The Poems of John Ruskin - 1891 Author:John Ruskin Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: [THE IRIS.] Hast thou not seen how the Iris is set, Where the wings of the wind in the waters are wet ? On the rush of the falls, where the spray rises slowly... more »; Glorious and silent, like something most holy. So fair in its colour, so faint in its light,— So peacefully constant, so distantly bright,— In the tumult of life, or the darkness of woe, Is the memory of those we have loved long ago. [About March. A LETTER TO HIS FATHER. " Some little effort was made to pull me together in 1836 by sending me to hear Mr. Dale's lectures at King's College, where I explained to Mr. Dale, on meeting him one day at the court of entrance, that porticoes should not be carried on the top of arches , and considered myself exalted because I went in at the same door with boys who had square caps on. The lectures were on early English literature, of which, though I had never read a word of any before Pope, I thought myself already a much better judge than Mr. Dale. His quotation of ' Knut the king came sailing by ' stayed with me ; and I think that was about all I learnt during the summer." (Prteterita, I. X.) Oh, such a day!— it would appear The rainy days of all the year Around the month of March do rally. Oh, such a day!— the drifted rain In stately columns stalks amain Along the hills, and o'er the valley; And dashes on the window-pane, Like ocean-spray in surges driven. The wind is high, and wild, and loud; And thick and threatening comes the cloud Across the scowling front of heaven; They darken, darken more and more. Before the blast the chimney shakes, Which with a fitful force awakes Its melancholy roar: Then stills its thunder for a while. There's not an organ-pipe more stern, That shakes with sound the massive pile And rolls along the columned aisle Of ...« less