EDWARD.
My hand is o'er my heart—and shall remain.—
Let the swift minutes run, red sink the sun,
To-morrow will be rich with Violet.
WALTER.
So be it, large he sinks! Repentant Day
Frees with his dying hand the pallid stars
He held imprisoned since his young hot dawn.
Now watch with what a silent step of fear
They'll steal out one by one, and overspread
The cool delicious meadows of the night.
EDWARD.
And lo, the first one flutters in the blue
With a quick sense of liberty and joy!
(Two hours afterwards), WALTER.
The rosy glow has faded from the sky,
The rosy glow has faded from the sea.
A tender sadness drops upon my soul,
Like the soft twilight dropping on the world.
EDWARD.
Behold yon shining symbol overhead,
Clear Venus hanging in the mellow west,
Jupiter large and sovereign in the east,
With the red Mars between.