Then all around so calm, so passionless,
The silence, and the stillness, and the light
Unbroken by a shadow,—how the heart
Must feel its finer impulses alive
At such an hour as this!—Upon the deck
Of that tall ship, the only thing whose image
Was stamped in darkness on the moon-lit waves,
Two Youths were leaning: one with the fair hair
And blue eyes, with that falcon glance which mark'd
The graceful Saxon, when with his good sword
He sought a home and heritage; the other,
Like a young Roman, with his raven curls
And dark and flashing eyes. Like two spring pines
The youthful Soldiers stood there, side by side
They stood, and talked of all those buoyant dreams
Which colour life but once—those morning lights
That shine so cloudlessly and pass so soon!
Hope's waters yet were fresh with them; the cares,
The earthly cares, that stain each nobler aim,
And withering sorrows, falsehood, discontent,
Had not as yet profaned thy sweetest fountain,
Delicious Hope! And there they leant, and spoke
Of battle, glorious battle, till each ear
Rang with the trumpet's music, and each eye
Flashed at the thought of its first field.—
Then gentler feelings gushed upon their heart.
Fireside remembrances and kind affections:
They dwelt on the last evening they had past
Within their sweet home-circle, and recalled
How each one prest more closely than their wont
Around the hearth, all conscious that to-morrow
A vacant place would be in that sweet ring;
How each affectionate lip had prophesied
Fortune and fame; and how in glistening eyes
Hope had looked up but in the midst of tears
And then, at if each felt there was a tie
Of stronger unity in these recallings,
