And ever so coldly,—
Two white arms enfold me,
And a sweet face is close to my cheek.
This is not a fault in Campbell’s poetry. It is an essential part of his art. As in Longfellow, so in Campbell the humanized substance of his verse is consciously designed for the popular heart, and ensures popular acceptance. Campbell would rather do this than to write always for art’s sake, as in these sheer pictorial stanzas from A Winter’s Night:—
Shadowy white,
Over the fields are the sleeping fences,
Silent and still in the fading light,
As the wintry night commences.
• • • •
Calm sleeping night