 | Studies in verse (1865) |  |
But on that night and at that very hour,
When Agnes leant into the fragrant dark
And thought upon him, Edward Mayne at home
Sat with a comrade late into the night
Beside their wine; talked freely, and forgot
The varnish and the smooth conventional mask
He wore before the steady-going world;
And the men talked their natures, friend to friend:
But Edward railed in heartless ironies
At all things, sparing nothing, crushing down
The sanctuaries of thought and ritual.
Cheapening man's soul, and carping at the scheme
Of nature, praising nothing save the power
To see the utter worthlessness of all.
When Agnes leant into the fragrant dark
And thought upon him, Edward Mayne at home
Sat with a comrade late into the night
Beside their wine; talked freely, and forgot
The varnish and the smooth conventional mask
He wore before the steady-going world;
And the men talked their natures, friend to friend:
But Edward railed in heartless ironies
At all things, sparing nothing, crushing down
The sanctuaries of thought and ritual.
45
Of nature, praising nothing save the power
To see the utter worthlessness of all.
| Studies in verse (1865) | |