II Now the country does not even boast a tree, As you see, To distinguish slopes of verdure, certain rills Intersect and give a name to, (else they run Into one) Where the domed and daring palace shot its spires O'er the hundred-gated circuit of a wall Bounding all, Made of marble, men might march on nor be pressed Twelve abreast. III And such plenty and perfection, see, of grass Such a carpet as, this summer-time, o'erspreads Every vestige of the city, guessed alone, Where a multitude of men breathed joy and woe Long ago; Lust of glory pricked their hearts up, dread of shame And that glory and that shame alike, the gold IV Now, The single little turret that remains By the caper overrooted, by the gourd Overscored, While the patching houseleek's head of blossom winks Through the chinks Marks the basement whence a tower in ancient time Sprang sublime, And a burning ring, all round, the chariots traced As they raced, And the monarch and his minions and his dames V And I know, while thus the quiet-coloured eve To their folding, all our many tinkling fleece And the slopes and rills in undistinguished grey That a girl with eager eyes and yellow hair In the turret whence the charioteers caught soul For the goal, When the king looked, where she looks now, breathless, dumb Till I come. VI But he looked upon the city, every side, Far and wide, All the mountains topped with temples, all the glades' All the causeys, bridges, aqueducts, and then, All the men! When I do come, she will speak not, she will stand, On my shoulder, give her eyes the first embrace Of my face, Ere we rush, ere we extinguish sight and speech VII In one year they sent a million fighters forth And they built their gods a brazen pillar high As the sky, Yet reserved a thousand chariots in full force- Gold, of course. Oh heart! oh blood that freezes, blood that burns! For whole centuries of folly, noise, and sin! Shut them in, With their triumphs and their glories and the rest! Love is best. (1855.) INCIDENT OF THE FRENCH CAMP I You know, we French stormed Ratisbon: A mile or so away, On a little mound, Napoleon Stood on our storming-day; With neck out-thrust, you fancy how, Out 'twixt the battery-smokes there flew Until he reached the mound. III Then off there flung in smiling joy, By just his horse's mane, a boy: You looked twice ere you saw his breast Was all but shot in two. IV "Well," cried he, "Emperor, by God's grace We've got you Ratisbon! The Marshal's in the market-place, And you'll be there anon To see your flag-bird flap his vans Where I, to heart's desire, Perched him!" The chief's eye flashed; his plans Soared up again like fire. V The chief's eye flashed; but presently A film the mother-eagle's eye When her bruised eaglet breathes. "You're wounded!" "Nay," the soldier's pride Touched to the quick, he said: "I'm killed, Sire!" And his chief beside, Smiling the boy fell dead. TWO IN THE CAMPAGNA I I wonder do you feel to-day As I have felt since, hand in hand, We sat down on the grass, to stray In spirit better through the land, This morn of Rome and May? II For me, I touched a thought, I know, III Help me to hold it! First it left The yellowing fennel, run to seed There, branching from the brickwork's cleft, IV Where one small orange cup amassed Five beetles,-blind and green they grope, Among the honey-meal: and last, Everywhere on the grassy slope, I traced it. Hold it fast! V The champaign with its endless fleece VI Such life here, through such lengths of hours, Such primal naked forms of flowers, VII How say you? Let us, O my dove, VIII I would that you were all to me, You that are just so much, no more. Nor yours nor mine, nor slave nor free! Where does the fault lie? What the core O' the wound, since wound must be? IX I would I could adopt your will, See with your eyes, and set my heart Beating by yours, and drink my fill At your soul's springs, your part my part In life, for good and ill. X No. I yearn upward, touch you close, Catch your soul's warmth,-I pluck the rose |