Is their hour of dalliance over?
Must the maiden's trembling feet
Waft her from her warlike lover
To the desert's still retreat?
Fare you well! with sighs we banish
Nymph so fair and guests so bright;
Yet the smile, with which you vanish,
Leaves behind a soothing light;—
Soothing light, that long shall sparkle
O'er your warrior's sanguined way,
Through the field where horrors darkle,
Shedding hope's consoling ray.
Long the smile his heart will cherish,
To its absent idol true;
While around him myriads perish,
Glory still will sigh for you!
SONG.
Take back the sigh, thy lips of art
In passion's moment breathed to me;
Yet, no—it must not, will not part,
'Tis now the life-breath of my heart,
And has become too pure for thee.
Take back the kiss, that faithless sigh
With all the warmth of truth imprest;
Yet, no—the fatal kiss may lie,
Upon thy lip its sweets would die,
Or bloom to make a rival blest.
Take back the vows that, night and day,
My heart received, I thought, from thine;
Yet, no—allow them still to stay,
They might some other heart betray,
As sweetly as they've ruined mine.
LOVE AND REASON.
Quand l'homme commence à raissonner, il cesse de sentir.—J. J. ROUSSEAU.
'Twas in the summer time so sweet,
When hearts and flowers are both in season,
That—who, of all the world, should meet,
One early dawn, but Love and Reason!
Love told his dream of yesternight,
While Reason talked about the weather;
The morn, in sooth, was fair and bright,
And on they took their way together.