22 ENDYMION.
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hus ended ho, and bothSat sflent : for the maid wvis veiy l»>athTo answer ; feeling well that breathed wordsWould all be lost, unheard, and vain as swordsAgainst the enchased crocodile, or leapsOf grasshoppers against the sun. She weeps,And wonders ; stiniggles to devise some blame;To put on sucli a look as would say, ShameOn this poor weaJcTiess / but, for all lier strife,She could as soon have cinish'd away the lifeFrom a sick dove. At length, to break tlie pause,She said with trembling cliance : '< Is this the cause !This all ! Yet it is strange, and sad, alas !That one who through tliis middle earth should passMost like a sojourning demi-god, and leaveHis name upon tlie harp-stinng, should achieveNo higher bard than simple maidenhood.Singing alone, and fearfully, — how the bloodLeft his yoimg cheek ; and how he used to strayHe knew not where : and how he would say, nay^If any said Hwas love : and yet 'twas love ;What could it be but love ? How a ring-doveLet fall a sprig of yew-tree in his patliAnd how he died : and then, that love doth scatheThe gentle heart, as northern bhists do roses ;And then the ballad of his sad life closesWith sighs, and an alas ! — EndxTiiion !Be rather in the trumpet's mouth, — ^anonAmong the winds at large — that all may hearken !Although, before the crystal heavens diu'ken,I watch and dote upon the silver lakesPictured in western cloudiness, tliat takesThe semblance of gold rocks and bright gold sandsyIslands, and creeks, and amber-fretted strandsWith horses prancing o'er them, palacesAnd towers of ametliyst, — would 1 so teaseMy pleasant days, because I could not mountInto those regions ! The Morphean fountOf that fine element that visions, dreams^
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