SWEET name! whose grateful mention brings
To mind a host of cherished things-
A thousand sweet associations
Of joys, and hopes, and aspirations,
When summer skies were shining bright,
And flowers were laughing with delight,
And odours came on every breeze,
And music floated through the trees;
And, more than all, in handsome eyes
Love laughed, and taught me how to prize
That bliss, of more than mortal birth,
Which makes a paradise of earth.
Ah, then I gazed upon that face,
Where shrined was every human grace,
With rapture till my eyes grew dim,
As gazing at the solar fire:
And e'en my very soul did seem
Dissolving all in soft desire,
To melt as mist before the day,
Into those heavenly charms away'!
I fancy I can see her now-
Fair as the moon her arching brow!
The long dark lashes of her eye,
The deep blue shaded of the sky;
And as when ope the gates of day,
Unfolding the bright arch above,
So did these parting lids display
A heaven of glory and of love!
The smile that played upon her lips
Was like the burnished gold that tips
The mountain's brow at morn-and when
Some gentler word I chanced to speak,
Which waked that heavenly smile again,
A glow of love suffused her cheek,
Soft as the crimson tints that dye
The bosom of the evening sky!
A glorious vision, O, was this!
I felt I ne'er before was blest!
It seemed as if a life of bliss
Was in one fleeting hour compressed!!
One fleeting hour-and that is past!
But yet my fair one still is fair;
And on my heart her image lies,
As bright as when I saw her last;
And in the sunshine of her eyes
In fancy basking still, I share
Anew those raptures o'er and o'er
Which blest me once and evermore!
MAIDEN, if thou wilt go with me,
Our life shall be a summer sea;
If thou wilt bind thy fate with mine,
Fondly thine heart with mine entwine,
Gaily our bark through life we'll steer,
Nor storm nor treacherous quicksand fear.
The labour of my life shall be
To share my dearest joys with thee;
And should, perchance, a grief arise,
The trembling tear suffuse thine eyes,
That grief my heart shall always bear.
My hopes be thine, and thine my care;
Our souls united, what can part?
With sweet communion, bliss supreme,
Our days shall pass, a golden dream;
Thus smoothly on life's coursing tide,
Together we shall sweetly glide;
On verdant banks, in flowery vales,
Where fragrant odours load the gales.
And when at length our journey's o'er,
Thought, pleasing, on the past shall porc,
In sweet embrace we'll quit the scene,
For bliss eternal, bright, serene;
Then, maiden, bind thy fate with mine,
Together let our hearts entwine.
O GIVE me a heart that is young and warm,
And pure as the virgin snow,
And give me a mind that will bear a charm,
And sweeten the moments that flow.
O give me a spirit when trials may come,
Will cheerfully strive on through darkness and gloom.
O give me a face that is fresh and fair,
And eyes like the clear blue sky,
Give me pearly teeth and auburn hair,
And a form with which none could vie.
Though I'd prize these much, yet the mind to mc,
Would a thousand times as precious be.
DOST recollect, love, when we met
Down by the river's side,
And wandered o'er its vine-wreathed banks,
Where sweeps the rolling tide?
Pale Dian peering down the while,
From heaven's blue vault above;
O no, thou never canst forget
When first we learned to love!
Dost recollect, when in thine ear
My heart's warm love I poured?
Though tongue of mine could ill express
The half thou wast adored.
Thy heart drank in the soft-breathed tale,
Tears dimmed thy mild blue eyes;
Joy's radiant light swam in their depths,
As sunlight in the skies.
Dost recollect, when first our lips
Met for a little space?
Our very souls came rushing up,
Tojoin in close embrace.
0, how that first sweet kiss of love
Went thrilling through my frame!
While swiftly coursing o'er thy brow
The tell-tale blushes came.
Then meet with me again, my love,
Down by the river's side;
We'll wander o'er its vine-wreathed banks,
Long years have fled since there we met,
Yet are our hearts the same;
Though age may tinge our locks with gray,
It cannot quench love's flame.
I SING to him! I dream he hears
The song he used to love,
And oft that blessed fancy cheers,
And bears my thoughts above.
Ye say 'tis idle thus to dream-
But why believe it so ?
It is the spirit's meteor gleam
To soothe the pang of woe.
Love gives to nature's voice a tone
That true hearts understand-
The sky, the earth, the forest lone,
Are peopled by his wand;
Sweet fancies all our pulses thrill
While gazing on a flower,
And from the gently whisp'ring rill
Is heard the words of power.
I breathe the dear and cherished name,
And long-lost scenes arise;
Life's glowing landscape spreads the same;
The same hope's kindling skies.
The violet-bank, the moss-fringed seat
Beneath the drooping tree,
The clock that chimed the hour to meet,
My buried love, with thee-
O, these are all before me, when
In fancy's realm I rove;
Why urge me to the world again
Why say the ties of love,
That death's cold, cruel grasp has riven,
Unite no more below?
I'll sing to him for though in heaven,
He surely heeds my woe!
ONE came with light and laughing air,
And cheek like opening blossom-
Bright gems were twined amid her hair,
And glittered on her bosom,
And pearls and costly diamonds deck
Her round white arms, and lovely neck.
Like summer's sky with stars bedignt,
The jewelled robe around her,
And dazzling as the noontide light
The radiant zone that bound her
And pride and joy were in her eye,
And mortals bowed as she passed by.
Another came: o'er her sweet face
A pensive shade was stealing;
Yet there no grief of earth we trace -
But the heaven-hallowed feeling
Which mourns the heart should ever stray
From the pure fount of truth away.
Around her brow, as snowdrop fair,
The glossy tresses cluster,
Nor pearl nor ornament was there,
Save the meek spirit's lustre;
And faith and hope beamed in her eye,
And angels bowed as she passed by.
DAY, in melting purple dying,
Blossoms, all around me sighing,
Fragrance, from the lily's straying,
Zephyr, with my ringlets playing,
Ye but waken my distress;
I am sick of loneliness.
Thou, to whom I love to hearken,
Come, ere night around me darken;
Though thy softness but deceive me,
Say thou'rt true and I'll believe thee;
Veil, if ill, thy soul's intent-
Let me think it innocent!
Save thy toiling, spare thy treasure:
All I ask is friendship's pleasure;
Let the shining ore lie darkling,
Bring no gem in lustre sparkling;
Gifts and gold are naught to me;
I would only look on thee!
Tell to thee the high wrought feeling,
Ecstasy but in revealing;
|