Like a crystal lamp unlighted,
A home with its hearthstone dark.
"I've sailed on the silent river,
Still tacking from shore to shore,
But the soulless opal never
A flash for a claimant bore.
"My lord from the castle yonder
Quite failed with the magic spell,
For he envied a shooting-manor
A neighbor would never sell.
"My lady, with jewels shining,
Called not from the gem a ray,
For the bitter sigh of the childless
Was biding beneath alway.
"The painter with nodding laurel,
The poet with fadeless bay,
Courtier, and hind, and maiden,
Each bade me a moment stay;
"But the poet would be a Milton,
The painter-lad loved in vain,
And the courtier s foot was gouty;
So I seaward turn again.
"Far down in the quiet valley
I'll tarry at eventide,
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