She was lovely and fair to see, And the elfin's heart beat fitfully; But lovelier far and still more fair, The earthly form imprinted there;

And they leaped with smiles, for well I ween

Never before in the bowers of light 505 Had the form of an earthly Fay been

521

In the land of everlasting light! Within the fleecy drift we'll lie, We'll hang upon the rainbow's rim; And all the jewels of the sky Around thy brow shall brightly brow shall brightly beam! And they shall bathe thee in the stream That rolls its whitening foam aboon, And ride upon the lightning's gleam, 525 And dance upon the orbèd moon! We'll sit within the Pleiad ring,

We'll rest on Orion's starry belt, And I will bid my sylphs to sing The song that makes the dew-mist melt;

530

540

Was half so dear as his mortal love, For he thought upon her looks so

meek,

545

"Lady," he cried, "I have sworn tonight,

555

On the word of a fairy-knight,
To do my sentence-task aright;
My honor scarce is free from stain,
I may not soil its snows again;
Betide me weal, betide me woe,
Its mandate must be answered now."
Her bosom heaved with many a sigh, 560
The tear was in her drooping eye;
But she led him to the palace gate,
And called the sylphs who hovered
there,

And bade them fly and bring him straight

Of clouds condensed a sable car. 565 With charm and spell she blessed it there,

From all the fiends of upper air; Then round him cast the shadowy shroud,

And tied his steed behind the cloud;

The star is yet in the vault of heaven, But it rocks in the summer gale; 586 And now 'tis fitful and uneven,

And now 'tis deadly pale;

And now 'tis wrapped in sulphursmoke,

And quenched is its rayless beam, 590 And now with a rattling thunder-stroke It bursts in flash and flame.

As swift as the glance of the arrowy lance

That the storm-spirit flings from high,

The star-shot flew o'er the welkin blue,

As it fell from the sheeted sky.

595

Ouphe and Goblin! Imp and Sprite!
Elf of eve! and starry Fay!

Ye that love the moon's soft light,
Hither, hither wend your way;
Twine ye in a jocund ring,

Sing and trip it merrily,
Hand to hand, and wing to wing,
Round the wild witch-hazel tree.
Hail the wanderer again

610

615

With dance and song, and lute and lyre,

Pure his wing and strong his chain, And doubly bright his fairy fire. 620 Twine ye in an airy round,

Brush the dew and print the lea; Skip and gambol, hop and bound, Round the wild witch-hazel tree. The beetle guards our holy ground, 625 He flies about the haunted place, And if mortal there be found,

He hums in his ears and flaps his face;

The leaf-harp sounds our roundelay, The owlet's eyes our lanterns be; 630 Thus we sing, and dance, and play

Round the wild witch-hazel tree.

But hark! from tower on tree-top high,
The sentry-elf his call has made:
A streak is in the eastern sky,

635

Shapes of moonlight! flit and fade! The hill-tops gleam in morning's spring, The skylark shakes his dappled wing, The day-glimpse glimmers on the lawn, The cock has crowed, and the Fays are gone.

FITZ-GREENE HALLECK

(1790-1867)

640

Green be the turf above thee,

Friend of my better days! None knew thee but to love thee, Nor named thee but to praise.