Beneath the touch of Hope, how soft, How light the magic pencil ran! Till Fear would come, alas! as oft, And trembling close what Hope began.
A tear or two had dropp'd from Grief, And Jealousy would, now and then, Ruffle in haste some snowy leaf,
Which Love had still to smooth again!
But, oh, there was a blooming boy, Who often turn'd the pages o'er, And wrote therein such words of joy, As all who read still sigh'd for more!
And Pleasure was this spirit's name, And though so soft his voice and look, Yet Innocence, whene'er he came, Would tremble for her spotless book!
For still she saw his playful fingers Fill'd with sweets and wanton toys; And well she knew the stain that lingers After sweets from wanton boys!
And so it chanced, one luckless night He let his honey goblet fall O'er the dear book so pure, so white, And sullied lines, and marge and all!
In vain he sought, with eager lip,
The honey from the leaf to drink, For still the more the boy would sip, The deeper still the blot would sink !
Oh, it would make you weep, to see The traces of this honey flood Steal o'er a page, where Modesty Had freshly drawn a rose's bud!
And Fancy's emblems lost their glow, And Hope's sweet lines were all defaced, And Love himself could scarcely know
At length the urchin Pleasure fled, (For how, alas! could Pleasure stay?) And Love, while many a tear he shed, In blushes flung the book away!
The index now alone remains,
Of all the pages spoil'd by Pleasure, And though it bears some honey stains, Yet Memory counts the leaf a treasure!
And oft, they say, she scans it o'er, And oft, by this memorial aided, Brings back the pages, now no more, And thinks of lines that long have faded!
I know not if this tale be true,
But thus the simple facts are stated;
And I refer their truth to you,
Since Love and you are near related !
I SAW THY FORM IN YOUTHFUL PRIME.
I saw thy form in youthful prime, Nor thought that pale decay Would steal before the steps of time, And waste its bloom away, Mary! Yet still thy features wore that light Which fleets not with the breath; And life ne'er look'd more truly bright Than in thy smile of death, Mary !
As streams that run o'er golden mines, Yet humbly, calmly glide, Nor seem to know the wealth that shines Within their gentle tide, Mary! So, veil'd beneath the simplest guise, Thy radiant genius shone, And that which charm'd all other eyes, Seem'd worthless in thy own, Mary!
If souls could always dwell above,
Thou ne'er hadst left that sphere ; Or, could we keep the souls we love, We ne'er had lost thee here, Mary! Though many a gifted mind we meet, Though fairest forms we see, To live with them is far less sweet Than to remember thee, Mary!
I saw from the beach, when the morning was shining, A bark o'er the waters moved gloriously on;
I came, when the sun o'er that beach was declining.- The bark was still there, but the waters were gone!
Ah! such is the fate of our life's early promise,
So passing the spring-tide of joy we have known : Each wave, that we danced on at morning, ebbs from us, And leaves us, at eve, on the bleak shore alone!
Ne'er tell me of glories, serenely adorning
The close of our day, the calm eve of our night ;- Give me back, give me back the wild freshness of morning, Her clouds and her tears are worth evening's best light.
Oh, who would not welcome that moment's returning, When passion first waked a new life through his frame, And his soul-like the wood that grows precious in burning- Gave out all its sweets to Love's exquisite flame!
THIS LIFE IS ALL CHEQUERED WITH PLEASURES AND WOES.
THIS life is all chequer'd with pleasures and woes, That chase one another, like waves of the deep, Each billow, as brightly or darkly it flows,
So closely our whims on our miseries tread, That the laugh is awaked ere the tear can be dried, And, as fast as the rain-drop of Pity is shed,
The goose-feathers of Folly can turn it aside, But pledge me the cup-if existence would cloy With hearts ever happy, and heads ever wise, Be ours the light grief that is sister to Joy,
And the short brilliant folly that flashes and dies!
When Hylas was sent with his urn to the fount, Through fields full of sunshine, with heart full of play, Light rambled the boy over meadow and mount, And neglected his task for the flowers on the way. Thus some who, like me, should have drawn and have tasted The fountain that runs by Philosophy's shrine, Their time with the flowers on the margin have wasted, And left their light urns all as empty as mine! But pledge me the goblet-while Idleness weaves Her flowerets together, if Wisdom can see One bright drop or two, that has fall'n on the leaves From her fountain divine, 'tis sufficient for me!
Who is the maid my spirit seeks,
Through cold reproof and slander's blight? Has she Love's roses on her cheeks?
Is hers an eye of this world's light ? No,-wan and sunk with midnight prayer Are the pale looks of her I love; Or if, at times, a light be there, Its beam is kindled from above.
I chose not her, my soul's elect,
From those who seek their Maker's shrine In gems and garlands proudly deck'd, As if themselves were things divine! No-heaven but faintly warms the breast That beats beneath a broider'd veil ; And she who comes in glittering vest
Not so the faded form I prize
And love, because its bloom is gone; The glory in those sainted eyes
Is all the grace her brow puts on. And ne'er was beauty's dawn so bright, So touching as that form's decay, Which, like the altar's trembling light, In holy lustre wastes away!
OFT, IN THE STILLY NIGHT.
OFT, in the stilly night,
Ere Slumber's chain has bound me,
Fond Memory brings the light
Of other days around me;
The smiles, the tears,
Of boyhood's years,
The words of love then spoken; The eyes that shone,
Now dimm'd and gone,
The cheerful hearts now broken!
Thus, in the stilly night,
Ere Slumber's chain has bound me,
Sad Memory brings the light
Of other days around me.
When I remember all
The friends, so link'd together,
I've seen around me fall,
Like leaves in wintry weather;
I feel like one
Who treads alone
Some banquet-hall deserted, Whose lights are fled, Whose garland's dead, And all but he departed!
Thus in the stilly night,
Ere Slumber's chain has bound me,
Sad Memory brings the light
Of other days around me.
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