After the Storm And when,-its force expended, Came blushing o'er the sea- ន Lucy Gray Oft I had heard of Lucy Gray; No mate, no comrade, Lucy knew ; You yet may spy the fawn at play, 66 To-night will be a stormy night- And take a lantern, child, to light 66 That, father, will I gladly do: 'Tis scarcely afternoon The minster-clock has just struck two; At this the father raised his hook, Not blither is the mountain roe: The storm came on before its time The wretched parents all that night At daybreak on a hill they stood That overlooked the moor; And thence they saw the bridge of wood, They wept-and, turning homeward, cried, Then downwards from the steep hill's edge ; And through the broken hawthorn hedge, And then an open field they crossed They follow from the snowy bank Into the middle of the plank; And further there were none! -Yet some maintain that to this day She is a living child; That you may see sweet Lucy Gray O'er rough and smooth she trips along, And never looks behind; And sings a solitary song That whistles in the wind. William Wordsworth Deaf and Dumb He lies on the grass, looking up to the sky; All creatures flock round him, and seem to rejoice. Wild ladybirds leap on his cheek fresh and fair, Young partridges creep, nestling under his hair, Brown honey-bees drop something sweet on his lips, Rash grasshoppers hop on his round finger-tips, Birds hover above him with musical call; All things seem to love him, and he loves them all. Is nothing afraid of the boy lying there? Would all nature aid if he wanted its care? Things timid and wild with soft eagerness come. Ah, poor little child!-he is deaf-he is dumb. But what can have brought them? but how can they know? What instinct has taught them to cherish him so? Since first he could walk they have served him like this. His lips could not talk, but they found they could kiss. They made him a court, and they crowned him a king; Ah, who could have thought of so lovely a thing? They found him so pretty, they gave him their hearts, And some divine pity has taught them their parts! "A." The Blind Boy O, say, what is that thing called Light, What are the blessings of the sight? O tell You talk of wondrous things you see; You |