How the world looked when it was fresh and young,
And the great Deluge still had left it green;
Or was it then so old, that History’s pages
Contained no record of its early ages?
Still silent, incommunicative elf!
Art sworn to secrecy? then keep thy vows;
But prithee tell us something of thyself,—
Reveal the secrets of thy prison-house!
Since in the world of spirits thou hast slumbered,
What thou hast seen, what strange adventures numbered?