work_id,theme,provenance,created_at,text,reviewed_on,id,comments,metaphor,dictionary,updated_at,context
3250,"","Searching ""judge"" and ""heart"" in HDIS (Poetry)",2004-08-31 00:00:00 UTC,"Yet he a Rival feared, and he was one
With Reason feared, a neighbouring Farmer's Son,
A rural Beau, with Manner free & Air
That marks the Hero of a Village Fair,
Yet gave his prudent Father no Alarm,
No Fair or fair One kept him from the Farm;
Proud of the Horse that bore him to the Race,
And when he joined his Landlord in the Chace,
Gay Days were those, not frequent, and they gave
Praise to a Youth, who could his Money save,
Yet gain Applause--he thus to Market went,
Well pleased with what he spared & what he spent.
The Friends of Susan were Advisers all:
""Let him not go whom you cannot recall.
""And then for whom?"" ""Ah!"", Susan thought, ""for One
""With whom no Farmer holds Comparison.""
Her Heart was Judge, & could the difference trace
Between the Jocky-Air and real Grace,
Between the Lad, who was allowed to ride,
And show his Hunters at his Landlord's Side,
And One, who thought not that he should aspire
Beyond his Rank by riding with the Squire;
He was not One who followed in a Course
Always to show, perchance to sell his Horse.
Poins was not jealous, yet there was some Fear
Of One for ever praised, for ever near.
A Man at Hand, whom all her Friends approve,
Will sometimes shake a meek soul'd Maiden's Love.
Nor Poins alone the jealous Terror knew,
For Susan learn'd that she had Rivals, too.
Not One alone! One Rival gives us Pain,
But, having many, we are safe again;
Like Friends are Rivals, forasmuch as One
In either Case we more depend upon.
But Susan loved & fear'd, but now Adieu
To Fears & Doubts & Rival. Poins is true!
He comes with Love & Hope, & as he pleads,
Her Sigh & Silence tell him he succeeds.
So were they wedded, & our Story now
Might end, did Truth & History allow,
Did married Couples always faithful prove,
Or lasting Reformation wait on Love.
There are, we doubt not, married pairs, who live
With all the Comforts Life & Love can give,
Who not an Instant in their wedded Life
Felt one sad thought for being Man & Wife.
Alas! with such we must not ours compare,
Who were as other happy Couples are.
She was not always meek, not always kind
Was he; and neither were discreetly blind.
Some little Failings would at times appear,
But, on the Whole, it was an happy Year.
""But One?"" I say not that, Another past,
Not much to be distinguished from the last;
Richard looked o'er his Land, his Sheep, his Cows,
And talked of Market Profits to his Spouse.
Then there ensued, I cannot well express
What I would say, a kind of Wearyness;
Richard, who read while Susan worked, now swore
The Book was dull, & he would read no more;
Then with his Legs stretched forth & Head reclined,
To think of Nothing he himself resigned--
""But he reformed?"" O! Yes, for many a day,
For many a Night, and shunn'd the former Way,
When strong Temptation woo'd him in the Gloom
Of a long Evening, & he sighed at Home.
""Sigh & with Susan?"" Yea, and Men will sigh
For Want of Something, or they know not why.
He sang, & asked his Susan for a Song;
Yet, for all this, the Days were getting long,
His Mind was active, & he lacked Employ;
At Length he had it, & could nurse his Boy,
And feel a father's Pride, & join a Mother's Joy.
But restless still, & Susan yet confined,
He sauntered forth with nothing in his Mind,
Or good or Evil; What was his Intent,
He knew not, knew not why, or where, he went;
He meant to change his Place, & that was all he meant.Yet he a Rival feared, and he was one
With Reason feared, a neighbouring Farmer's Son,
A rural Beau, with Manner free & Air
That marks the Hero of a Village Fair,
Yet gave his prudent Father no Alarm,
No Fair or fair One kept him from the Farm;
Proud of the Horse that bore him to the Race,
And when he joined his Landlord in the Chace,
Gay Days were those, not frequent, and they gave
Praise to a Youth, who could his Money save,
Yet gain Applause--he thus to Market went,
Well pleased with what he spared & what he spent.
The Friends of Susan were Advisers all:
""Let him not go whom you cannot recall.
""And then for whom?"" ""Ah!"", Susan thought, ""for One
""With whom no Farmer holds Comparison.""
Her Heart was Judge, & could the difference trace
Between the Jocky-Air and real Grace,
Between the Lad, who was allowed to ride,
And show his Hunters at his Landlord's Side,
And One, who thought not that he should aspire
Beyond his Rank by riding with the Squire;
He was not One who followed in a Course
Always to show, perchance to sell his Horse.
Poins was not jealous, yet there was some Fear
Of One for ever praised, for ever near.
A Man at Hand, whom all her Friends approve,
Will sometimes shake a meek soul'd Maiden's Love.
Nor Poins alone the jealous Terror knew,
For Susan learn'd that she had Rivals, too.
Not One alone! One Rival gives us Pain,
But, having many, we are safe again;
Like Friends are Rivals, forasmuch as One
In either Case we more depend upon.
But Susan loved & fear'd, but now Adieu
To Fears & Doubts & Rival. Poins is true!
He comes with Love & Hope, & as he pleads,
Her Sigh & Silence tell him he succeeds.
So were they wedded, & our Story now
Might end, did Truth & History allow,
Did married Couples always faithful prove,
Or lasting Reformation wait on Love.
There are, we doubt not, married pairs, who live
With all the Comforts Life & Love can give,
Who not an Instant in their wedded Life
Felt one sad thought for being Man & Wife.
Alas! with such we must not ours compare,
Who were as other happy Couples are.
She was not always meek, not always kind
Was he; and neither were discreetly blind.
Some little Failings would at times appear,
But, on the Whole, it was an happy Year.
""But One?"" I say not that, Another past,
Not much to be distinguished from the last;
Richard looked o'er his Land, his Sheep, his Cows,
And talked of Market Profits to his Spouse.
Then there ensued, I cannot well express
What I would say, a kind of Wearyness;
Richard, who read while Susan worked, now swore
The Book was dull, & he would read no more;
Then with his Legs stretched forth & Head reclined,
To think of Nothing he himself resigned--
""But he reformed?"" O! Yes, for many a day,
For many a Night, and shunn'd the former Way,
When strong Temptation woo'd him in the Gloom
Of a long Evening, & he sighed at Home.
""Sigh & with Susan?"" Yea, and Men will sigh
For Want of Something, or they know not why.
He sang, & asked his Susan for a Song;
Yet, for all this, the Days were getting long,
His Mind was active, & he lacked Employ;
At Length he had it, & could nurse his Boy,
And feel a father's Pride, & join a Mother's Joy.
But restless still, & Susan yet confined,
He sauntered forth with nothing in his Mind,
Or good or Evil; What was his Intent,
He knew not, knew not why, or where, he went;
He meant to change his Place, & that was all he meant.",,8505,"","""Her Heart was Judge, & could the difference trace / Between the Jocky-Air and real Grace, / Between the Lad, who was allowed to ride, / And show his Hunters at his Landlord's Side, / And One, who thought not that he should aspire / Beyond his Rank by riding with the Squire.""",Court,2013-06-12 19:09:35 UTC,""
3250,"","Searching ""heart"" and ""steel"" in HDIS (Poetry)",2005-06-09 00:00:00 UTC,"All Trial past, it seem'd beyond a Doubt
One so unmoved must ever stand without.
A Sister told her she had not the Grace
To join with them, a Runner in their Race,
A fellow Pilgrim, led by Faith, not Sight,
A fellow Soldier, buckling for the Fight,
Her as a Sister they could not receive,
But she might come--She rather took her Leave.
They would not own her, & she thought [it] rude
For One like her, rejected, to intrude.
While thus she lingered, doubtful to remove,
One known at Meeting came & talked of Love,
A shrewd, keen Man, some forty years of Age,
Who thought he could a Widow'd heart engage,
For he had learn'd the Owner of that Heart,
With it, could much of worldly Wealth impart.
But Dust & Dross, as he assured her, yet
It had its Uses to a Man in debt,
As he assured himself.--He had perceived
That she was One who readily believed,
And, though Impressions quickly past Away,
She might retain them till her wedding Day.
He would have liked it better, had she felt
The Preacher's Power, but Susan did not melt.
But yet not all the Grace of Youth was fled,
Her eye was brilliant, & her Cheeks were Red.
She did not Parties nor Amusements shun,
And was a woman, therefore to be won.
This fixed, the comely Sister he addrest,
And much of pure & zealous Love professt,
Then with a Warmth of Language, which He thought
Must on a Heart of Steel or Stone have wrought,
He prest his Suit, but Susan with a Smile
Demurely looked, & plied her Work the while,
Then calmly thank'd him, beg'd to be excused,
And without Blush or Sigh the Boon refused,
And was so calm, so steady & so cool,
He lost all hope that she would act the Fool.
But this discarded Swain, I grieve to write,
Felt a large Portion of unholy Spite;
He spake so harshly, & he stood so high
Among his Friends, that Susan with a Sigh
From the censorious World prepared to fly.
Seamen & Seamen's Wives were rough & rude,
Village Life was quite a Solitude,
Scandal persued her to her Town Retreat,
And Zeal condemned her where the serious meet.
No Wonder then that, hunted thus, she flew
To the lone Vale, & bade the World Adieu.
Yet Comfort grows not always by the Rills,
By running Brooks or dancing Daffodils,
It is not caught by saying: ""Comfort, come"",
But by preparing for It, House & Home;
Let all be quiet, easy, gentle, still,
And you have Comfort, go wheree'er you will.
This Susan found, yet sought it not, but fled,
Like an Hind stricken, & in Secret bled.
There she was found lamenting, but the Grief
That has no Object meets with no Relief.
Her Lamentation was of mingled kind,
And such as cannot be with ease defined.
Yet now the Wanderer found the happiest Seat
That ever Sorrow chose for a Retreat,
A Woodbound Village, with its Dwellings all
Mere Huts, save the Vicar's & the Manor small,
Where a good Lady & the Priest agreed
The Minds & Bodies of his Flock to feed,
And where our Widow's Spirit found at last
Repose from all the Sufferings of the past.
There she was taught that, when a Sinner strays,
""Tis not enough that she believes & prays,
Or names the Name that Christians all Adore,
But she must then repent & sin no more,
Must give to Virtue in her Mind a Place,
And learn that Goodness is the Fruit of Grace.
Now of her Errors she so well conceiv'd
That what they cost her might be yet retriev'd;
In Time, her Self-Reproach became less keen,
And Slander found new Object for its spleen.
Wife, Widow, Mistress, what the Name she bore,
Her contrite Spirit was disturbed no more,
Her Mind was now on better things employ'd,
And yet the World itself was more enjoyed.
Still the Good Lady of the Manor, still
The Good Priest, exerting Heart & Skill,
So to her Mind their better Thoughts applied
That she, in Turn, became the Village Guide.
Month after Month, & Year succeeding Year,
With a light Spirit & a Bosom clear,
She with the Lady sought the House of Prayer
And House of Grief, & join'd the Pastor there.
Easy & placid, happy & obscure,
So might Life pass, & so might long endure,
If One we know, but know not if Alive,
Might not some Mischief in his Rage contrive,
Might not a Spoiler & a Tyrant prove,
And live in Riot on the Spoils of Love.",,8632,"","""Then with a Warmth of Language, which He thought / Must on a Heart of Steel or Stone have wrought, / He prest his Suit""",Metal,2009-09-14 19:33:41 UTC,""
3250,"","Searching ""heart"" and ""steel"" in HDIS (Poetry)",2005-06-09 00:00:00 UTC,"To many a Cottage the kind Pair wd stray;
Go where they would, they could not loose their Way.
In some poor household they would find a Seat,
And hear the Children what they taught repeat.
Where stands the Parish Bound a Cottage stood,
Just at the Entrance of a noble Wood,
A larger Cottage this, though not a Farm,
With Land annexed, to keep the Woodman warm.
It was a favourite Walk, the Widowed Pair
Amusement found, & left Instruction there.
In Youth the Woodman had a Soldier been,
And much of Hazard, nay, of Horror seen,
Seen many a Comrade droop, & strove to steel
His heart, but still the Woes of War could feel
With Other Woes; He home returned to trace
The long lov'd Features in his Father's face,
To lay him in his Grave, & fill his humble Place.
To him, now married, & a favourite Room
That she erected, would the Lady come
In Summer oft; 'twas now the Time of Year
When the red Cornel & wild Plumb appear,
When the brown Wood has all its Verdure lost,
And the faint Sun just melts the Morning frost,
When Gossimer o'er stubbled Fields is spread,
And the Dew glitters on the filmy Thread.",,8633,"","""Seen many a Comrade droop, & strove to steel / His heart, but still the Woes of War could fee / With Other Woes.""",Metal,2013-06-12 13:56:06 UTC,""