University of Virginia Library

I. His Instrument.

Music's coy maiden waited her musician,
Her heart the dungeon of her sweetest words,
Dumb as all hearts ere Love, the young magician,
Charms them to flame like flowers and sing like birds;
Till one fine Spirit at last wooed like a lover
The cold virginity of these white keys,
And bade these trembling strings discover
Their secret exquisite reveries.