' THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES ' fuo~rr\. i7 n LYRICS OF LIFE. Printed by Richard Clay, London. LYRICS OF LIFE, BY FREDERIC W. FARRAR, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge ; and Author of "Eric" &c. Badufavoi Kupai. XpvaoiriirAov MNAMOSTNA2. Pind. Isthm. v. 74. (£amlmbge : MACMILLAN AND CO. AND 23, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON. 1859. \_Thc ri'^hl of Translation is reserved.} -44,33 F CONTENTS. I. — Childhood. Page Childhood, Love, and Death 3 What Childhood was 4 The Happy Year 6 From the Greek of Alaeus 8 From the Greek 9 A Picture io Thoughts on the Picture 1 1 On the Rocks \i The Wonders of the Shore 14 My Rivulet 18 The Laughter of the Sea 19 School Friends 23 The Prize-Day 24 Bath Kol 26 To Aster Gazing Upwards 31 From Plato 32 Skoliou '. . 33 My Five Friends 34 Valeat Cunesio 36 A Dream in the Garden 38 Life 43 866883 vi Contents. I. — Childhood — continued. Page A School Chapel Hymn 44 Temptation 46 Necessity 52 Horror Overcome 54 Hygeia 57 Coniston Lake 59 Hadrians Villa, Tivoli 60 The Legend of Aber , . 62 The Sea- Nymph's Love 66 My Little Room 69 Eric's Hymn 71 A Lesson of Life 73 II.— Poems of Love. — Love's Sorrow. Chance and Change 77 The Sudden Curse 81 A Cry for Pity 83 Sorrowful Memories 85 Fare Thee Well 88 A Lost Love 90 Tlie Last Word 92 III. — Poems of Love. — The Happy Love. TheMeeting 97 The Approach 100 L,ove Born of Pity 102 The Breaking of the Ice 104 Life at Ethyl 105 Contents. vii III.— Poems of Love. — The Happy Love — continued. Page The Favoured Hour 107 In Fear and Sorrow • J o8 Hope 's Augury 1£ ° The Angel Heads 112 The Plighted Troth 114 Midnight Thoughts 116 Magic Casements 118 A Passing Shadow 120 Words Fail 122 The Sleeping Vow 123 The Joy of Love 126 Unde Faces Veniunt 128 A Memory of the Troth 130 - Perfect Peace 133 The Light of Home 137 *~ With a Jewelled Cross 139 Impatience of Hope 142 IV. — Poems of Death. A Dead Child H7 At Munich 149 Hegesias ' I 5 I Abiit ad Plures 153 Dying 155 V. — End of the History. The Jewel Found 157 After All 160 CHILDHOOD. BaO'ifavai nopal Xpvo-oirev\ov MNAM02TNA2. Pind. Isthm. v. 74. [ 3 ] CHILDHOOD, LOVE, AND DEATH. Ye who have wandered thro' the faery fields Of innocent childhood, till ye reach'd the land Where Love takes Youth by the unreluctant hand, And leads him to the rough paths that demand Keen eye, and wary heart, and firmer stand, E'en for the lordly soul that never yields To passionate impulse : ye who learn to see In Death no terror, but a glorious way, Illumed by Eden-sunlights, and a ray From God-lit realms of never-ending day ; — J too have wandered o'er that checquered lea, And somewhat seen, and suffered thoughtfully ; Retraverse, gentle hearts, the wondrous path with me i [ 4 ] WHAT CHILDHOOD WAS. Give me back, oh give me something of the flowers and the gold, And the depths of crimson glory that the summer eves unfold, And the tones of merry music from the rippling waters rolled ; Give me back the vanished moments with their wealth of joy untold, And the childhood, and the gladness, and the glory, and the gold, Give them back, ere my heart too is cold ! What Childhood was. 5 Give me back the rosy blossom and the glances bright and bold, And if night or twilight cometh as our lives on earth grow old, Let the gloom be starry-sprinkled with a lustre manifold : Ere the sunny garden alter to a dank and ragged wold, Ere the mildew blight the corn-ear, ere the fruit be white with mould ; Give, oh give, if for one moment, give the. flowers and the gold, Memories of our childhood's May-time, magical with flowers and gold, Give them back ere our hearts too are cold ! [ 6 ] THE HAPPY YEAR. Fair were thy four bright children, happy year! The purple summer, and the golden wane, Spring, garland-crowned, and winter, silvery-carred. * Spring, a gay child, with many-sprinkled plumes, And cheeks of roseate apple, like a Love's ; Fanned with soft winnowing of gem-like wings, Circled with flowers, and flower-like butterflies. And Summer, flushing with his bloomy fruits, A bold boy, bathing in the mountain streams, Or, in the splendorous drowsiness of noon, Sunburnt, a-slumber in the yellowing corn. The Happy Year. 7 And Autumn, sighing in the silent woods, Amid the fluttering patter of sere leaves ; lale maiden, with a ruddy-golden wreath, All gorgeous on her melancholy brow. Aid crystal-sceptred Winter, glittering-eyed ! A monarch with his white robe diamond-fringed And flowery-frosted ; silver was his helm, Anl the winds freshened on his sparkling cheek. Far were thy four bright children, dying year ! I l«ve them, and have loved them all along ; Ha-e loved them in the shower and in the shine, Th;nkful for all the gladness they have brought. L « ] FROM THE GREEK OF ALC.EUS. M?j5e^ dyav ayav /j.e repnft. No golden-waving harvests, No spreading fields for me, Not all the wealth of Gyges Shall my possession be ! Sufficient for the needs of life Is all I wish to have, And what is nought excessive, Excessively I crave ! [ 9 1 FROM THE GREEK. "£l(pf\6v y' S> TV(p\s nxoure, k.t.A. Would that thou, oh blear-eyed Plutus, Not in island, nor in ocean, Nor on continent wert dwelling, But to darkest hell wert banished, There abiding, for thou wreakest Many woes on men ! [ io ] A PICTURE. And every move, Graceful as Hyacinth he glided on ; Graceful as Dryad dance on violet mead ; Graceful as Grecian fancy imaged The rose-crowned Eros, as he sails the clouds Clasping the doves of Aphrodite's car, Or on the silvery deer of Artemis Alighteth jubilant, and all unfurls His many-coloured wings, until the breeze Has dried them from the dews of asphodel, And blown away the downy stamen-gold Of bright amaracus, that to them clung In glittering rich dust, from the flower beds Where last the boy had slept. [ » 3 THOUGHTS ON THE PICTURE. O innocent and fair, I pray for thee That the white garment of thy lustrous youth May keep its beauty, and that angel bands May watch around thee in celestial choir, And by the majesty of crowned brow, And by the purity of stainless hand, And by the gleam of virtue's diamond arms, May drive far hence the lion-hosts of ill That growl around thee : so thou mayest live In goodness, and, as highest mountain-top Is rosy-crested on its helm of snow First in the morning, and reflecteth last The orbed splendours of the burning sun, — So thou, thus faultless in thy vernal days, May'st, until death, still mirror on thy soul Hues of reflected heaven. [ 12 ] ON THE ROCKS. He sate on the rent and rifted rock That towers in its grandeur free, That hath bared its breast to the thunder's shock And the storm-wind's maddening glee, Hath learnt at the levin's flash to mock And the foam of the baffled sea, And shelters the nests of the sea-birds flock In the clefts of the blighted tree. He marked the moon from a whitened cloud Look forth with a fitful glare, And he laughed as the wind in its anger loud Dispayed his golden hair : On the Rocks. 13 Not his was a heart could soon be cowed Though his form be slight and fair, And he fronts the spray with a presence proud, With his white breast wet and bare. E'en so, when thou leavest each childish toy To plunge in the world's hot fight, Let thy spirit be calm amid earth's annoy, And clad with a fearless might ; Thou wilt need that strength, my noble boy, On thy way to the realm of light ! Till then, live on in the innocent joy That crowneth thy boyhood bright, And ne'er may its gold have a base alloy, Its blossom a cankering blight. [ 14 ] THE WONDERS OF THE SHORE. Come, Edwin, let us take a stroll the glorious beach along, And gaze upon the merry waves, and hear their summer song; And we will gather shining shells, and seaweeds blue and green, And jewel-pebbles, tinted o'er with sapphire-fretted sheen, And sprigs of coral, such as erst have formed a chaplet fair, Entwined with sea-buds rosy-red amid the mermaid's hair, The Wonders of the Shore. 1 5 Which when the sparkling dance was o'er the sea- nymph flung away Where by the clear cornelian grots the petted fishes play, And bits of jet and shingle wet from out the glassy wave, And nameless things that in the sun gleam forth with colours brave. We will not converse much, my boy, but fancy wild and free Shall flutter o'er the wine-dark wave of the purple- shadow'd sea; And sometimes dip her ivory foot amid the dewy gold, Along the ribbed and yellow sands in rippling laughter rolled ; Or with the sea-bird splash her wing amid the sunny blue, Or with the bounding dolphin dart the ocean- forests through ; 1 6 The Wonders of the Shore. Or light upon the barque's tall mast, that on her distant way Cleaves with the dash of her gallant prow the white and hissing spray. Or we will sit upon the cliffs in silence sweet and deep, Nor will we check the passion-tears if the beauty make us weep ; We will not heed the passers-by, or mark them what they say, The world is ours, and shall be ours through all this summer day. And we will feel the golden light, and feel the slumbrous heat, And in the herbage flowery-bright embathe our quiet feet ; And a gush of melody shall spring from out the softened heart, And we will learn ckep lessons yet ere thou and I shall part ; The Wonders of the Shore. 1 7 Such lessons as the gleams, and blooms, and crimson sunsets give To those who, from their glory, learn with thankful souls to live : So e'en when all the air is cold, and all the earth is dim, Our hearts shall mount in a freshening fount, and gush with a gladdening hymn. [ i8 ] MY RIVULET. Tenderly, tenderly, tenderly blowing, Fluted at even the zephyr of May, Silverly, silverly, silverly flowing, Sang the glad stream on its lily-clad way : Sweetly and swift through the flowery meanders, Ripples of sunshine were flashing along, Where the blue rivulet dewily wanders, Cheering the meadows with laughter and song. Ever, oh ever at even, oh ever Pleasant the thoughts that my rapt heart inspire Still as I stroll by the crystalline river, Blushing and flusht with a tremulous fire ; Clear and serene thro' the days of my childhood Floweth and shineth that fairy-like stream. Long may it mirror its blossoming wildwood, Long in the rose-lights of eve may it gleam ! [ ' 9 ] THE LAUGHTER OF THE SEA. Tibi rident ccquora ponti. —CAT. I remember once In my childhood green and fair, When mirth was in the meadows, And music on the air, 1 was rated for a dunce Because in boyish glee I forgot my work in gazing On the glory of the sea ; Whose gold and sapphire network More gorgeous seemed to me Than jewels on the broidery Of kingly robes could be. 20 The Laughter of the Sea. And I gazed, and I gazed, Till the master and his book Were vanished and neglected In the rapture of the look ; And I gazed, and I gazed, Enchanted and amazed, Till the many-twinkling laughter Of the ocean's fretted gleam Was enwoven in the magic Of my million-colored dream. And when the task was o'er, I bounded down the stair With fifty boys or more, — And in the sunbright air, And on the sunny shore, We flung aside our clothes then and there : And we ran along the sands with the mirth of clapping hands And the flow of laughter sweet, and the patter of light feet, With the ivory white of our young limbs bare, The Laughter of the Sea. 2 1 Till our bodies in we threw, and we glittered as we flew With a motion quick and bright, Like a beam of argent light, In the clear of the glassy-dimpled blue ; And we swam, and we dived, and we floated with a plash, And every arm upraised like a branch of topaz blazed, Till the fancy was delirious, and brain and eye were dazed With the lightning of the swift and merry flash. Ah me ! the golden time ! But the dream hath passed away, With the clear and bracing clime, And the pure and happy day : And the sea still laughs to the rosy shells ashore, And the shore still shines in the lustre of the wave, But the innocence and beauty of the boyish days are o'er, 5 The Laughter of the Sea. And many of the beautiful lie quiet in the grave ; — And he who comes again Wears a brow of toil and pain, And wanders sad and silent by the melancholy main. [ *3 ] SCHOOL FRIENDS. Deligere oportct quern velis diligere. — Cat. A deadly friend, a honeyed foe, Aye ! two such have I known, Two ; and they wrought my childhood woe That turned its flower to stone. Well nigh T curse them now : — not them, The worms are long forgiven ; — And yet their vileness oft did hem My erring soul from heaven. One lives with flushed conceited brow ; One begs beyond the sea : — Forgive, oh God ! forgive them now, The wrongs they did to me ! [ *4 ] THE PRIZE-DAY. The prize-day ! gladdest, sunniest hours, That word recalls to mind, And cherished gains, and triumphs proud, And glances bright and kind ; And partings full of smiles and tears, And faces seen no more, As o'er the darkening waves I pass, Towards the farther shore. The flowers are dead and scentless now, The flowers the boys had worn, The rosebuds and the lilybells They culled in the rosy morn ; The Prize-Day. 25 The faded hues and languid blooms Are dead or thrown away : — 'Ah me ! but few the flowers of life That bloom beyond a day! They come in turns to say Good-bye ; I smile, — but cannot tell The grief that shakes my heavy soul To say that word Farewell : — Farewell !— your hearts will soon forget, And I shall dry my tears ; But happy thoughts of you shall shine Thro' all my future years. [ 26 ] BATH KOL. 1 Cyril and Reginald and I, three boys, Strolled to the hills one sunny summer morn, Happy of heart as boys alone can be In the long light of summer holidays, When life and the rich world before them lie Bright as the sunrise : — but the best by far And merriest-hearted of our triad there Was my young cousin Cyril, — a fair face Ingenuous, and a glancing dark-bright eye, And brown curls, clustering like the hyacinth Down a rose-cheek ; a very picture he, The darling idol of his mother's soul, The cherished jewel of the friends he loved. Cyril, my Cyril, what a life was thine, A life of joyaunce, innocence, and love ! No soul could hate thee, Cyril : to thy feet The basilisk of envy crept, and gazed, Gazed unmalignant with his glance on thine ; Bath Kol. 27 Then fled to hide him in the dust again. Thine eyes were as an amulet to charm All hurtful fascination, and thy brow- Was a phylactery where angel hands Wrote Purity's divinest hieroglyph ; And nought but what was beautiful and good Could linger in thy presence. Happy boy ! Pearls that have drunk the sunbeam, gems that hide The rainbow in their bosom, and reflect A floating gleam of liquid violet Within them, were less beautiful than thou, Less precious-perfect in the eyes of men ! Ah me ! the memory of that golden morn Still glows within my heart. In sun and shade We played and leapt and shouted out our songs, Till those reverberating hills gave back Reflected cadences ; or deep we plunged Into the sapphire of the mere, and swam In the cool lisping waters ; or we read — Reclined beneath the willows — poet-songs, Watching the silver grebes or water-hens 28 Bath Kol That paddled in the sedge-flowers, and just stirred The white and yellow water-lily wreaths. Then homeward down the ledges of a glen We wandered, Reginald and I before, And Cyril, with his light foot in the flowers, Behind us ; — till amid a playful pause I said, (the memory of the foolish jest Hath torture still,) — 'Think, Cyril, if your foot Slipped on this glenside slope, and down you went, Right down, to the stream in the valley, — only What a romantic epitaph we two Would write you, Reggy here and I.' But he, Laughing, 'No thank you, for the kind intent,' Tripped on. ... O heavens ! a shrill, mad, sudden shriek, And a dull sound. I turned, and saw the boy Rolling and crashing deep into the glen "Unchecked ! — No pause for thinking ; — with a cry Reckless of danger, down the steep I sprang To reach him, catching, clutching at the twigs Of the chance shrubs to stay me. A young tree Had stopped his fall, and instant by his side, Bath Kol 29 With a wild burst of agony and love, I stood ; — but he was senseless. There we sat, My brother Reginald and I, — our tears Now dropping on his white brow, and now dry With terror, — chafed his cold soft hand, and oft Wiped from his flower-like face the crimson splash In passionate and trembling grief. At last He had recovered, stood upon his feet, And, with a faint smile playing in his eyes, He whispered, while he leaned upon my arm, — I hear him still — 'How strange, if after all, Dear Louis, I should need your epitaph ! ' ' Ah ! spare me, Cyril,' shudderingly I said ; But scarce with many a childish-gentle word, (The heart of childhood beat within the boy,) Smoothed he the pain that gathered on my brow. Slowly we led him homewards, — and next day He seemed in all his hope and mirth once more Save for a touch of paleness on his cheek, And some dim shadow in his boyish smile. * * * * A week was over. Reginald and I 30 Bath Kol. Returned to school, but Cyril stayed behind For a week longer, and before its close The flashed electric message summoned us To his bedside ; — the bedside where the boy, The loved, the noble boy, lay weak and calm, Fading to death in beauty. As at eve A purple poppy droopeth, petal-dimmed, Stem-broken with the riches of its dew, So Cyril drooped, — and with an angel smile Half-hovering on his gentle parted lips, So Cyril died. I dare not think of it Nor write, for the tears blind me. Since that time We have not often spoken of his name, Nor ever have we mentioned the long day We strolled with Cyril on the sunlit hills. ] bip D3. " the daughter of a voice " was a name sometimes given by the Jews to words unconsciously oracular, when the tongue seemed (to use an expression of /Eschylus) to be "guided amid the chances of destiny," so as to give unwitting expression to events on the point of fulfilment. Such instances are probably familiar to most readers either from report or from personal experience. The main incident of the above poem is literally true. [ 3t ] TO ASTER GAZING UPWARDS. 'Acrrepas elaadptls 'Aarrip ijj.us. Gazing on stars, my star ? oh ! would that I were the welkin Starry with infinite eyes gazing for ever on thee ! [ 3* ] FROM PLATO. ON ASTERS DEATH. Phosphorus wert thou of old, fair star, in the land of the living ; Now thou art Hesper bright, — bright in the land of the leal. [ 33 ] SKOLION. 6 KO.pKLVOS 8' i(pa, K. T. A. Said the crab to the snake, with a cordial shake of the clapper-claw most kind, ' Straight should a comrade be, my friend, and not of a crooked mind.' [ 34 ] MY FIVE FRIENDS. As on the summer flowret's bell The silver dew descends, So on my fainting spirit fell The sympathy of friends. When o'er the past's blue distance glows The light that memory lends, A sorrowing soul shall find repose In thinking of my friends. • My Five Friends. 35 And should I track with weary feet The world's remotest ends, Right sure I am I ne'er shall meet Five nobler-hearted friends. Ah ! while my simple thanks I write, Deep grief with gladness blends ; May worthier love than mine requite The goodness of my friends ! D 2 [ 36 1 VALEAT CUNESIO. Again, again my footsteps trace The storied mound, the terrace green, By all the dear and favour'd place, Through all the lov'd and fabled scene. Again, again the ringing air, The playground flow'ring o'er with boys, The faces young and dear and fair, The unrestraint of summer joys. Again, again the friends I knew Who bore my wayward changeful mood, Alike in weal and sorrow true, The brave, the wise, the pure, the good. Valeat Cimesio. 37 And many will have come and gone Ere once again with you I stray, And many a sun have set and shone, — O fare ye well for many a day. Ye guardian seraphs bright and strong, O strong and bright in love and truth, From sin and ruin, shame and wrong, Shield, shield ye safe that home of youth ! [ 38 ] A DREAM IN THE GARDEN. Ah me ! the days of childhood, The golden days of childhood, The halcyon hours of childhood, How swiftly have they flown ! As fall the purple petals Of flowerets fully blown ; As flies the violet-gleaming From proudly-blazoned windows, The crimson-burning shadows On carved cathedral stone ; As floats the silvery cloudlet All radiant and alone, Along the deep-blue sapphire A Dream in the Garden. 39 That binds the sungod's throne, — E'en so the days of childhood, The halcyon hours of childhood, The golden years of childhood, So swiftly have they flown ! But why doth this sweet echo Thus ring within my mind, And why with linked fancies, As with a chain of roses, Does fair enchanting Memory My wandering spirit bind 1 O wherefore am I hurried To distance-azured islets On Time's receding wave, When passing years should bear me Aye onward to the future, Aye through the weary present And onward to the grave 1 'Tis thus : — within an arbour Three summer days I read, 4° A Dream In the Garden. Where many a star-like blossom Of pure and perfumed jasmine, And many a veined leaflet Were fluttering overhead : And still my thoughts were flowing To days that long have passed, And all my dim heart glowing With joys too rich to last ; For oft the garden round me Had echoed to my tread, And to my brother's footsteps When, in our happy boyhood, All arm-in-arm we wandered With one who now is dead ! Ah me ! the dream angelical, How rapidly it fled ! Yes ! many a gentle playmate Hath sported with us there, Fair boys with sunny foreheads, Fair girls of tender beauty, With cheeks of dimpled roses A Dream in the Garden. 41 And shining silken hair ; And still those little playmates, Those gentle little playmates, With faces soft and fair, Would flash a sparkling image, And pass with low faint music Before me, as though seraphim Were sporting in the air. Not soon the spell was broken ; Thro' all the long bright day I sought the silent garden, And sitting in the arbour, With book unread before me, I dreamt my time away ; And still those little footsteps, The tiny little footsteps, Awoke the pattering echoes In merry careless play; And I, a child among them, The happiest child among them, 4 2 A Dream in the Garden. Was heedlessly enjoying My young Life's early May. silvery was the laughter, O sweet each ringing tone, And when the magic faded, And Fancy swiftly-soaring Dropped half the pearly broidery From her enwoven zone ; — Then, as the breeze of even Went sighing through the blossoms With low unquiet moan, — 1 could not choose but utter ' Ah me ! the days of childhood, The golden days of childhood, The halcyon hours of childhood, Ah ! whither have they flown ? ' [ 43 ] LIFE. Lo ! where Life's crowned goblet stands In infant years before us placed ; — A lustrous chalice richly chaced With work divine of heavenly hands. With golden flowers the stem is graced And tinct with honey gleams the rim ; Too soon, too soon the gold is dim, The honey, — absinth to the taste ! [ 44 ] A SCHOOL CHAPEL HYMN. ST. MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS. Father, before Thy throne of light The guardian angels bend, And ever in Thy presence bright Their psalms adoring blend ; And casting down each amaranth crown Beside the fiery sea, With voice and lyre in happy choir, Hymn glory, Lord, to Thee. And as the rainbow lustre falls Athwart their glowing wings, While seraph unto seraph calls, And each Thy mercy sings ; A School Chapel Hymn. 45 So may we feel as low we kneel To pray Thee for Thy grace, That Thou art here for all who fear The brightness of Thy face. Here where the angels see us come To worship day by day, Teach us to seek our heavenly home, And serve Thee e'en as they ; With them to raise our notes of praise, With them Thy love to own, That boyhood's flower and manhood's power Be Thine and Thine alone ! [ 46 ] TEMPTATION. Sed revocare gradum 1 And we embarked upon a glassy sea Lit with the lingering sunset, on a path That flashed in rippling laughter treacherously Right towards the west ; and so we three embarked On the bright falsehood of that gleaming sea, Nor cared at all, nor hoped at all, to reach A bourne beyond the waters, or green isle Gemming with emerald the dividuous blue ; But still with oar and sail we glided on Unheeding, reckless onward, towards the gay Clouds of the golden and purpureal west. Temptation. 47 Nor did we sail in silence, for our hearts Half failed us 'mid the light of ardent waves, And that unseen departure o'er the blue To lands of naught ; so not in silence we, But straining at the slow reluctant oars With frantic laughter, and a mirth that died To chill us with the melancholy plash And sullen shudders of the wind that crept Athwart the ocean ; not in silence we, But with a seeming merriment, as though We marked not how the bloom of sunset failed In the dim distance of the purple west. We knew that it was perilous and wrong To trespass o'er the waters, — long ago Forbidden ; and ourselves had often seen Fair barques that ventured thither hurled ashore On the rough ledges of the shattering rocks, Through the tempestuous seethe of hissing foam, Mid shrieks of horror . . . ' But the halcyon wing, Youth's halcyon wing, hath lulled the charmed wave To argent mirrors for her radiant plumes ; 48 Temptation. See ! — shall the dotards bid us stand at home Like cowards ? — nay ! but onwards, and the tide Shall float us gently as a seabird's nest Towards the pure roses that the Hours have flung O'er the sun's golden chariot ; we return Ere the night falleth or the storms arise.' At first it was not easy. Now and then Seemed it as some kind Nereid with her hand Had clung to the dipt oar, or Triton pushed With his broad spaddle backwards on the keel. At first : — but every time the oar-blades fell, And at each flapping of the wind-filled sail, And at each bound the painted pinnace made, 'T was easier ; till the shores lay far behind, And the dyed waters darklier gloomed around, And the pale west loomed paler on before. Suddenly ceased the oars ; but still the boat Moved onwards, and amid some shock of fear One cried, with a low wail of moaning woe, ' It darkens, oh my brothers ! and the night Temptation. 49 Falls, and the storm arises, and the glow Has faded from the waters and the west. C) turn we, turn we, ere the thunder-fiends Swoop on us through the midnight ; — turn ! ' — and we Remorseful, with a terror at our hearts, And all the startled energies of dread, Turned backward^ to the happy lands we left. Fair lay they in the distance, calm and fair, Still kissed with radiance ; and the happy airs Played round them with a balminess of life, And lingered o'er the flowers of their still homes, And by the silver error of their streams, * And o'er their blossoming woods : — and oh ! we longed To mingle, sea-soiled as our garments were, To mingle with their children once again, Beautiful, innocent, in robes of white, As erst, before that guilty eventide Had lured us o'er the blush of sunlit waves Towards the gorgeous magic of the west. E eo Temptation. But the wild winds had risen ; murmuring low, They played and patted on the lisping waves At first ;— but momently with louder scream, And the rough buffet of their ringing wings Swept o'er the billowy gulfs, and every length Of the poor boat was won with labouring hands And fainting spirits, till at last we ceased, Despairing ; — and the storm-wincls hurled us back, And vainly in the weary hours we tried To win the homeward passage : for our arms Grew feeble, and our hearts were chill with woe. "Where were the laughing, lisping, freshening waves That with their playful fancies infantine Had plashed and babbled on the sunlit sands 1 Where was the primrose-colored evening, dyed With faery phantasies of rose and gold, The one star-jewel trembling on her brow ? Where was the balmy wind's yEolian tune Of fluted minstrelsy? Was this the scene That lured us ; . . . wild and terror-haunted night, Temptation. 5 1 Black sea, and blazing storm, and lightning-flare, And fury of the thunder 1 . . . O my God ! So through the gathering darkness, o'er the sheets Of white foam swirling round the riven path, Beneath a livid wrack of ragged clouds, We floundered onwards ; — and one face was bowed Down to the knees to hide the bursting tears And choke the terrible sobs, — and one glared up Defiant, haggard, through the furious night, — And one was stricken down, with forlorn glance Bent on the pitiless sea : — and on we drove, Forwards and onwards, toward the pitchy gloom That hung athwart the thunder-threatening west. And horror fell upon our hearts ! — But hark ! . . . A voice across the waters, and the gleam Of white robes, and a foot upon the waves ! E 2 [ 52 ] NECESSITY. He wandered by the lonely sea And saw the mighty billows dash, And edges of the purple wave With foamy silver flash ; He learnt to loathe his evil heart In wandering by the wondrous main, And vowed to choose a nobler part ; — Ah God ! the vow was vain ! He paced for hours beneath the moon, Where from light clouds of silvery green She poured her mystic lustre round, — A jewel-kirtled queen: Necessity. 53 Infinite, infinite through the sky, Numberless stars their influence shed ; He scorned the past, and his hopes rose high ; — Ah God ! they soon were dead. Beneath the forest trees he lay I' the sunlit fragrant air, With the violet flowers in the moss at his feet, And the pure wind in his hair ; And the sky and the lake had a golden gleam, And the green earth blythely shone ; "And the lost, lost years will I soon redeem:" — A week — and the will was gone ! He kneeled in prayer in a lonely room, Raised hand and streaming eye, With a swimming brain, and a burning heart, And a wild and bitter cry; And a light came down on his stormy fears, For a time : — but the light grew dim, — And now through the gloom of the pitiless years, What hope, what hope for him 1 [ 54 ] HORROR OVERCOME. I had a dream, a hideous dream ; Its horrid phantasms haunt me yet, Its fiery figures round me gleam. The sun had set ; — the sun had set, But through the darkness fell a glare, No soft and silvery light afar, But as in fens the witch-fires flare, Or red as meteors are ; So, sulphurous, the clouds among Red and ghastly cressets swung, And flickering, baleful, splendour flung Instead of moon or star. Horror overcome. 55 And all the world was mad with guilt, And all around me surged a crowd, A godless throng, and blood was spilt 'Mid curses deep and loud ; And deeds were done at which the sun Had shuddered, and the sky was riven ; And every soul had sinned a sin That could not be forgiven ! And then amid the sweltering mirth I heard a dissonant echo ring, — " Rejoice, rejoice ! o'er all the earth The devil is king, the devil is king!" "The devil is king!" — like burning flame The words across my senses came, And from the cursed rout I fled, Pursued by wrath, and fear, and shame, — They waved their torches o'er my head ; — But, ere the vision smote me dead, I breathed a prayer, a word of prayer, And something seemed to break the spell, And, carried soft through fragrant air, 56 Horror overcome. Far from that revelry of hell, Odours I breathed of heavenly blooms, Glimpses of light I caught which broke From starry crowns and angel plumes, — That with the sudden bliss I woke. I woke, and tears were on my cheek, And long with beating heart I lay ; But when I rose, resigned and meek, I knelt me down to pray : — " Father, to Thee we cry, we fly, O save us, Father, by thy grace : Beset with fears, oh, lead us home, Where sin and sorrow never come, And Horror has no place : — We are the people of thy hand, The loved sheep of thy pasture we ; Strong in thy strength, oh, bid us stand; And with thy freedom free ! " [ 57 ] HYGEIA. Health, happy Health ! who would not rather shout Amid the green old hills a shepherd boy, With nought but thee to kiss his cheek to rose, And wind and sunbeam on his flaxen curls To toy them into gold, — than reign a king Crowned, purpled, sceptred, and with burning brow, Fretted with wearying cares of sovereignty 1 Health, happy Health ! who would not rather stroll By the wild streams that wanton through fair fields With motion musical of silver waves, Or through blythe moors in rude and ruddy strength Follow the game, — than o'er the lettered page 58 Hygeia. Bend, though it glow with eloquence and song, Till the brain deadens, swimming heavily 1 Health, happy Health ! who would not rather stand Upon the slippery and wave-struck deck, A sailor lad, who never knew the touch Of sickness, though the tumbling waves were mad, And the winds howled above them, — than be tired With all the languid luxuries of wealth, And the dim lassitudes of idleness 1 Health, happy Health ! if in the elder days My lot had fallen, I had vowed to thee A milk-white bull, flower-wreathed and golden- horned, Or reared a radiant statue in thy shrine, Chryselephantine ; — hear me, happy Health ! Hear me, fair Spirit, in the weary hours ! So, giftless, soon thy tenderest gentleness The pallid cheek shall re-illume with rose, And light a starrier gladness unbesought 'Neath the dim eyelids, heavy-lustreless. [ 59 ] CONISTON LAKE. The mountain's eager air we breathed ; We rowed along the silver lake, And watched the vapours lightly wreathed, And marked the little ripples break, Or plunging in the liquid blue, Beneath the noontide's golden glare, From wave to crystal wave we flew With glistening arm and streaming hair. And oh, the joy of summer skies, And woods, and hills, and waters bright, To him whose fading brow and eyes Are paled of bloom and dim of light ; He hears the wave of life remount With gladdening impulse fresh and free, And the long-sad and silent fount Re-sings its olden melody. [ 6o ] HADRIAN'S VILLA, TIVOLI. " Except the Lord build the house ..." Where the cypress upheaves its dark green leaves By the side of the glistering pine, Mark how the rose of the sunset glows, And the snow-fringed mountains shine. And round us rise to the wondering eyes The wrecks of imperial pride, As by the walls of the painted halls We are wandering side by side. Aye, the lightning hath shattered, the storm-wind scattered The palace-piles they built ; And the dark years fall like a funeral pall O'er the tale of their purple guilt. Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli. 61 And the golden domes of their gorgeous homes Are crushed to the crumbling soil : For if God hath not given his blessing from heaven, But vain is the builders' toil. [ 63 ] THE LEGEND OF ABER. At Aber, where Llewellyn's palace stood, In turbulence of laughter down the vale The torrent, murmurous with many a fall, Danceth its mazy gladness, flowery-foamed, And the proud mountains plumed with fir and fern Stand purple in the sun. Llewellyn's hall Rang with the revelries of harp, and song, And wassail ; and each bearded warrior's cup, By fair-haired pages crowned with generous wine, Stood ruby to the rim. + But she, alone, The pearl, the rosebud of Llewellyn's court, The Legend of Aber. 63 She whose sweet voice rang sweeter than the harp, Whose eye shone softer than the evening star, Had wandered unattended down the vale, In heavy-hearted sorrow, beauty-clad, Llewellyn's queen ; — rich was her royal robe With golden broidery, and round her brow Rested a princedom's circlet, many-gemmed, 'Mid her long curls ; — yet all alone she roamed To where tumultuous down the rifted crags Sprang the wild wilful cataract. There she sate, In silence of her suffering loveliness, Dipping her light foot in the dimpling wave, Or with the jewelled fringes of her robe Ruffling the rippled pool. But all her thoughts Were dark for him who in those treacherous halls Was feasted — " O, for but a whispered word To warn him of his danger!" Brave De Rhoos, Dark Gwyllym, flower of English chivalry, Had won her warped affection, and she feared That Prince Llewellyn, while he called him friend, Would dog him to the death. " The gallant knight ! O for one word, one brief and whispered word, 64 The Legend of Aber. To warn him ! " — so she murmured, as she bent Her long, bright tresses downward o'er the wave. Was it the ripple tinkling silverly Upon the fretted pebbles at her feet 1 Its sound was as of laughter, — a dark eye, Violet and glowing, met her timid glance, And on an emerald moss-knoll, with his harp, A minstrel stood before her ; and he sang, The while he gazed upon her, and his hand, His light hand trifled with the thrilling strings : " Tell me, princess of Llewellyn, What wouldst give to see thy GAvyllym 1 " And with a start the princess answered him : — " Cymri, Lloegr, and Llewellyn, Would I give to see my Gwyllym." Loud laughed the scornful harper, and he turned To a dark field, where, 'mid the ashen grove, A gibbet o'er the feathery foliage gloomed ; And pointing, — " Lo thy Gwyllym ! " — and her eye Saw a dark form, that swung in knightly arms, The Legend of Aber. 65 Upon the clanking chains. A wild, wild shriek Rang through the echoing windings of the hills, As fainting on the sward the Ladye fell ; And when her wandering senses had returned, Deep twilight brooded o'er the pleasant vale At Aber, where Llewellyn's palace stood. [ 66 ] THE SEA-NYMPH'S LOVE. When first the wondrous Argo's flashing oars Smote on the silvered blue, and when the wind First played in laughter with her snowy sail, And curved its heaving bosom, like a swan's ; — Up-started here and there, amid the waves, The Tritons, marvelling and jealous-eyed Astride their flouncing dolphins, trumpeting Strange murmurs from their wreathed and rosy horns. And e'en Poseidon's hoary royalty Reined his sea-steeds to gaze on that fair ship That broke the glassy waters of his main The Sea-Nymph's Love. 67 To foamy furrows ; and the Nereids clung Round Amphitrite's car, while their dark eyes Looked wonder through their long blue tresses, crowned With clustering sea-bells. Fairest of them all. And stateliest, leaning on her rosy arm, Upon a radiate, many-coloured shell, Lay silver-"-)oted Thetis, beautiful With pearls amid her hair. But by the prow, Alone (for it was noon, and all the rest Were slumbering in the cool), a hero-form Glimmered in golden arms ; and the light wind Lisped in the red plumes of his glancing helm, And shook the feathery shadows on a brow Calm, marble, like a prince's. There he stood In silent grandeur gazing on the scene That died away to silence in the noon • A murmurous hush, save for the playful wave, That, flickering in the sunlight and the wind. Patted and flapped upon the vessel's side With low, sweet sounds of laughter musical : F 2 68 The Sea-NympKs Love. And the clouds slept i' the lustre of the blue Of heaven, the deep blue mingling on the marge With the blue slumber of the lighted sea. The Tritons and the sea-nymphs passed ; but she, The silver-footed Thetis, saw the youth, And gazed upon his beauty full of love : Gazed from her floating shell amid the waves, Floated and gazed in silence from the waves On Peleus, and his arms, and glancing helm, And on the lengthened shadows of his height, Flung on the purpling waters, until eve, And till the sunset, and the twilight. Then Sank she to coral grottoes, jewel-lit, Where, all night long, the soft-eyed god of sleep Shook dewy slumbers from his poppy-wreath O'er her ; and, o'er her head, aerial-hued, Waved many a dream, colouring the dark of sleep, Mysterious, — whispering to her inmost heart Fore-feelings of the destinies to come. [ 69 ] MY LITTLE ROOM. Oh ! what a living green is on the leaves, A green that seems to brighten through the air And tinge it with ten thousand emeralds ! How the tall linden lifts in the purple sky The honeyed fragrance of its golden flowers Heavy with dew-drops : — for six burning days The sun with crimson majesty of heat Had smitten the faint world, but yesternight Came the mad merry thunder, and it leapt With myriad echoes through the rolling clouds, Dashing the raindrops from them : and I woke To hear them pattering on the shaken panes, 70 My Little Room. And streaming down the casement ; then I slept, To see the lightning flash upon my sleep, And hear the thunder throbbing through my dreams. And now it is the morning, and the storm Growls in the muttering distance, while the air Quivers with coolest perfume, and the tones Of birds that twitter in the chestnut-boughs. I sit before my window, and inhale The mingled beauty. From this window-seat How often have I gazed upon the clouds, And watched the rich purpureal pageantry Of sunset painted in the pictured west ! My heart is glad and heavy when I think Of all the wealthy hours that I have spent In the dear precincts of my little room. [ 7i 1 ERIC'S HYMN. Alone ! alone ! ah, weary soul ! In all the world alone I stand, With none to wed their hearts to mine, Or link in mine a loving hand. Ah ! tell me not that I have those Who own the ties of blood and name ; And pitying friends who love me well, And dear returns of friendship claim. I have, I have ! but none can heal, And none shall see my inward woe ; And the deep thoughts within me veiled, No other heart but mine shall know. 7 2 Eric's Hymn. And yet amid my sins and shames The shield of God is o'er me thrown ; And 'neath its awful shade I feel Alone, but ah ! not all alone ! Not all alone ! and though my life Be dragged along the stained earth, O God ! I feel Thee near me still, And thank Thee for my birth ! [ 73 ] A LESSON OF LIFE. Lord and Father, great and holy, Fearing nought we come to Thee ; * Fearing nought, though weak and lowly, For Thy love has made us free ; By the blue sky bending o'er us, By the green earth's flowery zone, Teach us, Lord, the angel chorus : " Thou art Love, and Love alone." Father, Lord of bright creation, Holy, blest, eternal Son, Spirit, fount of inspiration, Glorious Godhead, Three in One, 74 A Lesson of Life. With the notes that high-ascending Choir around the jasper throne, May Thy sons the song be blending : "Thou art Love, and Love alone." Though the worlds in flame should perish, Suns and stars in ruin fall, Trust of Thee our hearts should cherish, Thou to us be all in all ; And though heavens Thy Name are praising, Seraphs hymn no sweeter tone Than the strain our hearts are raising : "Thou art Love, and Love alone." II. POEMS OF LOVE. Jam scio quid sit Amor I Juris in cotibus ilium I. EROS DUSEROS; OR, LOVE'S SORROW. [ 77 ] CHANCE AND CHANGE. Under our green hills lies a glittering lake, A sheet of blue and silver, glassy-smooth Save where before the white imperial curve Of the swan's bosom, ruffled by her plumes The rippling wavelet flickered into gold ; And, mirrored in the centre, rose and shone, Like a rich emerald on a fair girl's neck, A fairy islet in the silver lake. Over those silver waters silently We floated, — silent, for the sense of love And beauty, like a perfume in the air, Lay with a magic opiate on our souls, And lulled us with divine mandragora ; 7 8 Chance and Change. Till Ronald, as he dipped the lazy oars, And plashed the dewy diamonds in the air, Ronald the fair-haired merry-hearted boy 'Gan thrill the slumbering echoes with a song Joy, joy, joy, In the balmy summer air, Joy, joy, joy, For the world is bright and fair, joy, joy, joy, Beneath the sunny blue, When the loving soul is tender And the beating heart is true ! Joy, joy, joy, By the gemmy waves to pass, In forests sheen and meadows green And flowery-gleaming grass ; O joy, joy, joy, Beneath the golden ray, For leaden must the spirit be That could be sad to-day ; Chance and Change. 79 Ay, leaden must the spirit be That dares be dull to-day. So sang he in his ringing treble tones With exquisite falsetto now and then, Young Ronald, the boy-poet whom I love, Exuberant of heart ; and, as he sang, Into the shadows of the emerald isle Glided the gilded prow, and by the prow She sat, my noble Ethel, motionless ; And shaken by the west-wind from the leaves The glowing sunlight tempered by the green Fell softly o'er her in a golden rain, O'er her fair face and o'er her floating curls Which laughing May had circled with a crown, A delicate coronal of blue and white, Cinque-foils of starry white, and tenderest blue Forget-me-nots, and lilies of the lake. And she was mine, my Ethel, plighted mine ; And as I sat by Ronald and by May, I gazed upon her till her dark eyes fell, 8o Chance and Change,