Banded from pole to pole; a diamond clear,

Shaped as bard’s fancy shapes the small balloon

To bear some sylph or fay beyond the moon.

From all her bands see lucid fringes play,

That glance and sparkle in the solar ray

With iridescent hues. Now round and round

She wheels and twirls; now mounts, then sinks profound.

Now see her like the belted star of Jove,

Spin on her axis smooth, as if she strove

To win applause—a thing of conscious sense