At length the urchin Pleasure fled, The index now alone remains, Of all the pages spoil'd by Pleasure, And though it bears some honey stains, Yet Memory counts the leaf a treasure! And oft, they say, she scans it o'er, I know not if this tale be true, But thus the simple facts are stated; I SAW THY FORM IN YOUTHFUL PRIME. I saw thy form in youthful prime, As streams that run o'er golden mines, Nor seem to know the wealth that shines If souls could always dwell above I SAW FROM THE BEACH. I saw from the beach, when the morning was shining, I came when the sun o'er that beach was declining, - Ah! such is the fate of our life's early promise, So passing the spring-tide of joy we have known: Each wave, that we danced on at morning, ebbs from us, And leaves us, at eve, on the bleak shore alone! Ne'er tell me of glories, serenely adorning The close of our day, the calm eve of our night ;Give me back, give me back the wild freshness of morning, Her clouds and her tears are worth evening's best light. Oh, who would not welcome that moment's returning, When passion first waked a new life through his frame, And his soul-like the wood that grows precious in burningGave out all its sweets to Love's exquisite flame! THIS LIFE IS ALL CHEQUERED WITH PLEASURES AND WOES. THIS life is all chequer'd with pleasures and woes, The goose-feathers of Folly can turn it aside, And the short brilliant folly that flashes and dies! When Hylas was sent with his urn to the fount, And neglected his task for the flowers on the way. ST. JEROME'S LOVE. WHO is the maid my spirit seeks, Is hers an eye of this world's light? I chose not her, my soul's elect, From those who seek their Maker's shrine In gems and garlands proudly deck'd, As if themselves were things divine ! No-heaven but faintly warms the breast That beats beneath a broider'd veil; And she who comes in glittering vest To mourn her frailty, still is frail. Not so the faded form I prize And love, because its bloom is gone; The glory in those sainted eyes Is all the grace her brow puts on. And ne'er was beauty's dawn so bright, So touching as that form's decay, Which, like the altar's trembling light, In holy lustre wastes away! OFT, IN THE STILLY NIGHT. OFT, in the stilly night Ere Slumber's chain has bound me, Fond Memory brings the light Of other days around me; The smiles, the tears, Of boyhood's years, The words of love then spoken; Now dimm'd and gone, The cheerful hearts now broken! Thus, in the stilly night, Ere Slumber's chain has bound me, Sad Memory brings the light Of other days around me. When I remember all The friends, so link'd together, I've seen around me fall, Like leaves in wintry weather; Who treads alone Some banquet-hall deserted, And all but he departed! Thus in the stilly night, Ere Slumber's chain has bound me, Sad Memory brings the light Of other days around me. |