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BY EDWIN C. HILL ^4W rights reserved This "Bouquet" is dedicated to James K. Atkinson A FELLOW-STUDENT OF BOTANY HP HE AUTHOR makes grateful acknowledgments to the publishers of the New York Sun, Judge, Life, Types, The Chicago Tribune, The New York World and The New York Herald for permission to include in this volume a few of his verses which have appeared in the columns of their publications. PRELUDE. BUNCH of roses wild for you, Culled by mine own pricked fingers : Still damp are they with rain or dew And somewhat of their sweetness lingers. " Some are not wild? ' Ah, sweet-bought guilt — I beg a thousand pardons: They were my neighbors' who had built Low fences 'round their gardens. FICKLE FANCY. FICKLE Fancy, were it not for you My heart were constant and myself were true I But you so 'witch mine eyes that I must see A dozen blushing damsels, each to me The only girl I ever could have loved Had not the others the contrary proved. WERE I A MAN. ERE I a man I surely wouldn't do Such dreadful things as men oft do; I think I wouldn't linger for another drink — Not I — unless somebody asked me to. I would one woman love and only one — A moody, changeful one so she would seem A new fresh vision, not the same old dream : I might be sweet to others — just for fun! [2] TIPSY AUTUMN. HAD a chat with Autumn but to- day, Out in the vineyard 'tween two purple rows; Her hands were full of grapes and she could not Shake hands with me; her rosy-tinted arms Seemed stained with wine. I think she'd had a sip, She was in such a merry mood. Her tresses combed were by the winds. They looked As yellow as a golden blade of corn, With which the field had fought and richly won. Her dreamy eyes were just a hazy blue — Two soft dull reapers that had harvested The hazel azure of the skies. As red As apples were her cheeks, and her ripe lips Were as two bows of ruby drawn around Mirth's ledge of pearl. It was her busy day And she kept working while she talked: next week She said she would be shocking corn. [8J ART AND LIFE. HE artist cut her likeness into stone, The senseless figure creeping into form As though half conscious of its destiny. The sculptor wants the painter's bashful stuff To fool the apprehension with a lie. Yon heaps of snow upon the wintry plain Of Art's white bosom all too cold do seem With no warm kiss of sunrise on their tops. Those chalky lips so plead for Love's soft flame, Veiling with damask beauty her sweet mouth — Ledges of pearl in Love's red quarry laid. m There stands herself beside the chiseled lie! Her tresses, fit to crown an angel's head, Falling wind-blown in rings of sundown light, Do tremble at the touch of Evening's breath Alive to its caress; Against their golden splendor how like snow, The winter's wonder, seems her pure white throat Kindling, as with the rosy flush of dawn The milky east when daybreak reddens o'er And crystal dew-drops turn to beads of wine. And in the rosy heavens of her face Her eyes are shining like two stars fresh lit, Fanned brighter by the cooling breath of morn When Love's sun rose in Beauty's change- ful skies. [6] NOT ACCORDING TO HOYLE. UST trump or follow suit," said he; To this she said, and struck him mute, "When hearts are trumps I cannot see Why any one should follow suit." She lead a heart; his trump fell on, And thus 'til all their hearts were gone. And when the happy game was done They both concluded both had wonl [6] TO AUGUSTA. N one far corner of old Fancy's gar- den grew Augusta, child of wooing sun and sparkling dew; She had no mission in the world but to make sweet The idle hours of a lazy bard's retreat; Yet this same bard, while culling flowers one fine day, Did put her in the centre of a fresh bou- quet, m SAILING. AILING, sailing, sailing, Over the laughing sea; The sea that isn't so deep by half As the girl that sails with me. Sailing, sailing, sailing, Blow winds — the ocean stir And pile it in mountains if you will, For I'm all "at sea" with her. Sailing, sailing, sailing, How brief the summer seems! And when it is past it will come back A remembered sea of dreams. [8] PHOTOGRAPHS OF CUPID. i. OW Love's a bee and honey brings That's but to sweeten whom he stings ; Finds a sweet-heart in each flower, — Would he were drowned in April's shower! ii. Now Love's a bird; that's when he sings * ' My heart is true ' ' the while he wings Himself along his winding way Humming to each the self-same lay. in. Now Love's a charming hypocrite, Plays that he loves when he has quit; Still swears him true the while his eyes Swear his dear oaths are dearer lies. [9] IV. Now Love's a thief and I appeal To heartless maidens — won't he steal? But losing hearts is such sweet gain We beg the thief the thief remain. v. Now Love's a lion when he roars, How like the ocean on her shores, In declamation of his love Its force by thunder so to prove. VI. In a green tree now Love is hid Declaring him that Katie did; And knowing Katie very well I knew her ill the truth to tell. VII. Now Love goes braying and to grass — That's when he's proved himself an ass: Since Love sees naught while much he hears Methinks he should have bigger ears. [10] VIII. In many shapes is Cupid seen But ne'er so ripe as he is green; For when his head is white with snows, His heart it seems the younger grows. IX. And as a warrior it is said He uses gold in lieu of lead: So stands he well in Wisdom's eye Since more by gold than lead will die. x. So good a shot and yet so blind! Love's kindest when he's most unkind: Unlike the hunter in the hills The more he wounds the less he kills. [in TO A. H. AVE after wave of curving blue, White-topped and laughing with the rest, Broke at our feet all day, and threw Thin scarfs of foam high on the crest Of the gray beach which bended like A wave embanked and motionless Against the restless flow and strike Of breaking waves. Our eyes did bless The lake, a-rocking to and fro, So ploughed by mountain winds it seemed Each pilgrim furrow ridged with snow: We knew not if we waked or dreamed. A yacht in cradle motion stood Against the winds and slid away O'er rolling wastes unto a wood Etched on a calm and pictured bay. You will remember that short day — The sun ran swifter than the sea; Time for young Love would never stay — And what you, whispering, promised me? [12] A QUERY. ERE Love not blind, this query to the wise, Would lovers need to make so many eyes Which, being made, are used but once and then Put out that Love may make them o'er again? JEALOUSY. Alas, that man through jealousy should prove By gall and bitterness the sweets of love I [13] A SURPRISE. HEN I shall meet a gentleman, ' ' Said she, "who sees thro' deep blue eyes As deep as seemeth yonder skies I'll set my cap." I was a gentle man, I knew; Too gentle to be sought, perhaps, By maidens such as set their caps — She set her cap. Though I were blind yet she could see My shallow eyes were a deep blue And wore the skies no deeper hue — She set her cap. I liked her cap, and tried it on, She said it fit me to a T; I said I wished my wife could see — She snatched her cap! HER PHOTOGRAPH. S swift as the lightnings her glances; Libraries of love in her looks Yet fuller of pretty romances Than ever were printed in books. She talks with her eyes and tells stories That never were told by the tongue, — Sweet tales of the heart and their lore is Ne'er trilled in the songs that are sung. Her eyes are as blue as the sky is; Her words, they are music as sweet As iEolian harps, and her sigh is The language of Cupid complete. Her prettiest smiles break in laughter Through ledges of rose-embanked pearl, And break all the hearts that are after Her own in the dance and the whirl! [153 FRIEND OR LOVER AN one be friend and lover, too, And, ceasing as a lover, yet Remain a friend sincere and true? This query to your heart and let Me learn if it, indeed, be so: I killed my lover once that was My friend and found, and wept to know, That friend dead in that lover's cause! KIND FATE. How very kind to woman Fate has been Giving her tears to drown her sorrows in! [16] MEN. OW good are men when they've been bad, And, needing scolding, how they scold ! And often when they are most sad Most cheerful they do seem, I'm told. It's hide and seek and seek and hide — We hunt each other by the sun; I've hunted you, you by my side, And found you not — the hunting done. C 17] LIKE A GARDEN. HY face is like a garden where now blow Fresh lilies, making it as white as snow; Then on the instant, as Love's mood to fit, Thy heart's blush-roses bloom and redden it. HATE. Alas, there's no revenge will satiate The anger of a true love turned to hate! [18] LUE EYES AND BROWN. HAT artful sophists were those eyes of blue, Filling with tears to make their lies seem true! How oft have stars shone out a limpid pool With brilliant seeming some shy deer to fool! To liquid eyes of brown from them I turned Wherein a stranger light more strangely burned ; Yet whether brown or whether blue, beware, For Love's unfairest traitor's the most fair! A DOZEN IN ONE. Y tastes are varied and my love must be At least a dozen women, say, to me And have a hundred pretty ways to charm The idle fancy and the Fancy not alarm: If in the one I find a dozen true Why, that one-dozen I'll be faithful to! JEALOUSY. When rose- faced, blue-eyed Love is jealous seen Her cheeks are lilied o'er, her eyes are green. [20] TO ALMA. HE flash of lightning threw its sud- den morn Into the room and instantly was born Dissension's devil; for, though not for harm, My wife's sweet friend was leaning on my arm And never dreaming, wide-awake, of ill: The storm passed by, yet it is stormy still! [21] TO ANGELINE. N painted wood and whispering glen Our hearts in love were given; And were we not as angels then In this old world's sweet heaven? And you were innocent, my dear, In those swift- footed hours; Alas, the loves of yesteryear! And, O, the faded flowers! [32 j TO HELEN. PON her lips a sad " good-bye," A sweet "farewell" in her fond eye: Ah, Time, if friendly you would prove Stop these mad worlds for waiting Love I Love never made a clock; and Hate Were much less hateful were he late; And yet a thousand years, sweet lass, May in one moment come to pass! [23] QUERIES. F one's poor heart be false what can one do But be to that false heart, alas, too true? And tell me this, my bleeding heart to soothe, Why fall we where the road is the most smooth? TOO OFTEN. How oft the runner learns, the prize already won, He has, alas, his liking for the prize out- run! [24] AS FLOWERS DO. Y ladies differ as the flowers do: This blushing one's a sweet red rose to me; And were its price a hundred thorns to be Why, I would cull it, fellow — wouldn't you? She might prefer me false to others true If being true is to be tame and fee With don't-care sameness dull fidelity When Love for changeful love would ever sue. I have a garden full of Flowers sweet With a low fence around it. Shall I show You through its blooming paths? Well, promise this: That you will not one single Flower greet Except yon homesick Maude, with eyes a-flow; But, if you like, you may throw Bess a kiss! [35J ANITA. ENEATH the snowy-starred magno- lia tree Anita, of the jet-black eyes and hair, Bidding me kill old Care with "I- don't-care" Stroked her loved mandolin how carelessly! 'Twas eventide and young seemed this old world ; We watched Night slowly open her soft Eye Through which kind Heaven looks and sees rolled by A silver burnished Sphere through Heaven whirled. She thrummed her mandolin; and from its strings She picked a tale of love, nor dreamed we there Its trembling secret bore the tell-tale air To Don, her lover! Ah, the deadly stings Of Love and Jealousy ! A black Shade leapt Beside Anita: quick a flash of steel — I sank, I swooned! I felt my senses reel: — # «ai» -at- ijg- -M- -jif,. tt w it tt tt I woke and from his dead, not mine, I crept ! [26] A PROFANE SECRET SACREDLY KEPT. k \ONE knew him false yet many knew him true Still was he false to all of them he knew ; Since to each one by every star he swore She was the whole wide world to him, and more: These many met each other here and there But no one said she ever heard him swear! "SWEET WRETCHES." ' " Sweet wretch ' ' she called me and because She called me that, why, that I was; And I have heard, that I repeat, Women love wretches, be they sweet. [27] MY FAITH-CURE DOCTOR. 'VE taken every medicine ever yet was made And sun-baths I have taken that laid me in the shade; I've had the yellow fever till 1 was doubly blue And fallen all to pieces and altogether too. Oft down with the ague I have been and shaken up, And in my sober moments I've taken to the cup; I've had the chills and fever, till a "cake's" in my side, — I lived a year in Arkansaw when I ought to've died. [28] At last I've found a doctor who makes me love my ills; She doesn't give me strychnine nor any kind of pills — A little faith-cure doctor, and I believe in her, And when my wrist she fingers, O, how my pulses stir! She cures the typhoid fever with just a smile or two, And if my brow be burning, her eyes they fill with dew; And now I'll take what's going — what ever's to be had, For, sure, she will not see me unless I'm feeling bad. [29] MY GIRL OF TAN. ACK from the woods my Girl of Tan Where with the sun and stream she ran And won from them in gladsome race The prize of beauty in her face: And who would swap its yellow hue Of Autumn leaves and sunsets, too, For all the lily and the rose Of beauty that the druggist knows? [30] THE MAID OF MEXICO. O her all things unreal seem: Through her bright eyes her dark soul peeps And sees the world as in a dream; For with wide open eyes she sleeps. TO A DAISY. Dear little dew-eyed daisy, trembling so, Wherefore so sad and tearful — tell me true? Ah, your unspoken secret well I know For I've a sweetheart who's a "daisy," too. [31] THE FLIRT. UT yesterday I swore I would be true To half a dozen lassies and a few Grass widows who took oath they'd never seen So ripe a creature in a pasture green. And do you think I mean to keep my word? Of course, I could: for surely you have heard Of him who loved a dozen dears, carest, And, loving all alike, loved each the best. [32] JUNE. HE waters linger in the leaden shade; The lazy breezes scarcely fret the stream Or age it with the wrinkles of their speed; And not a crow will act as sentinel — The cool retreat is every hunter's game: Ah, it is June and they be fond of toil Who would make love to-day! ELOQUENCE. Were they but mine — those talking eyes, That utter such enchanting lies, Why, I would make the saint foreswear His love of truth my lies to hear. [83] WOMAN, AND WINE, AND SONG. WOMAN, and wine, and song — Ah, these are the three for me; They never were man's for long — Nor long will they ever be. The heart that is broken 's sweet And sweet is the grape when crushed; Come sing — the old songs repeat, — The lips, once sang them, are hushed! The winds of the North are cold, The hills of the South are green: The world it is ever old, The world it is e'er sixteen. O, woman, and wine, and song — Ah, these are the three for me; They never were man's for long Nor long will they ever be. [34] LOVE. OVE'S not a butterfly — Love is a bee; From blooming fields he comes to you and me: And who would take the honey that he brings Must take his brief sojourning and his stings! THE THREATENED RAIN. I kissed her, and two roses red O'er her white cheeks their crimson spread, As spreads the rosy light of dawn The snowy hills of winter on. And then I saw her soft blue eyes Begin to cloud as April skies; And so, to stop the threatened rain, 1 kissed the trembling dear again. [35] IN THE WOODLAND STREAM. S of the whitest marble wrought With rosy wine All blushing seemed herself — fresh caught In curve and line. The lily blending with the rose In snowy fire Enveloped her; as kindled snows (Truth seems a liar) At dawn so did her body gleam: Glad Nature must Mixed heaven with this conscious Dream Fashioned of dust. Her bosom (Sculpture be undone — Such beauty kills!) Caught the red glory of the sun On its white hills. [3«] As golden mists through purple dell At sunset float So streamed her tresses as they fell 'Round her white throat; — Into the sunshine of their light, Snowy and fair, The carved slopes of her shoulders white Ran melting there. The waters of the crystal stream Fuel became Kindling her flesh till it did seem Wrapt in soft flame. The violet waves in laughter broke And frenzied whirl Till, 'neath her flashing hand's light stroke f They dashed to pearl. "Aurora," say? Not so; and yet Her eyes of blue Were splendid as the east that let The morning through. [37] TO MAY. AY begs me put her pretty self in verse : Impossible; — and yet I undertake The pleasant task, twice pleasant if I make It lengthy; and I would not make it terse To make it better or to make it worse. I'd smash all grammar for her precious sake And the wise rhetorician's rules I'd break The marvels of her beauty to rehearse. 'T would make a garden of my words did I But put the roses of her cheeks in them; Catching Love's sunrise from her flaming lips Would set a world afire! Blue as the sky Or dewy violets on the river's hem Are her soft eyes: — these be, love-lads, youi tips. [38] TO EDITH. ITH soft brown eyes you say such things to me As make me young again; Love's looking-glass are they: in them I see (With mingled joy and pain) Another such as you with eyes of brown, And, yes, I loved her, too; She broke my heart with just a careless frown, And so, sweet one, might you! [39] OF COURSE. ACH one of us she calls "my dear,* And you are nothing but a rowdy ; To me the only thing that's clear Is that her acting's rather cloudy. She loves us both in manner, Joe, And surely one more than the other; Now you may be her younger beau And I will be her older brother. We'll let her choose between us then, And when the time is ripe and mellow- Old comedy to act again — She'll likely choose some other fellow. [40] "NOT BY SO MANY HEARTS." JWEET budding girls are more than blushing flowers — In sunshine smiling, weeping in the showers ; And I, adventurer in realms of bliss, Have found in one true love more love there is Than the inconstant fickle man shall find Though each new day himself be newly- blind And leading where he should himself be led Not by so many hearts, but by one head. [413 THAT ESSENTIAL CALLED MONEY. E'S a handsome young man of the times ; Just a little less serious than funny; He is clever in spinning light rhymes But he lacks that essential called money. He is shrewd and a thinker, and so In affairs of the heart he's a master; But for me he's a trifle too slow — To arrive, he must travel some faster. He reminds me of blossoms full-blown And of bees on the wing for some honey; But a heaven of charms one may own And yet lack that essential called money. VERY NEAR AND VERY DEAR. HE vowed that she would be his bride, And stood beside him — close be- side; In earnestness, half playfully, Said he, "You're very near to me." She was a pretty witty miss, As you may see by reading this: "I love the styles, wherefore I fear," Said she, "You'll find me very dear. 19 [43] IS MARRIAGE A FAILURE? S marriage a failure ? I fancy if so It beats a success any bachelors know; What 'tis to be married unknown is to me, — I have a good notion to try it and see. My sweetheart's so sanguine she ventures the guess Our failing together would be a success. I've nothing to lose; and I blush as I own That I am a failure when taken alone. [44] SWEET CONTRARINESS. HE swore she loved me not, yet loved me more With every pretty oath the lassie swore ; And Cupid's sweet contrariness to show She drew me nearer as she bade me go! t«] TO KATHARINE. STAND at thy door And ask, and nothing more, (Longing to remain in thy Beauty's heaven) Just to be sent away forgiven! [46] THE MOODY SEA. LOVE yon moody woman of a sea Dragging her blue, white -ruffled skirts along The yellow strands e'er babbling of her song: What wonder in the tale she tells to me Of jolly mariners when I am glad; Of watching, weeping women when I'm sad! [47] DOUBTS. HE appetite of Theft is ever keen And stolen fruit seems best to eat; And yet I doubt, and I a thief have been, If stealing ever made the apple sweet. [48] CUPID PARDONED. UPID, were you, by seeing, yet more wise, You would not, shutting many maidens' eyes, So open them that they should blindly choose And find the very fellows they would lose! THE GLAD MORN. LL night the sea had told her tale of woe — How like a sobbing woman full of grief As if in telling it there were relief. The fickle love-sick moon that wooed her so Goes down, and frosty morn begins to blow Out night's dim-burning lamps; and every leaf Is trembling where the wind steals like a thief A-through the startled trees that whisper low. Now all the land seems weeping with the sea; The grass is bending 'neath its weight of tears And damp and heavy hangs the drooping vine. ^» %fr *^» #x* *x* *f* #j» #y» »y* ^^ The east is kindled with the day to be; The landscape glittering with gems appears — And sunrise turns the vast gray sea to wine. [60] THE PYRAMIDS. LENGTHY quarrel with the stress of Time Conjecture and a guess their secret still- Strange quarried monuments to human skill; Of sleeping Centuries what dreams sublime, The shadow and the substance of this rhyme ! What chiseled eloquence are these to kill The pride of oratory, and to fill The world with wonder of its vanished prime ! By yon same moon they strolled in Baby- lon And there the maiden sighed her lover "yes" And killed her answer by the self-same sigh, Smiling upon its death I By yon same sun The Pyramids were built that now confess Our boasted pomp of greatness but a — lie! [51] THE WAIL OF THE FLIRT. ECAUSE I was a flirt and not Unwilling, maybe, to be shot (Just think of it) the fact is That Cupid, the blind god of love, His marksmanship to test and prove, Used me for target practice 1 [62] ITALY IN AMERICA. TIME, how you do jest with man! Ay, Csesar's wife, young Caesar in her arms, I saw but yesterday a-begging bread ; And Caesar combing the deep-littered beach Along the weeping seal And poor, poor Brutus, dumb as any clod, Who, in the transmigrating shift of years Has swapped the dripping dagger for the spade, Shov'ling the stuff of which himself is wrought Digging for empire in the dustl And Cleopatra, jeweled with cut glass, Did dance the couchee-couchee for a fee While Antony, mark you, passed 'round the hat. O, Rome, O, Egypt, falling still I [63] EXPERIENCE. HO would forego the sweetness of the rose To 'scape the painful pricking of the thorn Would forfeit knowledge that the whole world knows Yet cannot teach to any mortal born. [54] LOVE-BLINDNESS. LOVE, and only fancy that I see: If this be blindness blind let me re- main And, since I'm single, single let me be For if I wed I fear I'll see again 1 [65] A SEATTLE BELLE. HERE'S a belle in Seattle you know — If you don't, you are slightly ac- quainted ; With the bloom of the roses aglow Are her cheeks — you would think they were painted. She walks with a grace a la Greek — To the right and the left she oft glances; And her eye with a look it can speak Such a speech as an orator fancies. I will tell you her name if you like — You would meet her? mayhap we'll ar- range it: Do you smoke and a match can you strike? But her name — I am sure she would change it 1 DON JUAN'S SONG. S young as the age to be, As old as the world am I; The hardest heart I ever broke I broke it with a — sigh. It seems but as yesterday (I've driven a lot of stakes) I met Eve's niece, and she loved me Because I hated snakes! I danced with the prettiest girl — A narrative sweet to tell — In Babylon the night before That reeling city fell. The Queen of the palace threw A kiss for a king to me: They threw me out and I'm glad they did Or there I still should be. In Rome, when in debt, I went And listed to fight the foe; My name was Antony and — well Why tell you that you know? As Paris I was in Troy — It isn't all Greek to you? And blushing Helen trembled so The city trembled, too! "Stop thief !" was the cry in Greece In palace, and hall, and mart: And two brave nations broke their heads O'er Helen's broken heart. [68] All clad as a lad with me She climbed on the wall and saw Contending waves of steel break on Steel waves — the world in awe! Helen, through a misty veil, Saw friends and their foes die hard; And I, what could I do, alas, But be her body-guard? In England I lived and wrote A tale of myself, Don Juan; I often die yet I shall live Long as the world goes on. [69] A LITTLE MISUNDERSTANDING, Harold; H, lips that are not stained, yet red As any cherry in the sun, Should be to other lips, 'tis said; Nor was it said in fun. Fannie: I do not understand you, sir, Your pretty speech is riddled so; And yet it makes my pulses stir Its meaning not to know. Harold: For sixteen summers you have seen The mated swallows come and go And, wandering through the meadows green, The silver waters flow. [«0] Beneath the shadow of yon grove Warm with the sun, cool with the dew, My hands would build a nest for love Were you a swallow, too. Fannie: "Were I a swallow ?" What a thought! All time were then a holiday; Were I a swallow and so sought Why, I would fly away. That is a pretty grove; and there The robins nest I oft have seen: Were I a robin, I declare, I might see what you mean! [61] TO CAROLYN. LIND Archer, here, give me that oft-bent bow And but one arrow; for I shall not miss So fine and fresh a target as is this, The central figure in all Beauty's Show: If she be not, then white was never snow Nor red the blushing rose the sun did kiss, Found weeping for the morn! Nor ever bliss, Till some bold hunter wounds her, will she know. Say, Cupid, here, this darned old bow is cracked ; This arrow — look — crow- feathers stuck in it I Why, I've a mind to break them o'er your head: No wonder yonder wounded trees are packed With wasted ammunition! Not a hit Could lover make with this, and e'er be wed. [62] ONCE FALSE OR TWICE TRUE? OW oft man's honor and man's fancy war In Love's sweet battle woman's peace to mar! And never yet, methinks, was man so true To one sweetheart as not to fancy two: For Beauty her dear self, you know, is twins In whose conspiracy how oft begins Love's fondest trouble, troubling him to prove Himself twice true since he, perforce, must love The very likeness of his heart's Red Rose Since in his Fancy's garden it, too, blows! [63] IN SOCIETY. AM reformed and in society; Have but three maidens on the string and more I fear would break it; quite enough for me Are these — with the grass widows I adore. They're tainted with the age in which we live, And all in looks are very like their mothers ; And one's a Scientist and she will give Me "absent treatment" while I'm with the others. [64] As rosy as a garden in mid June Is Dora, ever blooming; like a deer A little shy is she if I come soon: If late I be she fades with fear That I'm detained by some one fairer still To eyes that cater to a moody fancy; But if I'm fickle in my wayward will My heart is ever true, at least, to Nancy. 'Twas midnight when I first beheld her face, — Love's break-o'-day flashed morning in her features; In our wed eyes our hearts leapt to embrace And thence but one were we two happy creatures. [65] STRANGE. UNG with the gold-fringed curtains of the sea I loved the cloudy morn of yes- terday ; Yet no less beautiful and dear to me To-day's red dawn, the clouds all blown away. Yet wonder you that I love frowning Maude Her moody heart upon her face at play The very while (and hence you call me fraud) I also love the ever smiling May. [66] OR HAS IT SEEMED BUT SO? OW is it true or has it seemed but so That fenced-in pastures do the greener grow? Ay, much intrinsic value seem to give These fences of the world in which we live. This world's a Mormon; yet is it a sin To be a Mormon and claim all your kin? [67] TO AUDIS. LIND not Love, O, Cupid: let me be The choice of all the Flowers he may see Before he chooses me; then shall he find My beauty keeping him from going blind. LOVE'S EYES. False things I swear and, swearing, make them true For lovers ' oaths are eyes blind Love sees through. [68] TO BONNIE. BONNIE, had you never known The broken bubble, Promise, blown By such false lips, I'm sure that you Might sweeter been if not more true ! [69] WISDOM'S SOURCE. HE learned Professor knows full well the seed Of Wisdom's in the venture and the deed: Yet true it is, in this big world of lies, We would forget the things that make us wise. [70] LOVE LOVES MOST WHAT LOVE'S NOT SEEN. LASHING eloquence, the eye Swift as lightning from the sky ! Oft a glance the heart has won Ere itself might say " 'tis done." Than the glance, ay, far more dear Is the sigh to Love's fond ear; And Good- looks may lose a bit 'Gainst Cyrano's flash of wit. Love has never yet been blind To the jewels of the mind: Wonder not then, rival keen, Love loves most what love's not seen! [71] TO GENE. HEARD you my harp, the sad winds a-voicing, Repeat the farewell I whispered to Gene; 'Twas Autumn time then, the leaves were a-falling, A gray haze of sadness stretched o'er the scene. Her heart it was mine, its secrets I cher- ished, But Fate, — O, the world, how kind, and how blind! — But Fate bade us part: what moments we lingered, How bitter to leave such sweetness be- hind! [72] I never had known her had I not scolded In public, my Sweet, with just a mild frown ; And, lo, in a moment, tears were a-flowing Down roseate cheeks mine anger to drown 1 Again is the Spring come back with its blos- soms, Again is the robin building her nest; The happy world through I wander all lonely — O, where is the heart once beat in my breast ? [73] PROFUSELY PROFANE. SWORE I loved you; ay, and truly swore As I had sworn a dozen times be- fore To other smiling lassies whom I knew Wanted the false to make them prize the true. QUITE. Ah, how profane is ranting Love; and loath Is he to break a heart as take an oath! [74] TO NAN. HE willow was a splash of green Against the gray and leafless wood ; The little emerald blades were seen Flashed 'long the paths of solitude. You trembled as the willow tree And with Love's art of bashfulness Revealed your hidden heart to me: The lips deny, the eyes confess. I walked along that way this morn; The flowers with their eyes of dew Seemed weeping in a world forlorn And keeping watch, my love, for you! [75] A TIP. O blind her with the light of love By which the moon a sun shall U^iS? prove And make what seemeth not, to seem And conscious thought itself a dream. In poppy juice the arrow dip (Pardon, blind Archer, this one tip) And wound her so that she may be E'er dreaming wide awake of me. [76] THE MAIDENS WAIL. H, there is no happiness, however sweet, Compares with this my bleeding heart's strange sorrow; Each day I'd lay this heart low at his feet Did he but spurn it ever on the morrow! E'er as Love bids a lover must obey Though iron bars and locks-and-keys say "never;" Ay, if the rebel heart the mad Will slay Dead is the soul of Happiness forever! [77] SOME HONOR LEFT. OW light a stroke it takes to crack The heart that never has been broken ! But, O, the wretch that tries, alack, To blind a girl with Love's false token! But when I find a heart that's still On duty, though gone all to pieces, I like to smash it with a will And so collect some others' leases. I have some sense of honor left Though very little, sir, to spare you; Yet for sweet Innocence bereft To Pity's tournament I dare you! I war but with the Amazon Nor tipped with gold e'er speed mine arrows ; But why this road of words go on Or hunt where we may find but sparrows? [78) THANKS TO CUPID. H, did Cupid not like To blind us in youth we never should strike Those matches which light the lamp of our bliss And kindle the kindling wood of a kiss To flames on the hearth of our hearts. Ay, and having been blind And seen by the light of only the mind I know by the fancy Fancy alone Has shown us the world the world has not known — A heavenly Sphere if we love. [79] LOST AND WON. HEY met each other at the dance And loved each other at a glance, And played for each a game of chance. None knew the gambling had begun, That hearts were trumps, or what were done Ere each of them had lost and won. [80] BUT THAT I LOVE. RATHER, sweetheart, you, Though false you be Even to me, Than any other true: No, not myself to prove A fool — but that I love! [81] HAD I MY LADY'S EYES. AD I my lady's eyes, That are a cloudy brown, I'd kill young Love with sighs And weeping, Sorrow, drown! Had I my lady's eyes, That are a misty blue, — For I have ladies two — I'd weep that I am sad Till weeping made me gladl [82] ADELE. VELVET Rose— the Syrian lass to me Of some far Dawn — Aurora's bright- eyed child Bequeathed unto the world when young Day smiled And all the mountains laughed with light to see The bon-flre of the East. A Christian, she Sought shelter 'neath this flag where Time has whiled The time away and, ay, to put it mild, Where Fate did whittle long at things to be. Is she a Spark of that old Flame that set All Rome afire while Antony did «stalk O'er half the world, like Hamlet, for a stage? What mystic sunshine lights the midnight jet Of her deep eyes? Ah, yes, methinks they talk Of ancient lore conned on no written page. [83] IN JAPAN. OVE is a liberal and knows No creed or dogma to propose; Ay, all around the world the flame Of Love's sweet fuel is the same. In May on Cherry Avenue I met a lass of dusky hue Who did so fix her eyes on me Through them her heart mine own could see. " Or whether Christian maid you be You are too good," said I, "for me:" "If I'm too good I might, I ween/* Said she, "be just a little mean." [84] 'TIS OFTEN SO. THE MAID. ITH two hearts beating in your breast And none in mine, Ah, know you not my sad un- rest — How I repine! Bring back my broken heart to me, False lover fair; And mended it shall never be True Love to dare! THE MAN. Ah, chide me not sweet maiden true No heart had I To give in fair exchange to you As sigh for sigh: For truth to tell — count not the cost- In Cupid's mart Ere I met you, alas, I'd lost And found a — heart! [85] * AM I TO BLAME? N being wild am I to blame Since women so dislike the tame, And love to tame the wild so much They search the range and ranch for such? And not a saint the world has seen But would the keen were yet more keen; And even they would, as a rule, Prefer the villain to the fool. [86] FAREWELL. HE vowed again and o'er, and o'er, That she would see me nevermore; And then she lingered long with me That " nevermore" might never be! As cruel Fate has often planned The while we stood there hand in hand, Love's oldest story but re-told, The whole wide world between us rolled. We saw with purple sundown bloom The sward, and fade into the gloom, And silent stood and wondered why The night winds in the branches sigh! And yet is this not God's own world Safe through the star-strewn heavens whirled? Then why to mortals has been given Such sorrow in the midst of Heaven? [87] THE MEXICAN. E seems to be awake yet only seems, — His acts are shallow though his moods be deep; As Nature's strange somnambulist he dreams By day; by night, he slumbers twice asleep. In punctuation he is just a dash — There's no full stop to him, once let him go; Impulsive, upon holidays, and rash — Will fight mad bulls, loves women, wine, and — so. [88) THE FALSEST. HE falsest girl he ever knew To her Don Juan was always true; No matter what her scheme or plot He knew just where to find her — not! The truest, dupes of circumstances, Are sometimes led by wayward fancies; And oft the truest, true alas 'tis, Do falsest prove the falsest lassies. [89] LOVE A DIPLOMAT. OW oft, I wot, The bold blind Archer's shot Has cooled the cannon waxing hot. And often Love, His pleasure not his strength to prove, Has made the eagle woo the dove. Ay, as by chance, Oft blue eyes with the softest glance Do take the edge off the sharp lance. [90] "FOREVER AND EVER, YET NEVER, YOURS.' ' A. S. HE pledged me thus, and on the written page (And ever it has been from age to age) Her eyes bore witness that her hand wrote true: The eyes are blinded by the lips' adieu. But worry not, poor heart of mine; perhaps Of the Hereafter we've not all the maps; Who knows but Heaven holds some world- like Sphere For lovers who but loved in sorrow here? Ay, Fate and Circumstance somehow con- trive To keep the very thing they kill, alive! And why should pilgrim lovers day by day Meet but to pass each other on the way? [911 TO SYLVIA. HE sea that plundered heaven's blue Robbed the June skies, my love, for you; And you of foam and flowers wrought, Are but some Angel's world-dream thought: And thus it is our life but seems To Fancy's Self a thing of dreams. [92] TO CHARLOTTE. HE splendid rhet'ric of thy love-lit eye Moves my steeled heart with such sweet eloquence Mine every breath is an "I-love-you" sigh, Each moment a whole year of dread sus- pense ! Thy lips of roses wrought and fashioned so — They are as two dumb orators who look The parts they need not speak; and sweetly show Thy heart's strange dramas in thy Face's book. What weapons are thine own! A thousand years In foam, and flower, and sun, and dew, and star Hath Nature nourished you in smiles and tears That Earth might know what Heaven's wonders are! [93] CUPID'S LOOKING-GLASS. ASHION," said I, "why weave away To make these lads and lassies gay,— For know you not that love is blind And Beauty helps him nought to find?" Then Fashion smiled and said to me, "Love's not so blind but he can see; Or wherefore should it come to pass That I am Cupid's looking-glass?" TO VALERIE. S evening shadows deepened and the glow Of sunset slowly faded from the skies There beamed upon me, how like stars, two eyes From rosy heavens of her face and, lo, Valerie! In the unseen ebb and flow Of Friendship's tides the pearls of sweet surprise Are strewn oft at our feet; and sweet and wise Is this old sea of things we little know. We knew each other as a chance — a guess : I was a mood, a bit of romance she; The budded tree seemed pouting, so she said, And made some blooming observations, yes, About the flowers and the Don Juan bee That o'er each blossom lost its heart and head! [95] TO GRACE. OVE'S Amazon was she — a warrior fair Who charged the citadel of my brave heart With the whole army of her charms. It stood A thousand thrilling shocks of pleasure ere The stout defenders of my bachelor Hesolves surrendered. Now that I am her prisoner I wonder any man in this wide world Longs to be free! [95] TO ELEANOR. ^LENDER and graceful like the gold- enrod (Which if the gentle breezes kiss will nod A "thank you") was she in the wood to see: I never said she nodded once to me. The world seemed beautiful and young again, E'en this old bruised and battered world of men, Because I loved her in the whispering grove Whose leaves of gold made up our book of love. [97] TO N. C. HE maple grove, white in the winds, now seems As I beheld it in mine after- dreams, A silver cloud uprolled against the blue Of Summer's sky (seems it not so to you?) Remember how the golden shafts of sun Were through the somber evening shadows run: The leaves were gemmed with jewels of a shower — What if we were but lovers for an hour? Time shuts a thousand gates against us day By day and, like the thief, then steals away; But Time can never steal from me the bliss And sweet remembrance of one stolen kiss ! [98] OR FALSE OR TRUE. HAT splendid orators of blue — How words their eloquence would mar! Soft eyes a light is shining through As never shone from sun or star. Tell they the truth or do they lie? Or care those speakers what they say? Or be they sophists that but try The false Athenian's artful sway? Come tell me, lips, now, if you dare, False be those eyes, and yet, forsooth, If they do lie, I would, I swear, They never, never told the truth. [99] L §f & •" TO RUTH. RED rose peeping from its hood of green Deep in the garden of the village grew Looking upon the world with eyes of dew Whose liquid pearls did turn to wine when seen By the glad Eye of Morn which gives the mean A wonder not its own. Soft stealing through This garden, the caressing breezes blew — Thieves that cared not how sharp the thorns, I ween. So blushes Innocence when first 'tis kist As blushed this op'ning bud upon the world — The petaled sunrise of some other morn: That I knew not the gardener I wished (Ah, golden locks are leaden once they're curled) Since I had chanced the pricking of its thorn ! [100] TO HELEN. HE Fire-fly's flitting lamp now shines By it I pen these love-lorn lines : To-night there rolls a restless sea Between my love — and his — and me. Ay, she is his by law and fate, — Too early mine and his too late: Yet did he know, what were his rest, My heart is beating in her breast? [101] AT THE JOURNEYS END. HITS ends this little book of idle verse — Had it been better you had liked it worse. I've played my part; and sometimes in the game Chipped in because the play seemed some- what tame; And oft when hearts were trumps I have refused, Forsooth, to draw for fear I wouldn't lose; And in the face of what Good Luck had planned (Now bluffer blush!) laid down the winning hand. I'm of the very earth kind Heaven knows — Grew as the tree, bloomed as the flower blows : Yet none can say this Plant in bud or leaf By promise or by wine e'er played the thief. [102] \ Wife "** ♦- ^P A ♦7J75V 0^ ^ *••?• A <* *??1 ^6* *°-t ■ * • • *fc ip^, . 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