"Nay then, farewell!

have touched the highest point of all my greatness; And, from that full meridian of my glory,

I haste now to my setting: I shall fall
Like a bright exhalation in the evening,
And no man see me more."

2. When the Dukes of Suffolk and Surrey make known to him the king's displeasure, and, taunting him for his misfortunes, bid him farewell and leave him, he thus soliloquizes:

"So farewell to the little good you bear me.
Farewell, a long farewell, to all my greatness!
This is the state of man: to-day, he puts forth
The tender leaves of hope; to-morrow, blossoms,
And bears his blushing honors thick upon him ;
The third day, comes a frost, a killing frost,
And-when he thinks, good easy man, full surely
His greatness is a ripening-nips his root,
And then he falls, as I do. I have ventured,
Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders,
These many summers, in a sea of glory,
But far beyond my depth; my high-blown pride
At length broke under me; and now hath left me,
Weary, and old with service, to the mercy

Of a rude stream, that must forever hide me.
Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate ye:
I feel my heart new opened. O, how wretched

Is that poor man, that hangs on princes' favors!"

3. When his friend and servant, Cromwell, with tears, and sorrow, and benedictions, takes leave of his beloved master, Wolsey thus feelingly addresses him :

Verse 1.-Wolsey here first describes himself as a star that has attained its meridian. What figure is this?-What figure introduced by "like" follows it?

V. 2. What beautiful metaphors, and simile, in the 2d verse?

"Cromwell, I did not think to shed a tear
In all my miseries; but thou hast forced me,
Out of thy honest truth, to play the woman.
Let's dry our eyes: and thus far hear me, Cromwell;
And when I am forgotten, as I shall be,

And sleep in dull cold marble, where no mention
Of me more must be heard of, say, I taught thee;
Say, Wolsey-that once trod the ways of glory,
And sounded all the depths and shoals of honor—
Found thee a way, out of his wreck, to rise in ;
A sure and safe one, though thy master missed it.
Mark but my fall, and that that ruined me.
Cromwell, I charge thee fling away ambition;
By that sin fell the angels; how can man, then,
The image of his Maker, hope to win by 't?
Love thyself last; cherish those hearts that hate thee;
Corruption wins not more than honesty:

Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace,

To silence envious tongues. Be just, and fear not;
Let all the ends thou aim'st at be thy country's,

Thy God's, and truth's; then, if thou fall'st, O Cromwell,
Thou fall'st a blessed martyr. Serve the king;
And;-prithee, lead me in :-

There, take an inventory of all I have,

To the last penny; 'tis the king's: my robe,
And my integrity to Heaven, is all

I dare now call my own. O Cromwell, Cromwell,
Had I but served my God with half the zeal
I served my king, he would not, in mine age,
Have left me naked to mine enemies."

Act III. Scene II. of King Henry VIII.

V. 3.-Point out metaphors in 3d verse, and explain their meaning.

For additional extracts from Shakspeare, see pp. 24, 26, 28, 30, 45, 49, 55, 58, 59, 61, 62, 63, 72, 73; also Fifth Reader, p. 433.

CHAPTER II.-MISCELLANEOUS.

I.-Haroun Al-Raschid.

[HAROUN AL-RASCHID, or Aaron the Just, of Bagdad, the great Mohammedan Caliph of the eighth century, by his conquests and vigorous administration raised the caliphate to the greatest splendor, and made his reign the golden era of the Mohammedan nations. He is the principal hero of the Arabian tales. His bravery, his love of letters, and the magnificence of his court, have shed a lustre over his character, and almost effaced its darker shades.]

1. Wide wastes of sand stretch far away;
A single palm stands sentinel

2.

Beside the stone rim of a well;

The sky bends down in shades of gray.

Like some sad ghost, with measured pace,
A man comes slowly o'er the sand,

A pilgrim's staff clasped in his hand,
A hopeless sorrow in his face.

3. He leans against the lonely tree;

4.

A low wind, blowing from the south,
Sweeps o'er the desert's sun-wrought drouth,
With fragrant sweetness of the sea.

He bares his head; his weary eyes
Turn upward, full of reverent light:
"Father of all, I own thy might;
Oh, give me rest!" he sadly cries.

5. "The sword has brought me gold and fame,
And these have given me kingly state;

Men bow to me and call me great,

And what is greatness but a name?

6. "I cannot make love bless my lot:
Men show obeisance as they pass,
But, in my soul, I cry, Alas!
And wish my greatness were forgot.

7. "Haroun Al-Raschid, Caliph grand!
So courtiers say, but not so I;

8.

For, like all men, I, too, must die:
Who then shall serve, and who command?"

Across the sands a caravan

Wound slowly, till it reached the place.
The merchants gazed upon his face,

And bent before the lonely man.

9. "O Caliph grand! the city waits
In sorrow for your swift return;
The people for your presence yearn,
And watchers throng the city gates.

10. "Cast off your pilgrim gown and hood; Return to those who pray for you

With souls where love reigns strong and true, Haroun Al-Raschid, Caliph good!"

11. Across the sands he took his way.

"They love me, then," he softly said; "But, oh, one must be lost or dead, Ere knowledge brings this perfect day!"

II.-Spinning.-A Lyric.

1.

Thos. S. Collier.

All yesterday I was spinning, sitting alone in the sun;

And the dream that I spun was lengthy, it lasted till day

was done;

I heeded not cloud or shadow that flitted over the hill, Or the humming bees, or the swallows, or the trickling of the rill:

I took the threads for my spinning all of blue summer air, And a flickering ray of sunlight was woven in here and there.

2.

The shadows grew longer and longer, the evening wind passed by,

And the purple splendor of sunset was flooding the west

ern sky;

But I could not leave my spinning, for so fair my dream

had grown,

I heeded not, hour by hour, how the silent day had flown.

3.

At last the gray shadows fell round me, and the night came dark and chill,

And I rose and ran down the valley, and left it all on the

hill.

I went up the hill this morning, to the place where my spinning lay

There was nothing but glistening dew-drops remained of my dream to-day."-Adelaide Procter.

Lyric, a poem formerly designed to be sung to the lyre or harp; but now the term is applied to poetry that expresses the individual emotions of the speaker.-"The dream that I spun:"-What figure is employed here? The poem is an allegory; but the allegory is explained to be a dream. See, also, Spinning, an Allegory, chapter lxvii.