From lands unseen, across the wide blank sea.

Sonnet

When midst the summer-roses the warm bees
Are swarming in the sun, and thou--so full
Of innocent glee--dost with thy white hands pull
Pink scented apples from the garden trees
To fling at me, I catch them, on my knees,
Like those who gather'd manna; and I cull
Some hasty buds to pelt thee--white as wool
Lilies, or yellow jonquils, or heartsease;--
Then I can speak my love, ev'n tho' thy smiles
Gush out among thy blushes, like a flock
Of bright birds from rose-bowers; but when thou'rt gone
I have no speech,--no magic that beguiles,
The stream of utterance from the harden'd rock:--
The dial cannot speak without the sun!

Stars and Moon

Beneath the stars and summer moon
A pair of wedded lovers walk,
Upon the stars and summer moon
They turn their happy eyes, and talk.

EDITH.

"Those stars, that moon, for me they shine
With lovely, but no startling light;
My joy is much, but not as thine,
A joy that fills the pulse, like fright."

ALFRED.

"My love, a darken'd conscience clothes
The world in sackcloth; and, I fear,
The stain of life this new heart loathes,
Still clouds my sight; but thine is clear.

"True vision is no startling boon
To one in whom it always lies;
But if true sight of stars and moon
Were strange to thee, it would surprise.

"Disease it is and dearth in me
Which thou believest genius, wealth;
And that imagined want in thee
Is riches and abundant health.

"O, little merit I my bride!
And therefore will I love her more;
Renewing, by her gentle side,
Lost worth: let this thy smile restore!"

EDITH.

"Ah, love! we both, with longing deep,
Love words and actions kind, which are
More good for life than bread or sleep,
More beautiful than Moon or Star."

On the Mechanism of a Historical Picture

Part I. The Design

In tracing these memoranda of the course to be pursued in producing a
work of the class commonly denominated "Historic Art," we have no
wish to set ourselves in opposition to the practice of other artists.
We are quite willing to believe that there may be various methods of
working out the same idea, each productive of a satisfactory result.
Should any one therefore regard it as a subject for controversy, we
would only reply that, if different, or to them better, metho