The Lover in Hades
Persephone
Now take and eat, and have release;
And memory, and longing leave;
Then shall the seasons pass in peace
Wherein thou dost not grieve.
Thou wouldst not suffer for love's sake
Longer, and longer idly crave?
The Lover
The pomegranate I will not take,
Nor drink the mystic wave:
I had a lady, passing dear,
And fair, beneath earth's windy skies—
And but one joy I fail of here—
To look into her eyes.
And if she keep my memory,
I know mine shall be sadder yet.
But if she quite forgetteth me,
Yet will I not forget!
[_]
[On the centenary of Robert Burns in 1896 Lord Rosebery addressed
two meetings held to celebrate it on the same day, first in Dumfries and
then in Glasgow. Both speeches were remarkable, casting fresh light on
a well-worn theme.]
