More rich than roses in the kindling east.
“Then were the hearts of lovers blithe and glad,
And steeped in freshness like a dew-drenched fleece:
Then glittered marriage like a cloud sun-clad
Or flood that feeds the vale with boon increase
“Then in its innocence great love was strong—
Love that with innocence renews the earth:
Then Faith was sovran, Right supreme o'er wrong:
Then sacred as the altar was the hearth.
“With hope's clear anthem then the valleys rang;