And through the dome the only light came in,

315 Ting'd as it enter'd by the vine-leaves thin.

320

325

It was a beauteous piece of ancient skill, Spar'd from the rage of war, and perfect still;

By some suppos'd the work of fairy hands,

Fam'd for luxurious taste, and choice of

lands,

Alcina or Morgana,-who from fights
And errant1 fame inveigled amorous
knights,

And liv'd with them in a long round of
blisses,

Feasts, concerts, baths, and bower-enshaded kisses.

But 'twas a temple, as its sculpture told,
Built to the Nymphs that haunted there of
old;

For o'er the door was carv'd a sacrifice
By girls and shepherds brought, with rev-
erent eyes,

Of sylvan drinks and foods, simple and
sweet,

And goats with struggling horns and planted feet:

330 And round about ran, on a line with this, In like relief, a world of pagan bliss,

That show'd, in various scenes, the nymphs

themselves;

bold,

And to the presence in the room he said, "What writest thou?"-The vision rais'd

its head,

And with a look made of all sweet accord, 10 Answer'd, "The names of those who love the Lord."

15

"And is mine one?" said Abou. "Nay,

not so, Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low, But cheerly still; and said, "I pray thee then,

"Write me as one that loves his fellow

men.

The nobles filled the benches, with the ladies in their pride,

And 'mongst them sat the Count de Lorge, with one for whom he sighed :

5 And truly 'twas a gallant thing to see that crowning show,

Valor and love, and a king above, and the royal beasts below.

Ramped and roared the lions, with horrid laughing jaws;

They bit, they glared, gave blows like beams, a wind went with their paws; With wallowing might and stifled roar they rolled on one another,

10 Till all the pit with sand and mane was in a thunderous smother;

The bloody foam above the bars came whisking through the air; Said Francis then, "Faith, gentlemen, we're better here than there."

De Lorge's love o'erheard the King, a beauteous lively dame,

With smiling lips and sharp bright eyes, which always seemed the same;

1 See poems by Browning and Schiller on the same subject.

Francis I, King of France (1515-47).

as brave can be;

He surely would do wondrous things to show his love of me;

King, ladies, lovers, all look on; the occasion is divine;

I'll drop my glove, to prove his love; great glory will be mine.

Gulping salt-water everlastingly, Cold-blooded, though with red your blood be graced,

5 And mute, though dwellers in the roaring waste;

And you, all shapes beside, that fishy be,— Some round, some flat, some long, all dev

ilry,

1 creatures

15

THE OLD LADY 1816

If the Old Lady is a widow and lives alone, the manners of her condition and time of life are so much the more apparent. She generally dresses in plain silks, that make a gentle rustling as she moves about the silence of her room; and she wears a nice cap with a lace border, that comes under the chin. In a placket at her side is an old enamelled watch, unless it is locked up in a drawer of her toilet, for fear of accidents. Her waist is rather tight and trim than otherwise, as she had a fine one when young; and she is not sorry if you see a pair of her stockings on a table, that you may be aware of the neatness of her leg and foot. Contented with these and other evident indications of a good shape, and letting her young friends understand that she can afford to obscure it a little, she wears pockets, and 20 uses them well too. In the one is her handkerchief, and any heavier matter that is not likely to come out with it, such as the change of a sixpence; in the other is a miscellaneous assortment, consisting of a pocket-book, a bunch of keys, a needle-case, a spectaclecase, crumbs of biscuit, a nutmeg and grater, a smelling-bottle, and, according to the season, an orange or apple, which after many days she draws out, warm and glossy, 30 to give some little child that has well behaved itself. She generally occupies two rooms, in the neatest condition possible. In

25