PART II.
SONNETS.
“In sundry moods, ’t was pastime to be bound Within the sonnet’s scanty plot of ground.” Wordsworth.
“I like that friendship which, by soft gentle pauses, steals upon the affections and grows mellow with time, by reciprocal offices and trials of love; that friendship is like to last long, and never shrink in the wetting.”
I.
In Youth’s glad morning, when the rising East Glows golden with assurance of success, And life itself ’s a rare continual feast, Enjoyed the more if meditated less, ’T is then that friendship’s pleasures chiefly bless, As if without beginning,—ne’er to end,— So rich the season and so dear the friend, When thou and I went wandering hand in hand; Mine wert thou in our years of earliest prime, Studious at home, or to the southern land Adventuring bold; again in later time, Thy kindly service, always at command Of calm discretion, and abounding sense, Prompted and showed the path to excellence.
“Power above powers! O heavenly eloquence! That, with the strong rein of commanding words, Dost manage, guide, and master the eminence Of man’s affections more than all their swords; Shall we not offer to thy excellence The richest treasure that our wit affords? Or should we careless come behind the rest In power of words that go before in worth; When all that ever hotter spirits exprest Comes bettered by the patience of the North?” Daniel.
II.