Tennyson's The Princess Book

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE PRINCESS: A MEDLEY PROLOGUE Sir Walter Vivian all a summer's day Gave his broad lawns l until the set of Sun Up to the people: thither flock'd at noon His tenants, wife and child, and thither half The neighbouring borough with their Institute Of which he was the patron. I was there From college, visiting the son, ? the son A Walter too, ? with others of our set, Five others : we were seven at Vivian-place. And me that morning Walter show'd the house, Greek, set with busts: from vases in the hall Flowers of all heavens, and lovelier than their names, Grew side by side ; and on the pavement lay Carved stones of the Abbey-ruin in the park, Huge Ammonites,2 and the first bones of time ; And on the tables every clime and age Jumbled together; celts3 and calumets,3 Claymore and snow-shoe, toys in lava, fans l Pasture-lands. Cf. 55. 2 Fossil shells. 3 See note. THE PRINCESS?4 49 Of sandal, amber, ancient rosaries, Laborious orient ivory sphere in sphere, 20 The cursed Malayan crease,1 and battle-clubs From the isles of palm : and higher on the walls, Betwixt the monstrous horns of elk and deer, His own forefathers' arms and armour hung. And ' this,' he said, ' was Hugh's at Agincourt; 25 And that was old Sir Ralph's at Ascalon : A good knight he ! we keep a chronicle With all about him' ? which he brought, and I Dived in a hoard of tales that dealt with knights, Half-legend, half-historic, counts and kings 30 Who laid about them at their wills and died ; And mixt with these, a lady, one that arm'd Her own fair head, and sallying thro' the gate, Had beat her foes with slaughter from her walls. ' O miracle of women,' said the book, 35 ' O noble heart' who, being strait-besieged By this wild king to force her to his wish, Nor bent, nor br...Read More