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Article POETS' CORNER. ← Page 3 of 4 →
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Poets' Corner.
Where health and plenty cheered the labouring swain , Where smiling spring its earliest visit paid , And parting summer ' s ling ' ring blooms delayed . " Of course we could not expect that a
person of Goldsmith's fine sensibility would forget the scenes of his youthful joys ; and , accordingly , when he was in the height of his popularity and success we find him writing these pathetic lines : " In all my wanderings through this world
of care , In ail my griefs—and God has given my share—I still had hopes my latest hours to crown , Amidst those humble bow ' rs to lay me down
To husband out life ' s taper at the close , And keep the flame from wasting by repose ; I still had hopes , for pride attends us still , Amidst the swains to show my booklearned skill , Around my fire an evening group to draw , And tell of all I felt and all I saw ; And as a hare whom hounds and horns
pursue Pants to the place from which at first she flew , I still had hopes , my long vexations past , Here to return , and die at home at last . "
This hope , however , was not to be fulfilled , for the gifted poet , philosopher , and historian died in London in his forty-sixth year , and his friend Dr . Johnson wrote the epitaph which is inscribed upon his monument .
Here is the monument of John Gay , known to old and young by liis fabJes , and who was also the author of the celebrated " Beggars' Opera . " A very pleasing character of him is given in the epitaph inscribed upon his monument , and which was written by Alexander Pope . It tells us that he was
" Of manners gentle , of affections mild , In wit a man , simplicity a child . " Near this we find the monument of Nicholas Howe , the dramatist . He was the Poet Laureate , and the author of several fine tragedies , and just before his death he completed a translation of Lucian ' s "Pharsalia . "
But here we come to a memorial which , will , perhaps , possess more interest for us . It is a fine piece of work , and worth y to perpetuate the memory of so sweet a poet as James Thompson , the auther of " The Seasons . " The figure of the poet leans its
left arm upon a pedestal , holding a book in one hand and the Cap of Liberty in the other . Upon the pedestal are scul ptured in bas-relief representations of the Seasons and to these a boy is pointing , at the same time offering the poet a laurel crown as a
reward for his genius in describing their beauties . He has received a praise which cannot be rated too hi ghly when a ]) plied to one who wrote so much as he did , for Lord Lyttelton , an elegant scholar and critic , has said that his works contained
" No line which , dying , he would wish to blot . " Now we have come to the monument of a mail whose name and fame is known all over the civilized world . It is that of the great William Shakespeare . So much has
been written and spoken of this astonishing genius , that we do not think it necessary to dwell at any length on his works or his life in this place , nor , indeed , have we space to touch upon such a boundless theme . Near this is a bust of Robert Southeya
, very voluminous writer , whose life affords one of the most striking examples of unremitting industry—of positive labourto be found in the whole range of biography . He composed many very long poems , but
we daresay he will be better known to our young friends b y his shorter pieces , such as "The Inchcape Rock "—a favourite piece for recitation— "The Battle of Blenheim , " and "Eugene Aram . " He was another eminently pure and harmless writer .
We have now reached the fine statue of Thomas Campbell , the author of the "Pleasures of Hope , " in which occurs that fine reading on the downfall of Poland , which , we are sure , you have often read with interest and deli ght . You know how
it begins : "When leagued Oppression poured to northern wars Her whiskered Pandours and her fierce hussars , & c . ' ' "The Battle of the Baltic , " that soulstirring lyric , is also a familiar example of
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Poets' Corner.
Where health and plenty cheered the labouring swain , Where smiling spring its earliest visit paid , And parting summer ' s ling ' ring blooms delayed . " Of course we could not expect that a
person of Goldsmith's fine sensibility would forget the scenes of his youthful joys ; and , accordingly , when he was in the height of his popularity and success we find him writing these pathetic lines : " In all my wanderings through this world
of care , In ail my griefs—and God has given my share—I still had hopes my latest hours to crown , Amidst those humble bow ' rs to lay me down
To husband out life ' s taper at the close , And keep the flame from wasting by repose ; I still had hopes , for pride attends us still , Amidst the swains to show my booklearned skill , Around my fire an evening group to draw , And tell of all I felt and all I saw ; And as a hare whom hounds and horns
pursue Pants to the place from which at first she flew , I still had hopes , my long vexations past , Here to return , and die at home at last . "
This hope , however , was not to be fulfilled , for the gifted poet , philosopher , and historian died in London in his forty-sixth year , and his friend Dr . Johnson wrote the epitaph which is inscribed upon his monument .
Here is the monument of John Gay , known to old and young by liis fabJes , and who was also the author of the celebrated " Beggars' Opera . " A very pleasing character of him is given in the epitaph inscribed upon his monument , and which was written by Alexander Pope . It tells us that he was
" Of manners gentle , of affections mild , In wit a man , simplicity a child . " Near this we find the monument of Nicholas Howe , the dramatist . He was the Poet Laureate , and the author of several fine tragedies , and just before his death he completed a translation of Lucian ' s "Pharsalia . "
But here we come to a memorial which , will , perhaps , possess more interest for us . It is a fine piece of work , and worth y to perpetuate the memory of so sweet a poet as James Thompson , the auther of " The Seasons . " The figure of the poet leans its
left arm upon a pedestal , holding a book in one hand and the Cap of Liberty in the other . Upon the pedestal are scul ptured in bas-relief representations of the Seasons and to these a boy is pointing , at the same time offering the poet a laurel crown as a
reward for his genius in describing their beauties . He has received a praise which cannot be rated too hi ghly when a ]) plied to one who wrote so much as he did , for Lord Lyttelton , an elegant scholar and critic , has said that his works contained
" No line which , dying , he would wish to blot . " Now we have come to the monument of a mail whose name and fame is known all over the civilized world . It is that of the great William Shakespeare . So much has
been written and spoken of this astonishing genius , that we do not think it necessary to dwell at any length on his works or his life in this place , nor , indeed , have we space to touch upon such a boundless theme . Near this is a bust of Robert Southeya
, very voluminous writer , whose life affords one of the most striking examples of unremitting industry—of positive labourto be found in the whole range of biography . He composed many very long poems , but
we daresay he will be better known to our young friends b y his shorter pieces , such as "The Inchcape Rock "—a favourite piece for recitation— "The Battle of Blenheim , " and "Eugene Aram . " He was another eminently pure and harmless writer .
We have now reached the fine statue of Thomas Campbell , the author of the "Pleasures of Hope , " in which occurs that fine reading on the downfall of Poland , which , we are sure , you have often read with interest and deli ght . You know how
it begins : "When leagued Oppression poured to northern wars Her whiskered Pandours and her fierce hussars , & c . ' ' "The Battle of the Baltic , " that soulstirring lyric , is also a familiar example of