THE WIFE'S APPEAL. "Love borrows greatly from opinion. Pride above all things strengthens affection." E. L. BULWer. He sat and read. A book with silver clasps, All gorgeous with illuminated lines Of gold and crimson, lay upon a frame Before him. 'Twas a volume of old time; And in it were fine mysteries of the stars Solved with a cunning wisdom, and strange thoughts, Clearer than truth, and speculations wild Beneath his limbs, and, as he turned the page, The sunlight, streaming through the curtain's fold, And the rich woods of the quaint furniture Lay deepening their veined colours in the sun, And Socrates, with godlike human love Of times gone by that made them, and old bards, Around the room were shelves of dainty lore, And rich old pictures hung upon the walls From Herculaneum, the niches filled. And on a table of enamel, wrought With a lost art in Italy, there lay Prints of fair women, and engravings rare, And a new poem, and a costly toy, And in their midst a massive lamp of bronze Burning sweet spices constantly. Asleep Mingled and blurred, and the lithe hound rose up, The fall of a light foot upon the stair- She rose and put the curtain-folds aside But, as he spoke, a tear fell through the light, Happy?—yes, dearest !—blest Beyond the limit of my wildest dream Too bright, indeed, my blessings ever seem; One of Hope's promises by Love unkept, And yet-forgive me, Ernest—I have wept. How shall I speak of sadness, And seem not thankless to my God and thee? How can the lightest wish but seem to be The very whim of madness? Yet, oh, there is a boon thy love beside- List, while my boldness lingers ! If thou hadst won yon twinkling star to hear thee-If thou couldst bid the rainbow's curve bend near thee If thou couldst charm thy fingers To weave for thee the Sunset's tent of gold- If thou hadst Ariel's gift, To course the veined metals of the earth If thou couldst wind a fountain to its birth If thou couldst know the drift Of the lost cloud that sailed into the sky Wouldst keep it for thine own unanswered eye? |