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y stealth, And fear thy censure, fear thy quick rebuff, And thou so gentle in a world so rough That God's high priest, the morn-apparell'd sun Ne'er saw thy like! Am I indeed undone Of life and love and all? and must I weep For joys that quit me, and for sands that run? xvii. To-morrow's dawn will break; but Yesterday, Where is its light? And where the breezes' play That sway'd the flowers? A bird will sing again, But not so well. The wind upon the plain, The wintry wind, will toss the groaning trees; But I, what comfort shall I have of these, To know that they, unlov'd, have lost the Spring, As I thy favour and my power to please? xviii. I should have learnt a lesson from the songs Of woodland birds discoursing on the wrongs Of madcap moths and bachelor butterflies. I should have caught the cadence of the sighs Of unwed flowers, and learnt the way to woo, Which all things know but I, beneath the blue Of Heaven's great dome; for, undesired of thee, I have but jarr'd the notes that seem'd so true. xix. I should have told thee all I meant to tell, And how, at Lammas-tide, a wedding-bell Rang through my sleep, mine own as well as thine; And how I led thee, smiling, to a shrine And there endow'd thee with the name I bear; And how I woke to find the morning-air Flooded with light. I should have told thee this And not conceal'd the theme of my long prayer. xx. But I was timid. Oh, my love was such I scarce could name it! Trembling over-much With too much ardour, I was moved at length To mere mad utterance. In a blameful strength I seiz'd thy hand, to scare thee, as of old Dryads were scared; and calm and icy-cold Thine answer came: "I pray thee, vex me not!" And all that day 'twas winter on the wold. [Illustration: cherub] Second Litany. _VOX AMORIS_. Second Litany. Vox Amoris.[1] i. Vouchsafe, my Lady! by the passion-flower, And by the glamour of a moonlit hour, And by the cries and sighs of all the birds That sing o'nights, to heed again the words Of my poor pleading! For I swear to thee My love is deeper than the bounding sea, And more conclusive than a wedding-bell, And freer-voiced than winds upon the lea. [Footnote 1: This Litany was introduced in the Author's "Gladys the Singer," published by Messrs. Reeves & Turner, London, 1887.] ii. In all the world, from east unto the west, There is no vantage-ground, and littl
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