Ages and ages ago,
Beautiful as a bird was she,
Preening its wings in a cypress tree,
Happy in sadness, she and he,
They loved each other so.
As tender flower in May,
Her loveliness from the towers looked down,
With the sweet moon for silver crown,
Over the walls of Troy Town,
Hundreds of years away.
Was wondrous kind to ken,
As when the stars in the dark sky
Like buds on thorny branches lie,
So seemed she too to Antony,
That age-gone prince of men.
Scarred is that grey face,
That by the greenness of Old Nile
Gazes with an unchanging smile,
Man with all mystery to beguile
And give his thinking grace.
HOME
Until the quiet grave
Comes with its narrow arch
The heart to save
From life's long cankering rust,
From torpor, cold and still—
The loveless, saddened dust,
The jaded will.
Whose haven calls me home;
Long be the arduous day
Till evening come;
What sureness now remains
But that through livelong strife
Only the loser gains
An end to life?
THE GHOST
Peace in thine eyes,
Peace on thy brow;
Flower of a moment in the eternal hour,
Peace with me now.
Not a bird calls,
My heart, like a sea,
Silent after a storm that hath died,
Sleeps within me.
All the world's leaves,
All winter's snow
Seem with their quiet to have stilled in life's dream
All sorrowing now.
AN EPITAPH
Light of step and heart was she;
I think she was the most beautiful lady
That ever was in the West Country.
But beauty vanishes; beauty passes;
However rare—rare it be;
And when I crumble, who will remember
This lady of the West Country?
'THE HAWTHORN HATH A DEATHLY SMELL'
Have a sweet smell;
Meadowsweet, tansy, thyme,
And faint-heart pimpernel;
But sweeter even than these,
The silver of the may
Wreathed is with incense for
The Judgment Day.
When falls the evening rain,
Wild briar's spicèd leaves,
Breathe memories again;
With further memory fraught,
The silver of the may
Wreathed is with incense for
The Judgment Day.
The Third Edition, Revised and Enlarged, of
THE HOME BOOK OF VERSE
COMPILED BY
BURTON E. STEVENSON
has been revised from end to end—590 poems have been added, pages renumbered, author, title, and first line indices, and the biographical matter corrected, etc., etc.
The hundreds of letters from readers and poets suggesting additions or corrections as well as the columns of reviews of the first edition have been considered. Poets who were chary of lending their support to an unknown venture have now generously permitted the use of their work.
This edition includes the "new" poets such as Masefield, Chesterton, Frost, Rupert Brooke, de la Mare, Ralph Hodgson, etc.
"A collection so complete and distinguished that it is difficult to find any other approaching it sufficiently for comparison."—New York Times Book Review on the first edition.
India Paper, 4,096 pages
Cloth, one volume,
Cloth, two volumes,
Half Morocco, one volume,
Half Morocco, two volumes,
HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
PUBLISHERS
NEW YORK
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE
By ROMAIN ROLLAND
Translated from the French by Gilbert Cannan. In three volumes, each $1.50 net.
This great trilogy, the life story of a musician, at first the sensation of musical circles in Paris, has come to be one of the most discussed books among literary circles in France, England and America.
Each volume of the American edition has its own individual interest, can be understood without the other, and comes to a definite conclusion.
The three volumes with the titles of the French volumes included are:
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE
Dawn—Morning—Youth—Revolt
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE IN PARIS
The Market Place—Antoinette—The House
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: JOURNEY'S END
Love and Friendship—The Burning Bush—The New Dawn
Some Noteworthy Comments
"'Hats off, gentlemen—a genius.' · One may mention 'Jean-Christophe' in the same breath with Balzac's 'Lost Illusions'; it is as big as that. · It is moderate praise to call it with Edmund Gosse 'the noblest work of fiction of the twentieth century'. · A book as big, as elemental, as original as though the art of fiction began to-day. · We have nothing comparable in English literature. · "—Springfield Republican.
"If a man wishes to understand those devious currents which make up the great, changing sea of modern life, there is hardly a single book more illustrative, more informing and more inspiring."—Current Opinion.
"Must rank as one of the very few important works of fiction of the last decade. A vital compelling work. We who love it feel that it will live."—Independent.
"The most momentous novel that has come to us from France, or from any other European country, in a decade."—Boston Transcript.
A 32-page booklet about Romain Rolland and Jean-Christophe, with portraits and complete reviews, on request.
HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
PUBLISHERS
NEW YORK