192 IsORTfl KEN>rEBfiC SOCIETf. 



dence and cheerfulness. Longfellow represents such a man ill 

 his " Tillage Blacksmith." The poet says ; 



" Under a spreading chestnut tree 



The village blacksmith stands ; 

 The smith, a mighty man is he, 



With large and sinewy hands ; 

 And the muscles of his brawny arms * 



Are strong as iron bands. 



His hair is crisp, and black, and long ; 



His face is like the tan ; 

 His brow is wet with honest sweat ; 



He earns whate'er he can. 

 And looks the whole world in the face, 



For he owes not any man. 



Week in, week out, from morn till night, 



You can hear his bellows blow ; 

 You can hear him swing his heavy sledge. 



With measured beat and slow, 

 Like a sexton ringing the village bell 



When the evening sun is low. 



And children, coming home from school, 



Look in at the open door; 

 They love to see the flaming forge, 



And hear the bellows roar. 

 And catch the burning sparks that fly 



Like chaS' from a threshing floor. 



Toiling — rejoicing— sorrowing — 



Onward through life he goes ; 

 Each morning sees some task begun, 



Each evening sees it close : 

 Something attempted — something done, 



Has earned a night's repose." 



Wordsworth, in his " Excursion," describes a man of this 

 noble rank, in these words : 



" He was a peasant of the lowest class : 

 Gray locks profusely round his temples hung 

 In clustering curls, like ivy, which the bite 

 Of Winter cannot thin ; the fresh air lodged 

 Within his cheek, as light within a cloud ; 

 And he returned our greeting with a smile. 

 When he had passed, the solitary spake ; 

 A Man he seems of cheerful yesterdays 

 And confident to-morrows — with a face. 

 Not worldly-minded, for it bears too much 

 Of Nature's impress, gaiety and health, 

 Freedom and hope; but keen withal, and shrewd. 

 His gestures note, — and hark ! his tones of voice 

 Are all vivacious as his mien and looks." 



