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The Courtship of Miles Standish, and Minor Poems
The Courtship of Miles Standish and Minor Poems Author:Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 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: O, thou child of many prayers! as Life hath quicksands, — Life hath snares I Care and age come unawares! Like the swell of some sweet tune, Morning ris... more »es into noon, May glides onward into June. y Childhood is the bough, where slumbered Birds and blossoms many-numbered; — Age, that bough with snows encumbered. Gather, then, each flower that grows, When the young heart overflows, 35 To embalm that tent of snows. Bear a lily in thy hand; Gates of brass cannot withstand One touch of that magic wand. Bear through sorrow, wrong, and ruth, jo In thy heart the dew of youth, On thy lips the smile of truth. 0, that dew, like balm, shall steal Into wounds that cannot heal, Even as sleep our eyes doth seal; 4$ And that smile, like sunshine, dart Into many a stmless heart, For a smile of God thou art. EXCELSIOR0 The shades of night were falling fast, As through an Alpine village passed A youth, who bore, 'mid snow and ice, A banner with the strange device, Excelsior! t His brow was sad; his eye beneath, Flashed like a falchion from its sheath, And like a silver clarion rung The accents of that unknown tongue, Excelsior! to In happy homes he saw the light Of household fires gleam warm and bright; Above, the spectral glaciers shone, And from his lips escaped a groan, Excelsior 1 15 " Try not the Pass I" the old man said; " Dark lowers the tempest overhead, The roaring torrent is deep and wide I" And loud that claiion voice replied, Excelsior! 20 "Oh stay," the maiden said, "and rest Thy weary head upon this breast 1" A tear stood in his bright blue eye, But still he answered, with a sigh, Excelsior! 21 " Beware the pine-tree's withered branch! Beware the awful avalanche !" This was the peasant'...« less