XXV. 



THE THREE DEITIES. 



Three Deities preside in Nature's fane, 

 And turn to bliss the bounties of her reign. 

 They hold her fairest offerings, and distil. 

 Like dew from heaven, the better joys that fill 

 The earth to bless all creatures. Every place 

 Is made resplendent with their light and grace. 

 They shed on earth and scatter o'er the sphere 

 All those bright gifts that charm the varied year. 

 For them mild Vesper sheds her parting glow, 

 And Iris lifts in heaven her showery bow. 

 For them the Dryads wreathe the moss-grown wood, 

 And dress the mead, and paint the silvery flood. 

 Each little leaf that rustles on the spray, 

 Through which the zephyrs sing their roundelay. 

 The sounds of darkness, heard when night is still, 

 The whispering waves, the breeze upon the hill, 

 By them are tuned to pleasure, and designed 

 As bonds of love to nature and mankind. 



The first of these is Beauty ; with her fingers, 

 She pencils all the hues where twilight lingers. 

 The moon's soft beam is hers, the fire-fly's light, 

 The meteor's flash, the diamond host of night; 



