The wily carp to ensnare, the fiery bridge

O’er which my fancy boldly trod, and found

Her way to realms unreal, topples down

With mimic crash, and lies a ruined mass

Upon the hearth. Yet by its waning glow

I see the hurried parting of my guests,

Retreating each within his narrow cell;

As when beneath a monastery roof

The low, sweet chant of vespers dies away,—

The last faint echoes lingering still within