To earn his cream-bowl duly set,
When in one night, ere glimpse of morn,
His shadowy flail hath threshed the corn
That ten day-laborers could not end;
Then lies him down, the lubber fiend,
And, stretched out all the chimney's length,
Basks at the fire his hairy strength,

And crop-full out of doors he flings,
Ere the first cock his matin rings.
Thus done the tales, to bed they creep,
By whispering winds soon lulled asleep.

Towered cities please us then,
And the busy hum of men,

Where throngs of knights and barons bold,
In weeds of peace, high triumphs hold,
With store of ladies, whose bright eyes
Rain influence, and judge the prize
Of wit or arms, while both contend
To win her grace whom all commend.
There let Hymen oft appear

In saffron robe, with taper clear,
And pomp and feast and revelry,
With mask and antique pageantry;
Such sights as youthful poets dream
On summer eves by haunted stream.
Then to the well-trod stage anon,
If Jonson's learned sock be on,
Or sweetest Shakespeare, Fancy's child,
Warble his native wood-notes wild.

And ever, against eating cares,

Lap me in soft Lydian airs,

Married to immortal verse,

Such as the meeting soul may pierce,
In notes with many a winding bout
Of linked sweetness long drawn out,
With wanton heed and giddy cunning,
The melting voice through mazes running,
Untwisting all the chains that tie
The hidden soul of harmony.

These delights if thou canst give,
Mirth, with thee I mean to live.

L'Alle' (lā) gro, the cheerful man.
Nymph, the poet addresses Mirth as a

nymph.

He'be, in mythology, the beautiful maiden

who waited upon the gods at table, and was herself the goddess of youth and spring.

eg'lan tine, a twining plant, with fragrant flowers.

dight, clothed; decked.

haw'thorn, a shrub common in England,
having thorns, shining leaves, and
small, fragrant flowers.
fal'lows, land that has been ploughed,
but not cultivated.

cy'no sure, the centre of attention.
Cor'y don, Thyr'sis, Phil'lis, Thes'ty lis,
names used in poetry for shepherds
or country lads and lasses.

re'beck, an old three-stringed musical
instrument.

jun'kets, cheese cakes.
Faery Mab, the goblin, etc. The super-

stitions about the coming of Queen
Mab and the visits of the goblin, for
whom the bowl of cream must be set,
were rife in the rural districts of Eng-
land at a very early time.
weeds, garments.

Hy'men, god of marriage.
pag'ean try, splendid display.
Jon'son, Ben Jonson, a famous dramatist
of the age of Queen Elizabeth.
sock, a shoe formerly worn by actors in
comedy; here, the play itself.

Lyd'i an airs, the people of the ancient
country of Lydia, in Asia, were fa-
mous for their music.

JOHN MILTON (1608-1674) is, next to Shakespeare, England's greatest writer. His poetry and prose are both written with a master hand. His most famous work is "Paradise Lost."

A man has no more right to say an uncivil thing than to act one, no more right to say a rude thing to another than to knock him down. - JOHNSON.

THE MOUNTAIN OF MISERIES

JOSEPH ADDISON

IT is a celebrated thought of Socrates, that if all the misfortunes of mankind were cast into a public stock, in order to be equally distributed among the whole species, those who now think themselves the most unhappy would prefer the share they are already possessed of, before that which would fall to them by such a division. Horace has carried this thought a great deal farther, and implies that the hardships or misfortunes we lie under are more easy to us than those of any other person would be, in case we could exchange conditions with him.

As I was musing upon these two remarks, seated in my elbow chair, I insensibly fell asleep; when, on a sudden, methought there was a proclamation made by Jupiter, that every mortal should bring in his griefs and calamities, and throw them together in a heap.

There was a large plain appointed for this purpose. I took my stand in the centre of it, and saw with a great deal of pleasure the whole human 'species marching one after another, and throwing down their several loads, which immediately grew up into a prodigious mountain, that seemed to rise above the clouds.

There was a certain lady of thin, airy shape, who was very active in this solemnity. She carried a magnifying glass in one of her hands, and was clothed in a loose, flowing robe, embroidered with several figures of fiends and spectres, that discovered themselves in a thousand chimerical shapes as her garments hovered in the wind. There was something wild and distracted in her looks. Her name was Fancy. She led up every mortal to the

appointed place, after having very officiously assisted him in making up his pack and laying it upon his shoulders. My heart melted within me to see my fellow-creatures groaning under their respective burdens, and to consider that prodigious bulk of human calamities which lay before

me.

There were, however, several persons who gave me great diversion upon this occasion. I observed one bringing in a parcel very carefully concealed under an old embroidered cloak, which, upon his throwing it into the heap, I discovered to be poverty. Another, after a great deal of puffing, threw down his luggage, which, upon examining, I found to be his wife.

There were multitudes of lovers, saddled with very whimsical burdens, composed of darts and flames; but, what was very odd, though they sighed as if their hearts would break under these bundles of calamities, they could not persuade themselves to cast them into the heap when they came up to it, but, after a few faint efforts shook their heads, and marched away as heavy laden as they came. I saw multitudes of old women throw down their wrinkles, and several young ones who stripped themselves of a tawny skin. There were very great heaps of red noses, large lips, and rusty teeth.

The truth of it is, I was surprised to see the greatest part of the mountain made up of bodily deformities. Observing one advancing toward the heap with a larger cargo than ordinary upon his back, I found upon his near approach that it was only a natural hump which he disposed of, with great joy of heart, among this collection of human miseries. There were likewise distempers of all sorts; though I could not but observe that there were many more imaginary than real.