730 



TENNYSON, ALFRED. 



Day and night to the billow the fountain calls ; 



Down shower the gambolling waterfalls 



From wandering over the lea : 



Out of the live-green heart of the dells 



They freshen the silvery-crimson shells, 



And thick with white bells the clover-hill swells 



High over the full-toned sea : 



O hither, come hither and furl your sails, 



Come hither to me and to me : 



Hither, come hither and frolic and play ; 



Here it is only the mew that wails ; 



We will sing to you all the day : 



FRESH WATER BAY. 



Mariner, mariner, furl your sails, 



For here are the blissful downs and dales, 



And merrily merrily carol the gales, 



And the spangle dances in bight and bay, 



And the rainbow forms and flies on the land 



Over the islands free ; 



And the rainbow lives in the curve of the sand 



Hither, come hither and see ; 



And the rainbow hangs on the poising wave, 



And sweet is the color of cove and cave, 



And sweet shall your welcome 



be: 

 O hither, come hither, and be 



our lords. 



For merry brides are we: 

 We will kiss sweet kisses, and 



speak sweet words : 

 O listen, listen, your eyes shall 



glisten 

 With pleasure and love and 



jubilee : 

 O listen, listen, your eyes shall 



glisten 

 When the sharp clear twang 



of the golden chords 

 Runs up the ridged sea. 

 Who can light on as happy a 



shore 

 All the world o'er, all the 



world o'er ? 

 Whither away? listen and stay: 



mariner, mariner, fly no 



more. 



' ' The Deserted House " 

 aud "Love and Death " are 

 as characteristic of the after- 

 Tennyson as they are beautiful, while the 

 opening lines of "The Poet," 



The poet in a golden clime was born. 



With golden stars above ; 

 Dowered with the hate of hate, the scorn of scorn, 



The love of love, 



and the one called "The Poet's Mind," begin- 

 ning, 



Vex not thou the poet's mind 



With thy shallow wit ; 

 Vex not thou the poet's mind ; 



For thou caust not fathom it, 



contain the lofty and supercilious mental atti- 

 tude which through life he appeared to main- 

 tain. One of the omitted poems which appeared 

 in this later edition is " Hero to Leander," which 

 seems to come nearer the high-water mark of his 

 later work than any that he kept. It runs : 



O go not yet, my love ! 



The night is dark and vast ; 

 The white moon is hid in her heaven above, 



And the waves climb high and fast. 

 O, kiss me, kiss me, once again, 



Lest th} r kiss should be the last ! 

 O kiss me ere we part ; 

 Grow closer to my heart ! 

 My heart is warmer surely than the bosom of the 



main. 

 O joy ! O bliss of blisses ! 



My heart of hearts art thou. 

 Come bathe me with thy kisses, 



My eyelids and my brow. 

 Hark how the wild rain hisses, 



And the loud sea roars below. 



Thy heart beats through thy rosy limbs, 



So gladly doth it stir ; 

 Thine eye in drops of gladness swims. 



I have bathed thee with the pleasant myrrh ; 

 Thy locks are dripping balm ; 

 Thou shalt not wander hence to-night, 



I'll stay thee with my kisses. 

 To-night the roaring brine 



Will rend thy golden tresses ; 

 The ocean with the morrow light 

 Will be both blue and calm ; 



And the billow will embrace thee with a kiss as soft 

 as mine. 



TAKINGFOBD HOUSE, ISLE OP WIGHT. 



No Westeni odors wander 

 On the black and moaning sea, 



And when thou art dead, Leander, 

 My soul must follow thee ! 



O go not yet, rny love ! 



Thy voice is sweet and low ; 

 The deep salt wave breaks in above 



Those marble steps below. 

 The turret-stairs are wet 



That lead into the sea. 



