O! thou art a sweet and playful thing,
And light as a lark upon the wing,
Pouring the melody of thy mirth,
In sunny showers down to the earth.
The sunbeams pave o'er the crystal waters
A pathway for thee to Triton's daughters,
Down in the depths of the waving sea,
Where their bright archëd palaces be:
There mermaids hasten unto thy side,
And sing their songs till the ravished tide
Feels the soft music through all its swells,
And whispers them o'er to the coral shells.
Fays are thy playmates at dewy e'en,
For o'er their land they have made thee queen,
Crowned thee with flowers of fadeless hue,
And drained thy health in the honey dew;
And over mountain, and hill, and dale,
'Lumed by the glow of the moonbeams pale,
Thy merry train in the stillness dance,
Like a beam of pleasure and radiance;
Thine are the revels each summer night,
Held on the mead by the glow-worm's light,
Till maidens, straying at early dawn,
Trace thy blithe footsteps upon the lawn;
Thus dost thou lead on thy joyous rout,
And trip around till thou'rt wearied out;
And in the harebells the yellow bee
Creeps in the morning to waken thee
Forth from thy sweet dreams of joy and love,
That rise in odorous breath above.

Like some fair wizard thou weavest spells
Over all flowers, and brooks, and dells,
Wreathing above every mossy bed,
Till with bright dreams it is canopied
And through the rose-coloured atmosphere
All things more lovely and bright appear,
Losing the faintness of earthly things,
And shining with heaven's illuminings.
Thine are the Naiads and Nymphs which rise
From dell and fountain to daze our eyes;
Thine are the spirits 'mid leafy trees,
Whose voices come to us on the breeze.
Thine are the maidens whose trackless feet
Bear to the flower cups their honey sweet,
Pressing their perfume till through and through
Is pierced the soul of the rising dew.

Lead me, sweet sprite, to thy sunny dwelling!
Is it where brooklets are softly welling
Amid the greenwoods with many a fall,
Making the lily-cups musical?
Is it where mosses and violets meet,
And blend their lives in an union sweet,
Whither the butterflies speed to tell
Glad tales of the flowers thou lovest so well?
Is't in the covert whose lonely shade
The ring-dove her resting place hath made,
Lulled by the melody of her note
Till dreams of Elysium round thee float?
Is't on the breast of the sunlit sea,
With ripples of glory to circle thee,
Bright flashing dolphins to bear thy car,
And waft thee to glorious isles afar?
Is't in some cave where the light of day
Borrows new hues from the diamond ray,
Paven with jewels and silv'ry sand
Borne by the waves from the mermaid's land
Is't in the arms of the balmy gale
Over the ocean thou lovest to sail,
Loosing the folds of thy silken hair
To float at will on the perfumed air?
Is it by valley or heath-clad mountain?
Is it by streamlet or limpid fountain?
Tell me, and I will come to thee,
Follow thy flight through immensity!

Dost thou not roam in the realms of sleep,
While stars above thee their bright watch keep,
Lapping the soul in a crystal sea,
Whose every swell is felicity?
And in the halls of her quiet home,
Where darkness pillars the starry dome,
Making all beauty more beautiful,
And keeping the moonbeams soft and cool,
Dost thou not sit till the morning beams
Weaving the fabric of happy dreams,
Bringing dear visions to weeping eyes,
Till sorrow transforms to paradise?
Dost thou not kiss sweet lips till they smile,
And murmur of joys they knew erewhile,
And build up hopes that are shatter'd quite,
Decking the past in a robe of light?

O! thou art a kind and gentle thing,
Bearing the gifts that good angels bring,
Joying in all that is bright and free,
And soothing the sting of misery;
If thou would'st dwell in my beating heart,
And breathe thy fragrance through every part,
I would ever love and obey thee,
Never slight thee and never betray thee
Into the hands of cruel scoffers,
Who sell their souls to fill their coffers,
Crush every flower beneath their feet,
And make the sole bliss of life—to cheat;
Cheat the greenwoods of happy ramblers,
To rear a race of slaves and gamblers;
Cheat the summer, cheat the spring,
Cheat the sweet flowers of their ministring;
Cheat the soft meadows and sunny skies
Of their glad tribute from glist'ning eyes;
Cheat the birds in their leafy bowers,
Cheat every day of its few short hours,
Cheat even life of its little pleasure,
Dealing its needfuls out in short measure;
Cheating all beauty while they draw breath,
But true to one commerce, that is—Death!

Come to me then, and I'll cherish thee,
Thou shalt my loving companion be;
From the cold world we will live apart,
And build up a new one within my heart.

It is the sign
Of Earth's fraternity, the only tie
That links us all,
Both great and small,
In common sympathy.

It is the heart
Issueing from its prison house of clay;
Perchance gladly,
Perchance sadly,
Wending on its way.

Sad are the glances from thy deep blue eyes,
Ione,
Soft as the mirror of the summer skies
When twilight shadows o'er its surface steal,
And twinkling stars their radiant orbs reveal!
Why are they sad
Which were so glad,
Ione?
Have their rays bathed in dew-drops 'mid the air,
And still the sparkling moisture trembles there?
Then, smile, for dewy tears
Melt when the sun appears,
Ione!
Yet thou art very beautiful in sadness,
Ione!
More beautiful e'en than in gladness,
And the sweet music of thy gentle sighs
Comes like the language of thy speaking eyes;
What do they say?
Tell me their lay,
Ione!
Fain would I learn from thee what passing thought
Can with such plaintive melody be fraught—
Ah! wherefore turn away,
Stay, yet a little stay,
Ione!

Gath'ring round it misty fancies,
Like the mountain's cloudy wreath,
Till the spirit's errant glances
See no beauty underneath.

There are true hearts beating nigh us
As we fight the fight of life,
Hearts unstain'd by guilty bias,
Hearts unharden'd by its strife.

There are gentle bosoms swelling
With all motions pure and kind,
That unceasingly are welling
Solace to the weary mind.

Few there are without possessing
Some good virtue in their heart,
Whence, beneath love's soft compressing,
As from flowers, sweet perfumes start.

Dreamer, turn then to the real
With a frank and trusting soul,
Not alone to the ideal
Let thy genial currents roll.

Pierce the clay that oft encloses
The pure brightness of a gem,
Think thee, flowers less fair than roses,
In their sweetness rival them.

Thus in truth, and not in dreaming,
Life will blossom to the full,
Unto love's eyes all things seeming
Prism'd through the beautiful.

I was sprung, from lineage noble, with a spirit inly burning
To uphold my name and honor taintless from the blast of shame,
I was born to be a freeman, by my birthright therefore spurning
All the gilded chains of fashion that make freedom but a name.

From the forms and outward emblems of the deep-lored spirit Nature
Drew I inspiration early for the moulding of my thought,
Gath'ring strength from her o'erflowing, till I grew unto the stature
Of a man nerved to accomplish all the good her wisdom taught.

So when years had ripen'd on me, and the world's great portals yawning,
Bid me enter the enchanted palace of youth's mystic life,
Eager, breathless to explore it, at each step new wonders dawning,
I went on with stedfast courage, arm'd alike for peace or strife.

And I loved, that I might ever in my bosom bear a treasure
Strong to ransom life from sorrow, strong to furnish it with joy;
So I sought with keenest insight—neither small nor scant the measure
To content my requisition—purest gold without alloy.

And I found it lying lowly, far beneath my proud line's dreaming,
Who if they perchance had seen it, would with scorn have turn'd away,
But I sought it with soul-gladness, e'en with pride, for to my seeming
A pure gem is worth the lifting though it lie amongst the clay.

She was fair, a lumin'd beauty rippling o'er each chisell'd feature,
Changing ever like the sunshine playing on the summer sea,
Revelations of God's spirit permeating through his creature,
Making loveliness all perfect by infused divinity.

What to me though all her dow'ry were the wealth of love and kindness,
And a heart full fraught with feelings vein'd with gentleness and grace?
Which the worldling holds as nothing, smitten with judicial blindness,
But which I o'er all things prizing, wed her in the weak world's face.

Scared my kinsmen were and bitter for the shame and the dishonour,
Said they, I had brought upon them and the noble name I bore;
And my sire with passion burning launch'd his deepest curses on her,
And as though I were a felon, drove me fiercely from his door.

I was destined for some puppet, some gold image of his choosing,
Doubtless, who was made to worship like the golden calf of old,
With no merit but her riches, but such shame my soul refusing,
I was cast forth without blessing, poor and guideless from the fold.

Poor?—Not poor, for she went with me, pouring still with patient spirit
Balm upon my wounded feelings, peace upon my burning soul;
So that though man's love was reft me, 'twas the better to inherit
That which far transcends man's favour,—sentience of Heaven's sweetest dole.

Words of scorn and deep contemning gave I back for their reviling,
For my soul waxed wroth within me to be judged by such as they,
Fools so sage in their great folly, that they shake their bells, and smiling
With an imbecile self-blindness, sneer the wise of heart away.

Let them wear their masking purple, threadbare now with vilest uses,
All the ancient gloss and brightness faded from it through their stains,
They may be disgraced, degraded, but true nobleness, ne'er loses
By relinquishing its trappings, whilst the spirit still remains.

Did I shame them that I ceded all the forms and false adorning
That doth deck them for their stations heedless of the stuff within,
And stood forth in my own fashion, such as God had made me, scorning
To be made a man of tinsel, to be honoured for my kin.

Did I shame them that rejoicing in the freedom of my spirit
I asserted all its fulness, spite of prejudice and pride;
Whilst they, slaves of wealth and fashion, trembling cowards did not dare it,
Would not risk a pointed finger e'en to gain an angel bride.

Was the noble name they cited but the badge of slaves and vassals,
Bound beyond emancipation to obey another's mood?
Better far to be a peasant 'neath the shadow of their castles,
Than debase the soul within me to such brutish servitude.

What were they with all their lordship, all their riches, measured duly,
That they looked with scorn upon her in her unadornëd worth?
Ashy fruit with surface golden, she with goodness leavened throughly,
All her wealth by heaven imparted, their's derived alone from Earth.

Oh! I felt a high compassion for their warp'd and narrow feelings
As I press'd my bride unto me, and read o'er her gentle eyes,
Gaining deeper insight daily, meeting ever new revealings
Of the grace of woman's spirit, and her holy sympathies.

So we pilgrim'd on together, buffeting the ills about us,
Sharing hope, and joy, and sorrow, as we shared our daily bread,
Keeping still a pleasaunce scathless in our hearts, though all without us
Might be cheerless desolation, and the sky with clouds o'erspread.

Through much toil and tribulation, we attain'd at last to honour
With no succour from my kindred, I upreared my house alone,
And I see my cherish'd maiden, with admiring gazes on her,
Glide amid the high and noble with a grace beyond their own.

And those proud ones now are gracious, bowing fawningly before her,
Whilst she with her true eyes calmly takes the measure of their hearts,
Weighs aright the honied speeches, and the praise they heap upon her,
Her own innocence instinctively disarming all their arts.

For she knows their tongues are venal, sold to flatter wealth and power,
And to crouch with serpent homage in the dust at Fortune's shrine,
Ready to revile and slander if calamity should lower,
And to flout as base, deceitful, what they late had termed divine.

Thus unmask'd and sifted throughly let them stoop and fawn at pleasure,
Little reck I to revenge me better for their former spite
As I mark their degradation falling on them in full measure
When they humble themselves vilely, thus, to one who reads them right.

Anon the bones of the wreck come past
Bitterly mock'd of the roaring tide,
From wave to wave in derision cast
With scorn and jeers at poor human pride;
And still the Petrel with lightning sweep
Circles their way through the raging deep,
Settling in awe on some shatter'd spar,
And tracking its course as it drifts afar.

Into this realm of the winds and waves
Man cometh not with his living soul,
But like the mounds over clammy graves,
Over his body the surges roll;
No mortal weeper hath seen his tomb,
Buried he lies in eternal gloom,
Save that the Petrel with wailing cry
Hover'd around as he floated by.

What doth the Petrel so far away
From the home of love and the field of strife?
In this lone spot doth the Petrel stay
To show the beauty and power of Life.
For the broad Earth and the boundless sea,
Time and the endless eternity,
All, all acknowledge the spirit's controul,
And like the frail body, were made for the soul.

I with trancëd rapture gazing,
Scan each lineament divine,
Trace again thy pensive sweetness,
Beauty's soul, and love's completeness,
Heart and hands devoutly raising
Like a pilgrim at Love's shrine,
Evermore within me feeling
Like a charm thy beauty stealing,
Hushing pain, and sorrow healing,
And I pray to dream for ever
Gazing thus, and waking never;

For the morn comes, and the Real
Once again resumes its sway,
Scattereth these radiant fancies,
Cloudeth o'er thy gentle glances,
And still seeking my Ideal
Through this life I take my way,
Weary, heart-sick, longing, sighing,
Praying much, yet no replying,
Phantom Hope before me flying
Leading ever back to thee,
To behold thee in thy beauty,
Feel that love is only duty,
Meritless, save that so dying
Gain I Love's eternity.

Down we went through the crystal waters
Evermore waving round Neptune's daughters,
Down, till the light of the starry sky
Melted away like an echoed sigh,
And the rapt breast of the restless ocean
Sank into still dreams of past emotion,
Down, and we stood on a pleasant shore
Paven with shells from the Naiad's store,
Shining and rosy-lipp'd such as keep
The mermaid's songs for their balmy sleep.
Flowers there were set with sparkling gems,
Gleaming amid the white coral stems,
And flinging their measure of light and scent
Up through the translucent firmament.
And as the air by a bird's wing laven,
Or a deep pool by a white hand waven,
Floated the swells of the dewy tide
Round the sea-maiden and me beside.
Onward we went where a diamond portal
Kept the pure light of the dawn immortal,
Making the heart sicken o'er to win
The halcyon joys it enclosed within;
Entered we under its arching sweep
Into the palace hall of the deep,
Where 'neath the vault of its lofty dome
Have the nymphs and mermen gay their home;
There sat old Neptune upon his throne,
A foaming wave that was turn'd to stone,
And round about him his merry crew
With brimming cups of the purple dew;
Wandering far through the lumin'd halls,
Where light was bred in the ruby walls,
Stray'd the fair Naiads with golden hair,
That wanton'd about in the perfumed air;
And flowing robes round their white limbs waved,
Like moonbeams bright into substance laved.
Neptune in tones that spread far and wide,
"Ho! Ho! a man with a mermaid bride!"
And the blue dome rung with cruel laughter,
Till all the arches mutter'd it after;
Then came the nymphs in a radiant string,
And circled us round like Saturn's ring,
Forms that appearing to mortal eyes
Dazzle them so that the spirit dies.
Then to my mermaid old Neptune saith,
"Hymn the rash mortal unto his death!"
She with a voice that murmuring stole
Deep as a heaven thought into my soul—
"O! in the land that is under the waves
"To dwell with my love in the coral caves,
"To bind his brows with a diamond zone,
"And call the light of his eyes mine own;
"To roam with him through the boundless space,
"And make the billow our resting place,
"There sing our songs till we fall asleep,
"And dream of Elysium in the deep;
"Waves are flowing for ever and ever,
"O they will rock us for ever and ever,
"Hush every sorrow to quiet rest,
"And pillow love in each other's breast;
"O they will sink us deeper and deeper,
"Until they themselves sleep with the sleeper,
"Until there is only love awake,
"That cannot sleep for his own sweet sake;
"Come in my bosom, then, come with me,
"Down to the depths of the purple sea!"
All my soul thrill'd and panted for bliss
As pilgrims thirst in the wilderness;
I cried, "O maiden, whose softest sighs
"Are sweeter than all Earth's melodies,
"If thou wilt wander with me for ever,
"And naught have power our true hearts to sever,
"I shall forget all that earth calls fair,
"And all that I fondly treasured there,
"The meadows and hills and sunny dells,
"And the birds and fragrant heather-bells,
"And I will follow thee through the deep,
"Where waves shall rock us to tender sleep;
"All powers of ocean I will defy,
"And follow thee though it be but to die!"
Neptune then, "Youth thou hast bravely said,
"And meet art thou with a nymph to wed,
"So thou shalt live out thy little span
"Unscathed by the hands of the blithe merman."

So they bound me fast in cruel sleep,
And bore me silently from the deep,
And ne'er have I seen my mermaid more,
Though oft I watch for her on the shore.

Swiftly we went through the sunny air,
Higher than ever the skylark dare,
And the bright clouds where the summer beams
Slumber and revel in golden dreams,
Lay far beneath us like dewy fumes
Hovering over the flower-blooms.
Higher we went till the puny Earth
Dwindled away to an atom girth,
And the record of our rapid way
Was the far death of a starry ray;
Then we drew nigh to the palace bright
Where morning treasures her dewy light,
Cool'd by the breath of the angels' wings,
And sweet with their musical utterings.
There we saw the young day-beams awaken,
And the earth's rays from their soft tresses shaken,
And there we saw the sweet zephyrs rise,
That woo the flowers with gentle sighs,
And kiss the mist from the streamlet's tide,
As tears are kiss'd from a happy bride;
The angels of Joy and bliss were there,
Lapt in the folds of the balmy air,
Breathing their pæans till far away
The echoes went with the light of day;
The spirit said, "Hence the ray of morn,
"Like a poor child unto sorrow born,
"Wends to the earth with sweet smiles uplit,
"And from the darkness awakens it;
"But though it whisper of peace and love,
"And tell the world of the joys above,
"They will not hearken unto the voice
"Whose accents faint make the flowers rejoice,
"But still grovel on in strife and sorrow,
"And make the signal of war, 'the morrow.'"
Onward we went through the heavens afar
Swift as the course of a shooting star,
Until dark shadows began to fall
Around our way, like a funeral pall,
Deeper and deeper, and then the gloom
Grew thick as it were the Night's own tomb;
There was no sound save the rushing wave
Closing the furrow our passing clave;
There was no sound save the beating heart,
That at its own throbbings seemed to start;
There was no sound save the ebb and flow
Of my own breathing drawn long and low;
Then the air-spirit gave forth a cry
That rang through the arches of the sky,
Whereat a myriad echoes leapt
Forth from the darkness 'mid which they slept,
Shouted an answer in fierce surprise,
That rumbled far into faintest sighs,
Then slowly sank to their rest again,
And left the Night to her silent reign.
On we went whilst the sounds grew dimmer,
Till stars afar began to glimmer
Like flashing lights on a lonely mere,
Like tapers dim round a sable bier;
Onward, till many a radiant world
In solemn glory across us whirl'd,
Shaking the air in their mighty march,
Like thunder beneath its prison arch;
Ever louder the swift wind bore us
The swell of their eternal chorus,
Filling the soul of the boundless sky
With strains of adoring harmony.
Past us came Mars all fiery and red,
Like a warrior stain'd with the blood he shed;
And his voice o'er all rang clear and high
Pealing for ever Truth's battle-cry;
Saturn came with his blazing ring,
Like a crown round the brows of a Titan king,
Circled by many a satellite,
That made his pathway through heaven bright;
The star of eve like a maiden sphere,
Gleaming with beauty and grace, drew near,
Sweeping along 'mid heaven's panoply,
The sweetest and fairest child of the sky;
Onward they came in myriad lines
From space whereon the sun never shines,
But fades away like a twinkling star
'Neath orbs whose glory is greater far;
Many a beautiful world appear'd,
Such as not even Fancy hath rear'd,
Sinless and happy as Heaven will be,
And stamp'd with the seal of Eternity.

But sadly we sank to Earth again,
And heard the discord and strife of men,
Like a harp that jars from a sudden fall,
And turns to discord tones musical.

She had suitors many, many,
The fair Lady Annabel,
But she loved him more than any,
For she knew he loved her well.
She was rich, but he was lowly,
Lowly in the world's esteem,
But that made her love more holy,
As the darkness gilds the beam;
For she knew his manly honour,
All the beauties of his mind,
And they sweetly stole upon her
Like the scent borne on the wind;
So she loved him ere she knew it,
Ere she thought to close her heart
'Gainst the tender spells that drew it
Evermore to take his part
When in idlesse or in malice
Others lightly spoke of him,
Careless that in his life's chalice
They poured sadness to the brim;
For he was a dreamer throughly,
Feeding on sweet Poesie,
And few knew his spirit truly,
And none prized it well as she;
But upon the thymy mosses,
With wild flowers by his side,
Blossoms that the summer glosses
For the brow of fairy bride,
He would lie and weave bright fancies
From the maze within his heart,
Which her gentle smiles and glances
Kindled with an angel's art;
For a firmament of beauty
Hung like heaven o'er his mind,
And it seem'd a sacred duty
To hymn all the fair it shrined;
So he praised her golden tresses,
And he thought them fair and soft
As the locks the sun caresses
On bright angels far aloft;
And her eyes so blue and tender,
Made for love to glisten through,
That their gentleness might render
Love as welcome as the dew;
And her cheeks with roses blushing,
And her lips with sunshine drest,
Her white bosom gently hushing
With its swells all ill to rest,
All came to him in his dreaming
Like things from another sphere,
Till bewildered by their gleaming
He felt only they were dear.
Must he perish, must he languish
For the love of one so fair,
Till the cruel sting of anguish
Change a blessing to despair?
He is poor, and favour never
Smiles on one so weak as he,
Poverty still comes to sever
All hopes of felicity.
But she loves him, and communion
With his soul gives strength to hers,
So they blend their lives in union
Careless of cold fashion's slurs;
She resigns what earth calls treasure,
Titled suitors, wealthy-dower,
That is commerce, she seeks pleasure,
For she knows life's but an hour,
Far too short and full of sadness,
Far too full of grief and pain,
For the heart to barter gladness
For a shadow or for gain;
So she fondly stood beside him,
And she placed her hand in his
With a smile that seem'd to chide him
For the shade that veil'd his bliss,
As he thought how he could duly
Make return for all her love,
Only could he serve her truly,
Love her as the light above;
And she said "We will live gaily
In some sylvan hermitage,
Worshipping all beauty daily,
Till my foolish heart grow sage;
We will have sweet flowers about us,
Birds to sing from every tree
No suspicious friends to doubt us,
So we must live merrily!"

Thus they went, and of their marriage
Jesting spake the giddy world;
Nobles, pillow'd in their carriage,
Laugh'd aloud with proud lips curled,
And fair ladies smiled their pity,
With a sigh for mortal folly,
Whilst rich merchants in the city
Frown'd, and called it, "Melancholy."
What they said, or what they ponder'd
Little reck'd fair Annabel,
As with joyous hearts they wander'd
By green vale and shady dell;
And she cried "O! life was never
Made to be ambition's fool,
Bound in fashion's chains, and ever
Banish'd from the Beautiful!"