Page:Oxford Book of English Verse 1250-1918.djvu/648

 ��WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

5j<5 On the Extinction of the Venetian
 * NCE did bhe hold the gorgeous East in fee,

And was the safeguard of the West the worth Of Venice did not fall below her birth, Venice, the eldest Child of Liberty. She was a maiden City, bright and free, No guile seduced, no force could violate, And, when she took unto herself a mate, She must espouse the everlasting Sea. And what if she had seen those glories fade,

Those titles vanish, and that strength decay, Yet shall t,ome tribute of regret be paid

When her long life hath reached its final day

Men are we, and must grieve when even the Shade

Of that which once wis ieat ib pasb'd away.

5?7 England, 1802 (/)

FRIEND' I know not which way I must look For comfort, being, as I am, opprest, To think that now our life is only drest For show, mean handy-work of craftsman, cook, Or groom' We must run glittering like a brook In the open sunshine, or we are unble t. The wealthiest man among us is the bebt No grandeur now in nature or in book Delights us. Rapine, avarice, expense, This is idolatry, and these we adore Plain living and high thinking are no more' The homely beauty of the good old cause Is gone; our peace, our fearful innocence,

And pure religion breathing household laws.

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