English

A wreath of Turkish odour winds
Among my books in red and gold.
The philosophic spirit finds
Peace through the pain of growing old.

The warm blue perfume melts and fades
Around the glowing shaft of gas;
And every nervelet that upbraids
Takes comfort from the pangs that pass.

Purer the folding air repeats
The cones of smoke that upward slope,
And lucid grows the brain that beats
Less turbid with the pulse of hope.

The spirals melt in fragrant mist,
And through that mist my books shine clear;

Long time across my path had lain
A far-off bar like gathering rain;
The sunshine beamed along my way,
But this drew nearer day by day.

I walked amid a laughing throng,
I plucked the flowers, I sang my song;
But all the time my load of care,
My bar of threatening cloud, was there.

Some day, I knew, that bar must break
In tempest, fatal for my sake;
And in my heart of hearts I laid
My secret, and was sore afraid.

And yet it caught me by surprise;
Loud thunders pealed across the skies;

To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Bring all your praise, ye heav'nly host!
Let all mankind with glad accord,
Extol the Universal Lord.

In ev'ry state, and ev'ry point of view,
Thy sterling worth is to the balance true;
As Parent, Wise, and Friend, it bears the test,
And when the most is tried, acquitted best;
In times like these, when vanities prevail,
And love maternal is an idle tale,
How wisely dost thou stem the current stream,
Nor art involv'd in the delusive dream.
The sashionable mother slights the care
Of her young offspring, with affected air;
Divides her time 'twixt Op'ras, Plays, Romance,
A gaming Party, or a midnight Dance.

I.

Beneath him stretched the sands
Of Egypt's burning lands,
The desert panted to the swelt'ring ray;
The camel's plashing feet,
With slow, uneasy beat,
Threw up the scorching dust like arrowy spray,
And fierce the sunlight glowed,
As young Napoleon rode
Around the Gallic camp, companionless that day.

II.

High thoughts were in his mind,
Unspoken to his kind;
Calm was his face — his eyes were blank and chill;
His thin lips were compress'd:

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow!
Praise him, all creatures here below!
Praise him above, ye heav'nly host!
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

O Poverty! till now I never knew
The meaning of the word! What lack is here!
O pale mask of a soul great, good, and true!
O mocking semblance stretched upon a bier!

Each atom of this devastated face
Was so instinct with power, with warmth and light;
What desert is so desolate! No grace
Is left, no gleam, no change, no day, no night.

Where is the key that locked these gates of speech,
Once beautiful, where thought stood sentinel,
Where sweetness sat, where wisdom passed, to teach

Oh ye are dull, ye skies,
A gloom hath o'er you roll'd,
A sorrow on me lies
Too mighty to be told;
The glory of Nature dies,
And all her heart is cold.

He whom I love is false;
The sweetest vow he swore,
His changeful mind recalls
Never, oh nevermore;
Day darkens, and life palls,
And sickens at its core.

His love's last flickering gleam
In his cold heart has died;
" But yet, if I could deem
My passion satisfied,
With friendship and esteem,
He'd give me both," he cried.

Since the sweet knowledge I possess
That she I love is mine,
All Nature throbs with happiness,
And wears a face divine.
The woods seem greener than they were,
The skies are brighter blue;
The stars shine clearer, and the air
Lets finer sunlight through.
Until I loved I was a child,
And sported on the sands;
But now the ocean opens out,
With all its happy lands.

The circles of my sympathy
Extend from earth to heaven:
I strove to pierce a mystery,
And lo! the clue is given.

She walks beside the silent shore,
The tide is high, the breeze is still;
No ripple breaks the ocean floor,
The sunshine sleeps upon the hill.

The turf is warm beneath her feet,
Bordering the beach of stone and shell,
And thick about her path the sweet
Red blossoms of the pimpernel.

“Oh, sleep not yet, my flower!” she cries,
“Nor prophesy of storm to come;
Tell me that under steadfast skies
Fair winds shall bring my lover home.”

She stoops to gather flower and shell,