Either I mistake your shape and making quite,
Or else you are that shrewd and knavish sprite
Called Robin Good-fellow; are you not he
That fright the maidens of the villagery;
Skim milk; and sometimes labor in the quern,
And bootless make the breathless housewife churn;
And sometimes make the drink to bear no barm;
Mislead night-wanderers laughing at their harm?
Those that Hobgoblin call you, and sweet Puck,
You do their work; and they shall have good luck.
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have remarked, on viewing it completed, “I can teach her nothing.”
It was a gift to the library, of an unknown friend to the artist.
The insalubrity of the Campagna, the level country surrounding Rome, is well known.
Southward is the region of the Pontine marshes, of ancient malarious fame, on which consuls, emperors, and popes have made vast expenditures, without subduing the malignity of nature.
The pestilential air still spreads pallor over the features of the poor people who are compelled to live there, and even invades the city.
It was the wish of Dr. Hosmer that his daughter should take refuge in some healthy place during the sickly season, and the first summer was passed at Sorrento, on the bay of Naples.
The next year her zeal prevailed against all considerations of prudence; she would not leave the shadow of St. Peter's and the art treasures in the midst of which she wrought.
The third summer, 1855, came, and she prepared for a journey to England.
But the course of true art, like that of love, does not always run smoothly.
The resources of Dr. Hosmer were not inexhaustible; the expenses of the artist's residence and pursuits in Rome were large; financial embarrassments were encountered; and retrenchment was urged with emphasis from home.
In these circumstances she remained to prosecute her labors with the aim to produce some work of such attractive character as should secure immediate returns.
The result was Puck, described by Shakespeare's fairy:--
S. M. Betts and Company. Hartford, Conn. 1871.
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