Elson Grammer School Literature, Book Four.

W >> William H. Elson and Christine Keck >> Elson Grammer School Literature, Book Four.

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Within the hall are song and laughter,
The cheeks of Christmas grow red and jolly,
And sprouting is every corbel and rafter
With lightsome green of ivy and holly;
Through the deep gulf of the chimney wide
Wallows the Yule-log's roaring tide;
The broad flame-pennons droop and flap
And belly and tug as a flag in the wind;
Like a locust shrills the imprisoned sap,
Hunted to death in its galleries blind;
And swift little troops of silent sparks,
Now pausing, now scattering away as in fear,
Go threading the soot-forest's tangled darks
Like herds of startled deer.

But the wind without was eager and sharp,
Of Sir Launfal's gray hair it makes a harp,
And rattles and wrings
The icy strings,
Singing, in dreary monotone,
A Christmas carol of its own,
Whose burden still, as he might guess,
Was "Shelterless, shelterless, shelterless!"
The voice of the seneschal flared like a torch
As he shouted the wanderer away from the porch,
And he sat in the gateway and saw all night
The great hall-fire, so cheery and bold,
Through the window-slits of the castle old,
Build out its piers of ruddy light
Against the drift of the cold.

PART SECOND

I.

There was never a leaf on bush or tree,
The bare boughs rattled shudderingly;
The river was dumb and could not speak,
For the weaver Winter its shroud had spun;
A single crow on the tree-top bleak
From his shining feathers shed off the cold sun;
Again it was morning, but shrunk and cold.
As if her veins were sapless and old,
And she rose up decrepitly
For a last dim look at earth and sea.

II.

Sir Launfal turned from his own hard gate,
For another heir in his earldom sate;
An old, bent man, worn out and frail,
He came back from seeking the Holy Grail;
Little he recked of his earldom's loss,
No more on his surcoat was blazoned the cross,
But deep in his soul the sign he wore,
The badge of the suffering and the poor.

III.

Sir Launfal's raiment thin and spare
Was idle mail 'gainst the barbed air,
For it was just at the Christmas time;
So he mused, as he sat, of a sunnier clime,
And sought for a shelter from cold and snow
In the light and warmth of long ago;
He sees the snake-like caravan crawl
O'er the edge of the desert, black and small,
Then nearer and nearer, till, one by one,
He can count the camels in the sun,
As over the red-hot sands they pass
To where, in its slender necklace of grass,
The little spring laughed and leapt in the shade,
And with its own self like an infant played,
And waved its signal of palms.

IV.

"For Christ's sweet sake, I beg an alms;"--
The happy camels may reach the spring,
But Sir Launfal sees naught save the grewsome thing,
The leper, lank as the rain-blanched bone,
That cowers beside him, a thing as lone
And white as the ice-isles of Northern seas
In the desolate horror of his disease.

V.

And Sir Launfal said, "I behold in thee
An image of Him who died on the tree;
Thou also hast had thy crown of thorns,
Thou also hast had the world's buffets and scorns,
And to thy life were not denied
The wounds in the hands and feet and side:
Mild Mary's Son, acknowledge me;
Behold, through him, I give to Thee!"

VI.

Then the soul of the leper stood up in his eyes
And looked at Sir Launfal, and straightway he
Remembered in what a haughtier guise
He had flung an alms to leprosie,
When he caged his young life up in gilded mail
And set forth in search of the Holy Grail.
The heart within him was ashes and dust;
He parted in twain his single crust,
He broke the ice on the streamlet's brink,
And gave the leper to eat and drink:
'Twas a mouldy crust of coarse brown bread,
'Twas water out of a wooden bowl,--
Yet with fine wheaten bread was the leper fed,
And 'twas red wine he drank with his thirsty soul.

VII.

As Sir Launfal mused with a downcast face,
A light shone round about the place;
The leper no longer crouched at his side,
But stood before him glorified,
Shining and tall and fair and straight
As the pillar that stood by the Beautiful Gate,--
Himself the Gate whereby men can
Enter the temple of God in Man.

VIII.

His words were shed softer than leaves from the pine,
And they fell on Sir Launfal as snows on the brine,
That mingle their softness and quiet in one
With the shaggy unrest they float down upon;
And the voice that was calmer than silence said,
"Lo, it is I, be not afraid!
In many climes, without avail,
Thou hast spent thy life for the Holy Grail;
Behold, it is here,--this cup which thou
Didst fill at the streamlet for Me but now;
This crust is My body broken for thee;
This water His blood that died on the tree;
The Holy Supper is kept, indeed,
In whatso we share with another's need:
Not what we give, but what we share,--
For the gift without the giver is bare;
Who gives himself with his alms feeds three,--
Himself, his hungering neighbor, and Me."

IX.

Sir Launfal awoke as from a swound:--
"The Grail in my castle here is found!
Hang my idle armor up on the wall,
Let it be the spider's banquet-hall;
He must be fenced with stronger mail
Who would seek and find the Holy Grail."

X.

The castle gate stands open now,
And the wanderer is welcome to the hall
As the hangbird is to the elm-tree bough;
No longer scowl the turrets tall,
The Summer's long siege at last is o'er;
When the first poor outcast went in at the door,
She entered with him in disguise,
And mastered the fortress by surprise;
There is no spot she loves so well on ground,
She lingers and smiles there the whole year round;
The meanest serf on Sir Launfal's land
Has hall and bower at his command;
And there's no poor man in the North Countree
But is lord of the earldom as much as he.

HELPS TO STUDY.

Notes and Questions.

Into what two parts does the poem divide?

What purpose does the prelude to each part serve?

What were the conditions under which Sir Launfal set out in search of the
Holy Grail?

How did the sight of the leper affect the young knight when he "flashed
forth" from his castle?

How did the leper explain his refusal of the alms tossed him?

What picture does the prelude to Part Second give you? Contrast it with
that of the prelude to Part First.

Describe Sir Launfal's appearance on his return from his quest.

What had he lost while on his search?

What had he gained?

Describe the second meeting with the leper.

How much of this story was a dream? Explain why you think so.

With what line does Lowell begin the account of Sir Launfal's vision?

What effect did the dream or vision have upon Sir Launfal?

What do you think is the great lesson of this poem?

Of whom is Sir Launfal a type?

What does the cold grim castle represent?

Find lines in the prelude to Part First which show the first stirring of
Sir Launfal's spiritual nature. What influences prompted this?

Why did Lowell choose a leper to confront Sir Launfal?

Words and Phrases for Discussion.

"We Sinais climb and know it not"
"Behold it is here--the Grail in my castle here is found"
"With our faint hearts the mountain strives"
"Then Heaven tries earth if it be in tune"
"For a god goes with it"
"Himself the Gate whereby men can Enter the temple of God in Man"
"She entered with him in disguise"
"He must be fenced with stronger mail"

* * * * *

YUSSOUF

JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL

A stranger came one night to Yussouf's tent,
Saying, "Behold one outcast and in dread,
Against whose life the bow of power is bent,
Who flies, and hath not where to lay his head;
I come to thee for shelter and for food,
To Yussouf, called through all our tribes 'The Good.'"

"This tent is mine," said Yussouf, "but no more
Than it is God's; come in, and be at peace;
Freely shalt thou partake of all my store
As I of His who buildeth over these
Our tents His glorious roof of night and day,
And at whose door none ever yet heard 'Nay.'"

So Yussouf entertained his guest that night,
And, waking him ere day, said: "Here is gold;
My swiftest horse is saddled for thy flight;
Depart before the prying day grow bold."
As one lamp lights another, nor grows less,
So nobleness enkindleth nobleness.

That inward light the stranger's face made grand,
Which shines from all self-conquest; kneeling low,
He bowed his forehead upon Yussouf's hand,

Sobbing: "O, Sheik, I cannot leave thee so;
I will repay thee; all this thou hast done
Unto that Ibrahim who slew thy son!"

"Take thrice the gold," said Yussouf, "for with thee
Into the desert, never to return,
My one black thought shall ride away from me;
First-born, for whom by day and night I yearn,
Balanced and just are all of God's decrees;
Thou art avenged, my first-born, sleep in peace!"

HELPS TO STUDY.

Notes and Questions.

Where do you think the scene of this poem was laid? Give the reason for
your answer.

What do you know of the habits of people who live in tents?

What virtues would men living in this way most admire? Why?

How do you think Yussouf had won his title of "The Good"?

To what does the stranger compare himself?

What does the bending of the bow signify?

To what tribes does the stranger refer?

What do you learn of Yussouf's character from the second and third stanzas?

What emotions made the stranger's face "grand"?

What do you suppose Yussouf's "one black thought" had been?

How did he avenge his son?

When does Yussouf show himself most noble?

Words and Phrases for Discussion.

"prying day"
"self-conquest"
"nobleness enkindleth nobleness"
"for whom by day and night I yearn"

* * * * *

SIDNEY LANIER

Sidney Lanier is a poet of the South who year by year appeals to a larger
number of lovers of good literature. He was born in Georgia of Huguenot and
Scotch ancestry and when only a small lad showed great talent and love for
music. His mother encouraged him in this, and from beginning with clapping
bones it was not long before he learned to play on the guitar, banjo,
violin, and flute. On the Christmas when he was seven years old he was
given a small one-keyed flute, and from that time on the flute became his
favorite instrument. When he grew to manhood he became first flutist in the
Baltimore orchestra. So passionately fond was he of music that he could
scarcely decide between that and poetry as his choice for a profession.

He was graduated from a Georgia college at the age of eighteen, and in the
following year, 1861, he enlisted in the Southern army. His younger
brother, Clifford, of whom he was very fond, also enlisted, and when
opportunities for promotion came to both they declined rather than be
separated. They engaged in many battles, but Sidney Lanier found time, even
during the war, to continue his study. In 1864 he was taken prisoner, while
doing duty as a signal officer, and spent five months in Point Lookout
prison. He came home from the hardships of war broken in health, so that
from that time on his life was one fierce struggle against disease.

From the time when as a boy he spent hours in his father's library reading
the tales of King Arthur, the stories of romantic chivalry were of
absorbing interest to him. He understood and loved boys, for he had four of
his own, and for these he has written "The Boy's Froissart," "The Boy's
King Arthur" and the "Knightly Legends of Wales."

In 1879 he was appointed lecturer on English literature at the Johns
Hopkins University, and his prospects were at last brightening when two
years later he died. During the last seven years of his life, struggling
ever with poverty and pain, he wrote his one volume of poetry. His poems
show his great faith--indeed, his poem, "The Marshes of Glynn," is religion
set to music.

* * * * *

THE MARSHES OF GLYNN

SIDNEY LANIER

O braided dusks of the oak and woven shades of the vine,
While the riotous noonday sun of the June day long did shine
Ye held me fast in your heart and I held you fast in mine;
But now when the noon is no more, and riot is rest,
And the sun is a-wait at the ponderous gate of the West,
And the slant yellow beam down the wood aisle doth seem
Like a lane into heaven that leads from a dream,--
Aye, now, when my soul all day hath drunken the soul of the oak,
And my heart is at ease from men, and the wearisome sound of the stroke
Of the scythe of time and the trowel of trade is low,
And belief overmasters doubt, and I know that I know,
And my spirit is grown to a lordly great compass within,
That the length and the breadth and the sweep of the marshes of Glynn
Will work me no fear like the fear they have wrought me of yore
When length was fatigue, and when breadth was but bitterness sore,
And when terror and shrinking and dreary unnamable pain
Drew over me out of the merciless miles of the plain,--
Oh, now, unafraid, I am fain to face
The vast, sweet visage of space.
To the edge of the wood I am drawn, I am drawn,
Where the gray beach glimmering runs, as a belt of the dawn,
For a mete and a mark
To the forest dark:--
So:
Affable live oak, leaning low,--
Thus--with your favor--soft, with a reverent hand,
(Not lightly touching your person, lord of the land!)
Bending your beauty aside, with a step I stand
On the firm-packed sand,
Free
By a world of marsh, that borders a world of sea.
Sinuous southward and sinuous northward the shimmering band
Of the sand beach fastens the fringe of the marsh to the folds of the
land.
Vanishing, swerving, evermore curving again into sight,
Softly the sand beach wavers away to a dim gray looping of light.
And what if behind me to westward the wall of the woods stands high?
The world lies east: how ample the marsh and the sea and the sky!
A league and a league of marsh grass, waist-high, broad in the blade,
Green, and all of a height, and unflecked with a light or a shade,
Stretch leisurely off, in a pleasant plain,
To the terminal blue of the main.
Oh, what is abroad in the marsh and the terminal sea?
Somehow my soul seems suddenly free
From the weighing of fate and the sad discussion of sin,
By the length and the breadth and the sweep of the marshes of Glynn.
Ye marshes, how candid and simple and nothing-withholding and free
Ye publish yourselves to the sky and offer yourselves to the sea!
Tolerant plains, that suffer the sea and the rains and the sun,
Ye spread and span like the catholic man who hath mightily won
God out of knowledge and good out of infinite pain
And sight out of blindness and purity out of a stain.
As the marsh hen secretly builds on the watery sod,
Behold I will build me a nest on the greatness of God!
I will fly in the greatness of God as the marsh hen flies
In the freedom that fills all the space 'twixt the marsh and the skies:
By so many roots as the marsh grass sends in the sod
I will heartily lay me a-hold on the greatness of God:
Oh, like to the greatness of God is the greatness within
The range of the marshes, the liberal marshes of Glynn.
And the sea lends large, as the marsh: lo, out of his plenty the sea
Pours fast: full soon the time of the flood tide must be:
Look how the grace of the sea doth go
About and about through the intricate channels that flow
Here and there,
Everywhere,
Till his waters have flooded the uttermost creeks and the low-lying
lanes,
And the marsh is meshed with a million veins,
That like as with rosy and silvery essences flow
In the rose-and-silver evening glow.
Farewell, my lord Sun!
The creeks overflow: a thousand rivulets run
'Twixt the roots of the sod; the blades of the marsh grass stir;
Passeth a hurrying sound of wings that westward whir;
Passeth, and all is still; and the currents cease to run;
And the sea and the marsh are one.
How still the plains of the waters be!
The tide is in his ecstasy;
The tide is at its highest height:
And it is night.
And now from the Vast of the Lord will the waters of sleep
Roll in on the souls of men,
But who will reveal to our waking ken
The forms that swim and the shapes that creep
Under the waters of sleep?
And I would I could know what swimmeth below when the tide comes in
On the length and the breadth of the marvelous marshes of Glynn.

HELPS TO STUDY.

Notes and Questions.

What can you tell of the coastal plain in Georgia?

What effect on the poet had the "dusks of the oak" at noon?

At sunset what appealed more strongly to him?

How does the poet account for his lack of fear of the marshes now?

In the marsh region what is "lord of the land"?

What characteristics of the marshes does the poet point out?

What comparisons are found in lines fifty to fifty-five?

To what does the poet compare the extent of the marshes of Glynn?

In this region when does the flood tide come? What tells you?

Which picture in the poem do you like best?

Explain: "Passeth a hurrying sound of wings that westward whir."

What is the meaning of the last nine lines?

Do you like this poem? Why? What can you tell of the author?

Point out parts that you like best.

Find examples of alliteration.

Why does the poet repeat "I am drawn"?

Select lines that are especially beautiful.

Words and Phrases for Discussion.

"glimmering"
"Vanishing"
"swerving"
"Like a lane into heaven that leads from a dream"
"Bending your beauty aside"
"intricate channels"
"uttermost creeks"

"Glynn"--a county in Georgia which borders on the Atlantic.

"live oak"--a species of oak found along the coasts of the southern states.

"catholic man"--a broad-minded man.

"braided dusks"--shadows of branches crossing one another.

"woven shades"--shadows interlacing.

"riotous noonday sun"--beating down hard.

"ye held me fast in your heart"--attracted and delighted me.

"I held you fast in mine"--loved, enjoyed.

"riot is rest"--the heat of the day is past, all is quiet.

"a-wait"--waiting.

"ponderous gate"--vast western horizon at sunset.

"wood aisle"--path of sun's rays in the woods at sunset.

"drunken the soul of the oak"--absorbed its strength.

"scythe of time"--symbol of death.

"trowel of trade"--symbol of industry.

"belief overmasters doubt"--inner confidence, faith takes the place of
uncertainty.

"I know that I know"--become self-confident thro' a Power greater than
self.

"My spirit grows to a lordly great compass within"--My soul becomes its own
confident guide, relying on a Power greater than self.

"When length was fatigue"--tiresome to look at--he was unable to understand
it.

"breadth was but bitterness sore"--so vast as to be disappointing and
beyond his ability to know and control.

"drew over me out of the merciless miles of the plain"--The vastness of the
marshes filled him with fear and awe.

"sweet visage of space"--He came to love the view of the marshes.

"belt of the dawn"--the line where the gray beach and the woods come
together is like the horizon at daybreak.

"For a mete and a mark"--a line to measure and distinguish the limits of
the marsh.

"affable live oak"--friendly, kindly.

"lord of the land"--the oak tree.

"sinuous southward"--irregular line connecting wood and marsh.

"fastens the fringe of the marsh to the folds of the land"--the line which
marks the coming together of the marsh and the land--"the shimmering band."

"gray looping of light"--the light reflected or thrown back from the woods
in the dim distance.

"terminal blue of the main"--the sea coast, the coast line.

"weighing of fate"--serious thoughts of the future.

"publish yourselves"--to show or to expose.

"offer yourselves"--the sea overruns the marsh.

"Tolerant plains"--generous, broad, liberal.

"mightily won God out of Knowledge"--won thro' kindness and love, and
broad-mindedness.

"good out of infinite pain"--was helped by suffering to become noble and
true.

"build me a nest on the greatness of God"--to establish himself on the
principles of the great Power.

"lay me a-hold on the greatness of God"--to lay hold of this Heavenly
beauty and goodness and greatness.

"liberal marshes"--great, broad. Thro' these he learned the beauty of
greatness and of broad-mindedness in man, and from that to the greatness of
God was but a natural step.

"sea lends large"--sends its waters out in tides over the marsh country
twice a day.

"grace of the sea"--the generous waters of the sea.

"rosy and silvery essences"--relates to the color of the water in the
channel, as determined by the setting sun's rays.

"passeth a hurrying sound of wings"--a sound of wings hurrying past.

"is in his ecstasy"--the tide has reached its highest point--it is the
moment of accomplishment; the task is finished.

"Vast of the Lord"--The influence of God upon men is compared to that of
the tides of the sea upon the marshes.

"waking ken"--Who can tell us the meaning of our dreams?

* * * * *

PART III

ORATIONS AND PATRIOTIC SELECTIONS

_"Stirred up with high hopes of living to be brave men and worthy
patriots, dear to God and famous to all ages."_

--JOHN MILTON.

* * * * *

REGULUS BEFORE THE ROMAN SENATE

EPES SARGENT

It ill becomes me, Senators of Rome, me, Regulus, after having so often
stood in this venerable assembly, clothed with the supreme dignity of the
republic, to stand before you to-day, a captive,--the captive of Carthage.
Though outwardly free, yet the heaviest of chains, the pledge of a Roman
Consul, makes me the bondsman of the Carthaginians. They have my promise to
return to them in the event of the failure of this their embassy.

But, Conscript Fathers, Senators, there is but one course to be pursued.
Abandon all thought of peace! Reject the overtures of Carthage! Reject them
wholly and unconditionally! What? What? Give back to her a thousand
able-bodied men, and receive in return this one, attenuated, war-worn,
fever-wasted frame,--this weed, whitened in a dungeon's darkness, pale and
sapless, which no kindness of the sun, no softness of the summer breeze,
can ever restore to life and vigor? It must not, shall not be! Oh, were
Regulus what he was once, before captivity had unstrung his sinews and
enervated his limbs, he might pause; he might think he were worth a
thousand of the foe; he might say, "Make the exchange, Rome shall not lose
by it!" But now, alas, 'tis gone,--that impetuosity of strength which could
once make him a leader indeed, to penetrate a phalanx, or guide a pursuit.
His very armor would be a burden now! His battlecry would be drowned in the
din of onset! His sword would fall harmless upon his opponents shield!

But if he cannot live, he can at least die, for his country. Do not deny
him this supreme consolation. Consider! Every indignity, every torture
which Carthage shall heap on his dying hours, will be better than a
trumpet's call to your armies. They will remember only Regulus, their
fellow-soldier and their leader. They will forget his defeats. They will
regard only his services to the Republic. Tunis, Sicily, Sardinia, every
well-fought field, won by his blood and theirs, will flash on their
remembrance and kindle their avenging wrath!

And so shall Regulus, though dead, fight as he never fought before against
the foe.

Conscript Fathers, there is another theme,--my family. Forgive the thought.
To you and to Rome, I commit them. I leave no legacy but my name, no
testament but my example.

And you, ambassadors of Carthage, now in this august presence, I have
spoken, not as you expected. I am your captive. Lead me back to whatever
fate may await me. Doubt not that you shall find that to Roman hearts
country is dearer than life, and integrity more precious than freedom.

Epes Sargent, 1812-1880, was an American author and journalist. For a
number of years he was editor of the "Boston Evening Transcript."

Historical: Regulus was a celebrated Roman general. As consul he led the
Roman forces against the Carthaginians and defeated them in a number of
engagements, but finally was himself defeated and taken prisoner by the
Carthaginians. After five years of captivity he was sent to Rome to
negotiate for peace and an exchange of prisoners. Though he had been
promised his liberty, if the Romans should accept the treaty, yet when he
appeared before the Roman senate, he denounced the terms most emphatically.
Accordingly he returned to Carthage, where he suffered a cruel death.

* * * * *

THE RETURN OF REGULUS

ELIJAH KELLOGG

The beams of the rising sun had gilded the lofty domes of Carthage, and
given, with its rich and mellow light, a tinge of beauty even to the
frowning ramparts of the outer harbor. Sheltered by the verdant shores, a
hundred triremes were riding proudly at their anchors, their brazen beaks
glittering in the sun, their streamers dancing in the morning breeze, while
many a shattered plank and timber gave evidence of desperate conflict with
the fleets of Rome.

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