 | Denzil place |  |
When she recover'd consciousness, her head
Was resting on his breast—against her own
His cheek was press'd, and on her mouth she felt
The ardent lips of her too well-belov'd
Kissing her back to life, and heard his words
Thrill thro' her being, as he murmur'd thus—
“My love, my life! my love whom I have lov'd
So long, so tenderly, ah, look at me!
Speak to me! say again those blissful words
You said when you believ'd I heard them not!”
(So, he had heard!) “Ah, darling, ere I go
“Leaving behind me all I love so well,
“Oh, let me know that she who is to me
“Far dearer than is aught on earth—in heav'n—
“Has been to me but once my very own!
“Surely the marriage vows we may not break
“Are such as our's had been if God had will'd
“That we had met before, and now could live
“Join'd heart and soul and body, till we died—
“God knows that I have wrestled with my love
“As Jacob with the angel, or as man
“May wrestle with a fiend sent here to tempt
“His soul astray, I tore myself from home
“And only came to it again by stealth
“As would a thief, so that I might not meet
“So sweet a snare as lurks in these dear eyes—
“But now some stronger, some more subtle pow'r
“Than I possess, has will'd that we should meet
“Here in the dead of night, where none can see,
“In this deserted room, now face to face
“I find my love alone—I hold her fast—
“Ah, can I be of earth—of flesh and blood—
“Can I be mortal man, and let her go?”
Was resting on his breast—against her own
His cheek was press'd, and on her mouth she felt
The ardent lips of her too well-belov'd
Kissing her back to life, and heard his words
Thrill thro' her being, as he murmur'd thus—
“My love, my life! my love whom I have lov'd
So long, so tenderly, ah, look at me!
Speak to me! say again those blissful words
You said when you believ'd I heard them not!”
(So, he had heard!) “Ah, darling, ere I go
“Leaving behind me all I love so well,
“Oh, let me know that she who is to me
105
“Has been to me but once my very own!
“Surely the marriage vows we may not break
“Are such as our's had been if God had will'd
“That we had met before, and now could live
“Join'd heart and soul and body, till we died—
“God knows that I have wrestled with my love
“As Jacob with the angel, or as man
“May wrestle with a fiend sent here to tempt
“His soul astray, I tore myself from home
“And only came to it again by stealth
“As would a thief, so that I might not meet
“So sweet a snare as lurks in these dear eyes—
“But now some stronger, some more subtle pow'r
“Than I possess, has will'd that we should meet
“Here in the dead of night, where none can see,
“In this deserted room, now face to face
“I find my love alone—I hold her fast—
“Ah, can I be of earth—of flesh and blood—
“Can I be mortal man, and let her go?”
“Geoffrey, have mercy!” 'twas an anguish'd cry
As of a terror-stricken hind at bay,
As, all defenceless, lock'd in his embrace
She strove to thrust away his eager lips,
Feeling his hot breath on her trembling cheek
And in amongst her loosely knotted hair,
And the wild beating of his desp'rate heart
Out-throbbing her's.
As of a terror-stricken hind at bay,
As, all defenceless, lock'd in his embrace
106
Feeling his hot breath on her trembling cheek
And in amongst her loosely knotted hair,
And the wild beating of his desp'rate heart
Out-throbbing her's.
Alas, her strength was gone!
As a long pent-up river breaks its banks
And rushes madly onward to the sea,
So did the heart of Constance overleap
Its breastwork of resolves, uprais'd with tears
And many pray'rs, and heedless as the stream
Rush'd on to meet the ocean of his love,
To mingle with it, sinking soul and sense
In those enchanted waters.
As a long pent-up river breaks its banks
And rushes madly onward to the sea,
So did the heart of Constance overleap
Its breastwork of resolves, uprais'd with tears
And many pray'rs, and heedless as the stream
Rush'd on to meet the ocean of his love,
To mingle with it, sinking soul and sense
In those enchanted waters.
| Denzil place | |