Or swan of plumage white.”
—Beside the Lee, by Michael O’Longen.
“Her breast has the whiteness
That thorn-blossoms bore.”
Her hands are pure and white as the snow, and never without being accomplished in the art of embroidery. There is scarcely a poem in the whole collection in which the skill of the heroine in this particular is not mentioned. She does not play upon the harp. That was a manly profession. Embroidery was the fashionable accomplishment for Irish ladies, and the maiden who typified Ireland must be pre-eminent in it.
“Her soft, queenly fingers
Are skilful as fair,
While she gracefully lingers
O’er broideries rare.
The swan and the heath-hen,