Book Description

The Home Book of Verse - Volume 3By Burton Egbert StevensonPOEMS OF NATURE The world is too much with us; late and soon,Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:Little we see in Nature that is ours;We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!This sea that bares her bosom to the moon,The winds that will be howling at all hours,And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;For this, for everything, we are out of tune;It moves us not.-Great God! I'd rather beA Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn. William Wordsworth [1770-1850]MOTHER NATURETHE BOOK OF THE WORLD Of this fair volume which we World do name,If we the sheets and leaves could turn with care,Of him who it corrects, and did it frame,We clear might read the art and wisdom rare;Find out his power which wildest powers doth tame,His providence extending everywhere,His justice which proud rebels doth not spare,In every page, no, period of the same.But silly we, like foolish children, restWell pleased with colored vellum, leaves of gold,Fair dangling ribbons, leaving what is best,On the great Writer's sense ne'er taking hold;Or, if by chance we stay our minds on aught,It is some picture on the margin wrought. William Drummond [1585-1649]NATURE The bubbling brook doth leap when I come by,Because my feet find measure with its call;The birds know when the friend they love is nigh,For I am known to them, both great and small.The flower that on the lonely hillside growsExpects me there when spring its bloom has given;And many a tree and bush my wanderings knows,And e'en the clouds and silent stars of heaven;For he who with his Maker walks aright,Shall be their lord as Adam was before;His ear shall catch each sound with new delight,Each object wear the dress that then it wore;And he, as when erect in soul he stood,Hear from his Father's lips that all is good. Jones Very [1813-1880]COMPENSATION In that new world toward which our feet are set,Shall we find aught to make our hearts forgetEarth's homely joys and her bright hours of bliss?Has heaven a spell divine enough for this?For who the pleasure of the spring shall tellWhen on the leafless stalk the brown buds swell,When the grass brightens and the days grow long,And little birds break out in rippling song? O sweet the dropping eve, the blush of morn,The starlit sky, the rustling fields of corn,The soft airs blowing from the freshening seas,The sunflecked shadow of the stately trees,The mellow thunder and the lulling rain,The warm, delicious, happy summer rain,When the grass brightens and the days grow long,And little birds break out in rippling song! We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it becomes an enriching experience.