IS THE REIGN OF FANCY OVER?
I
Is the reign of fancy over
With her little fairy train?
Shall the night no more be peopled
With the visions of the brain?
When the moon is bright above us,
Shall we dare to venture forth,
As if there were no spirits
In the air and on the earth?
When we hear soft strains of music,
Shall we doubt that silver strings
Have been touch'd by sprites who revel
When the dew is on their wings?
When we see the mystic circle
On the meadow's green expanse,
Shall we doubt we see the footmarks
Of the elves' unearthly dance?
II
No; romance will lose her power,
And the muse forget her skill,
If we say those wild responses
Are mere echoes from the hill;
If we say no fairy revels
Leave their shadows on the heath,
We shall blight the sweetest blossoms
That 're bloomed in fancy's wreath.
Oh! we must not drive the fairies
From their summer haunts on earth;
Oh! we must not spurn the legends
Of their mischief and their mirth;
Oh! we must not rob the blue-bells
Of the beings who resort
To their silken cells for shelter,
Till Titania holds her court.
