IASt>VlAVVfWtl!fA»^&>tt»A^< Spring Floods 73 Will he? 74 Tlie Little Cloud 75 Sunlight on Snow 76 Zion ••• ••■ ••• n Light the Fire 81 Requiem ••• 82 On the way Home 83 Overcast 86 Thames by Night 87 The Star Shower 9° The Sunblink 93 A Train of Thought 94 In Rain 97 Harmonics ••• 97 Two Sides of a Medal 98 Night at Sea 99 The Condor loi A May Psalm 103 TheTorchrace 105 A Fete in June '06 An English Sunset "i " Moriendo Vinces" 114 Nightfall 115 Contents. ACROSTICS. PAGE England ••• n? "All aglow !" ii8 Spring ... ... ■•• ••• ••• ••• •■• 118 The Wind 119 '•/Eolian Music" 119 November V 120 A Contrast 120 "As Luna" 121 A Question 121 " Amaranth and Asphodel "' 122 "Ah : if wings!" 122 " As one lone star " 122 "As earth who kept" 122 Charing Cross Bridge 123 " Laborum dulce lenimen " 123 Westminster .'\bbey 124 LAYS. ]^t\3£ilU, IS rosy dawn. Dull leaden sleep, Spread thy swift wings and flee Where day is sinking in the deep. This daylight world for me ! And let me climb some airy height, And breathe the breath of morn, And see the myriad dew-drops bright That sparkle on the thorn. Not fairer shines Arabia's pearl, Not royal Golconda's gem, Than ye, from every lowly herb, From calyx, leaf, or stem. B RcvcilU: Now bursts from every bush and spray Tlic chirped or warbled song ; The clear sky pours a blither lay, Thrilling the breeze along. Who — who would lose the matin hymn All nature sings to God For useless sleep or lazy dream ? Then rise and walk abroad. fc>unn3c on tije ^ik. |HEBES slept, her hundred gates were closed, The last watch of the night was near its end, And weary watchmen waited for the morn. On Nilus' plain the huge Colossi sat, Mountains and islands since have sunk and risen, But they sit now as then — silent. The cold dews trickled from their granite arms. Now earliest dawn appears o'er eastern summits, The stars have fled, the twilight brief is past, The hills are tipped with mellow rosy hues ; And now the loftiest obelisks are bathed In the descending sunlight's golden flood. Now full on each strange monumental form, On tomb-like temples, avenues of Sphinx, He shines — he shines on all alike, Hut he evokes no voice except from one — l^ 2 8 Sunrise on the Nile. From the memorial of Amenophis, The Mcmnon's statue, swell the matin notes Of welcome and of praise. Mysterious sounds By travellers in different ages heard. 'Tis thus, like these Colossi, mute and cold, Oft sits the human soul, wet with the dews of frief Till love doth send his welcome, cheering ray, With gladsome light and vivifying warmth ; Then from the heart the unexpected song Wells joyful forth, with speech and language, Or perhaps without. mi 'il^z gacljr. X board, and let the favouring gale W'aft us both swift and far, The world and I would part awhile, So let us cross the bar. With charts and sextant, compass, log, Chronometers and all, We'll sail away till England's shore Sink behind ocean's ball. The world and we will change no news For many days to come, A throne may fall, republic split — We still shall cleave the foam. Or death, who, like an albatross, Can wing the lonely deep, May light on board our little craft, She will the .secret keep. lo TJic Yacht. The hap of wind our course may shape To Shetland or Faroe, To distant Iceland's mountain tops, Her fires, her ice, and snow. Or farther still, through northern mists. To lone Jan Maycn's Isle ; Or southward, where, in sunny seas. The bright Azores smile. Where the orange and the myrtle grow On sad Madeira's shores, Or Teyde girt with clouds below O'er Tenerifa towers. Or through mid-ocean to the place Where monstrous sea-weeds swim. Which sailors of constructive brain Have shaped to Python grim. Beneath my yacht the Atlantic waves, Neptune's own hunters, bound. The sea in far perspective laves The sky on all sides round. II II D pastures, cots, and flocks, and trees, Dark Danube poured his turbid flow. Above him sunlight, birds, and breeze, And greedy fish in depths below. Along those flower-enamelled meads. Prince Lucius, then Pannonia's pride,^ Forth, with attendant maidens, leads Julia, the boast of Dacia wide. Flow, flow, thou brimming river, Thy fertile banks along, While time lasts, cease shall never Thy black stream deep and strong. The halls of her ancestral towers, On high and solemn festal day, Oft Julia decked with boughs and flowers ; In search of these abroad they stra)-. l^ranches of varied leaf and hue, Blooms, purple, orange, yellow, red, Were gathered ; then they sought the blue. HKie flowers by Danube's river bed. 12 The I'orgct-nic-not. Flow, flow, thou eddying river. Thy crumbling banks along, While time lasts, cease shall never, Th}^ black stream, deep and strong. Strange wealth of Myosotis blue The Princess saw and coveted, Upon a turfy isle it grew. Just made an islet by the flood. Prince Lucius lightly sprang to cull The flowers the fair so much desired, Collected all, tossed to the bank. Felt the turf sink ere he retired. Flow, flow, thou cruel river. Thy treacherous banks along, While time lasts, cease shall never Thy black stream, deep and strong. The gulf is wide, the isle fast going. Two realms no timely help can bring, The waters o'er the grass arc flowing — She sees him sinking slowly in. The Forgct-vic-not. 13 " Farewell, my love, my bride, my all ! See there thy flowers ! forget me not I " He sinks beneath the eager flood ; They bear her senseless from the spot. Flow, flow, thou fatal river, Thy mournful banks along. While time lasts, cease shall never Thy black stream, deep and strong. Long years the Princess ruled a warlike race. — The race that shortly conquered Rome ; A Roman sculptor carved his cenotaph, Dacian, Pannonian maidens him bemoan. But now his name is near or quite forgot. The brutal Turk hath broken down his tomb ; The flower, the ever dear Forget-me-not Alone records him with its annual bloom. Flow, flow, exhaustless river, Thine endless banks along, While time lasts, cease shall never, Thy black stream, deep and strong. 14 SHORELESS ocean, thick cloud shadowed, Uninterrupted rolled its leaden waves The world around. Scarce broken silence ruled The wingless air. Strange fish flabbered, And unclean monsters crawled, Britannia, Where now thy yellow and thy ruddy corn Waves in the breeze that wafts the reaper's song. The Cumbrian peak.s, lone ocean islets then. Rose from the weltering waves, and gave a home To the sea-mew, the gull, the gannet, and the ore ; From their spray-beaten nests upon the rocks At morn they rose in cloud.s, to di.stant ken, As though the islets smoked. Hoar.se cries and shrill Vexed the air. Upborne on wind and wave The livelong day, with hooked beak and cruel, Primeval Sketches. 15 They sought their finny food on waters waste. From these same peaks, a hundred hamlets now. And towns, the thronging hives of busy men. Mansions and parks salute the gazer's eye, While heaven-pointing spires command the thought To rise yet higher still. Next, forest-crowned With open grassy glade and watered meads, Where well-known streams meandered then, as Thou found'st thy realm, Britannia, [now. And here thou cam'st to dwell, but subjects none, Save bear, hyaena, elk, and mammoth hadst. Man was not, or he skulked unseen in woods Or caverns of the rocks, untutored yet And savage e'en as they. Matin or vesper bell. Or that which gives the passing hour a tongue. Was Jieard not ; nor bark of dog who guards All night his master's home, trusty and wakeful ; Nor bleat of flocks, nor low of horned herds. No coracle upon the rivers floated yet, Nor cromlech, foul with human sacrifice, Cast o'er the mind its stern religious fear. i6 'SsaiN Edinbro' town they live in flats, Though sharp enough, knows ; And Httle girls keep little cats. As you may well suppose. Two damsels, bright as here, Lived in a flat above ; They had a little kitten dear, It taas a little love. 'Twas May ; the air was soft and warm. Sunny and bright the day ; The windows all were open wide To let the breezes play. The damsels, with broad ribbon blue, Tied pussy's body round ; They lowered it from the window sill, Slow dangling, towards the ground. The Lawyer'' s Wig. ly Just then, the Fates they willed it so, — And wicked are they ever, — An advocate had donned the wig He wore to make him clever. And from his casement, just beneath Pussy in air suspended, He did protrude his learned wig — And she on it descended. The kitten seized with ready claw, The wig was fairly caught, The frighted damsels quickly saw The mischief they had wrought. Instantly pulled the kitten back — " Poor kitten, frighted so !" The lawyer looking up, Alack ! Saw how his wig did go. And such a case in all his books Having discovered never, Nonplussed, dumbfounded, he exclaimed, " Well, really ! Did you ever .'" 1 8 'I'hc Laiuycj-'s Wig. That day, the wig was found not far Beneath the window sill ; No one knew how it had got there, No, and they never will. The lawyer told his wondrous tale, Which nobody believed ; H\- men of sense, what lawyers say Is never much received. IQ 7l\)z ?Lig:ljtl)oiioc. EEF of rocks, oft vexed with tempest. Outwork of an ironbound shore. Countless surges, Neptune's mightiest, Leap upon thee, flood thee o'er. Vainly raging. In their hour Of maddest fury, thou art steadfast, Though black as night the storm may lower, Though green sea-mountains, white foam- laden. Urged by the blast's resistless power. Crash upon thee, strive to shatter — Calm and changeless midst the tumult, Thou their hosts dost break and scatter. " Come ye no further," God hath said, " Here, here, shall thy proud waves be stayed." On thy farthest, topmcst point Fixed and fastened, rock to rocks, Stands the lighthouse, tall and taper. Fifty wmters' temj)ests' shocks 20 Tlic Li s'ht house. ■^.b Have not moved it. The boldest waves Vainly essay to scale its curved side, Vainly conflicting seas enwreathe Its base in a tormented tide. When fogs the sea and sky have mantled. i. From its summit sounds the gong. When night the swelling deep has veiled, From its summit, miles along Those pathless waters shines its beacon- Light to warn, and light to guide The homesick sailor to the haven Desired for weary months upon the ocean wide. Friendly light, thou'rt like that other Lidit that shineth o'er life's sea, To warn, to guide us to another Port — of immortality. 21 ;a (talc, ROM my ocean home I was summoned away IW the sun, to join in the young winds' play, They bore me aloft so high, high, high, Through the sapphire blue of the summer sk)-. Through the ruby red of the morn and even, And radiant gold — the hue of heaven, Through the purple gloom of the dark, dark night. And the silver fields of the clear moonlight, Through the cold cliill grey of the earliest dawn, Above the mountains, the eldest born : Not so high man floats in his bubble balloon. Which brings him no nearer the laughing moon. I entered the cloud, the wet thick cloud, I went to the home of the thunder loud. Where the lightnings play, and the terrible hail, Where the hurricanes dwell that swoop on tlic sail. C 2 2 A Talc. I fell in round, round drops of rain On the thirsty fields, was exhaled again ; I was frozen to needles of wool-like snow, And cast upon the mountain's brow, To fall with the avalanche down below On icefields none but the eagles know. In the glacier locked, farewell to hope ! How slowly I moved down the rocky slope To the woods and pastures, joy for me ! There at last I gained my liberty. With millions of others just set free, I started at once for our home, the sea ; We leaped down rocks, we were scattered in spray, We rested in dew on the flowerets gay ; In limestone caverns under the ground, In sand, in gravel, and chalk we were found ; We rose in the wells so fresh and cool When suns were hottest. In quiet pool Or lake we slept. In rivers we rolled Through broad, broad lands with names untold, 'Till we got to our home, the family home — The great salt sea, where the great fish roam. 23 %\)Z Coalmincr. ITTLE taught and almost naked, Oddly crouched in the narrow seam, Where the danger-telling lamp Throws out a pallid sickly gleam. Life in hand, of perils careless, Of fiery or of choking gas, Of flood's inburst, or living burial, If roof or shaft crumble in mass. The falling glass that ushers in For us the soft south-western gales, Is harbinger, too oft, for him Of a death at which the hearer pales, To him familiar. At the kirk Of the next village full a score Of friends, struck by one common fate, A single sod has covered o'er. c 2 24 Tlie Coahnincr. Far from help, in foul and sultry Labyrinth of lonely gloom, Seeing little of earth's beauty From his boyhood to his tomb, He wins the bread for bairns and wife, As block by block he wins the coal. The wheels of all our modern life Without him soon would cease to roll. From those black lumps will wake and glow Rays darted when the sun was young. For ages stored in depths below. Forces which else through space were flung — Which cause earth's northern wastes to teem With men of rough and hardy worth ; Which lend to Arctic nights a beam, For street and church, for hall and hearth ; Which mould and shape the engines strong, Whose ponderous stroke or nimble course Have multiplied, or will ere long, I'ourfold the sum of human force ; The Coahniner. 25 Which forge the iron, pump the mine. Make roads of steel, and speed the train ; Which drain the marsh or polder wet, Which draw the plough and grind the grain ; From deepest well or distant springs, From reservoir or mountain lake Bring floods to adorn and purify, And the dry city's thirst to slake ; Which drive o'er longest reach of sea To western world or eastern Ind House, barrack, castle, ceaselessly Against the strong unwilling wind ; Which hurl the might of cultured power On strongholds of barbaric wrong, Though distant far, but which, alas ! To brothers' discord too belong ; Which clothe the dwelling and the race. Produce the paper, print the page, And, thought-diffusing, urge apace Alike to good and ill the age. 20 Ridct, Jloretqiie. iFTER winter drear The emerald hue Of each fresh risen blade Tells spring is near ; The daisies new, In star-like clusters laid, Shine silvery white ; Flower-loving May From her full lap throws down Buttercups bright ; The children stray To reach the golden boon. The Meadow. 27 The lengthening grass, With sorrel red, Blossoms its fleeting day ; The sun russets Each waving head With glowing zenith ray. From the lark's nest low, O'er which he sings, The young are fledged and flown. 'Tis time, for now The mower brings His scythe. All is cut down. 28 a (Ealentinc. jlIGHT weeks are well-nigh past Since dark St. Thomas' day, A brighter sun at last Holds warmer, longer sway : His loftier path, his brighter shine. Proclaim the near St. Valentine. The lively birds, at cheery morn, Chirp and twitter on the thorn ; They sing the secret power of spring, And flirt and ogle on the wing. Love tunes their song, love prompts mj- line, They choose, like me, their Valentine. A Valentine. 29 And sweet the power that prompts the song, And sweet the power that tunes the lay, Willing we ow'n its influence strong, Willing its every law obey. Love pours the song, love builds the line, Love strives to please its Valentine. The placid lake at matin time, Reflects, as bright, the beam that strikes it ; Just so, from a good Valentine, One's love's reflected, if she likes it. is mine, my song is finished. My love's reflected undiminished. "^o 2i Heffcnt) of »)t. Sl^i'cljacl. HERE Brittany joins Normandy, Out of a waste of wet sea sand, Or yeasty waves, as the tide may be, Two islands rise, rocky and grand. Tombelaine, all weed o'ergrown, With its adders and tombs, desert and lone. And St. Michel with its crest so fair, Its beautiful church high in the air, Its fort, quaint town, and guns antique, Which could say much if they would speak. As I gazed on both from the neighbouring beach, Seeking for some one able to teach Why, of twin islands, one should be lone, And the other should have its church and town ? From an honest priest I chanced to meet, I learned the legend I now repeat : — " Here," said he, where we are walking, The archfiend, Satan, our deadly foe " — (He crossed himself as he was talking), — "Met with St. Michael long ago. A Legend of St. Michael. 31 Foot to foot, and hand to hand, Shield to shield, and brand to brand, Now in the air and now on the land, Oft had they fought, as well you know ; But this time wily Satan planned The sort of contest I shall show. ' Choose,' said Satan, ' either isle, Whichever you best may please, And build thereon the noblest pile That ever was fanned by a breeze. Upon the other island, I And mine our art will try, And when again the midday sun Shall flame where it flames now, The final victory shall be won By him whose work shall fairest show.' In earth and hell they build so much, In heaven they build so little. The tone of Satan had a touch Of sarcasm — ^just a tittle. But Michael to the plan assented, 'Twas scarcely done ere 'twas repented. When the sun rose on Tombeiaine, He lighted a palace fairer than thought, 3^ ^-i Legend of St. Michael. The roof with gold was all aflame, Silken banners cunningly wrought Floated from stately domes and towers. Carved capitals of flowers Adorned the fluted columns' row, Tall statues crowned each portico, Stood alone, or in niches on all sides round Yxoxn the crest of the roof almost to the ground, On terraces in the garden too, With vases of flowers of brightest hue, In fair)' grot and cool alcove. And mazes where the guests might rove. The very air, his own dominion, With birds of every colour and pinion Satan had filled. Instead of the waste Of sea and sand, on every hand With wondrous skill his glamour placed Vistas grand of a classic land Fair as Claude de Lorraine's dream. Within 'twas fairer still, I deem. The rainbow and the evening sky. The gorgeous bird and butterfly Had lent their tints, and painters skilled With graceful forms the windows filled. A Legend of St. Michael. n The artwork of ages of slow-moving earth In the hours of a night had its wonderful birth. Alto and basso-relievos were found Each hall and corridor around, Frescoes, beauteous or grotesque, Ceilings of Rubens or Raphaelesque. But my time and words fail to portra>- Its beauties blended in bright array. Birds and beasts, and trees, and flowers. In cedar and sandal wood, filling its bowers ; The fretworks of marble, the pavements inlaid With malachite, jasper, onyx and jade ; Fountains of free or chaste design, Flowing perfume, or flowing wine ; The buhlwork and the marqueterie. The ivory and ebony. The frosted .silver, bronzes, ormoulu, Pietra dura and mosaics too, Enamels, gems, and porcelain — Here, too, I must break off again. The carpets soft of pleasant hue, The hangings of crimson, purple, and blue ; The velvets and the damasks fair, The gilding and the mirrors there ; 34 A Legend of St. Michael. The flowers exotic relieved with green, The statues and couches placed between. Such palace there hath never been For sultan, emperor, czar, or queen. Menial troops attentive stand To present the fruits of every land Heaped on plates of golden ware, To offer the wines so choice and rare ; While Circassian maidens fair Receive them from the jewelled flagons, Embossed with ornamental dragons, In glasses, each with satyr, Bacchi plenus, Or wine god, nymphs, and old Silenus, Or Cupids at their tricks, and mother Venus. Each wind, each stringed instrument That e'er discoursed to the ear's ravishment ; And vocal harmonies, mixed with solos sweet, Charm the delighted air. The feet Of dancers graceful as Terpsichore From time to time move to the melody. Elsewhere the tragic and the comic Muse Shadow the dark or droll for those who choose. Nothing, in short, that eye, or ear, or sense Could please, but Satan stored within that house immense. A Legend of St. Michael. 35 On St. Michel the little church Stood just as it stands now, St. Michael felt he was left in the lurch, Confusion sat on his brow. Said Satan, jeering, ' miserable sinner, To-day, perhaps, you'll stay with me to dinner.' The Saint replied not. In his sore dismay He kneeled and fervently began to pray. And as he prayed that palace fair Grew fainter in the morning ray, He prayed till noon, then in the air It vanished — vanished quite away. Blank horror seized the demons foul, They fled to hell with screech and howl. From opening heaven an angel band Descend ; within the church they stand, And with due rite hallow the fane To God in good St. Michael's name. So Tombelainc is cursed and lone While St. Michel is fair to see. The bad man's glory soon is gone, The good man's lasts eternally." 3^ Si Summer tlljunlicrgtorni. N Lucerne's lake the morn broke fair And cloudless. Hot and still the air. Scarce sound was heard save the cicada's song, And Reuss's murmur as he rolled alon^i:. The sheep-bells tinkle from their airy ways, The drowsy herdsman hums his drow.sy lays Where the great rocks give shelter to his head ; Hushed are the rills, dry in each gravelly bed. The deep wave lies in purple shadow darkling, Or, stirred by rower, in the sunlight sparkling ; On the green pastures, no fresh breeze Moves even a leaf of the walnut trees. But see ! one lofty peak is girt with cloud, Quick gathering, all the rest they shroud, The wind arises with a sudden gust, In spiry circles flies the whirling dust. A Slimmer TJiundci'storm. ij Smaller and smaller grows the traveller's ken. The deepening gloom strikes awe on beasts and men, The thunder, distant, seems beneath the ground, 'Tis nearer now — the mountains echo round. Fiercely the tempest rushes down the lake, St. Mary, help that boat the shore to make ! 'Tis veiled in mist. Leaps forth the blinding flash, Then, as of mountain fallen, the instant crash. Again the fire, the crash — the crash, the fire. As if the day of great Jehovah's ire Were come. The hail descends. Now pours Most pitiless the rain. Rcuss roars. The torrents all the hills blockade, O'erflow the dikes themselves have made ; Now heaven's dread artillery withdraws, The hail has ceased, the rain begins to pause. D 7^S A SuvuHcr Thunderstorm. Then clears the air ; the boat floats overturned ; Blue sky is there, where late the lightning burned ; The bow of promise spans the gloomy cloud, Bright o'er the lake, where still the storm is loud. The raindrops in the sun are glittering now, Birds sing him welcome upon every bough ; While the cool freshness of the fragrant air Pours gladness on each well-tuned spirit there. Flucllen. 39 Sea. IS calm on the heaving sea, The waves sleep tranquilly On the bosom of the de^p ; Restless waves, all lulled to sleep. The ships, by currents drifted, Are scarcely rolled or lifted ; No foam is at their prow, All their sails hang now Idly down. Flags droop. On forecastle and poop Men lounge as they please, Or whistle for the breeze. in the steamship's wake, On the path her paddles make, Rests her long smoke trail. Growing pale and more pale, Till it blentl far away With the haze-chnid grey. L) 2 40 TJic Cahn. Land. 'Tis calm on the pool Where the cattle stand to cool Their hot hoofs. Calm on the hill, There no wind turns the mill. 'Tis calm on the river, The aspens scarce quiver ; The ivied tower of the church, The drooping willow and birch, The villa's belvidere, — All arc mirrored there ; Bridge, arches, balustrade, Inverted are portrayed In the wave. That lazy crow, See him flying down below In a sunken world as clear As that we dwell in here, Illumined by another sun, Lightly veiled, like our own. 41 ROADCAST, ye flowers, He hath sown you. On every spot of earth hath throw ii you, Such grace of form, such varied hues, And scent hath given, we cannot choose Hut strangely feel your potent spell. Ye are sent by one who loves us well. My infant steps from morn till night, Through pasture and by hedgerow bright Ye wiled to stray. In cornfield gay, Or by the dusty turnpike way, In rustic lane, or bosky dell, In w(;ods by mossy-bordered well, By brawling burns and tinkling rills. O'er spongy mof)rs, and grassy hills, llirough thicket dense, and shady grove, Ye lured my boyhood oft to rove ; liut now I pa.s.s you careless by, 42 Floivcrs. Scarce conscious of your beauty nigh, Perched on old ruined castle-walls, On crags in the spray of waterfalls, On drifting dunes of barren sand, In salt-marshes, neither sea nor land, (Jn cliffy rocks, brown, white, or grey, Where scarce the goat can find a way ; Floating on river, lake, and mere. Here and there in the pinewoods drear ; In torrid waste by rock surrounded, On islands of verdure glacier-bounded. As glowworm.s glimmer on the ground, As lamps the darkness lighten round, As jewels swart India's coronet gem. Or stars night's rarest diadem. And each by contrast brighter gleam ;— . So )Ou, ye flowers, the fairer seem When ye in desolation dwell. In distant oasis, on pathless fell, Ye tell the friendless traveller lone Of Him to whom alike are known The marshalled hosts of starry night. And roving wildbird's distant flight. When on some spring-day, warm and calm, Fiozucrs. 43 The aged, half-bedridden man, Steps forth with feeble, tottering gait. And weary soul, for him the grave doth wait, He feels your vernal glory, but with pain That it for him no more shall glow again. When I too, reader (for we must), Shall mingle with the common dust, In quiet spot, upon my tomb, Yearly may lowliest flowerets bloom, Waking from winter's sleep to tell That I alive have loved them well, And that, like them, again I'll rise. When spring shall come, and fairer skies. 44 N the sunshine, St. Sebastian, Sparkling waves around thee dance ; Isle and headlands, town and moun- tains, Ever>' viewer's eye entrance. Busy Basque and stately Spaniard Pace below thy fortress old ; Bright the eyes which glance beneath The dark mantilla's graceful fold ; E'en thy fort appears to smile, Peace and gladness rule the while, Sebastian, in the tempest hour, When the sky doth o'er thee lower, Thy fixed rocks appear to cower Beneath the angry sea-god's power. The raging wind, the thundering main, Assail thee oft, assail in vain. Thou with ease such foes repellest When their wrath doth wax the fellest, And a frown sits on thy brow, A sterner spirit ruleth now. 5/. Sebastian. 45 Sebastian, in the war-god's hour, When the hills around thee shake, Demon-engines dread in power, Iron storm about thee make. Thou returnest blow for blow, While thy solid rocks do quake. Iron storm upon the foe ; Farthest alpine echoes wake. When thy lightnings from thee bound, Hell rejoiceth at the sound. In the sunshine, St. Sebastian, Sparkling waves around thee dance : Isle and headlands, town and mountains, Every viewer's eye entrance. Busy Basque and stately Spaniard Pace below thy fortress old ; Bright the eyes which glance beneatli The dark mantilla's graceful fold ; E'en thy fort appears to smile, Peace and gladness rule the while. 46 Come! OW come, my love, no longer stay, Haste thee, haste thee, come away. For love awaits thee, love is fair As fairest flowers of spring, In wood, or field, or garden, e'er Were seen rare blossoming. "Tis fairer than the silver moon, Or golden summer-shine, When, shed in floods by brilliant June, It falls on landscape fine. For love awaits thee, love is fair As fairest things that be On earth, or in the upper air, Or deepest depths of sea, *Tis fairer than the diamond's ray, Or gleam of priceless pearl ; For love, for love, then, come away. No longer stay, sweet girl. For love awaits thee, love's more fair Than aught on earth we see ; In hta\-cn it was begotten there. In heaven its home must be. CoJiic ! 47 So come, my love, no longer stay, Haste thee, haste thee, come away. For love awaits thee, love is sweet As sweetest things that be. Sweeter than rose, or violet. Or spice of eastern sea. Sweeter than Philomela's song, First songster of them all, When it sweetest thrills the woods among. Each listener to enthrall. 'Tis sweeter tlian the loveliest lay Which woman's lips can pour, Though that from heaven, the poets say. Hath angels drawn before. There is naught else the heart of man Can think or feel or know- So sweet as love, then while we can We'll taste it here below ; Taste first below and next above, For it is the air of heaven. The breath of God, it is but love. And now to us 'tis given. Then come, my love, no longer sta}', Haste thee, haste tiiec, come away. 48 '^^ 3LC[QQi£, LITHE was she on the oak-crowned hill Where strongest breezes play, And blithe was she by the banks of Where dimpling eddies stray. Blithe was she in the summer's heat, And blithe in winter's cold, Hlithe in the budding time of spring, Blithe when the leaves grew old. Blithe at the board, blithe in the town, Blithe out and in was she ; l-5ut blithest ever when alone She found herself with me. 49 HE night is fair, The wind blows cool The moon is there, Her orb is full. Cloudless her shine And silver^' white, A perfect coin From mint of light. To aught that's dead Beyond compare ; Be't rather said, Like maiden rare. With stately mien. Serene on high, She walks a queen Along the sky. Still, still the same. As pure and bright, As God did name, To rule the night. ;o Absent. Awhile some clouds Have dimmed her light, And now in crowds Extinguish quite. Now she looks forth Like veiled bride. , why art Thou from my side .'' Remote from thee I sing alone, My song is free, But sad its tone. For thee I pine, , I mourn, My soul from thine, My soul is torn. 51 ILoofe a)ut! HOU graceless imp, for ever twanging Thy tiny bow, I think thou well deservest hanging ; 'Deed dost thou so ! Upon my soul, thou naughty Turk, Thy shafts so shower, I do not twenty minutes' work Within the hour. And yet I thank thee for thy art. One shot of thine Transfixed my Amanda's heart And fixed on mine. For that good bolt, thou darling boy. Thy praise I'll sing ; How will the rogue the next employ ? It's on the string ! 52 "(Elje iClD, 0)111 Clock. |HE stalwart men are dead ; all, all are dead, And dead are those who could remember them. Who dug the ore from the darksome mine, Who cut the wood in the forest glade, Who with fire, and lathe, and file, Who with saw, and chisel, and plane, Cunning to work in metal and wood, Made my wheels turn, and pendulum to swing. I've ticked their pulses all away, Long, long ago, as I tick to-day. On the banks of the rapid stream of time They set me up to mark its flow ; I have seen, I have seen them all swept away, One by one, long, long ago. Thou child of the airy step and laughing eyes, Child of the downy cheeks and chestnut hair, The Old, Old Clock. 3j Child of the cherry lips and ringing voice That gazest on me with the puzzled look, I'll tick thy four-score years, and then I'll tick the moment when thy soul shall fly. E'en while around thee, weird and ancient seer, Imagination plays, while still the pen Rests on the lamp-lit page, and with her spell Silence enthralls the lonely writer's ear, Thou strik'st the hour of one — one of the night. Alone with thee, I fear thee — not. Thou too shalt cease to mark the flight of time And time shall cease to fly, but I, When this immortal and eternal soul Breaks forth from out its bondage-house of clay. Shall soar on swifter wings than moments fly, To a bright land beyond the starry sky. Where Eden's flowers bloom by the fount of jo}- Perennial, nor breath of sorrow nor anno}' Can blight them, but thiols they cluster on that happy sh(;re. And cruel scythe of time can cut them down no more. 54 jfticctocU to , Sl'Wrf'^ more at eve, sweet , no more I'll climb thy accustomed hill, Yet bright the page of memory's store Thy loved, lost scenes shall fill. She, she is gone, who was the soul Of all thy witchery ; Broke is the spell, dissolved the charm, That bound me fast to thee. With her no more, sweet , no more I'll climb thy accustomed hill. Yet bright the page of memory's store Thy loved, lost scenes shall fill. DD mi'ittm in t^c (£nn;li0l) Ccmctcrp at paiL ITHERED roses, blighted in their early bloom, Here babes, youths, maidens lie ; Their parents' hopes, too bright, are quenched in gloom, Fair flowers the soonest die. Vainly from island homes, in search of health. They came in hope and fear ; Vainly weary nights and days friends watched. Till their souls grew dark and drear. And while with grief the father's heart was swelling At change of the well-kn(n\ ii face, And while the mother's tears were vainly welling Death's silence filled the place. 56 Wriititi in the English Cemetery at Pan. Then came the coffin, bier, and trappings strange Of death in alien land ; The vain regrets — the marble legend, Left far on foreign strand. Oh ! weep for those too early lost to love, Yes, weep ye o'er those tombs ; No, weep not. They have found a home above Where the tree of life still blooms. h7 ^ong for gulc^tttie. ]ET the Yule-fire burn bright on the hearth, Let hearts be warm with Christmas cheer, Let the aged and careworn partake of the mirth, And merry young laughter ring out clear. But one moment let the silent prayer, For friends and kindred far away. Arise from Englishmen, where'er They celebrate the Christmas day ; For all who bear leal English hearts, Who speak our English tongue, Whether in crowded eastern marts, Or western solitudes among ; Amid the snows of northern lands. Or reeling on unsteady seas, Or where the summer southern strands Are cooled by the ocean breeze ; 58 S 0)1^- for Yitlc-tidc, \'ox those who, desolate and lone, Can name no friend this side the grave ; I'^or those who on the sickbed groan, For those whom none but God can save. If, at tlie thought, a moment's sadness, Like cloudy shade in sunny glow, Pass o'er the heart, the present gladness Shall brighter, by the contrast, show. Let the Yule-fire burn bright on the hearth, Let hearts be warm with Christmas cheer, Let the aged and careworn partake of the mirth, And mcrr}' young laughter ring out clear. 59 Bp »>tarlig:ljt, HE autumn night is still and clear, And though the moon is faraway, The stars so brilliant and so near Make it more beautiful than da}-. P>om yonder church the vesper psalm Floats on the listening air of night, Across the lake, which mirror calm Reflects unmoved those stars so bright. Throw but a pebble, — that smooth lake Reflects the starry host no more, Thus from our minds mere trifles take Faith's image of yon heavenly shore. 6q a^aiDenl? iForebotitnff. j*^^g|OON, whose orb is full still, Moon now waninfT, Stay, I pray, thy too swift Course restraininof. '&• For ere thy crescent thin forsake The night till dawn. Self-doomed, a sacrifice I make, Girlhood is fjone. t>^ 'Tis fabled thou Diana art, Chaste maiden ever, In thy worship I'll take part Again, ah ! never. Oh ! if my heart, like thine, were Still fancy free, I should not feel the boding care That weighs on me. Maidenly Foreboding. G\ See how about me cares flock, Trifles annoy, How passion cools in wedlock : All sweets must cloy. Then love takes flight for ever, Ne'er to return ; Hate heart from heart will sever, ^ In wrath to burn. Love is like the mirage beckoning With vision fair, But sadder the awakening In desert bare. 62 a €)i!jtanr (llteto. l" far from earth I take my fli