any great event takes place; and for this his salary is a pension of £100 a year, and a certain grant of wine from the royal stores.' This honourable post he held until his death in 1850. LESSON 39. WILLIAM WORDSWORTH. (Continued.) Wordsworth's chief works are The Excursion, Lyrical Ballads, The White Doe of Rylstone, The Prelude, and Peter Bell. The piece appended is a song supposed to be sung at the feast of Brougham Castle, upon the restoration of Lord Clifford, the shepherd, to the estates and honours of his ancestors. His father having been slain in the battle of Towton, the hero of this poem fled from home, as he could expect no mercy from the house of York, and lived as a shepherd for twenty-five years. Upon the accession of Henry VII. he was restored to his rank and state. THE GOOD LORD CLIFFORD. High in the breathless hall the minstrel sate, 'From town to town, from tower to tower, Both roses flourish, Red and White. The two that were at strife are blended, 'They came with banner, spear, and shield; And it was proved in Bosworth field. Not long the avenger was withstoodEarth helped him with the cry of blood: St. George was with us, and the might Of blessed angels crowned the right. Loud voice the land has uttered forth, We loudest in the faithful north: Our fields rejoice, our mountains ring, Our streams proclaim a welcoming; Our strong abodes and castles see The glory of their loyalty. 'How glad is Skipton at this hour, Though she is but a lonely tower! To vacancy and silence left, Of all her guardian sons bereft— Knight, squire, or yeoman, page or groom ; Rejoiced is Brough, right glad, I deem, And she that keepeth watch and ward 'Oh, it was a time forlorn, Swords that are with slaughter wild Save a mother and her child! 'Now who is he that bounds with joy On Carrock's side, a shepherd boy? No thoughts hath he but thoughts that pass Light as the wind along the grass. Can this be he who hither came In secret, like a smothered flame? O'er whom such thankful tears were shed 'Alas! when evil men are strong, No life is good, no pleasure long. The boy must part from Mosedale's groves, And leave Blencathara's rugged coves, And quit the flowers that summer brings To Glenderamakin's lofty springs; Must vanish, and his careless cheer Be turned to heaviness and fear.Give Sir Lancelot Threlkeld praise! Hear it, good man, old in days! Thou free of covert and of rest For this young bird, that is distrest; Among the branches safe he lay, And he was free to sport and play When falcons were abroad for prey. 'A recreant harp, that sings of fear And heaviness in Clifford's ear! I said, when evil men are strong No life is good, no pleasure long. A weak and cowardly untruth! Our Clifford was a happy youth, And thankful through a weary time That brought him up to manhood's prime.Again he wanders forth at will, And tends a flock from hill to hill: His garb is humble: ne'er was seen That learned of him submissive ways; The eagle, lord of land and sea, In their immortality, They moved about in open sight, To and fro, for his delight. He knew the rocks which angels haunt On the mountains visitant; He hath kenned them taking wing: And the caves where faëries sing Fitter hope and nobler doom: |