CLXXVI.

Now she prolong'd her visits and her talk (For they must talk), and he had learnt to say So much as to propose to take a walk;

For little had he wander'd since the day On which, like a young flower snapp'd from the stalk,

Drooping and dewy on the beach he lay : And thus they walk'd out in the afternoon, And saw the sun set opposite the moon. CLXXVII.

It was a wild and breaker-beaten coast,

With cliffs above, and a broad sandy shore, Guarded by shoals and rocks as by a host, With here and there a creek, whose aspect wore A better welcome to the tempest-tost;

And rarely ceased the haughty billows' roar, Save on the dead long summer days, which make The outstretch'd ocean glitter like a lake.

CLXXVIII.

And the small ripple spilt upon the beach Scarcely o'erpass'd the cream of your champagne,

When o'er the brim the sparkling bumpers reach,
The spring-dew of the spirit! the heart's rain!
Few things surpass old wine; and they may
preach
[in vain-
Who please the more because they preach
Let us have wine and women, mirth and laughter,
Sermons and soda-water the day after.

CLXXIX.

Man, being reasonable, must get drunk;
The best of life is but intoxication :
Glory, the grape, love, gold, in these are sunk
The hopes of all men, and of every nation :
Without their sap, how branchless were the trunk
Of life's strange tree, so fruitful on occasion :
Put to return,-Get very drunk: and when
You wake with headache, you shall see what then.

CLXXX.

Ring for your valet-bid him quickly bring Some hock and soda-water, then you'll know A pleasure worthy Xerxes the great king:

For not the blest sherbet sublimed with snow, Nor the first sparkle of the desert-spring, Nor Burgundy in all its sunset glow, After long travel, ennui, love, or slaughter, Vie with that draught of hock and soda-water.

CLXXXI.

The coast-I think it was the coast that I
Was just describing-Yes, it was the coast-
Lay at this period quiet as the sky,

The sands untumbled, the blue waves untost,
And all was stillness save the sea-bird's cry,
And dolphin's leap, and little billow crost
By some low rock or shelve, that made it fret
Against the boundary it scarcely wet.

CLXXXII.

And forth they wander'd, her sire being gone,
As I have said, upon an expedition;
And mother, brother, guardian, she had none,
Save Zoe, who, although with due precision
She waited on her daily with the sun,"

Thought daily service was her only mission, Bringing warm water, wreathing her long tresses, And asking now and then for cast-off dresses.

CLXXXIII.

It was the cooling hour, just when the rounded Red sun sinks down behind the azure hill, Which then seems as if the whole earth it bounded,

Circling all nature, hush'd, and dim, and still, With the far mountain-crescent half surrounded On one side, and the deep sea calm and chill Upon the other, and the rosy sky, With one star sparkling through it like an eye

CLXXXIV.

And thus they wander'd forth, and hand in hand,
Over the shining pebbles and the shells,
Glided along the smooth and harden'd sand,
And in the worn and wild receptacles
Work'd by the storms, yet work'd as it were
plann'd,

In hollow halls, with sparry roofs and cells, They turn'd to rest; and, each clasp'd by an arm, Yielded to the deep twilight's purple charm.

CLXXXV.

They look'd up to the sky, whose floating glow Spread like a rosy ocean, vast and bright; They gazed upon the glittering sea below, Whence the broad moon rose circling into sight;

[low, They heard the waves splash, and the wind so And saw each other's dark eyes darting light Into each other-and, beholding this, Their lips drew near, and clung into a kiss.

CLXXXVI.

A long, long kiss, a kiss of youth and love,
And beauty, all concentrating like rays
Into one focus, kindled from above:

Such kisses as belong to early days,
Where heart, and soul, and sense, in concert

move,

And the blood's lava, and the pulse a blaze, Each kiss a heart-quake,--for a kiss's strength, I think, it must be reckon'd by its length.

CLXXXVII.

By length I mean duration; theirs endured Heaven knows how long--no doubt they never reckon'd;

And if they had, they could not have secured

The sum of their sensations to a second: They had not spoken; but they felt allured,

As if their souls and lips each other beckon'd,

CXCIV.

They look upon each other, and their eyes Gleam in the moonlight; and her white arm clasps

Round Juan's head, and his around hers lies Half buried in the tresses which it grasps: She sits upon his knee, and drinks his sighs,

He hers, until they end in broken gasps; And thus they form a group that's quite antique, Half naked, loving, natural, and Greek.

CXCV.

And when those deep and burning moments pass'd,

And Juan sank to sleep within her arms, She slept not, but all tenderly, though fast, Sustain'd his head upon her bosom's charms: And now and then her eye to heaven is cast, And then on the pale cheek her breast now

warms,