) is a fitting
exposition in poetry of this "Shakespeare of prose."

O, may I join the choir invisible
Of those immortal dead who live again
In minds made better by their presence; live
In pulses stirred to generosity,
In deeds of daring rectitude, in scorn
Of miserable aims that end with self,
In thoughts sublime that pierce the night like stars,
And with their mild persistence urge men's minds
To vaster issues.
May I reach
That purest heaven,--be to other souls
The cup of strength in some great agony,
Enkindle generous ardour, feed pure love,
Beget the smiles that have no cruelty,
Be the sweet presence of good diffused,
And in diffusion ever more intense!
So shall I join the choir invisible,
Whose music is the gladness of the world.

GEORGE ELIOT.

THE WORLD IS TOO MUCH WITH US.

"The World Is Too Much With Us," by Wordsworth (1770-1850), is perhaps
the greatest sonnet ever written. It is true that "the eyes of the
soul" are blinded by a surfeit of worldly "goods." "I went to the Lake
District" (England), said John Burroughs, "to see what kind of a
country could produce a Wordsworth." Of course he found simple houses,
simple people, barren moors, heather-clad mountains, wild flowers, calm
lakes, plain, rugged simplicity.

The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;
Little we see in Nature that is ours.
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
This sea, that bares her bosom to the moon,
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers--
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not. Great God! I'd rather be
A pagan, suckled in a creed outworn,
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus, rising from the sea,
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH.

ON HIS BLINDNESS.

"Sonnet on His Blindness" (by John Milton, 1608-74). This is the most
stately and pathetic sonnet in existence. The soul enduring enforced
idleness and loss of power without repining. Inactivity made to serve a
higher end.

"All service ranks the same with God!
There is no fir