About the Book
Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Their cold lean joints. And now this passion past, There fell a blindness, on them, from the gods. Wakes Esla, all day, so she impatient is, To keep his life, which hid under these brinks. When erst, from heaven, the molten stars look forth; After the sunny rays, she ready is; Nor fears, where, like to walls, downhangs the cliff, Descend; and seemed, by day, none footing was. She hastes, for marked she mount the tide, beneath. She goeth down, by sharp scaurs, such force hath love; And lightly oft she depends, by corded roots: So that sea-gods, beholding, bate their breaths. The chilling wind, her golden hairs outbloweth. She, bound about her, long fringed-mantle bears; That sea-cast One, to cover from the cold. Like as who finds some fallen fledgeling bird, Out of the nest; or weanling of hedge-beast, Uplifts, and home, in pious hands, it bears, And cherisheth: and aye, twixt doubt he is And hope, to nourish up; that such not miss, Of kindly life, whereto born on the earth: Much more, thou child, thing goodliest having found, On sea's waste strand, tremblest and durst, uneath, To him thou lovest, now call, for uncouth dread. O joy, when dimly, at last, beholds each one, The other's semblant, in this doubtful gloom. Then whispered speech, sweet knitting of true palms, Already knit their hearts. Her mantle, warm, Of wadmel, then she splayed about them both. They creep together, in that fear and cold, In dim sea-cave. Smiles out, in firmament, The hoary girdled, infinite, night of stars, Above them: like as when, in sweet spring-time, With wind-flowers white, some glade is storied seen; Whereas, from part to part, like silver stream, Shine hemlocks, stichworts, sign of former path. To her innocent bosom, she him gathers, warm; And girded, each...
