"
"And all the spirits fleet
Do suffer a sky-change,
More strangely than the dew,
To God's own angels new,"
The Grave said to the Rose.
"And all the spirits fleet
Do suffer a sky-change,
More strangely than the dew,
To God's own angels new,"
The Grave said to the Rose.
Hugo - Poems
Then, bright;
Shine, light!
Of hope upon the beacon reef!
Though 'tis Triton, etc.
LOVE'S TREACHEROUS POOL
_("Jeune fille, l'amour c'est un miroir. ")_
[XXVI. , February, 1835. ]
Young maiden, true love is a pool all mirroring clear,
Where coquettish girls come to linger in long delight,
For it banishes afar from the face all the clouds that besmear
The soul truly bright;
But tempts you to ruffle its surface; drawing your foot
To subtilest sinking! and farther and farther the brink
That vainly you snatch--for repentance, 'tis weed without root,--
And struggling, you sink!
THE ROSE AND THE GRAVE.
_("La tombe dit a la rose. ")_
[XXXI. , June 3, 1837]
The Grave said to the rose
"What of the dews of dawn,
Love's flower, what end is theirs? "
"And what of spirits flown,
The souls whereon doth close
The tomb's mouth unawares? "
The Rose said to the Grave.
The Rose said: "In the shade
From the dawn's tears is made
A perfume faint and strange,
Amber and honey sweet.
"
"And all the spirits fleet
Do suffer a sky-change,
More strangely than the dew,
To God's own angels new,"
The Grave said to the Rose.
A. LANG.
LES RAYONS ET LES OMBRES. --1840.
HOLYROOD PALACE.
_("O palais, sois benie. ")_
[II. , June, 1839. ]
Palace and ruin, bless thee evermore!
Grateful we bow thy gloomy tow'rs before;
For the old King of France[1] hath found in thee
That melancholy hospitality
Which in their royal fortune's evil day,
Stuarts and Bourbons to each other pay.
_Fraser's Magazine. _
[Footnote 1: King Charles X. ]
THE HUMBLE HOME.
_("L'eglise est vaste et haute. ")_
[IV.
