“What is the real good?”
       I asked in musing mood.

       Order, said the law court;
       Knowledge, said the school;
       Truth, said the wise man;
       Pleasure, said the fool;
       Love, said the maiden;
       Beauty, said the page;
       Freedom, said the dreamer;
       Home, said the sage;
       Fame, said the soldier;
       Equity, said the seer;—­

       Spake my heart full sadly: 
       “The answer is not here.”

       Then within my bosom
       Softly this I heard: 
       “Each heart holds the secret: 
       Kindness is the word.”

John Boyle O’Reilly.

* * * * *

SAGE, a wise man.

SEER, one who foresees events; a prophet.

EQUITY ([)e]k’ w[)i] t[)y]), justice, fairness.

* * * * *

59

va’ cant joc’ und pen’ sive spright’ ly sol’ i tude daf’ fo dils con tin’ u ous

DAFFODILS.

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils,
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of the bay: 
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Outdid the sparkling waves in glee: 
A poet could not but be gay
In such a jocund company. 
I gazed,—­and gazed,—­but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought: 

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

William Wordsworth.

* * * * *

MILKY WAY, the belt of light seen at night in the heavens, and is composed of millions of stars.

1st stanza:  Explain, “I wandered lonely.”  To what does the poet compare his loneliness?

What did the poet see “all at once?” Where?  What were the daffodils doing?

What picture do the first two lines bring to mind?  Describe the picture contained in the remaining lines of this stanza.

2d stanza:  How does the poet tell what a great crowd of daffodils there were?  How would you tell it?

How does he say the daffodils were arranged?  What does margin mean?

How many daffodils did he see?  In this stanza, what does he say they were doing?

3d stanza:  What is said of the waves?  In what did the daffodils surpass the waves?

What do the third and fourth lines of this stanza mean?