In ancient English grandeur; turrets, spires,
And windows, climbing high from base to roof,
In wide and radiant rows, bespeak its birth
Coeval with those rich cathedral fanes,
(Gothic ill-famed,) where harmony results
From disunited parts; and shapes minute,
At once distinct and blended, boldly form
One vast majestic whole.
W. MASON--_The English Garden_.
10. In a _proud city_ and a rich,
A city fair and old,
Fill'd with the world's most costly things,
Of precious stones and gold;
Of silks, fine wool, and spiceries,
And all that's bought and sold.
MARY HOWITT.
11. I see, I see the _rustic porch_,
And close beside the door
The old elm, waving still as green
As in the days of yore.
I see the wreathing smoke ascend
In azure columns up the sky,
I see the twittering swallow
Around in giddy circles fly.
T. MCLELLAN.
12. A house, whence, as by stealth, you catch
Among the hills a glimpse of busy life,
That sooths, not stirs.
ROGERS.
13. In stately dwelling built of squared _bricke_.
SPENSER.
14. A _city_, that great sea whose ebb and flow
At once is deaf and loud.
In its depth what treasure--you will see.
SHELLEY.
15. In a fair and _stately mansion_, with old woods
Girdled around.
HOWITT.
16. A _low, Sweet Home_,
A Pastoral Dwelling With Its Ivied Porch,
And Lattice, Gleaming Through the Leaves.
HEMANS.
17. You shall dwell in some bright little isle of your own,
In a blue summer ocean far off and alone,
Where a leaf never dies in the still blooming bowers,
And the bee banquets on through a whole year of flowers.
MOORE.
18. You scarce upon the borders enter,
Before you're at the very centre.
Though small your farm, it has a house
Full large to entertain a mouse;
But if it's enter'd by a rat,
There is no room to bring a cat.
Round your garden is a walk
No longer than a tailor's chalk;
One salad makes a shift to squeeze
Up through a tuft you call your trees,
And, once a year, a single rose
Peeps from the bud, but never blows.
In vain then you'll expect its bloom,
It cannot blow for want of room.
In short, in all your boasted seat
There's nothing but _yourself_ that's great.
SWIFT.
19. Your _island_ lies nine leagues away;
Along its solitary shore
Of craggy rock, and sandy bay,
No sound but ocean's roar,
Save where the bold, wild sea-bird makes her home,
Her shrill cry coming through the sparkling foam.
R. H. DANA.
20. Sweet sights, sweet sounds, all sights all sounds excelling;
Oh, 'tis a ravishing spot, form'd for a Poet's dwelling!
DRAKE.
21. _A city_
Where trade and joy in every _busy street_
Mingling are heard, and in whose _crowded ports_
The rising masts an endless prospect yield.
THOMSON.
22. A _valley_, from the river shore withdrawn,
Shall be your home--two quiet woods between,
Whose lofty verdure overlooks the lawn;
And waters, to their resting-place serene,
Come freshening and reflecting all the scene.
CAMPBELL.
23. Please step in
And visit roun' an' roun';
There's naught superfluous to gie pain
Or costly to be foun',
Yet a' is clean.
ALLAN RAMSAY--_Gentle Shepherd_.
24. A whitewash'd wall, a nicely sanded floor,
A varnish'd clock that clicks behind the door,
A chest contrived a double debt to pay,
A bed by night, a chest of drawers by day;
While broken tea-cups, wisely kept for show,
Ranged on the chimney, glisten in a row.
GOLDSMITH--_Deserted Village_.
25. How beautiful it stands,
Behind its elm-trees' screen,
With simple attic cornice crown'd,
All graceful and serene!
MRS. SIGOURNEY.
26. O'er the glad waters of the dark blue sea,
Your thoughts as boundless and your soul as free,
Far as the breeze can bear, the billows foam,
Survey your empire, and behold your _home_!
BYRON.
27. A _pastoral scene_ of your own land,
Groves darkly green, neat farms, and pastures gay
With golden flowers; brooks stealing over sand,
Or smooth-worn pebbles, murmuring light away;--
Blue rye-fields, yielding to the gentle hand
Of the cool west wind; scented fields of hay,
Falling in purple bloom!
PERCIVAL.
28. A pleasant aspect shall your _parlor_ wear,--
Pictures, and busts, and books, and flowers,
And a light hearth where one may sit for hours,
And feel the minutes in their rapid flight,
Yet never think to count them as they go;
The mind, in converse sweet, beguiled so.
MRS. A. M. WELLS.
29. A light commodious _chamber_
Looking out to the hills, and where the shine
Of the great sun may enter.
MARY HOWITT.
30. It is a _chosen plot of fertile land_,
Emongst wide waves sett, like little nest,
As if it had by nature's cunning hand
Bene choycely picked out from all the rest,
And laid forth for ensample of the best.
SPENSER.
31. A _mansion_, where _domestic love_
And truth breathe simple kindness to the heart;
Where white arm'd childhood twines the neck of age;
Where hospitable cares light up the hearth,
Cheering the lonely traveller on his way.
MRS. GILMAN.
32. Thine be a _cot beside the hill_:
A beehive's hum shall sooth thine ear;
A willowy brook that turns the mill
With many a fall, shall linger near.
ROGERS.
33. The dense city's roofs
Throng around thee, and the vertic' sun
Pours from those glowing tiles a fervid heat
Upon your shrinking nerves.
MRS. SIGOURNEY.
34. A _lodge_ of ample size,
But strange of structure and device;
Of such materials, as around
The workman's hand has readiest found.
SCOTT.
35. Among the jumbled heap of murky buildings.
KEATS.
36. You will be blest as now you are with friends, and home, and all
That in the exulting joy of love your own you fondly call;
Beloved and loving faces, that you've known so long and well,
The dear familiar places where your childish footsteps fell,
Where you join'd with careless heart and free your playmates'
blooming band,
As happy still as now in this,--you'll _tread your native land_.
MRS. OSGOOD.
37. On the well-sloped banks arise trim clumps,
Some round and some oblong, of shrubs exotic;
While, at respectful distance, rises up
The red brick wall, with flues and chimney-tops
And many a leafy crucifix adorn'd.
The smooth expanse,
Well cropp'd, and daily, as the owner's chin,
Not one irregularity presents,
Not even one grassy tuft in which a bird
May find a home and cheer the dull domain.
GRAHAME--_Birds of Scotland_.
38. The city's gloom, that falls
Where the same window fronts the same dull walls;
To see new, weary idlers tread once more
The mud or dust, which crowds have trod before,
Or the gay chariot loiter to await
Some fool you scorn, or envious flirt you hate.
DR. BROWN--_Bower of Spring_.
39. A _lone dwelling_, built by whom, or how,
None of the rustic island people know.
The isle and house are thine.--
Nature, with all her children, haunts the hill;
The spotted deer bask in the fresh moonlight,
Before thy gate.--Be this thy home in life.
SHELLEY.
40. In a city vast and populous,
Whose thronging multitude
Sends forth a sound afar off heard,
Strong as the ocean flood;
A strong, deep sound of many sounds,
Toil, pleasure, pain, delight,
And traffic, myriad-wheel'd, whose din
Ceases not day and night.
MARY HOWITT.
41. A _simple home_,
A plain well-order'd household, without show
Of wealth or fashion.
PERCIVAL.
42. All day within your dreary house
The doors upon their hinge will creak,
The blue-fly sing in the pane, the mouse
Behind the mouldering wainscot creep,
Or from the crevice peer about.
TENNYSON.
43. _Upon a green bank side_,
Skirting the smooth edge of a gentle river,
Whose waters seem unwillingly to glide,
Like parting friends, who linger ere they sever.
DRAKE.
44. Where _streets_ are _stifling_, _bustling_, _noisy_, _dry_;
Hot are the pavements as an oven floor;
Dingy-red brick grows tiresome to the eye.
MARY HOWITT.
45. _Refinement's chosen seat_,
Art's trophied dwelling, learning's green retreat.
SPRAGUE.
46. I know the spot;
The curtain'd windows half exclude the light,
Yet eager still to make their way,
A thousand elfin sunbeams bright,
Glittering about the carpet play.
But what attracts you chiefly there
Is _one_ who in a cushion'd rocking-chair
Doth sit and read.
MRS. A. M. WELLS.
47. The wild wind sweeps across your low damp floors,
And makes a weary noise and wailing moan;
All night you hear the clap of broken doors,
That on their rusty hinges grate and groan;
And then old voices, calling from behind
The worn and wormy wainscot, flapping in the wind.
THOMAS MILLER.
48. In simple _western_ style,
With all your chambers on the lower floor;
In fact, of stories you will boast no more
Than simply one. 'Tis at the river's side,
And near it grows a noble sycamore;
A velvet lawn of green, outspreading wide,
Slopes smoothly down, to meet the ever-rippling tide.
MRS. DANA.
49. It is a _home to die for_, as it stands
Through its vine foliage, sending forth a sound
Of mirthful childhood o'er the green repose
And laughing sunshine of the pastures round.
HEMANS.
50. Gay apartments,
Where mimic life beneath the storied roof
Glows to the eye, and at the painter's touch
A new creation glows along the walls.
ARTHUR MURPHY--_Orphan of China_.
51. Down by the hamlet's hawthorn-scented way,
Where round the cot's romantic glade are seen
The blossom'd bean-field, and the sloping green.
CAMPBELL.
52. A _lonesome lodge_,
That stands so lowe in lonely glen.
The little windowe dim and darke
Is hung with ivy, brier, and yewe;
No shimmering sun here ever shone,
No halesome breeze here ever blewe.
No chair, no table may you spye,
No cheareful hearth, no welcome bed,
Naught save a _rope_ with running noose,
That dangling hangs up o'er your heade.
PERCY'S RELIQUES--_Heir of Linne_.
53. The mountains, the mountains! amidst them is your home;
To their pure and sparkling fountains impatiently you come;
Their bleak and towering summits invade the dark blue sky,
But o'er their rudest ridges your fancy loves to fly.
DR. S. H. DICKSON.
54. A lowly roof;
Thou know'st it well, and yet 'twill seem more low
Than it was wont to seem, for thou wilt be
A visitant of loftier domes and halls,
Meet for the feet of princes.
MRS. SIGOURNEY.
55. Your house a _cottage more_
Than _palace_, and will fitting be
For all your use, not luxury.
Your garden painted o'er
With Nature's hand, not Art's, will pleasures yield
Horace might envy in his Sabine field.
COWLEY.
56. You'll think yourself superbly off, though rather cramp'd in bed,
If your garret keep the winter rain from dropping on your head.
ALBERT PIKE.
57. A snug thack house; before the door a green,
Hens on the midding, ducks in pools are seen.
On this side stands a barn, on that a byre,
A peat-stack joins, an' forms a rural square.
The house is yours,--there shall we see you lean
And to your turfy seat invite a frien'.
ALLAN RAMSAY--_Gentle Shepherd_.
58. It is a quiet picture of delight,
Your humble cottage, hiding from the sun
In the thick woods. We see it not till then,
When at its porch. Rudely but neatly wrought,
Four columns make its entrance; slender shafts,
The rough bark yet upon them, as they came
From the old forest----
----Prolific vines
Have wreath'd them well, and half obscured the rinds
Unpromising that wrap them. Crowding leaves
Of glistening green, and clustering bright flowers
Of purple, in whose cups throughout the day
The humming-bird wantons boldly, wave around
And woo the gentle eye and delicate touch.
This is the dwelling, and 'twill be to thee
Quiet's especial temple.
W. G. SIMMS.
59. That dear old home!
Something of old ancestral pride it keeps,
Though fallen from its early power and vastness!
The sunlight seems to thy eyes brighter there
Than wheresoever else.
FANNY KEMBLE.
60. In a vale with dwellings strown,
One is standing all alone;
White it rises mid the leaves,
Woodbines clamber o'er its eaves,
And the honeysuckle falls
Pendant on its silent walls.
'Tis a cottage small and fair
As a cloud in summer air.
PARK BENJAMIN.
WHAT IS YOUR DESTINY?
You unconcern'd
And calm, can meet your coming destiny,
In all its charming, or its frightful shapes.
DR. WATTS.
I have an ear that craves for every thing,
That hath the smallest sign or Omen in it.
JOANNA BAILLIE.
Let me deem that
Some unknown influence, some sweet oracle,
Communicates between us though unseen,
In absence, and attracts us to each other.
BYRON.
WHAT IS YOUR DESTINY?
1. Ye'll draw a bonny silken purse;
Ye'll ca' your coach, ye'll ca' your horse.
BURNS.
2. Of the present much is bright,
And in the coming years I see
A brilliant and a cheering light,
Which burns before thee constantly.
W. D. GALLAGHER.
3. A better cellar nowhere can be found;
The pantry never is without baked meat,
And fish and flesh, so plenteous and complete:
It snows within your house of meat and drink,
Of all the dainties that a man can think.
CHAUCER.
4. GENTLEMAN.--Thine never was a woman's dower
Of tenderness and love!
Thou who canst chain the eagle's power,
Canst never tame the dove.
E. C. EMBURY.
4. LADY.--Let me gaze for a moment, that ere I die
I may read thee, lady, a prophecy.
That brow may beam in glory awhile,
That cheek may bloom, and that lip may smile,
But clouds shall darken that brow of snow,
And sorrow blight thy bosom's glow.
MISS L. DAVIDSON.
5. The best establishment in the city,
Coaches and horses, hounds and liveried servants.
MARY HOWITT.
6. Thou seest only what is fair,
Thou sippest only what is sweet;
Thou wilt mock at fate and care,
Leave the chaff, and take the wheat.
R. W. EMERSON.
7. Ye build, ye build, but ye enter not in!
MRS. SIGOURNEY.
8. I'll warrant thee from drowning, though thy
Ship were no stronger than a nut-shell.
_Tempest._
9. The sea of ambition is tempest-toss'd,
And thy hopes may vanish like foam;
But when sails are shiver'd and rudder lost,
Then look to the light of _home_!
MRS. HALE.
10. Your life's a summer even,
Whose sun of light, though set
Amidst the clouds of heaven,
Leaves streams of brightness yet.
BOWRING.
11. In a narrow sphere,
The little circle of domestic love,
You will be known and loved; the world beyond
Is not for you.
SOUTHEY.
12. Thou dwell'st on sorrow's high and barren place,
But round about the mount an angel-guard--
Chariots of fire, horses of fire--encamp,
To keep thee safe for heaven!
MRS. ELLET.
13. To cheer with sweet repast the fainting guest,
To lull the weary on the couch of rest,
To warm the traveller, numb'd with winter cold,
The young to cherish, to support the old,
The sad to shelter, and the lost direct--
These are your cares, and this your glorious task;
Can heaven a nobler give, or mortals ask?
SIR WILLIAM JONES.
14. The sordid cares in which you dwell
Shrink and consume your heart.
BRYANT.
15. A wide future is before you;
Your heart will beat for fame,
And you will learn to breathe with love
The music of a name,
Writ on the tablets of that heart
In characters of flame.
J. O. SARGENT.
16. To grow in the world's approving eyes,
In friendship's smile, and home's caress,
Collecting all the heart's sweet ties
Into one knot of happiness.
MOORE.
17. Sorely harass'd, and tired at last with fortune's vain
delusions, O,
You'll drop your schemes like idle dreams, and come to this
conclusion, O,--
The past was bad, the future hid, the good and ill untried, O,
But the present hour is in your power, and so you will enjoy it, O.
BURNS.
18. You will be blest exceedingly; your store
Grow daily, weekly, more and more,
And peace so multiply around,
Your very hearth seem holy ground.
MARY HOWITT.
19. With steady aim your fortune chase,
Keen hope let every sinew brace,
Through fair, through foul, urge on your race,
And seize the prey;
Then cannie, in some cozie place,
Thou'lt close life's day.
BURNS.
20. In your dreams a form you'll view,
That thinks on you and loves you too;
You start, and when the vision's flown
You'll weep that you are all alone.
H. K. WHITE.
21. Quiet by day,
Sound sleep by night, study and ease
Together mix'd, sweet recreation,
And innocence which most doth please,
With meditation.
POPE.
22. GENTLEMAN.--A gentle lover shalt thou be,
Sitting at thy loved one's side;
She giving her whole soul to thee,
Without a thought or wish of pride,
And she shall be thy cherish'd bride.
J. R. LOWELL.
22. LADY.--Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow,
Thou shalt not escape calumny.
SHAKSPEARE.
23. Every day
A little life, a blank to be inscribed
With gentle deeds, such as in after time
Console, rejoice, whene'er you turn the leaf
To read them.
ROGERS.
24. Through many a clime 'tis yours to go,
With many a retrospection cursed;
And all your solace is to know,
Whate'er betide, you've known the worst.
BYRON.
25. Rouse to some high and holy work of love,
And thou an angel's happiness shalt know,
Shalt bless the earth while in the world above;
The good begun by thee shall onward flow,
In many a branching stream, and wider flow.
CARLOS WILCOX.
26. You shall go down as men have ever done,
And tread the pathway worn by common tramp.
A. C. COXE.
27. Friendship shall still thy evening feasts adorn,
And blooming peace shall ever bless thy morn
Succeeding years their happy race still run,
And age unheeded by delight come on.
PRIOR.
28. GENTLEMAN.--She's fair and fause that caused your smart,
You will lo'e her mickle and lang;
She will break her vow, she will break your heart,
And ye may e'en go hang.
BURNS.
28. LADY.--Gay hope is yours by fancy led,
Less pleasing when possess'd,
The tear forgot as soon as shed,
The sunshine of the breast.
GRAY.
29. Single as a stray glove.
FANNY KEMBLE.
30. GENTLEMAN.--You will not waste your spring of youth
In idle dalliance. You will plant rich seeds
To blossom in your manhood, and bear fruit
When you are old.
HILLHOUSE.
30. LADY.--To shrine within your heart's core one dear image,
To think of it all day, to dream all night.
MARY HOWITT.
31. The duties of a wedded life
Hath heaven ordain'd for thee.
SOUTHEY.
32. To love,
Love fondly, truly, fervently, and pine
When you have told your love, and sue in vain.
WORDSWORTH.
33. Hope, and health, and "learned leisure,"
Friends, books, thy thoughts.
BARRY CORNWALL.
34. Toiling, rejoicing, sorrowing;
Each morn will see some task begun,
Each evening see it close;
Something attempted, something done,
Will earn a night's repose.
LONGFELLOW.
35. You will go east, you will go west,
To seek for what you will not find,--
A heart at peace with its own thoughts,
A quiet and contented mind.
You will seek high, you will seek low,
But your search will be in vain.
LANDON.
36. A course of days composing happy months,
And they as happy years; the present still
So like the past, and both so firm a pledge
Or a congenial future, that the wheels
Of pleasure move without the aid of hope.
WORDSWORTH.
37. You will tread the path of fame,
And barter peace to win a name.
S. G. GOODRICH.
38. Each hour, each minute of your life
Shall be a golden holiday; and if a cloud
O'ercast thee, 'twill be light as gossamer.
G. COLEMAN.
39. A little, and content;
The faithful friend, and cheerful night,
The social scene of dear delight,
The conscience pure, the temper gay,
The musing eve and busy day.
THOMAS WARTON.
40. Live where your father lived, die where he dies;
Live happy, die happy.
POLLOK.
41. You'll use up life in anxious cares,
To lay up hoards for future years.
GAY.
42. You think of all the bubbles men are chasing;
They dream them worlds, because they're bright and fair;
You sit down with your book, your fireside facing,
And laugh to think of the wealth to which you are heir.
CRANCH.
43. Impell'd with steps unceasing to pursue
Some fleeting good that mocks thee with the view.
GOLDSMITH.
44. You'll have a clear and competent estate,
That you may live genteelly, but not great;
As much as you can moderately spend,
A little more, sometimes, to oblige a friend.
_Pomfret's Choice._
45. Rich, hated; wise, suspected; scorn'd if poor;
Great, feared; fair, tempted; high, still envied more.
SIR H. WOTTON.
46. GENTLEMAN.-- You love
A blooming lady, a conspicuous flower,
Admired for beauty, for her sweetness praised,
Whom you have sensibility to love,
Ambition to attempt, and skill to win.
WORDSWORTH.
46. LADY.--I fain would give to thee the loveliest things,
For lovely things belong to thee of right.
J. R. LOWELL.
47. Oh, you will still enjoy the cheerful day,
Till many years unheeded by have roll'd;
Pleased in your age to trifle life away,
And tell how much you loved ere you grew old.
HAMMOND--_Love Elegies_.
48. Endless labor all along,
Endless labor to do wrong.
DR. JOHNSON.
49. A fearful sign stands in thy house of life,
An enemy;----a fiend lurks close behind
The radiance of thy planet:--Oh, be warn'd!
COLERIDGE.
50. Thy God, in the darkest of days, will be
Greenness, and beauty, and strength to thee.
BARTON.
51. You were not meant to struggle from your birth,
To skulk and creep, and in mean pathways range;
Act with stern truth, large faith, and loving will,
Up and be doing.
J. R. LOWELL.
52. GENTLEMAN.--To die 'midst flame and smoke,
And shout, and groan, and sabre stroke,
And death-shots falling thick and fast
As lightning from the mountain cloud.
HALLECK.
52. LADY.-- Death shall come
Gently, to one of delicate mould like thee,
As light winds wandering through groves of bloom
Detach the delicate blossom from the tree.
BRYANT.
53. I know that pleasure's hand will throw
Her silken nets about thee,
I know how lonesome friends will find
The long, long days without thee;
But in thy _letters_ there'll be joy,
The reading, the replying;
They'll kiss each word that's traced by thee,
Upon thy truth relying.
BAYLEY.
54. Your life shall be as it has been,
A sweet variety of joys.
R. H. WILDE.
55. Neither poverty
Nor riches,
But godliness so gainful
With content.
No painted pomp nor glory that
Bewitches;
A blameless life is your best monument,
And such a life that soars a--
Bove the sky,
Well pleased to live, but better pleased to die.
HUGH PETERS.
56. A life you'll lead
Which hath no present time, but is made up
Entirely of to-morrows.
JOANNA BAILLIE.
57. GENTLEMAN.--I see Lord Mayor written on your forehead.
MASSINGER.
57. LADY.--A marriage in May weather.
LEIGH HUNT--_Rimini_.
58. You'll have never a penny left in your purse,
Never a penny but three;
And one is brass, and another is lead,
And another is white money.
PERCY'S RELIQUES--_Heir of Linne_.
59. You will double your life's fading space,
For he that runs it well, runs twice his race;
And in this true delight,
These unbought sports, this happy state,
You will not fear, nor wish your fate;
But boldly say each night,
"To-morrow let my sun his beams display,
"Or in clouds hide them; _I have lived to-day_."
COWLEY.
60. Yet haply there will come a weary day,
When, over-task'd at length,
Both Love and Hope beneath the weight give way.
Then with a statue's smile, a statue's strength,
Stands the mute sister Patience, nothing loth,
And both supporting, does the work of both.
COLERIDGE.
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
The oe ligature (one occurrence) has been replaced by 'oe'.
Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been
corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within
the text and consultation of external sources. Many missing periods
were added.
The number 1. has been inserted at the start of each section (covered
by an illustrated drop cap in the original book.)
Except for those changes noted below, misspellings by the author,
misquotations, and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained.
Pg 14. 'MACAULY' replaced by 'MACAULAY'.
Pg 43. Note: author George Lillo is not listed in 'Catalogue of Authors'
at the front of the book.)
Pg 61. 'MACAULEY' replaced by 'MACAULAY'.
End of Project Gutenberg's Oracles from the Poets, by Caroline Gilman