s
written many noted English statesmen had low moral standards and were
willing to use corrupt means to gain their ends. Still, the great body
of the people were but slightly affected by this state of things, and
England was soon to enter upon a new and better era.

[44.] Those who think, etc. Americans believe that the thinkers should
toil and the toilers think. When Goldsmith's line was written great
ignorance prevailed among the working classes in all European countries.

[45.] Rich men rule the law. Bribery was common in England at the
time. Although conditions gradually improved, many abuses remained
until they were swept away by the famous Reform Bill of 1832.

[46.] The wealth of climes, etc. It will be remembered that England
was having serious trouble at the time this poem was written, both with
the people of India and with the American colonists.

[47.] Her useful sons, etc. The slave trade was not abolished in the
British Empire until 1807.

[48.] Decayed, fallen as to social condition.

[49.] Forced from their homes. Many Englishmen came to America
willingly. The poet fails to understand the adventurous spirit of the
emigrant.

[50.] Oswego; Niagara. At this time the regions named were in the
wilderness. Note the poet's pronunciation of _Niagara_.

[51.] A good each government bestows. It would not be easy to mention
the special good bestowed by certain governments; by that of Turkey,
for instance.

[52.] Luke's iron crown. George Dosia, with his brother Luke, headed
an unsuccessful revolt in Hungary in the sixteenth century.
George--not Luke--was put to death by means of a red-hot iron crown.
In the Middle Ages this punishment was sometimes employed in the case
of persons who had attempted to seize the royal power.

[53.] Damiens' bed of steel. Robert Francois Damiens attempted to
assassinate Louis XV in 1757. Before being put to death he was cruelly
tortured, but the "bed of steel" was not used.

THE DESERTED VILLAGE

Sweet Auburn! loveliest village of the plain;
Where health and plenty cheered the laboring swain,
Where smiling spring its earliest visit paid,
And parting summer's lingering blooms delayed:
Dear lovely bowers of innocence and ease, 5
Seats of my youth, when every sport could please,
How often have I loitered o'er thy green,
Where humble happiness endeared each scene!
How often have I paused on every charm,
The shelt