I saw, and yet my friend seemed not to see

The face familiar, with the gentle eyes,

Whose presence sanctified the past for me,

And made for him a glorious paradise.

I felt the pressure of a vanished hand

Upon my own, and heard a soft robe sweep—

The same has floated from the spirit-land,

And often trailed the chamber where I sleep.

I strove to break the spell that bound his heart,

That held his spirit as a bondsman tied,