The Task; a Poem, for the Use of Schools and Academies

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General Books, 2013 - 58 pages
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1845 edition. Excerpt: ... share in his escapes; While fancy, like the finger of a clock, Huns the great circuit, and is still at home. O Winter, ruler of th' inverted year, 180 Thy scatter'd hair with sleet like ashes fill'd, Thy breath congeal'd upon thy lips, thy cheeks Fring'd with a beard made white with other snows Than those of age, thy forehead wrapp'd in clouds, A leafless branch thy sceptre, and thy throne 125 A sliding car, indebted to no wheels. But urg'd by storms along its slipp'ry way, I love thee, all unlovely as thou seem'st, And dreaded as thou art! Thou hold'st the sun A pris'ner in the yet undawning east, 13C Short'ning his journey between morn and noon, And hurrying him, impatient of his stay, Down to the rosy west: but kindly still Compensating his loss with added hours Of social converse and instructive ease, 135 And gath'ring, at short notice, in one group The family dispersed, and fixing thought, Not less dispers'd by daylight and its cares. I crown thee king of intimate delights, Fireside enjoyments, homeborn happiness, 140 And all the comforts that the lowly roof Of undisturb'd Retirement, and the hours Of long, uninterrupted ev'ning know. No rattling wheels stop short before these gates, No powder'd pert proficient in the art 145 Of sounding an alarm, assaults these doors Till the street rings; no stationary steeds Cough their own knell, while, heedless of the sound, The silent circle fan themselves, and quake; But here the needle plies its busy task, 150 The pattern grows, the.well-depicted flow'r, Wrought patiently into the snowy lawn, Unfolds its bosom; buds, and leaves, and sprigs, And curling tendrils, gracefully dispos'd, Follow the nimble finger of the fair; 155 A wreath, that cannot fade, or flow'rs that blow With most success...

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