Part 42 (1/2)

I see the table wider grown, I see it garlanded with guests, As if fair Ariadne's Crown Out of the sky had fallen down; Maidens within whose tender breasts A thousand restless hopes and fears, Forth reaching to the co years, Flutter awhile, then quiet lie, Like timid birds that fain would fly, But do not dare to leave their nests;-- And youths, who in their strength elate Challenge the van and front of fate, Eager as chaht-errantry Of youth, that travels sea and land Seeking adventures, or pursues, Through cities, and through solitudes Frequented by the lyric Muse, The phanto hand, That still allures and still eludes

O sweet illusions of the brain!

O sudden thrills of fire and frost!

The world is bright while ye remain, And dark and dead when ye are lost!

VI

The meadow-brook, that seemeth to stand still, Quickens its current as it nears the ereth In level places, and so dull appears, Runs with a swifter current as it nears The glooician's scroll, That in the owner's keeping shrinks With every wish he speaks or thinks, Till the last wish consuain I see the two alone remain

The crown of stars is broken in parts; Its jewels, brighter than the day, Have one by one been stolen away To shi+ne in other homes and hearts

One is a wanderer now afar In Ceylon or in Zanzibar, Or sunny regions of Cathay; And one is in the boisterous camp Mid clink of arms and horses' tramp, And battle's terrible array

I see the patientheart, of wrecks that float Disabled on those seas rereat heroic deed On battle-fields, where thousands bleed To lift one hero into faraceful head Above these chronicles of pain, And tre the drown'd or slain She find the one beloved name

VII

After a day of cloud and wind and rain So all the darksoht

S, Then like a ruby froht

What see I now? The night is fair, The storrief, the clouds of care, The wind, the rain, have pass'd away; The laht, The house is full of life and light: It is the Golden Wedding day

The guests co the floor, The trooping children crowd the stair, And in and out and everywhere Flashes along the corridor The sunshi+ne of their golden hair

On the round table in the hall Another Ariadne's Crown Out of the sky hath fallen down; More than one Monarch of the Moon Is druht of love shi+nes over all

O fortunate, O happy day!

The people sing, the people say

The ancient bridegroo contented and serene, Upon the blithe, bewildering scene, Behold, well pleas'd, on every side Their forht Between two burnish'd ht Stretch on and on before the sight, Till the long vista endless seems

LXVIII EARTHWORMS

CHARLES DARWIN--1809-1882

_From_ THE FORMATION OF VEGETABLE MOULD THROUGH THE ACTION OF WORMS

Worms have played a more important part in the history of the world than most persons would at first suppose In almost all humid countries they are extraordinarily nureat ht of h their bodies and is brought to the surface on each acre of land; so that the whole superficial bed of vegetable h their bodies in the course of every few years Fro of the old burrows the h slow ether By these means fresh surfaces are continually exposed to the action of the carbonic acid in the soil, and of the humus-acids which appear to be still eneration of the huestion of the many half-decayed leaves which wor the superficial mould, are subjected to conditions eration Moreover, the particles of the softer rocks suffer soizzards of worms, in which sht to be grateful to wor period every object, not liable to decay, which is dropped on the surface of the land, by burying it beneath their castings Thus, also, ant and curious tesselated paveh no doubt the worely aided by earth washed and blown fro land, especially when cultivated The old tesselated pave subsided unequally fro unequally undermined by the worms Even oldis in this respect safe, unless the foundations lie six or seven feet beneath the surface, at a depth at which worms cannot work It is probable thatbeen underround in an excellent rowth of fibrous-rooted plants and for seedlings of all kinds They periodically expose the er than the particles which they can s are left in it They ardener who prepares fine soil for his choicest plants In this state it is well fitted to retain moisture and to absorb all soluble substances, as well as for the process of nitrification The bones of dead animals, the harder parts of insects, the shells of land- all buried beneath the accuht in a more or less decayed state within reach of the roots of plants