“Though it was now broad day, a gentle trace Of light diviner than the common sun Sheds on the common earth, and all the place "Was filled with magic sounds woven into one Oblivious melody, confusing sense Amid the gliding waves and shadows dun; "And, as I looked, the bright omnipresence Of morning through the orient cavern flowed, And the sun's image radiantly intense "Burned on the waters of the well that glowed Like gold, and threaded all the forest's maze With winding paths of emerald fire; there stood "Amid the sun,-as he amid the blaze Of his own glory, on the vibrating Floor of the fountain paved with flashing rays,— "A Shape all light, which with one hand did fling Dew on the earth, as if she were the dawn, And the invisible rain did ever sing "A silver music on the mossy lawn; "In her right hand she bore a crystal glass, Mantling with bright Nepenthe; the fierce splendour Fell from her as she moved under the mass "Out of the deep cavern, with palms so tender, Their tread broke not the mirror of its billow; She glided along the river, and did bend her "Head under the dark boughs, till, like a willow, Her fair hair swept the bosom of the stream That whispered with delight to be its pillow. "As one enamoured is upborne in dream O'er lily-paven lakes 'mid silver mist, To wondrous music, so this shape might seem 66 Partly to tread the waves with feet which kissed The dancing foam; partly to glide along The air which roughened the moist amethyst, "Or the faint morning beams that fell among The trees, or the soft shadows of the trees; And her feet, ever to the ceaseless song “Of leaves, and winds, and waves, and birds, and bees, And falling drops moved to a measure new, 66 "Up from the lake a shape of golden dew Between two rocks, athwart the rising moon, Dances i' the wind, where never eagle flew ; "And still her feet, no less than the sweet tune To which they moved, seemed as they moved to blot The thoughts of him who gazed on them; and soon "All that was, seemed as if it had been not; And all the gazer's mind was strewn beneath Her feet like embers; and she, thought by thought, "Trampled its sparks into the dust of death, As day upon the threshold of the east Treads out the lamps of night, until the breath "Of darkness re-illumine even the least Of heaven's living eyes!-like day she came, Making the night a dream; and ere she ceased "To move, as one between desire and shame "Into this valley of perpetual dream, Show whence I came, and where I am, and whyPass not away upon the passing stream. "Arise and quench thy thirst, was her reply. "I rose; and, bending at her sweet command, Touched with faint lips the cup she raised, And suddenly my brain became as sand, “Where the first wave had more than half erased The track of deer on desert Labrador; Whilst the wolf, from which they fled amazed, "Leaves his stamp visibly upon the shore, Until a second bursts;—so on my sight Burst a new vision, never seen before, "And the fair shape waned in the coming light, As veil by veil the silent splendour drops From Lucifer, amid the chrysolite "Of sun-rise, ere it tinge the mountain tops; And as the presence of that fairest planet, Although unseen, is felt by one who hopes "That his day's path may end, as he began it, In that star's smile, whose light is like the scent Of a jonquil when evening breezes fan it, "Or the soft note in which his dear lament The Brescian shepherd breathes, or the caress That turned his weary slumber to content; * "So knew I in that light's severe excess The presence of that shape which on the stream Moved, as I moved along the wilderness, "More dimly than a day-appearing dream, The favourite song, "Stanco di pascolar le pecorelle," is a Brescian national air. The ghost of a forgotten form of sleep; A light of heaven, whose half extinguished beam 66 Through the sick day in which we wake to weep, Glimmers, for ever sought, for ever lost; So did that shape its obscure tenour keep "Beside my path, as silent as a ghost; "The forest, and as if from some dread war Triumphantly returning, the loud million Fiercely extolled the fortune of her star. "A moving arch of victory, the vermilion And green and azure plumes of Iris had Built high over her wind-winged pavilion, "And underneath ethereal glory clad "Shadow to fall from leaf and stone; the crew Seemed in that light, like atomies to dance Within a sunbeam ;-some upon the new "Embroidery of flowers, that did enhance The grassy vesture of the desert, played, Forgetful of the chariot's swift advance; 18 VOL. III. |