Sweet songs of chivalry, rich fairy lore,
Let thy deep influence through my spirit glance,
For I would vision forth a tale of yore,—
A legend of true love, that evermore
May in bright fiction to the mind display
The power of constant truth, to triumph o’er
The ills of life in all their dire array,
And how that virtue pure speeds conquering on its way.
But thus to sing my soul must be subdued
To softest tenderness and gentle thought,