I kissed its breast, I soothed its wandering fears

As on we tramped; then, at the close of day,

It said “Good-bye, old friend,” and crept away.

And now?—a beauteous melody I hear,

As constellations tumbling from the skies,

Are dancing on the floor before my eyes;

Nor do I dream at all, for, sitting near,

A gnat plays perfectly the sweeping strain

That Man’s ambitious mind strives for—in vain!

I could cry out in spite to think for years