The life and letters of William Cowper, Volume 41809 |
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Page 12
... seen them ; and if encrease of appetite , and a double portion of sleep , be advanta- geous , such are the advantages that I have received from this migration . As to that gloominess of mind , which I have had these twenty years , it ...
... seen them ; and if encrease of appetite , and a double portion of sleep , be advanta- geous , such are the advantages that I have received from this migration . As to that gloominess of mind , which I have had these twenty years , it ...
Page 15
... new course of life at Oxford . You would admire him much : He is gentle in his manners , and delicate in his person , resembling our poor friend Unwin , both in face and figure , more than any one I have seen . But he has not 15.
... new course of life at Oxford . You would admire him much : He is gentle in his manners , and delicate in his person , resembling our poor friend Unwin , both in face and figure , more than any one I have seen . But he has not 15.
Page 16
... and a perfect contrast to the gaiety of their arrival . The kindness of Cowper re- lieved my solicitude concerning their journey , by the following letter from Kingston . I insert it as a 16 any one I have seen. But he has not...
... and a perfect contrast to the gaiety of their arrival . The kindness of Cowper re- lieved my solicitude concerning their journey , by the following letter from Kingston . I insert it as a 16 any one I have seen. But he has not...
Page 21
... seen the day when I have been chearful since I left you . My spirits , I think , are almost constantly lower than they were ; the ap- proach of winter is perhaps the cause , and if it is , I have nothing better to expect for a long time 21-
... seen the day when I have been chearful since I left you . My spirits , I think , are almost constantly lower than they were ; the ap- proach of winter is perhaps the cause , and if it is , I have nothing better to expect for a long time 21-
Page 24
... seen by another known to me ; and who will tell me in a few days , that he has seen you . Your wishes to disperse my melancholy would , I am sure , prevail , did that event depend on the warmth and sincerity with which you frame them ...
... seen by another known to me ; and who will tell me in a few days , that he has seen you . Your wishes to disperse my melancholy would , I am sure , prevail , did that event depend on the warmth and sincerity with which you frame them ...
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Common terms and phrases
Adieu admirable affectionate afflicted appear bard bird-lime brother charm church Courtenay Cowper DEAR FRIEND dearest degree delight Dereham distress Eartham endeavour ev'ry excellent expressed eyes feel Four Ages friendship genius give grace Greek hand happy hast heart Heaven Homer honor hope Iliad JOHN JOHNSON John Throckmorton Johnny Johnson justly kind labour Lady HESKETH literary live Lord Thurlow Mary melancholy merit Milton mind morning nature never nihil obliged Odyssey once perhaps pleasure poem poet poetical poetry Pope powers praise present quæ Qualia quam quod racter reader reason received rejoice Romney Rose seems shew sight soon spect spirit sublime sufferings sweet talents Task tell tender thee thine thing thou tibi tion translation truth Unwin verse vex'd W. C. LETTER Weston Whig WILLIAM COWPER WILLIAM HAYLEY wish write youth
Popular passages
Page 185 - Nor, cruel as it seem'd, could he Their haste himself condemn, Aware that flight, in such a sea, Alone could rescue them; Yet bitter felt it still to die Deserted, and his friends so nigh. He long survives, who lives an hour In ocean, self-upheld; And so long he, with unspent power, His destiny repell'd; And ever as the minutes flew, Entreated help, or cried - 'Adieu!
Page 453 - Thought cannot spend itself, comparing still The great and little of thy lot, thy growth From almost nullity into a state Of matchless grandeur, and declension thence, Slow, into such magnificent decay. Time was, when, settling on thy leaf, a fly Could shake thee to the root — and time has been When tempests could not.
Page 439 - In regions mild of calm and serene air, Above the smoke and stir of this dim spot Which men call Earth, and, with low-thoughted care.
Page 184 - Atlantic billows roared, When such a destined wretch as I, Washed headlong from on board, Of friends, of hope, of all bereft, His floating home for ever left. No braver chief could Albion boast Than he with whom he went, Nor ever ship left Albion's coast With warmer wishes sent. He loved them both, but both in vain, Nor him beheld, nor her again. Not long beneath the whelming brine, Expert to swim, he lay; Nor soon he felt his strength decline, Or courage die away; But waged with death a lasting...
Page 191 - YE, who with warmth the public triumph feel Of talents dignified by sacred zeal, Here, to devotion's bard devoutly just, Pay your fond tribute due to Cowper's dust ! England, exulting in his spotless fame, Ranks with her dearest sons his favourite name.
Page 242 - With those whose mansions glitter in his sight, Calls the delightful scenery all his own. His are the mountains, and the valleys his, And the resplendent rivers ; his to enjoy With a propriety that none can feel. But who with filial confidence inspired Can lift to heaven an unpresumptuous eye, And smiling say — My Father made them all.
Page 160 - Twas my distress that brought thee low, My Mary! Thy needles, once a shining store, For my sake restless heretofore, Now rust disused, and shine no more ; My Mary ! For though thou gladly wouldst fulfil The same...
Page 186 - That tells his name, his worth, his age, Is wet with Anson's tear. And tears by bards or heroes shed Alike immortalize the dead. I therefore purpose not, or dream...
Page 257 - A critic of the present day serves a poem as a cook serves a dead turkey, when she fastens the legs of it to a post, and draws out all the sinews. For this we may thank Pope ; but unless we could imitate him in the closeness and compactness of his expression, as well as in the smoothness of his numbers, we had better drop the imitation, which serves no other purpose than to emasculate and weaken all we write. Give me a manly, rough line, with a deal of meaning in it, rather than a whole poem full...
Page 386 - THE SNAIL. To grass, or leaf, or fruit, or wall, The Snail sticks close, nor fears to fall, As if he grew there, house and all Together. Within that house secure he hides, When danger imminent betides Of storm, or other harm besides Of weather.