Despair.
1
Up rose the moon in glory,
And glittered on the sea;
Up rose the stars around her,
Making the darkness flee.
2
The nightingale's wild warbling
Rang in the far-off wood;
When in his Father's castle
A mournful figure stood.
3
His heart was almost bursting,
He madly beat his breast;
As, in low plaintive accents,
His grief he thus exprest.
4
“Stars, shroud yourselves in darkness!
Pale moon, withdraw thy light!
Let darkness hide the ocean
For ever from my sight;
5
“Hide cottage, town and city;—
Appear no more, thou Sun!
But let in foreign countries
Thy cheering race be run.
6
“For I have lost my loved one!
Low lies she in her grave!
Speak not to me of pleasure,
For her I could not save.
7
“Hark to the distant murmur
As waves break on the shore”—
When lo! a light came flashing
Along the corridor.
8
The mystic form that bore it
He scarcely could discern;
Its flowing robe was blackness—
Higher the flame doth burn—
9
He cried, “What art thou, Spirit
So luminous and bright?”
A voice said, “I'm the maid, Sir,
A bringing in the light.”