IDYL IV. 
ROYAL BRIDE. 
Th. iii. 
1. On my bed, in the night, 
I sought him whom my soul loveth. 
I sought him, but found him not. 
2. T arose, and went into the city ; 
Tn the streets, and in the broad-ways, 
J sought him whom my sou! loveth: 
I sought him, but I found him not. 
2. The watchmen of the city beheld me : 
« Saw ye,” said I, ‘* him whom my soul 
loveth ?” 
4. But a little had I passed from them, 
When I found him whom ny soul loveth: 
J held him, and would not let him go, 
‘Till 1 had brought him into my mother’s 
house, 
Into the dwelling of her who conceived 
me. 
5. Icharge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem! 
a roes, and by the hinds of the field, 
That ye stir not, nor awake 
My beloved until he please. 
_ Mr. Good’s version is as follows. 
ROYAL BRIDE. 
«© °Twas in the night: my head the pillow 
pressed, 
And anxious dreams, disturbed my throbbing 
breast ; 
I sought the darling object of my pain ; 
Intent I sought him—but I sought in vain: 
“Abrupt I rose, in hopes my love to meet ; 
Wide through the city, wearying every street, 
I sought the darling object of my pain; 
Intent I sought him—but I sought in vain. 
The midnight watchmen found me as I 
strayed ; * 
Of them I sought, with spirit deep dismayed, 
* Saw ye the darling object of nay pain!” 
Of them I sought him—but ] sought in vain. 
Not long I left them, ere, with rapture 
; crowned, 
‘The darling object of my pain I found. 
Theld him firm, forbade him more to roam, 
And instant brought him to my mother’s 
home. 
Daughters of Salem born !—by all ye prize, 
‘The graceful hind, the roe with luscious 
4 eyes, 
We you stir not—hushed be every breeze, 
Watch o'er my love, nor wake him till he 
; please.” 
NOTES. 
The word 
‘dream’ does not occur in the original ; 
but from the period of time, the place, and 
position of the fair bride, there can be no 
oubt she is here describing a dream. In 
_ the earlier ages of the world, im which visions 
| of the night were made the medium of 
Wi 
— * And anxious dreams—) 
ue! 
NT 
divine communication, as well to those who 
were without the pale of the Jewish hie- 
rarchy, as to those whom it embraced, dreams 
were pondered upon with far more defer- 
ence than at present; and, for this reason, 
the images in natural sleep appear to have 
been often more vivid and permanent. 
Much of the beauty of ancient poctry, 
therefore, both sacred and profane, has been 
exhausted in delineating the history of indi- 
vidual dreams. In the sacred scriptures this 
is so frequent as to render it useless to enu- 
merate instances. In Virgil, Moschus, and 
Bion we meet with many similar narratives ; 
but the Odes of Anacreon are, of all speci- 
mens of poetry, the nearest, perhaps, in this 
respect, to the idy!s before us. The third 
and eighth, in the arrangement of Barnes's 
edition, are both of this description most 
precisely: and the former, in its general tale 
and construction, so extremely resembles 
the seventh of the present idyls, that the 
reader will find it introduced under the poem 
for a comparison. Gessner has happily re- 
ferred to this species of poetic fiction in his 
idyl, entitled Daphnis. ‘he delighted swain 
applies to heaven, and supplicates that 
dreams of Jove and of himself may descend 
on the fair idol of his heart: and if she do 
not dream of him, his object, at least, is 
obtained by the supplication; for when the 
morning arose, and his beloved appeared at 
her window—Aoldselig griist sie thn und hold- 
selig blickt sie thn nach;—denn sie hatte seiuen 
machtlichen gesang behorcht —<‘‘ tenderly she 
saluted him, tenderly her eyes still followed 
his footsteps :—for she had listened to his 
midnight song.” 
“© Intent I sought him—lut I sought in 
vain. ‘his lineal iteration, chorus, or in- 
tercalary verse, as it is called by Dr. Lowth, 
is in perfect unison with the true spirit of 
the idyl or eclogue. ‘heocritus is full of 
the same figure: his very first idyl affords us 
an instance of it— 
Aeyere Gexokinas, Muoas Qidus, wexer  eo1das, 
which is repeated at the commencement of 
every sentence, tillthe poet has nearly finished 
his song. 
«« The first idyl of Bion, in like manner, 
offers us a similar instance— 
Aialu Toy Adwyuy? ATwAeTo xaAos Aduys* 
The latter part of the verse being in a small 
degree, and with great elegance, varied in 
alinost every recurrence. 
«© Gessner has occasionally introduced a 
similar iteration, though not very frequently. 
The first idyl, however, furnishes us with 
an example in the soliloquy of Alexis, who 
concludes his pathetic apostrophes with, 
«¢ Ich sie lice mehr als die biene den friiling 
liebt”—«« I love her more than the bee loves 
the spring.” 
«Lhe lyrists of every country, both sa- 
cred and profane, have bed as attenuye to 
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