k ^i§mmmm LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. @|n ^| ^ ©ujt^rigll 1^> Shelftltj]-^ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. ffi^^^^^i^^ @^^^^gj^^^®B_Y^%5^g,^ DAY-DREAMS Day-Dreams BY / W/^N. LOCKINGTON. 'I had a dream, which was not all a dream,'''' Byron. -^-•••—^ SAN FRANCISCO, CAL., PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR. 1880. zl^^ Copyright, 1880, by W. N. LOCKINGTON. Pacific Press, Oakland, Cal. ■^c DEDIC^Wie]^. 3N- OOD literal folk, whose dreams are dry, And cold as stern reality, Had better not this book peruse, 'Twas not intended for their use; But as I like to hear them prate My rhymes to them I dedicate, And will my fancies criticise To charitably save their eyes. I know no lovely sea-nymphs dwell In palaces beneath the waves; They do not sing "through sweet-toned shell, Nor swim about in coral caves, Nor glide the kraken's arms betwixt; That wine is seldom made from flowers, And with salt water would be mixed If it were quaffed in ocean bowers; Nay more, an awkward manatee May the original mermaid be. Yet still I know that thought can build A palace anywhere it pleases, And he in such constructions skilled. His mind from present worries eases. What though the Olympian gods are dead; And metaphysic feuds confuse us. The foolish things they did and said. Though mythic, may an hour amuse us. Ghost-songs and spirit-dreams that soar To viewless heights, for verse will do, But the belief in spirit-lore I leave, good literal folk, to you. — mm — After the Storm 76 Amor Tyrannus 100 Ant and the Ant-Eater 72 Antony in Rome 91 Autumn - - 62 Ball, A 79 Coral Wreath, A 48 Day-Dream, A 117 Dedication 5 Dead Spring, A 107 English Bltiial-Ground at Bilboa, The 78 Ghost-Song, A 67 Glen and Cliff 53 Jim Dutton's Valentine '. 102 LUCRECE 82 Miner's Song - 105 Moon-Struck 74 My Goddess 95 My Harold 60 viii CONTENTS. Nature Musings 112 Onward 109 On the Swing 68 Our Poor Humanity 56 Politeness 65 Pond within the Wood, The 50 Pursuits 103 Rain 71 Real and the Ideal, The 115 Rus IN Urbe 108 Sad Bells 61 San Francisco 45 Sea-Nymph's Home, The 9 Song, from the Spanish 101 Sonnet on Sonnets, A 57 Spirit Dreams 88 Suicide 58 Venus to Adonis 93 Venus and Vulcan, Modern Version 25 What's in a Creed? 98 Wife's Lament, The 96 Ye Visit of King Arthur to Master Tennyson.. 35 ¥pE 3E^-]^YMPK'3 pejaE. LL, all by myself, without friend, without foe, All, all alone! C I am weary of life, I am ready to go Into the depths the blue waves below; There is a world I would love to know, A world unknown. I long to dive into the durkling wave, And swift to go Where billows roll never, nor tempests rave, But soft flowing currents eternal lave The slow-forming ooze of the seaman's grave, Far, far below. Methought I heard softly a sea-nymph call Through sweet-toned shell: ''Spring to me, lonely one, fear not at all, " With my arms outstretched I will break thy fall, " And I'll bear thee along to my gem-built^hall ** Where the sea-nymphs dwell." 10 TEE SEA-NYMPH'S HOME. "The ocean's deep secrets thine eyes shall see, "Its pearls, its gams; " Its treasures of wealth shall be known to thee, *' In pleasure for aye shalt thou dwell with me, "And girdled around shall our foreheads be "With diadems." *' A painless existence shall then be ours, ^' Without a care; " In innocent sportings we'll pass the hours, " We'll sit in the shade of the coral bowers, " And with Ocean's many-leaved living flowers ''I'll twine thy hair." Silvery sweet rose each gentle word Out of the sea; Sweet as the song of the mocking-bird. At even-tide in the forest heard, And a half-seen figure the surface stirred And drew towards me. I felt myself caught in a soft embrace, And fondly kissed. Pressed close to my own was a lovely face, And a sylph-like form of celestial grace Bore me along at a rapid pace, At her sweet list. THE SEA-NYMPirS HOME. 11 As swift over ledges and cliffs we sped Our hasty flight, I saw the vast piles of unburied dead Lie half-covered up on their silty bed, And the grinning teeth of each fleshless head Gleamed ivory white. But these sights horrific passed quickly by As on we flew; With the eagle's swoop from his eyrie high. With the bullet's swiftness our course might vie, Or the lightning flash as it cleaves the sky Be likened to. I saw in the distance an object bright Which through the wave. As northern aurora on moonless night Sends far through the heavens its streams of light, Pierced with a brilliance of purest white. And guidance gave. The sea-nymph's palace, unknown to fame Mid mortals mean. Dawned wrapt in the glow of that silver flame; Man's highest conceptions are to it tame, And his tongue-tied language can never name What I have seen. 12 THE SEA-NYMPH'S HOME, Wonders and wonders to sight out flew, As onward we Nearer and nearer that structure drew, Limned in the depths of the waters blue By th3 radiance that floated its windows through. So gloriously. She carried me up the emerald stair Through self-oped door. To a hall whose pillars were sapphires rare, Its ceiling of ojDal beyond compare. While marbles richer than earth can bear Composed the floor. Turquoise and onyx and beryl and jade And rubies bright, Jasper and garnets, the walls inlaid. In canning mosaic that well portrayed The fairest scenes that ever were made To please the sight. The windows were tissues of water-glass, Filmily thin, The light undiminished could through them pass, Their frames were of amber a solid mass, And curtains all woven of green sea-grass Huno; down within. THE SEA -N YMPII 'S HOME. 13 One even diaphanous crystal sheet Was every door, While tables of pure frosted silver beat, With amethyst borders and sparry feet, And many a delicate adamant seat, Adorned the floor. The vaulted ceiling with met3or light Serenely shone; But she, she only absorbed my sight, I gazed upon her till she blushed outright, Yet drawn by the force of her beauty bright, I still gazed on. Her long flowing tresses of auburn hair Fell to her feet; Her ivory shoulders and arms were bare. As the goddess of beauty her form was fair, Magnetic her presence beyond compare. Her aspect sweet. The charms of her person what words can tell What eyes endure Of her silken lashas the magic spell? Or that of her bosom which rose and fell, Soft nestling place for young love to dwell Pillowed secure? 14 THE SEA-NYMPH'S HOME. Her robe was a tissue of ocean spray Woven with art, Wavily floating adown alway, And ravishing sight with the coy display Of the perfect contour and graceful play Of every part. Whence that volumed burst of melodious sound, So sweet, so clear; That down from the ceiling, and up from the ground, And out of each pillar and arch around. Seemed floating, and held me all mute, spell bound, Its tones to hear? She lifted a finger, — the music hushed, 'Twas silence all — The blood to my brain in a volume rushed, For sweeter sounds from her mouth outgushed, As she drew me to her with cheeks all flushed, A willing thrall. " No more shalt thou pore over ancient tome " In a world apart; " I've borne thee safe to this crystalline dome, " Of myself and my maidens the happy home, [roam, " With me thou shalt live, and with me thou shalt ** Joy of my heart ! " TEE SEANYMPH'S HOME. 15 " A seat at my table will I provide, " My love, for thee; " Together, together through life we'll bide, " I'll be to thee ever thy darling bride, '* Thy heart's deepest secrets thou may'st confide "Safely to me." ** All thou desirest shall, love, be thine ** A hundred-fold, " If only thou'lt swear to be ever mine, " Our inmost being in one to twine^ *' And ne'er for the maidens of earth to pine, **So hard and cold." "No prisoner thou; we will rove, we will range '* Free as the aii\ '* From ocean to ocean our home we'll change, ** Thou shalt feast thine eyes on the beings strange " That graze in the meadows of my sea-grange ** And need no care." " To the south, to the north, to the east, to the west, " Through every sea "We will roam together, and thy behest " Shall be my pleasure, if thou wilt rest " In trust and in truth on thy true love's breast "That pants for thee." 16 THE SEA-NYMPH'S HOME. She coaxed, I j)romised — could mortal miss So fair a bride, Who sought for my heart's love in words like this? We poured out our souls in a long, long kiss And a heaven-sent speechless dream of bliss Our hearts allied. Save our mingled breathing, the air was still As still could be. But responsive at once to her nodded will, A tenderly murmurous musical thrill. Soft as the tinkling of tiny rill, Bose dreamily. By viewless minstrels the chords were Strang To heavenly strains; Notes never uttered by human tongue By seraph voices were sweetly sung. Till through my being the cadence rung In rapturous pains. Noiselessly trooped in a beauteous band, By two and two, Of maidens far fairer than those of the land, Each with a flagon or salver in hand, Round the shining table they took their stand In order due. THE SEA-NYMPH 'S HOME. V[ As youthfal as Hebe, as Dian chaste, Each Nereid beamed; With bracelet of coral each arm was graced, A garland of shells on each brow was placed. And a nacreous zone around each slender waist Lustrously gleamed. The graceful folds of their delicate dress. And a wealth of hair That over their shoulders, in many a tress Which the shelly cii'clet could not repress. Fell thickly, but heightened the loveliness Of their figures fair. With a flash of white arms that to sight betrayed New beauties still; In the twink of an eye Avas the table laid, With opaline vessels by Vulcan made, Casting around them a luscious shade, And chased with skill. Gold was too mean to be present there, Vile dross of earth ! The dishes were piled with celestial fare. Ambrosial odors were spread through the air, And the bsakers sparkled with nectar rare Of pric3less worth. IS THE SEA-NYMPH'S HOME. The purest quintessence of Eden's flowers That ever bloom, Wet with the kisses of nectarous showers, Under the shade of the myrtle bowers, Pressed by the feet of the rosy hours In soft half-gloom. With this Eden wine which makes Khine wine tame, My love and I Eat the daintiest species of ocean game, While dishes on dishes I cannot name. Whose exquisite flavor sets taste aflame, Our palates try. More glowingly vivid, more pure, more clear, Became the light Shot down like a flood from the lucent sphere, Glancing from column and pillar and pier. And gleaming in glory now there, now here, On jewels bright. I saw no more, for it seemed my brain No more could bear; I veiled my eyes, and to sleep was fain. And when I woke up to existence again, We floated along on the ocean's plain In the open air. THE SEA -NYMPH 'S HOME. 1^ 'Twas the midnight hour of a summer night And far above Shone the Southern Cross with Orion bright; The Galaxy stretched out its line of white, And the moon looked down from the zenith's height. With eye of love. Far onward we drifted, that nymph and I In the cool moonshine; 'Twas sweet reclined on the waves to lie, Oar faces upturned to the starry sky. Her arms twined round me so lovingly, Her hand in mine. Sweetly, so sweetly my sea-nymph sang Close to my ear; Over t'le ocean the music rang, The winds were stayed on the notes to hang, And out of the waters the dolphins sprang Those sounds to hear. Like light o'er the waters each golden tress Untrammeled flowed; There was nothing to shadow the loveliness Evolved so highly the vision to bless. Through the waves transparent — her only dress- Her figure glowed. 20 THE SEA-NYMPH'S HOME. She was purer by far than a mortal bride, Slie knew not the sin Of hiding away, out of fashion and pride The beauty the pure would not dare to hide; While specious allurements each day are tried A glance to win. The first faint streakings of dawn appeared Low in the East, Broader and brighter they widened and neared, Till o'er the horizon the daylight peered, The sun in his glory himself upreared. And darkness ceased. Bathed in the light of a cloudless noon We lay at rest, 'Mong the palm trees encircling a clear lagoon; But the breeze as it rose played a merry tune, And we knew it would grow to a fierce typhoon As day progressed. The breeze increased to a mighty blast, Bright streaks of red Burst from the clouds as they scurried past, The breakers high over the reef were cast, And a shattered hull without helm or mast To ruin sped. THE SEA -NYMPH 'S HOME. 21 With a dreadful shock on that coral shore She cleft in twain — The raging winds for a moment bore Loud shrieks and groanings — Then ail was o'er, There was naught to be heard but the tempest's roar^ Those cries were vain. Away to the region of ice and snow Our course sped we; In the far-off land of the Esquimaux We seated ourselves on the edge of a floe, And marked how the natives their kajaks low O'er the ice-bound sea. Under the ice to the northern pole We swiftly bore; We frightened the seal in his winter hole, We rode on a whale towards an unknown goal, Till we reached the spot that no mortal soul Had reached before. Then in the Maelstrom ourselves we hurled, A vortex dread That rushed and roared and twisted and twirled, Bellowed and gurgled, and turned and curl?d. And whorl within whorl ever narrowing whirled By fury fed. 22 THE SEA-NYM PR'S HOME. The eddying waters above us hissed — A liquid mound: With the speed of thought we were both abyssed, And using the forces we could not resist Stood safe at the bottom before I wist, On solid ground. Oh horror ! the slimy arms that flow Round my lovely bride ! With hook-girt suckers, a double row, They fasten upon her her arms below, While the cold cruel eyes of the monster glow, And his beak yawns wide. Some of his arms round my body slip, Some clasp my thighs; He draws us up close to his horrible lip. But she smiles as she grasps with an iron grip The kraken's neck, and the suckers slip, He gasps and dies. Then under the earth to the earthquake's seat On a liquid storm. We ride to where fire, earth, and water meet, The lava heaves boiling beneath our feet. The elements melt with the fervent heat, And seas roll warm. THE SEA NYMPH'S HOME. 23 Around us, above us, the fire-waves rolled A boiling mass ! But she held me safe Avith a powerful hold, And cooled mj flesh with her breathings cold, As we hurried along in our transit bold Through that dread pass. The sun is low when we two emerge, And side by side Sit down to rest on the rocky verge Of a lonely isle, where a solemn dirge, Sung by the bass of the breaking surge, Booms far and wide. The sun set over the waters blue, A glorious sight ! The west filled up with a golden hue, High over the heavens the flame-tints flew, And ocean reflected the splendor anew In waves of light. When the gold, and the rose, and the purple were gone, We dived again. A tiny light in the distance shone. It grew to a sun as we darted on; 'Twas the home of my loved one I looked upon, Her jewelled fane. 24 THE SEA-NYMPH'S HOME. Again I swam in through that portal tall With gems bedecked, I made my home in that regal hall, Where music and beauty held soul in thrall And love made life seem a moment small By time unchecked. In that sea-nymph's mansion I still abide, For though on earth A lady fair may be close to my side, My spirit is true to my sea-born bride, And I have caresses for none beside Whate'er their worth. YE]5a3 m^ YUham. MODERN VERSION. ^llr ^^ Gods, having lost all their old notoriety, Took a journey to London to study society; The goddesses figured the fastest of belles, The gods as the flower of Belgravian swells, The jeimesse doree, As our Gallic friends say — In circles distinguished they made a sensation, Were very much talked of throughout the whole nation, And didn't neglect to obtain information, While they gave the geologists points on creation. And to youth of both sexes proved quite a temptation; I trust it's a falsehood, but some people say. That the gods with the girls had it all their own way; And as for the goddesses, all understand That Olympian beauties were always well manned With devices allaring, Charms for securing, 26 VENUS AND VULCAN. And tricks to perplex The masculine sex. They practised the arts, they enameled and painted, Went mad on aesthetics, in ecstasies fainted, And cheated like mortals, yet strove to look sainted; They studied the galop, the waltz, and the polka, Mastered the language of Webster and Walker, Puzzled their brains with our Christian theology, Mastered the details of Lyell's geology, And gulled the half-witted with lying astrology. Some studied acoustics, pitched into pneumatics, Hydraulics, mechanics, dynamics, and statics; To look like pale students some lived up in attics, But what spoiled their mirth Was, that living on earth. Like mortals they suffered from gout and rheumatics. They went into optics, read up electricity, Pored over the annals of city mendicity, Posted themselves in Ike Newton's astronomy, And grew so interested in social economy. That they almost forgot their Olympian felicity. Divinity's reason In one v/inter season Learned all about everything, so, with some tears, they VENUS AND VULCAN. 27 Went oflf to the heaven where their proper spheres lay. With him in his chariot the mighty Jupiter Took some telegraph wire and a big gasometer. Queen Juno took store of silks, laces, and satins, Boots, stockings, elastic-web garters, and pattens, To keep her from wetting her feet In a cloud. But the proud Minerva took spectacles, pencils, and books, Some of our blue-stockings masculine looks, And dozens of pantalets neat. Venus, dressed in the rules of the purest aesthetics, Took up a ship load of the choicest cosmetics; While sage Esculapius took tons of emetics, Cathartics, emmenagogues, diaphoretics; And Vulcan, who meantime had practiced athletics, And was awfully tired of Cyclopean clamor. Walked off with a twenty-ton Nasmyth steam-hammer; Dian swapped off her bow for a Henry Martini; Apollo took Beethoven, Handel, Bellini, And all our composers, or rather their scores; Neptune, when he left our shores, Bore a Boyton diving-dress; Amphitrite bore a bell. Diving-bell of her contriving; Pluto, the grim god of hell. 28 VENUS AND VULCAN. Bore away, on his Black Bess, Into Earth's deep bowels diving, Half a dozen dames of fashion To put Proserpine into a passion. But oh, what a sight were the regions celestial, When they all got up there with their baubles terrestrial ! Apollo constructed a grand concert hall With a well-arranged stage — It was soon all the rage ¥or opera, comedy, carnival, ball. The singers were Nereids, the orchestra Fauns, Who instead of Pan's pipes played on cornets and horns; Apollo was leader, his chaste sister Phoebe, A good prima-donna, sang sweetest soprano, While she capered about in her short skirts and quiver, Or bathed with her nymphs in a painted stage river; A full-blown contralto was charming Miss Hebe; Eurydice played the celestial piano, And Orpheus improvised solos to suit. On the big bassoon or the reedy flute; Achilles was hired for the leading ienore, And always created some kind oi furore; While Hercules mighty was basso and clown, And whenever he wanted could bring the house down; VENUS AND VULCAN. And Stentor beatified blew tlie trombone "With more than stentorian deepness of tone. The Satyrs, the Nereids, tall Titans and Dryads, Flocked to the ball-room by couplets and triads, And with them the gods and the demigods blended, E'en Japiter, Juno, and Pallas attended The morning concerto, while Venus with all Her attendants were sure to be seen at the ball. One evening, as I must relate. The fell revenge of jealous hate Conducted to a dreadful fate. In presence of the Olympian swells, Titled god-beaux and goddess belles, An amorous pair — One brave, one fail-. 'Tis a gala night, as you may see it is, For there are all the big-bug deities. That old wife-beater, The great Jupiter, Saturn and Rhea, Pluto, Mercury, Thetis, The gods of the Tamesis, Tiber, and Betis, Ceres, Proserpine, Isis, Osiris, Languishing Echo and gay-plumaged Iris, The graces and Venus, the Muses all nin#, so VENUS AND VULCAN. The gods of the ocean, of war and of wine. Smith Vulcan, in swallow tails, with a clean shirt, And a face which was washed just enough to show dirt, Came noiselessly in when the ball had begun, Prepared to have fun; And looking around for a" quiet retreat He luckily found an empty back seat. But what brought him their mid the gay and the y(.)iing, A lame brawny artisan, grimy and stiongl Why, what but his heartless coquette of a wife. Unfaithful and beauteous, the plague of his life; Who shone in heaven's ball-room the brightest of staib, Ran after Adonis and flirted with Mars? For as he that morning was blowing the bellows, he Was seized with a fit of most furious jealousy. '' This night in Pol's hall," Thouo-ht he, ''there's a ball, " My Venus, I know, will be sure to be there, " Exposing too much of that figure divine, " Which of right is all mine, " And I don't want to share ''With that vile puppy Mars, whom I never can bear; " Por though he's so tall, " He is but a coward, in spite of the hair " That covers his chin — a precious fine pair, "They're always together, they'd better take care; VENUS AND VULCAN. 31 "Shouldn't I just like to catch them, that's all? " A nice little net of the finest drawn steel " Lies in my breast pocket as snug as an eel; " I'll just come behind them " When billing I find them, " Throw this over them deftly, and though the folks stare, " Out of the ball-room the couple I'll bear, "Give them a black coat that ever will wear, " And then pitch them out neck, and crop through the air, " I'll get rid of them both," And he swore a big oath. From his seat he saw Venus careering along. The fairest and gayest of all the bright throng, And, it must be confessed, The most gauzily dressed; With Mars she was airily twisting and twirling, In long wavy tresses her fair hair all curling Fell down on her shoulders — She charmed all beholders Save Yulcan, who waited On this couple ill-fated His vengeance to wreak. In whispers they speak, Attentively bending Toward each other their faces, 32 VENUS AND VULCAN. And momently blending Their breath, while her laces Loose fluttering, showed traces Of beauty's high places; They dream not disgrace is So near, as their paces Lovingly stray To an out of the way Seat near a grapery, hidden by drapery. Here her limbs tapery, tired by the capery Curves of the dance, Through the thin papery tissue of vapory, Loose flowery crapery. Temptingly glance. Her eyes full of meaning. On Mars she was leaning; When Yulcan sprang on them without any warning And caught them close captives beneath his steel awning! They struggled and fretted, But both were safe netted; On his broad back his big burden with, he Bounced out of the ball-room into his smithy. There he gripped them and stripped them. And whipped them, and dipped them Into a kettle of pitch ; ' VENUS AND VULCAN. 33 It boiled and it sizzled, Their hair was all frizzled, You could n't tell t'other from which ! Had they been mortals; it sure would have killed them, But being immortals, it burned them and filled them, Head, body, and back, With beautiful black; Then in the steel sack To the verge of Olympus the couple he bore, And hurled them in fury on Africa's shore. With the shock of the fall, The net broke into small Fragments, and thanks to the bruising and shaking. Their passion was cured, but their bones were all aching. So they couldn't agree. But soon parted, and she Still proud of her charms, like the rest of her genus, Went the round of the world as the hottentot Venus; While Mars, in great distress At the loss of his mistress, The civilized world wandered o'er. He knew how to make money. For he could be funny As never was nigger before; He could bend his back in a graceful loop, 34 VENUS AND VULCAN. He could jump witli ease through a paper hoop, From a high trapeze with head downward droop, Kide a bare-backed horse with an Indian whoop, Or do anything else to which he might stoop; But the way most money he managed to scoop, Was conducting around a crack minstrel troupe; He played on the banjo in sweetest of tones, And showed himself martial by battering " Bones/ He visited Paris, his rival of yore. The fairest of all that Queen Hecuba bore, Who once gave an apple to Venus so fair, When she was so poor she had "nothing to wear," And there he saw Venus, his Venus, once more, Still lovely, except for the black that she wore. She was faster than ever. And ten times as clever, For dark though she was, with her wit and her form, She trusted again to take Paris by storm. But Paris, as proud of his tint as his figure. Would have nothing whatever to do with a nigger; So the lovers Olympian, Venus and Mars, Came together again as variety stars; And though proud society would n't receive 'em, Their pockets were full, and the loss didn't grieve 'em. YE YpT eF KING ^i^^pai^ TO AN INGOLDSBY LEGEND. S from the wateiy abyss Arose fair Yenus, saucy miss, In naked majesty; So, from the chops of Britain's channel, Shaking herself like water-spaniel, Superfluous wet to free, Arose old Albion's guardian fairy, Upon a seal-skin cushion hairy Enthroned most royally. An osier wand was in her hand, Around her waist a linen band, A pretty sight was she. Over the sea she waved her cane, Turned round three times, and back again, 36 THE VISIT OF KING ARTHUR. With awful gravity; Then, in a voice that shook the main, And sounded like a hurricane, She spake commandinglj. *' Ye champions of the table round, *' Through all the spacious earth renowned, ^' From city and from battle ground, ^' From ocean's caverned depths jDi'ofound, '' From cairn and barrow's grassy mound, ^* Where'er your ashes may be found, *' Arise, and come to me ! ** Come to me into Plymouth Sound, *' And follow whither I am bound, ^' Dancing my seal-skin car around, '^ For, let it not your ears astound, '' There is a poet must be crowned ''Who singeth famously." Then Launcelot rose from under ground, A mantle o'er his shoulders wound. And, glancing on her, darkly frowned. Yet not a word spake he; King Arthur strode to Eds^cumbe's brow And roared aloud, " What meanest thou '* By kicking up this jolly row ''When I slept quietly; THE VISIT OF KING ARTHUR. 37 '' When I got rid of Guinevere, ** I thought nobody else would dare ** Vex my tranquillity." Then Prince Geraint to life arose, Without a particle of clothes, And blew the dust from out his nose, And shook King Arthur's hand; And Galaor and Galahad, And Percival and Mordred bad. With all the forty chiefs who had Been knights of Aithur's band. Then loud again she raised her voice. Till Etna bellowed at the noise. And shot out cinders many a toise; *' Arise, fair shadow of Elaine, " By love of false Sir Launcelot slain, '' And thou, sweet Enid, who, though faint, " Drav'st before jealous Prince Geraint *' The horses through the wood; ''Coarse, brutal man; meek, suffering saint, ''Eor such a brute too good! "Rise, Arthur's princess, Guinevere, ** So very foul, so very fair, '* But every way beyond compare! 38 THE VISIT OF KING ARTHUR. " Rise Yivien, with the roguish eyes, '^ Where deepest fascination lies, " Perdition in a fair disguise, *' Decej^tive, cunning, fickle jade, " Bright model of a Cymrian maid ! ** And from thy oaken tomb " Thy mighty shade exhume, *' Great Merlin, chief of all the wizard race; <' No more that trunk so old *'Thy spirit shall enfold; *' No more the winter's cold '^ Afflict thee, nor the bold *' Sun burn thee, cooped in such a narrow space; '' Shake off the encrusted mold, '' Thorough field, thorough fold, " Over mountain, over wold, '* Thy fearless passage hold, " And before this mighty concourse show thy face. " Dwellers in village, dwellers in bower, *' Tenants of cottage, tenants of tower, '' Bards highly favored with Poesy's dower, " Britain's fair rosebuds, chivalry's flower, " Ancestral shades of the noble Glendower, '* All who were living when Arthur held power, THE VISIT OF KING ARTHUR. " Come on the whirlwind, ride on the shower, *' O'er water and land like the lightning flash scour, " Resume the fair forms of your youth for an hour, "And swift let us go, '* Merrily O ! " To crown the new poet who sings of us so." And as she spake, there Stood Queen Guinevere, With Enid so fair, With lovesick Elaine, And all the Queen's train; While Vivien the cunning Came airily running. And they all cried out " stunning," As in ^^ pur is naturalibus^^ She did most cor-di-al-ly buss Old Merlin, who at her than verjuice looked sourer, As if he would very much like to devour her. Then rose the fairy's figure higher, Her eye-balls glowed with inward fire, And loud she shouted o'er the ocean, Putting the billows in commotion, *' If you have ever heard of any- ** body of the name of Tenny- 40 THE VISIT OF KING ARTHUR. *' son, who earns a pretty penny, *' By singing your achievements many, *' Then know that by his magic song, ''Your fame is spread the lands among, '' Kesounds the Baltic's sides along, ''Is echoed in Castilian tongue, " Admired by all the German throng, " Read by grave Turks and Cossacks strong, " And chanted, orange groves among, "Italian skies below; " And we, to thank him for his pains, " And crown him for his witching strains, " Will in a moment go." To the regions upper. From her watery supper, The moon rose brightly. As they sped on lightly, And landed 'ere long on the island of Vectis, Where her white chalky back-bone most stifFy erect is. The laureate poet, fdled with holy Contemplative melancholy. His eye-balls in wild frenzy rolling, His heart an " In Memoriam " tolling. Was pensively walking, composing the while, THE VISIT OF KING ARTHUR. 41 On the caudal end of " that exquisite isle;" But though a famed bird for " his musical throat," Yet compass he could not a single note, And he thought it was very queer; Fruitless that night was each staunch endeavor, He could not "go on forever, ever," Composing poetry new and clever. And selling it very dear. So at last, half aloud, he began to mutter, " To the cold, gray stones he would like to utter, "The thoughts that arose in him." And his eyes with tears Avere dim. When o'er the horizon's brim, A wild white something that " leapt in glory " Over the channel's long foam-curls hoary, Came like a vision of monkish story. 'Twas then, with sudden rapture fired, He sang aloud as one inspired: " What is it that o'er the sea " In this manner " Glides along as airily " As a banner] " I wonder whether it can be " Oriana; " Or she so widely famed throuo^h me 42 THE VISIT OF KING ARTHUR. "Mariana; *' They come their darling bard to see, ''I'll bet a tanner]" But as tliey approached him, his eyes were able To distinguish the knights of the circular table Of whom he had spun out a i3leasant fable. The lady of Shalot, the heroes of Camelot — He felt half afraid, for they seemed such a clammy lot ! But when they got near, He conquered his fear. For they sang a song round him, With laurel leaves crowned him, And quoted with praise His numberless lays. Old Father Merlin gave him his benison, And Arthur said merrily, '' Good Master Tennyson, '' I cannot express '' The thankfulness " I feel to you for those beauteous idyls, ''And if I could be on " My throne at Caerleon, " I'd have them played on the royal fiddles, " To strains Parisian, " By my musician. *' Yet to my warning voice attend. THE VISIT OF KIXG ARTHUR. 43 " With your deep thoughts more feeling blend, "And bring these idyls to an end, " In a grand epic of the merry time, '' When I was king in Britain's favored clime. Then from the water came Voices and spii^es of flame. Warming at Britain's name, Loud sang each knight and dame : '' He will obey, '' Let us away, " The morning breaketh, 't will soon be day, "Over the ocean caves, '' Over the channel's waves, ''Back to our unknown graves, '' Comrades, we'll go; " Under the barrow's mound, " Upon the battle-ground, '' In the still depths profound ''Lie we full low." With the sounds he had heard, and the sights he had seen, Like a corpse he lay stunned on the short grass green. Woke up in the morning and mused o'er the scene, Walked home o'er the downs with the thoaghtfulest mien, And wouldn't tell any one where he had been; 44 THE VISIT OF KLVG ARTHUR Yet in blankest of verse Did tlie story rehearse, And sent it, with compliments, up to the Queen. It must not be supposed that the writer of the above is not an admirer of Tennyson; but his admiration was less in 1865, at which date this legend was written, than it is now. The poem narrowly escaped publication in England, but the would-be pub- lisher was afraid he should be " sat upon." ** Vectis," it may be as well to remark, was the Reman name for the Isle of Wight» which in shape somewhat resembles a turbot, and Tennyson formerly resided at J'resliM'ater, a village situated on the end which would represent the tail. A range of chalky hills runs throughout the entire length of the island, and from Freshwater to the Needles forms the coast line. The cliffs are from three to six hundred feet hi£;h, covered by a short sward. Tennyson was Said to be in the habit of composing while pacing up and down on these cliffs. The Queen's sea-side abode, Osborne, is about ten miles oflF. Tennyson now resides, I believe, in a wild part of Surrey. ^m F^^NCt^CO. ^ feir ii^O^ f^I^ on more hills than Rome, and with a "iftl belt ^Wp" Of silver sunlit waters cinctured round, Sits the new goddess of the western world. Saxon and Teuton, Latin, Gaul, and Celt, Come from their far-off lands, and stay spell-bound, Till in the current of her life-blood hurled. They help to make her greater. Though renowned In this her early maidenhood, and crowned With all the riches of the golden State, Whose varied industries upon her wait. She has not yet to her full growth attained. To her full beauty bloomad, or har full grandeur gained. Queen of the vast Pacific ! To thy court Comes every traveler around the earth, For thou art seated on the world's highway. And art for every race and creed a port. Hot is thy blood, and in thy brain have birth Strange fantasies, which for a space hold sway 46 SA2^^ FB A NCI SCO. Over thj being. Thou art sad and gay By rapid turns; tliy fancy versatile Changes as does thy weather, all the while; He whom thou lovest most one little year, May be thy scorn the next, the next for life may fear. Thou art a problem. Form and face are fair, Yet heterogeneous parts compose thy frame; Diversities of blood course in thy veins. And mingle in the offspring thou dost bear. By some strange chance thou hast a saintly name, Yet art not saintly. Fed with wrongful gains Is thy proud stomach; and the guilty stains Of vice are hidden by thy silken skirts. Passion in thee unchecked her power asserts; Strong-limbed, full-chested, ample-waisted, strong, Cruel as thou art fair, and wanton as thou'rt young. Short is the life of any mortal man; Yet thou, a goddess famed in many lands, Ai't younger than thy votaries. Thy blood Is older than thy veins; thy members than Thy body, for the laboring feet and hands That hold thee up, or with adornments stud Thy person, came o'er east or western flood And hate each other, and thy nerve and brain SAN FRANCISCO. 47 Ai-e still too weak their rancor to restrain; But thought will grow, and there will come a day When thy rebellions limbs thy reason shall obey. And thou art beautiful ! — Thy noble Bay An inland sea, far-stretching north and south, Framed by the mountains, massed in many a chain, Is unsurpassed; and when, at close of day. The sunset glory gleams along its mouth And gilds thy hills and halls, we own thy reign Is mighty o'er us, and forgive the pain That we have suffered since that distant morn "When for thy sake the place where we were born We left for life — left all that we loved best To live for thee, proud mistress of the glowing West. n m^M w^E^fji. Mf^ HINK'ST thou the ocean is the seaman's grave? Oh no! There are fail' palaces beneath the wave Below The glance of human eye. The reefs are cleft with many a coral cave, Cool but not cold — the sunlit waters lie Among their arches — gentle currents sigh About them like soft breezes mid the leaves Of the tall poplars. Every little cove Is glancing, glistening, glowing — from the eaves Hang rainbow drops of beauty, and a grove Of ever-living trees with polyp flowers Conceals the entrance to those ocean bowers. Here live the sea-nymphs — maidens one and all. Pure from th' unspoken taint of fond desire That plagues Earth's daughters — daughters they of old A CORAL WREATH. 49 Oceanus, and regal like their sii'e. Queenly jet gentle — imabaslied and bold, As all true modesty hast ever been, For shamefulness is the foul brood of sin. Here dwell the sea-nymphs, and along with them Those they have rescued from the ocean's wave; For ever, when the storm is high, they stem The heaving billows they cannot assuage, Catch in their soft arms all the drowning crew And bear them to those palaces below. Aye there to live a life glad, strange, and new. Forever new — while ages come and go, Nations and creeds grow old; The ocean wears awciy the rocky lands, Pyramids crumble, and the desert sands As sand theii* powder hold. TPE P0]^D ¥/If pi]^ fpE W00D. ^ NE pleasant morn I wandered in a wood (^^^L Of mighty chestnuts, oak, and shady beech, ^^sa^^ That interspersed at such spaced distance stood, That through leaf-vaulted naves the eye could reach In all directions, and the sunshine bright. Glinting on the thick-felted mossy floor, Made intricate mosaics, black and white. Move waveringly its verdant surface o'er; While thrush and sky-lark, singing out of sight. So charmed me that I wandered more and more. Until I stood where mortal ne'er had stood before. There weeping willows drooped around a pool, So clear that in its depths the eye could see The fish that darted through its waters cool. Or rested on the bottom lazily ; Pond-lilies, snowy white and heavenly blue. Ranunculus, and cyperus, and sedge. In trim-kept clumps about its expanse grew; THE POND WITHIN THE WOOD. 51 Orchis and trilliam flaslied around its edge, With many a lily of resplendent hue; Fine-foliaged ferns o'erhung a rocky ledge, And vines and meadow-sweet composed a fragrant hedge. Under a willow, hidden by the leaves. And more by the thick carpeting of flowers That pillow-like my weary frame receives, I cast myself, and sleep until the hours Of day are well-nigh spent, and the low sun Throws lines of light, and lengthening lines of shade, Across that silent pool, the only one Within the wood — then waking, lo! a maid, Lovely as Helen when by Paris won. In flowing robe of softest silk arrayed, Bound by a jeweled zone, is to my sight displayed. Alone she stands and sings a melody. So sweetly sad of days when long ago She and her sisters of the silver sea. Received the homage men to beauty owe. Then she unties the snood that binds her hair. And lets it fall adown in sudden storm. Slips from the silken folds her shoulders fair. And bares her blush-tipped bosoms soft and warm ; And then unbuckles her gemmed zone from where 52 THE POND WITHIN THE WOOD, It delicately binds her perfect form, And proudly onward moves without a shameful qualm. But when at length from her I lift my eyes, I see this wood-nymph is no more alone j Fair forms in every sunlit spot arise To claim the palm of beauty for their own. And all are clad in silk, of blue or green. And all unrobe my dazzled sight before. And stand as vestureless as beauty's queen When from her rivals she the ai)ple bore; And all are proudly limbed, and proud of mien, And all sing so entrancingly. — No more Can ears such music hear, or eyes such forms adore. Then to the cooling bosom of the lake They trust their full-blown wealth of female charms. And all that placid expanse is awake With glancing forms and glorious glowing arms; They glide amid the flowers — less fair than they, Then dive below with daring hardihood; They link in cii'cling groups with laughter gay, And speech so soft on themes so pure, so good; Then one by one, as sinks the orb of day. They dress and vanish. — Never if I could, Would I forget those nymphs, that pond within the wood. GIiEN M^ GhW^. AY, hast tliou seen, iii wooded dingle, The over-arching boughs commingle'? }> Hast watched the rillet as it flowed Purling o'er its pebbly road, While, all unseen, from neighboring tree, The thrush poured forth his melody? And if thou hast, hast thou not felt Thou would' st love to melt Into the being of the woods and rocks, And rippling waters cool; To bathe in the pure flood, and comb thy locks Over the mirror of a moveless pool. And think no more of the debasing life Of cities, with its littleness and strife] Hast thou'not longed to drink a draught, The deepest that was ever quaffed, Of Lethe's stream, and thus to bless Thy spirit'with forgetf illness 1 Hast thou not felt that such a spot, GLEN AND CLIFF. All I'icli with colors, bright with flowers, Would be an Eden, if forgot Could be this feverish life of ours? What though we now no more revere The nymphs of tree and stream and mountain, Hast thou not felt a half- owned fear In such, a solitary glen, Unknowingly to draw too near The sacred jDrecincts of the fountain — Forbidden spot to mortal men — Where, hidden by the rainbow sheen That hangs around the falling v/ave, The goddess of the sylvan scene Her beauteous form may lave. Say, hast thou stood up a tall cliff half-way, By a lone light-house, when its line of light, A fitful ray, crossed the tempestuous night, And the vexed sea tossed a thick cloud of spray Above thy head, far up the rocky height 1 Hast heard the billows break against the rock, And fall again into the wild abyss, With roar and rumble, rattle and loud hiss; Then rise again, and dash with desperate shock Their crested heads against their stony bounds. While the grand Babel of confused sounds GLEN AND CLIFF. 55 Was swelled at intervals by tlie loud crack Of thunder j^eal, as though the very sky And solid earth itself had gone to rack, Riven into atoms'? Hast thou heard it die Into a fearful mutter Too dread for man to utter, Appalling in its chill intensity? And ere this has subsided, has thine eye Seen the tierce lightning flash, Over the welkin dash. Revealing at a glance the awful sky — The dreary waste of waters white with foam, Yet black as night, beneath an ebon dome*? Hast thou then dreamed of vessel driven, Of rudder reft, and reft of mast, Nearer and nearer, till at last Upon the rocks the hull was riven, And mingled with the general roar Came cries that ceased, and came no more? Yet, terrible as is the thought, Thy nerves to such a pitch are wrought, That thou dost long thyself to be Upon that ocean wild and free. m^ P0§^ priM^J^i'Fy. W blind we are ! How little we bear, How little we see, The griefs we should share ! How dumb we are! How unable to tell, How unable to speak, What we feel but too well ! How deaf we are ! How unable to hear The accents of anguish In those we call dear! How cruel we are ! When the heart is nigh broken, And seeks but the kind word That never is spoken ! OUR POOR HUMANITY. 57 How kind we are! To him who is dead, Who knows not and cares not What of him is said ! U build a sonnet is a serious task; . The rhymes are so involved that fancy finds Her wings close-clipped. I doubt not there are minds That in a little garden love to bask Amid the flowers. I greater circuit ask; This artful rhyming my inventioivbinds, As round the deer the sinewy python winds, Or, happy thought! like hoops around a cask; 'Tis my last rhyme ! give me liberty, Freedom to rove where'er it suits my will, High, low, right, left, by land, by sky, by sea; To soar, to swim, to float, to show my skill In useful labors, or, like honey-bee, To gather sweets on learning's rugged hill. paiciDE. ^EEP water, cool river- Hard toiling, no bread — A thought and a shiver And life will have fled — There's none to deliver. The woman is dead ! Drag out the corpse by its streaming long hair; Hard-hearted crowd, gather round it and stare. Hard working, hard thinking Brought only disease; She felt hetself sinking, Life gave her no ease; So, out of it shrinking. She — think as you please. Drag out the corpse by its streaming long hair. You'll know where her soul is if your's should go there. " God is a spirit," So, preacher, is she. SUICIDE. 59 And she may inherit Where you cannot be; As for her merit, She's mortal, Hke thee. Go, bury her body, no mourners, no hearse, She isn't a pauper, oh no ! she is worse. The cold earth will cover Forever from sight, The featui'es a lover Once viewed with delight. But God is above her. And he will do right. Fling her poor flesh in a suicide's grave — Moralize — ye who did nothing to save. jM p^^^eiiD. HE waves of ligiit fall o'er thy brow And sparkle in thine eye, The angel of our house art thou, Before thy innocence we bow, And kiss thy cheeks and cherry lips, And fondle those wee finger-tips That in our broad hands lie. That little, earnest, loving, cry. Those little eager feet That over every hindrance fly Whene'er thou see'st thy father nigh. Those hands upstretched toward his face, And- folding him, for his embrace. In an embrace more sweet. These are thy charms, and many more Than thought can think to say. For thou hast pretty ways in store. Brimful thou art and running o'er MY HAROLD. 61 Witli plf^asant prattle, sweetest smiles, Fond baby fun and winsome wiles. From dawn to close of day. Whence came, my love, those pretty ways? Where go those feet so light? Wilt thou be happy 1 will thy days Be long or short, and will the haze That long hath settled o'er the truth. Clear off ere thou hast passed thy youth, And so thy life be bric^htl ^^^ 3^D BEIiIt^. ^^rN'G, dong bell, thy sound doth tell Of marriage vows at al^ar spoken, Of married life, love, joy, or strife. Enduring till by death's touch broken. Of pall and bier, of sob and tear. Of earth to earth and dust to dust. Of long-lost friend, of life's near end, Of spirit freed and coffined crust. nmuwji. HE golden grain is gathered in, The gleaners, too, have left the fields; Before the ploughshare slowly yields The hardened soil. The leaves are thin Upon the willow trees that look Into the bosom of the brook. But withered down the stream they go^ And withered strew the ground below. The grapes upon the southern wall Are clad in garb of shining black; The swallows round the chimney stack Gather in crowds at nature's call, And on a sunny morn betimes Start ofi" in search of warmer climes. Intending to return again When spring shall end cold winter's reign. AUTUMN. The evening of eacli to-day Is longer than was yester-eve; The shadows lengthen till they leave The earth in shades of twilight gray, And lamps are lighted at the hoiir When erst the summer sun with power Scarcely diminished, set ablaze The western windows with his rays. The nights are colder than they were. Morning is misty, growing light Gives glimpses of a hoar-frost white Pearling the green blades everywhere; The streets have now a shady side Even at midday; the flood-ti'de Of sunlight leaves a wider beach Of shadow which it cannot reach. The nuts within their cups are brown. The walnuts fall at every shake, The chestnut's spiky covers break, The acorns all have fallen down; Beneath the beeches lies the mast. The hips and haws are ripening fast. And laden branches, bending low, With mellow pears and apples glow. 64 A UTUMN. It is the autumn of the year, Increase is over, and decrease Until mid-winter will not cease; And many things that we held dear Must perish, but will leave behind Their precious seeds securely shrined, And these, when spring returns to bless The earth, will rise in loveliness. y^^^^l^WAY with all your cold conventionalities, . Your stiff, set phrases, and your formal bows; p^;^ The world is real, pray let us have realities, In the red wine of truth let us carouse. Your heart and mind — show us their true localities, Open them out as much as speech allows. And in its aid let every look and motion Unite in one grand irrepressive ocean. Eeiined, polite! Oh, yes; and cold and cruel; From such refinement Heaven set me free. Better to have a quarrel, fight a duel. Or live a hermit, than refined to be To such a pitch ! The natural quick fuel Of love and hatred given to you and me To work with, is consumed, and pray what hinders You from being trampled on like other cinders? I almost think they must be ape-descended Who live this leaden immobility; 66 POLITENESS. Yet is its citadel so well defended By ramparts of respectability, That to attack it may seem madness, blended With more or less of imbecility; Yet every little helps, — a cannonade Must be attempted, ere a breach be made. Come out, chained spirits ! Underneath the ashes The hidden fire of nature still is burning In many a heart, and now and then it dashes Out in a lava stream, in haste o'erturning The icy walls. Instead of these fell splashes. Dangerous to all — all human barriers spurning, Give us a tide of warmth, congenial, steady ; A stream of sympathy, at hand and ready. n Gpep 30NS. HE spirits are coming! Look! look! look! See them gather in the gloom By the tomb Of the murderer who took The life of his father! See how they gather In a cloud all black and high Marching onward through the sky ! Listen to the thunder's mutter ! 'Tis the voicd the spirits utter! 'Tis a curse ! Ghosts of wives by husbands mangled. Girls with reputations strangled, Husbands poisoned by their wives, Murdered slowly all their lives; Parents who have pined and perished Through the children they have cherished; Children done to death by slices. They have come to take revenge — Take a bitter, fell revenge — Ere the ancient earth expires. Hear them curse ! 0N ¥PE ^WIN6. HALL I swing you, little one? To and fro, To and fro; Don't you think tliat this is fun? Down so low and up so high. Like a little bird you fly. Through the air with such a rash. Swiftly so ! Now you go ! From your face the ringlets brush; How you laugh, my little one ! Don't you think that this is fun? Hold the ropes, or else you'll drop- Hui*t your head — Tears you'll shed. Darling, do you want to stop? "Wait a bit ! Thrown out you'll be If you stop too suddenly. ON THE SWING. 6ft Now you think you'll swing yourself? You may try — Bless me ! why You're a cunning little elf; You can climb, and you can swing. You are learning everything. When you're bigger, little one, You will play Many a way. But you can't have better fun; Bat and ball, and top, and kite, Cannot give you more delight. You get older every day. And to school. That's the rule. You must go, yet still you'll play; You shall swim and you shall ride, And have lots of fun beside. It is good to learn to read And to spell — Very well. But rosy cheeks are what j^ou need; Little brains will surely fail, If those pretty cheeks grow pale. 70 ON THE SWING. So I'll swing you, little one; To and fro You shall go; Now's the time to have some fun, You shall work some other day, But there's always time for play. J Mt^ cataract sheets from the tempest-clouds drift- _,JO'er field and o'er village the rain-deluge falls, The wind mid the tree-tops is swirling and shifting In gusty recurrence of westerly squalls; The atmosphere, tilled with dun vapory masses, Conceals its broad dome of ccerulean blue, Yet the high-swelling downs, as the cloud over-passes. Gleam with patches of sunshine all golden of hue. No sounds can be heard in the street of the village. But the plash of the rain and the sough of the wind, The hind for his home hath forsaken his tillage, And in stall and in stable his stock is confined. The children, when tired of their frolicsome clatter, Look longingly out through the dewed window-pane. Or under an outhouse enjoy the loud patter Played on the slate roof by the fast-falling rain. Under shelter from a rain-storm, at the village of Tarring, Sussex, England, after a long tramp over the South Downs, these lines were written. ¥PE M^ ^ND TPE ^]\IJr-E^TE^. H the i^roudest fancies swelling As he looked forth from his dwelling, Spake a white ant in his glory, '' What a clever creature I ! " Underneath this solid dome, " Rising story above story " Till it reaches to the sky, " I securely live at home. " Such a home, I helped to make it, " Storm and tempest cannot shake it, " Kain can never come inside, " Scorching sun-beams harder bake it, " Man has not the strength to break it, " I would bite him if he tried. " Birds and beasts cannot molest us, " Creeping things dare not infest us; " We are many, we are strong, " We have lived together long, " And have higher civilization " Reached than any other nation, '' How I pity that poor fly. THE ANT AND THE ANT-EATER. 73 '' Doomed so helplessly to dangle " In the spider's netted tangle; '' Yet the sight of his sore trouble '' Makes my sense of safety double. " How superior am I *' To that silly little fly! ** Stupid blunderer, good for naught, "Perishing for want of thought." Scarcely had the insect spoken When the solid dome was broken, And a long and slender tongue, Though he vainly tried eluding, Through the ample breach protruding, Caught the " hero of our song," Caught full half the termite nation. Spite of their civilization. Helpless went they to their tomb. In the stomach — lots of room — Of a hairy Great Ant-eater; Could his pride have ending meeter? Men, take warning from his doom ! iUEEN of tlie night, thou ever glorious Phoebe ! ^Thy gentle rule each happy lover knows, Pure as the nectar poured for Jove by Hebe Is the soft light that from thy crescent flows, O'er tree, path, flood, and mountain sublunary, Tinging each object with a silvery glow. While cooling breezes, midnight's garments airy. Among the dimly lighted foliage blow. Oft have I watched thee rise from out the main, When heaven's blue arch, with countless stars gemmed o'er, By the smooth waves was echoed back again. And hushed in silence lay both sea and shore. The loveliest sunset mortal ever saw Hath not the power to make the senses feel So deep a sense of wonderment and awe As thy bright rising. At the sight I kneel In worship, like the men of olden time. Over the ocean poured, thy cool bright beam Paves through its trackless breadth a path sublime, Which onward in an ever-widening stream MOONSTRUCK. 75 Of liquid gold, continues till it melts In lines of beauty on the pebbly beach, Leaving between its ripples narrow belts Which right and left with lessening glory reach. Sacred thou seemest, wdien thy silver light. Piercing through watery vapor, sheds a faint Broad ring of glory round thee, paly bright. Much like the nimbus artists love to painb Round the sweet face of some Madonna fair, Or that of some ecstatic martyred saint, Goddess of chastity — Diana pure, Phoebe, or Cynthia — by what name soe'er The ancients worshiped thee, the loveliest sure Wert thou among the proud Olympian powers; No stain of blood attaches to thy name, No carnal rite defiles thy hallowed bowers. Thy character* alone is free from blame. No taint of evil mars thy pristine glory, In maiden purity thy beams shine on. And though 'tis fabled in a pretty story. That thou did'st stoop to kiss Endymion, 'Twas such a kiss a guardian spirit gives To some most fondly cherished, lovely youth, A kiss in which no germ of evil lives, A kiss of purity and sacred truth. nBW^ ¥PE gTO^M. USHED was the raging tumult of the storm- :The wind blew softly as an infant's breath. Upon the wreck-strewn beach a lovely form Slept tranquilly the dreamless sleep of death; The waves that erst with such dread fury raved, Softly repentant now her ankles laved. Her cheek was pillowed on her snow-white arm; Her face was such as Raphael loved to paint, Instinct with that pure beatific charm With which he drew the features of a saint. Her golden hair upon the sands outspread Seemed a bright glory circling round her head. The full-orbed moon majestic shone above. And o'er her face a hallowed beauty shed. And all the twinkling stars looked down in love Upon the white-robed figure of the dead ; The blue infinity of cloudless sky Seemed a broad pathway to fair worlds on high. AFTER THE STORM. 77 So fail' a corpse mine eyes had never viewed; Though but the immortal soul's deserted shell, Its look of heavenly beatitude Over my senses spread a potent spell, And rapt me in a vision of delight With her pure spirit to those realms of light. I saw her traverse the ethereal space That parts celestial from terrestrial things; Seraphic bliss suffused her beauteous face, With heaven's own radiance gleamed her angel wings, Until she passed the eternal portals through. And disappeared forever from my view. TPE El^QIilgp Ba^I^L Gi^eapiD "^^ BILB^©. |Y the side of the river they lie, Just out of the wash of the waves;