y witness, stone!--Yet, therefore, vaunt thee not,
For thou hast many partners of my joy--
To every rock that crowns this grassy dell,
And looks on me and my felicity;
To every forest-stem that I embrace
In my entrancement as I roam along,
Stand thou for a memorial of my bliss!
All mingle with my rapture, and to all
I lift a consecrating cry of joy.
Yet do I lend a voice to thee alone,
As culls the Muse some favourite from the crowd,
And, with a kiss, inspires for evermore."

* * * * *

THE DEATH TRANCE.

Weep, maiden, here by Cupid's grave! He fell,
Some nothing kill'd him--what I cannot tell.
But is he really dead?--I swear not that, in sooth;
A trifle--nothing--oft revives the youth.

* * * * *

PHILOMELA.

Surely, surely, Amor nursed thee, songstress of the plaintive note,
And, in fond and childish fancy, fed thee from his pointed dart.
So, sweet Philomel, the poison sunk into thy guileless throat,
Till, with all love's weight of passion, strike its notes to every heart.

* * * * *

SACRED GROUND.

A place to mark the Graces, when they come
Down from Olympus, still and secretly,
To join the Oreads in their festival,
Beneath the light of the benignant moon.
There lies the poet, watching them unseen,
The whilst they chant the sweetest songs of heaven,
Or, floating o'er the sward without a sound,
Lead on the mystic wonder of the dance.
All that is great in heaven, or fair on earth,
Unveils its glories to the dreamer's eye,
And all he tells the Muses. They again,
Knowing that Gods are jealous of their own,
Teach him, through all the passion of his verse,
To utter these high secrets reverently.

THE PARK.

How beautiful! A garden fair as heaven,
Flowers of all hues, and smiling in the sun,
Where all was waste and wilderness before.
Well do ye imitate, ye gods of earth,
The great Creator. Rock, and lake, and glade,
Birds, fishes, and untamed beasts are here.
Your work were all an Eden, but for this--
Here is no man unconscious of a pang,
No perfect Sabbath of unbroken rest.

* * * * *

THE TEACHERS.

What time Diogenes, unmoved and still,
Lay in his tub, and bask'd him in the sun--
What time Calanus clomb, with lightsome step
And smiling cheek, up to his fiery tomb--
Wh