 | A Summer Christmas and a Sonnet upon The S.S. "Ballaarat." |  |
V.
At last to her husband's Hall by chance
Came a poet and wanderer,
Rich with the learning of old Romance,
And a sailer round our sphere.
Came a poet and wanderer,
Rich with the learning of old Romance,
And a sailer round our sphere.
He spoke of the balmy western isles
Stretched off the Morocco coast,
And the wondrous glacier-scooped defiles
That are aye the Switzer's boast.
Stretched off the Morocco coast,
And the wondrous glacier-scooped defiles
That are aye the Switzer's boast.
He spoke of the forests of Brazil,
And of Canadian woods
When autumn tints are on plain and hill,
And of mighty falls and floods.
And of Canadian woods
When autumn tints are on plain and hill,
And of mighty falls and floods.
He spoke of spice archipelagos
And palm-clustered coral reefs,
Round which the smiling Pacific flows,
And stupendous Austral cliffs,
And palm-clustered coral reefs,
Round which the smiling Pacific flows,
And stupendous Austral cliffs,
Of the feudal castles of Norman France.
The cities of Languedoc,
Of the Vega's green luxuriance,
And Granada's haunted rock,
The cities of Languedoc,
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And Granada's haunted rock,
Of the fallen monuments of pride
Set up by the Romans' hand,
Of the grand old town at Arno's side,
And the burgs of Vaterland,
Set up by the Romans' hand,
Of the grand old town at Arno's side,
And the burgs of Vaterland,
Of the deathless marbles of antique Greece,
And the Tajs of Hindustan,
And Egypt's monolith masterpiece,
And stone-marvels Mexican,
And the Tajs of Hindustan,
And Egypt's monolith masterpiece,
And stone-marvels Mexican,
And the gracefullest women of earth,
The daughters of proud Castile,
Queen slaves of Circassian birth,
And Greeks with the old profile.
The daughters of proud Castile,
Queen slaves of Circassian birth,
And Greeks with the old profile.
And he whispered that none were so fair
As she with the grace we so prize,
With the wave of her glittering hair,
And the gleam of her glorious eyes.
As she with the grace we so prize,
With the wave of her glittering hair,
And the gleam of her glorious eyes.
He told her legends of old Romance
In fable and history,
Of Mary Queen of Scotland and France,
And Frances of Rimini,
In fable and history,
Of Mary Queen of Scotland and France,
And Frances of Rimini,
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Of Guinevere, Grissel and Elaine,
And the Ysoldes fair and dark,
Sir Tristram's gentle wife-chatelaine,
And his love, the wife of Marc,
And the Ysoldes fair and dark,
Sir Tristram's gentle wife-chatelaine,
And his love, the wife of Marc,
Of Dido the Carthaginian,
Who for her passion died,
And of the mighty Athenian
And his Ionian bride,
Who for her passion died,
And of the mighty Athenian
And his Ionian bride,
Of Frithjof and Ingebjorg the queen,
Of Brynhild and sad Gudrun,
And Sigurd and the last battle scene
In the palace of the Hun,
Of Brynhild and sad Gudrun,
And Sigurd and the last battle scene
In the palace of the Hun,
Of Henry and fair frail Rosamond,
And fair chaste Eleanor
Who sucked the venom from Edward's wound,
Though she should die therefore.
And fair chaste Eleanor
Who sucked the venom from Edward's wound,
Though she should die therefore.
And he whispered that none were so fair
As she with the grace we so prize,
With the wave of her glittering hair,
And the gleam of her glorious eyes.
As she with the grace we so prize,
With the wave of her glittering hair,
And the gleam of her glorious eyes.
He was goodly enough for her love,
Had brain enough for her brain,
And it seemed as if Heaven above
Had meant them for one, not twain.
Had brain enough for her brain,
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Had meant them for one, not twain.
And with hearts they joined but not with hands,
Although his indeed were free,
For hers were linked in the fetter-bands
Of a marriage slavery.
Although his indeed were free,
For hers were linked in the fetter-bands
Of a marriage slavery.
Yet Envy seemed to sleep for a while,
As if to entice them on
With a subtle cruelty and guile
For a deeper fall anon.
As if to entice them on
With a subtle cruelty and guile
For a deeper fall anon.
And her lord so jealous heretofore
Seemed to doze in apathy,
While she was carried out more and more
On to the enchanted sea
Seemed to doze in apathy,
While she was carried out more and more
On to the enchanted sea
Of love for an object worthy of love,
Of love that would elevate,
If Fancy only were free to rove
In her original state.
Of love that would elevate,
If Fancy only were free to rove
In her original state.
And Envy slept until they should come
Into their fool's paradise
Of the intercourse which lights a home
With pure and rational joys.
Into their fool's paradise
Of the intercourse which lights a home
With pure and rational joys.
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And then she awoke and struck her dart
So deeply into the side
Of the jealous husband, that his heart
Was choked with the surging tide
Of passion and hatred, which did start,
And without one word he died.
So deeply into the side
Of the jealous husband, that his heart
Was choked with the surging tide
Of passion and hatred, which did start,
And without one word he died.
| A Summer Christmas and a Sonnet upon The S.S. "Ballaarat." | |