THE BOOK OF POETRY FOR SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES. BY WILLIAM DAVIS, B.A., AUTHOR OF etc., etc. LONDON: LONGMANS & CO. 1869. "So. m. 37 PRE FACE. In this “ BOOK OF POETRY FOR SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES,” the extracts are arranged in the chronological order of the poets. Brief notes are given of the life and principal works of each writer; and it is hoped that these notes will be as useful to others as they have been to the Editor, in forming the groundwork of short lessons on Poets and Poetry. Many of the “Gems” given at the end of the volume (or at least portions of them) are household words with all well-read people ; and in giving them a place here, the Editor trusts he may be, in some degree, instrumental in familiarizing the young of both sexes, not only with these household words, but with their sources, and, in most instances, with the passages of which they form a part. CONTENTS. The Seven Ages of Man, . . . . 9 Othello's Apology for his Marriage ... . Polonius's Advice to his Son . . The Future Greatness of Elizabeth. . L'Allegro ; or, the Merry Man . . . . Veni Creator . . . . . . . . . The Character of the Earl of Shaftesbury . . . The Character of Villiers . . . . . . Ode on Solitude . . . . . . . . The Dying Christian to his Soul . Man should study himself, and not pry into God. .. A Lesson of Thankfulness . . . . . . The Universal Prayer . . . . . A Hymn on the Seasons . . . . . . Rule, Britannia . . . . . . . i Elegy written in a Country Churchyard . . . Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College' . . 37 * These verses are ascribed to Milton, but on doubtful authority. |