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Nay now, what faith?" said Alice the nurse: "The man will cleave unto his right." "And he shall have it," the lady replied, "Though I should die to-night."

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She went by dale, and she went by down,
With a single rose in her hair.

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The lily-white doe Lord Ronald had brought

Leapt up from where she lay,

Dropt her head in the maiden's hand,
And followed her all the way.

Down stept Lord Ronald from his tower.

"O Lady Clare, you shame your worth! Why come you drest like a village maid, That are the flower of the earth?"

"If I come drest like a village maid,
I am but as my fortunes are:
I am a beggar born," she said,
"And not the Lady Clare."

"Play me no tricks," said Lord Ronald,

"For I am yours in word and in deed;
Play me no tricks," said Lord Ronald,
"Your riddle is hard to read."

O and proudly stood she up!

Her heart within her did not fail;
She looked into Lord Ronald's eyes,
And told him all her nurse's tale.

He laughed a laugh of merry scorn;

He turned and kissed her where she stood.

"If you are not the heiress born,

And I," said he, "the next in blood, —

"If you are not the heiress born,

And I," said he, "the lawful heir,

We two will wed to-morrow morn,
And you shall still be Lady Clare."

SOME QUESTIONS ON LADY CLARE.

When was this poem written? and by whom? In what metre is it written? Is the metre appropriate for the poem? and why? Mention other poems by Tennyson written in the same metre. Mention other standard poems in the same metre. Who was this Lady Clare? What was her social rank? At what time of the year does the poem open? What is meant by "the time when lilies blow"? "clouds are highest in the air"? What is a doe? Why was it an appropriate present? Meaning of trow? In the second stanza, what is the relation of the second verse to the first? What reason had Lady Clare for speaking of her lover as she does in the third stanza? What does the nurse mean by saying that "all comes round so just and fair”? Had Lady Clare good reason for thinking that her nurse was out of her head? Give the nurse's story in your own words. What was Lady Clare's feeling towards her nurse after this revelation? What did

Did the fair

the nurse counsel Lady Clare to do? What was the reply? lady forgive her nurse? What then did Lady Clare do? How did she prepare herself to meet Lord Ronald? What act of the "lily-white doe" adds pathos to the picture? How did Lord Ronald receive her? Why did Lord Ronald speak of "tricks" and "riddle hard to read"? Describe in some detail how Lady Clare told Lord Ronald "all her nurse's tale." How did Lord Ronald receive his lady-love's story? his reply? Why should the nurse have kept the secret so long, and then have revealed it on the day before the wedding? Did Lady Clare act the noble part in thus telling the story to her lover? Why not have kept the secret? Can you draw any moral from this little poem?

ADDITIONAL PIECES FOR STUDY.

Longfellow's Paul Revere's Ride, Old Clock on the Stairs; Lowell's Ambrose; Whittier's Mary Garvin ; Bayard Taylor's Napoleon at Gotha; Holmes's Deacon's Masterpiece; Byron's Destruction of Sennacherib; Bret Harte's John Burns at Gettysburg; Southey's Bishop Bruno, Well of St. Keyne, God's Judgment on Hatto, Aytoun's Execution of Montrose.

CHAPTER IV.

THE LORD OF BURLEIGH AS A MODEL.

WE present in this chapter a complete guide analysis, with Tennyson's "The Lord of Burleigh" as a model. Ten points are given as helps to a better understanding of the poem. The exercise in criticism is somewhat difficult; after some practice, however, it will become a source of interest and profit to the pupil.

It is not to be supposed that this, or any other form of an analysis, can be used with every poem. With many

How

pieces, fully one-half of the points may be omitted. many are male use of, and to what extent any one that is made use of is carried, must depend upon circumstances.

GUIDE ANALYSIS: THE LORD OF BURLEIGH,

I. Read the poem carefully and thoughtfully.

II. Recite the story of the poem.

III. Write a paraphrase of the poem.

IV. Divide the poem into parts, or scenes.

V. Unity of the parts.

VI. Minor details which illustrate the poem.

VII. The study of the text.

VIII. An exercise in criticism.

IX. Memory quotations.

X. The author of the poem: Alfred Tennyson.

THE LORD OF BURLEIGH.

ALFRED TENNYSON.

In her ear he whispers gayly,

"If my heart by signs can tell, Maiden, I have watched thee daily,

And I think thou lov'st me well."

She replies, in accents fainter,

"There is none I love like thee." He is but a landscape-painter,

And a village maiden she.
He to lips, that fondly falter,
Presses his without reproof:
Leads her to the village altar,
And they leave her father's roof.
"I can make no marriage present;

Little can I give my wife.

Love will make our cottage pleasant,

And I love thee more than life."

They by parks and lodges going

See the lordly castles stand;

Summer woods, about them blowing,

Made a murmur in the land.
From deep thought himself he rouses,
Says to her that loves him well,
"Let us see these handsome houses
Where the wealthy nobles dwell."
So she goes by him attended,

Hears him lovingly converse,
Sees whatever fair and splendid
Lay betwixt his home and hers;
Parks with oak and chestnut shady,

Parks and ordered gardens great,
Ancient homes of lord and lady,

Built for pleasure and for state.

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