* * * * *

TO ISADORE.

I. Beneath the vine-clad eaves,
             Whose shadows fall before
             Thy lowly cottage door—­
         Under the lilac’s tremulous leaves—­
         Within thy snowy clasped hand
             The purple flowers it bore. 
         Last eve in dreams, I saw thee stand,
         Like queenly nymph from Fairy-land—­
         Enchantress of the flowery wand,
             Most beauteous Isadore!

II.  And when I bade the dream
             Upon thy spirit flee,
             Thy violet eyes to me
         Upturned, did overflowing seem
         With the deep, untold delight
             Of Love’s serenity;
         Thy classic brow, like lilies white
         And pale as the Imperial Night
         Upon her throne, with stars bedight,
             Enthralled my soul to thee!

III.  Ah! ever I behold
             Thy dreamy, passionate eyes,
             Blue as the languid skies
         Hung with the sunset’s fringe of gold;
         Now strangely clear thine image grows,
             And olden memories
         Are startled from their long repose
         Like shadows on the silent snows
         When suddenly the night-wind blows
             Where quiet moonlight lies.

IV.  Like music heard in dreams,
             Like strains of harps unknown,
             Of birds for ever flown,—­
         Audible as the voice of streams
         That murmur in some leafy dell,
             I hear thy gentlest tone,
         And Silence cometh with her spell
         Like that which on my tongue doth dwell,
         When tremulous in dreams I tell
             My love to thee alone!

V. In every valley heard,
             Floating from tree to tree,
             Less beautiful to me,
         The music of the radiant bird,
         Than artless accents such as thine
             Whose echoes never flee! 
         Ah! how for thy sweet voice I pine:—­
         For uttered in thy tones benign
         (Enchantress!) this rude name of mine
             Doth seem a melody!

* * * * *

THE VILLAGE STREET.

  In these rapid, restless shadows,
    Once I walked at eventide,
  When a gentle, silent maiden,
    Walked in beauty at my side. 
  She alone there walked beside me
  All in beauty, like a bride.

  Pallidly the moon was shining
    On the dewy meadows nigh;
  On the silvery, silent rivers,
    On the mountains far and high,—­
  On the ocean’s star-lit waters,
    Where the winds a-weary die.

  Slowly, silently we wandered
    From the open cottage door,
  Underneath the elm’s long branches
    To the pavement bending o’er;
  Underneath the mossy willow
    And the dying sycamore.