The consolations of poetry

Since it is not really possible at the moment to follow Sydney Smiths advice on being in the open air, I shall ignore one of his strictures & turn to the consolations of verse

Permit me then to inscribe to yourself a book which will sweeten solitude itself with best society, - with the companionship of the wise & good, with the beauty which the eye cannot see, & the music only heard in silence

Francis Palgrave - dedication of his Golden Treasury to Lord Tennyson