goest along; and remember that holy things must not be delivered to dogs, nor pearls be cast before swine. Thou wilt keep safely G.o.d"s sacred gifts?"
"I will die rather than betray them," answered the holy youth, as he folded the heavenly trust in the bosom of his tunic, and with cheerful reverence started on his journey. There was a gravity beyond the usual expression of his years stamped upon his countenance, as he tripped lightly along the streets, avoiding equally the more public, and the too low, thoroughfares.
As he was approaching the door of a large mansion, its mistress, a rich lady without children, saw him coming, and was struck with his beauty and sweetness, as, with arms folded on his breast, he was hastening on.
"Stay one moment, dear child," she said, putting herself in his way; "tell me thy name, and where do thy parents live?"
"I am Tarcisius, an orphan boy," he replied, looking up smilingly; "and I have no home, save one which it might be displeasing to thee to hear."
"Then come into my house and rest; I wish to speak to thee. Oh, that I had a child like thee!"
"Not now, n.o.ble lady, not now. I have intrusted to me a most solemn and sacred duty, and I must not tarry a moment in its performance."
"Then promise to come to me tomorrow; this is my house."
"If I am alive, I will," answered the boy, with a kindled look, which made him appear to her as a messenger from a higher sphere. She watched him a long time, and after some deliberation determined to follow him.
Soon, however, she heard a tumult with horrid cries, which made her pause on her way until they had ceased, when she went on again.
In the meantime, Tarcisius, with his thoughts fixed on better things than her inheritance, hastened on, and shortly came into an open s.p.a.ce, where boys, just escaped from school, were beginning to play.
"We just want one to make up the game; where shall we get him?" said their leader.
"Capital!" exclaimed another; "here comes Tarcisius, whom I have not seen for an age. He used to be an excellent hand at all sports. Come, Tarcisius," he added, stopping him by seizing his arm, "whither so fast?
take a part in our game, that"s a good fellow."