But then the thought of parting made her quake;
He was her own, her ocean-treasure, cast Like a rich wreck- her first love, and her last.
And thus a moon roll'd on, and fair Haidee Paid daily visits to her boy, and took Such plentiful precautions, that still he Remain'd unknown within his craggy nook;
At last her father's prows put out to sea For certain merchantmen upon the look, Not as of yore to carry off an Io, But three Ragusan vessels, bound for Scio.
Then came her freedom, for she had no mother, So that, her father being at sea, she was Free as a married woman, or such other Female, as where she likes may freely pass, Without even the incumbrance of a brother, The freest she that ever gazed on glass;
I speak of Christian lands in this comparison, Where wives, at least, are seldom kept in garrison.
Now she prolong'd her visits and her talk (For they must talk), and he had learnt to say So much as to propose to take a walk,-For little had he wander'd since the day On which, like a young flower snapp'd from the stalk, Drooping and dewy on the beach he lay,-And thus they walk'd out in the afternoon, And saw the sun set opposite the moon.
It was a wild and breaker-beaten coast, With cliffs above, and a broad sandy shore, Guarded by shoals and rocks as by an host, With here and there a creek, whose aspect wore A better welcome to the tempest-tost;
And rarely ceased the haughty billow's roar, Save on the dead long summer days, which make The outstretch'd ocean glitter like a lake.
And the small ripple spilt upon the beach Scarcely o'erpass'd the cream of your champagne, When o'er the brim the sparkling bumpers reach, That spring-dew of the spirit! the heart's rain!
Few things surpass old wine; and they may preach Who please,- the more because they preach in vain,-Let us have wine and women, mirth and laughter, Sermons and soda-water the day after.
Man, being reasonable, must get drunk;
The best of life is but intoxication:
Glory, the grape, love, gold, in these are sunk The hopes of all men, and of every nation;
Without their sap, how branchless were the trunk Of life's strange tree, so fruitful on occasion:
But to return,- Get very drunk; and when You wake with headache, you shall see what then.
Ring for your valet- bid him quickly bring Some hock and soda-water, then you 'll know A pleasure worthy Xerxes the great king;
For not the bless'd sherbet, sublimed with snow, Nor the first sparkle of the desert-spring, Nor Burgundy in all its sunset glow, After long travel, ennui, love, or slaughter, Vie with that draught of hock and soda-water.
The coast- I think it was the coast that Was just describing- Yes, it was the coast-Lay at this period quiet as the sky, The sands untumbled, the blue waves untost, And all was stillness, save the sea-bird's cry, And dolphin's leap, and little billow crost By some low rock or shelve, that made it fret Against the boundary it scarcely wet.
And forth they wander'd, her sire being gone, As I have said, upon an expedition;
And mother, brother, guardian, she had none, Save Zoe, who, although with due precision She waited on her lady with the sun, Thought daily service was her only mission, Bringing warm water, wreathing her long tresses, And asking now and then for cast-off dresses.
It was the cooling hour, just when the rounded Red sun sinks down behind the azure hill, Which then seems as if the whole earth it bounded, Circling all nature, hush'd, and dim, and still, With the far mountain-crescent half surrounded On one side, and the deep sea calm and chill Upon the other, and the rosy sky, With one star sparkling through it like an eye.
And thus they wander'd forth, and hand in hand, Over the shining pebbles and the shells, Glided along the smooth and harden'd sand, And in the worn and wild receptacles Work'd by the storms, yet work'd as it were plann'd, In hollow halls, with sparry roofs and cells, They turn'd to rest; and, each clasp'd by an arm, Yielded to the deep twilight's purple charm.
They look'd up to the sky, whose floating glow Spread like a rosy ocean, vast and bright;
They gazed upon the glittering sea below, Whence the broad moon rose circling into sight;
They heard the wave's splash, and the wind so low, And saw each other's dark eyes darting light Into each other- and, beholding this, Their lips drew near, and clung into a kiss;
A long, long kiss, a kiss of youth, and love, And beauty, all concentrating like rays Into one focus, kindled from above;
Such kisses as belong to early days, Where heart, and soul, and sense, in concert move, And the blood 's lava, and the pulse a blaze, Each kiss a heart-quake,- for a kiss's strength, I think, it must be reckon'd by its length.
By length I mean duration; theirs endured Heaven knows how long- no doubt they never reckon'd;
And if they had, they could not have secured The sum of their sensations to a second:
They had not spoken; but they felt allured, As if their souls and lips each other beckon'd, Which, being join'd, like swarming bees they clung-Their hearts the flowers from whence the honey sprung.
They were alone, but not alone as they Who shut in chambers think it loneliness;
The silent ocean, and the starlight bay, The twilight glow which momently grew less, The voiceless sands and dropping caves, that lay Around them, made them to each other press, As if there were no life beneath the sky Save theirs, and that their life could never die.
They fear'd no eyes nor ears on that lone beach, They felt no terrors from the night, they were All in all to each other: though their speech Was broken words, they thought a language there,-And all the burning tongues the passions teach Found in one sigh the best interpreter Of nature's oracle- first love,- that all Which Eve has left her daughters since her fall.
Haidde spoke not of scruples, ask'd no vows, Nor offer'd any; she had never heard Of plight and promises to be a spouse, Or perils by a loving maid incurr'd;
She was all which pure ignorance allows, And flew to her young mate like a young bird;
