s but to be denied.

And yet it pleased to know myself so fair,
Because I loved the Beautiful. We met!
Dark, fierce, and full of power thy features were,
Yet finely cut, chiselled and sculptured well,
Reminding me of antique demigod.
The dream of the wild Greek, maddened with light
From Beauty's sun, before me living stood.
Ah! not of marble were thy features pale!
Like summer's lightning, lights and shadows danced
As feelings surged within thy stormful soul.
Full of high thoughts and poetry wert thou:
I left the paths of thought to hear thee speak
Of love and its devotion, endless truth.
All nature glowed with sudden, roseate light;
The waves of ocean, mountains, forests dim,
The waterfall, the flower, the clinging moss,
Were woven in types of purity and peace,
To etherealize and beautify thy love.
Marriage of souls, eternal constancy,
Gave wildering love new worth and dignity.
My maiden pride was soothed, and if I felt
Repelled by human passion, still I joyed
In sacrifice that made me wholly thine.
We wedded--and I rested on thy heart,
Counted its throbs, and when I sadly thought
They measured out the fleeting sands of life,
I smiled at Time--_Love lives eternally!_
I was not blind to my advantages,
Yet I became a humble household dove,
Smoothing to thy caress the eager wings
Which might have borne me through the universe.
All wealth seemed naught; had stars been in my gift,
I would have thrown them reckless all to thee!
Two happy years--how swift they fleeted by!--
And then I felt a fluttering, restless life
Throbbing beneath my heart; and with it knew
(I ne'er could tell you how such knowledge came)
That I must die! A moment's dread and pang
O'ercame me--then the bitter thought grew sweet:
My passing agony would win the boon
Of life immortal for _our_ infant's soul;
The innocent being, through whose veins would flow
Our mingling hearts for ever--ever--one!
We spoke of death, and of eternal life;
Many and fond the vows then pledged to me:
'If cruel death must sever us on earth,
Rest calmly on my never-changing love;
Now and forever it is solely thine!
_Thou art my soul's elect--my Bride in Heaven!_'

So deeply did I trust thy plighted faith,
I nerved my ardent soul to bear it all,
And calmly saw