Naught doth he note anear,
Fain through Night s veil to peer,
Reach that resplendent sphere,
Reading her sign.
Where point those sharp, thin rays,
Guiding his weary maze,
Blesseth she or betrays,
Who may divine?
" Guard me, celestial light,
Lofty, serenely bright :
Lead my halt feet aright,"
Prayerful he speaks.
" For a new ray hath shone
Over my spirit lone.
Be this new soul the one
Whom my soul seeks."
II.
Beside her casement oped the maiden sits,
Where the mild evening spirit of the Spring
Gently between the city s homesteads flits
To kiss her brows, and floats on languid wing,
Vague longings in her breast awakening.
While her heart trembles neath those dim, deep <skies,
As the quick sea that neath the globed moon lies.
Where her eyes rest the full-orbed evening star
Burns with white flame : it beckons, shrinks, dilates.
