Publisher's Synopsis
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1869 edition. Excerpt: ... ST. AGNES OF GUIENNE. T chanced one season when the lush young Tines Did yield their purple globules to the touch Of rural maidens, mellow as the wines Of Ischia, rosy, sparkling, troubling much The heart of man, that, as the custom went, The Guienne vintage closed in merriment. The viol (old Cremona's fashion, ) sings Sweet as the birds of Southern everglades; But sweeter still the rustic laughter rings Through aisles of beauty, lining olive shades, Where glancing ankles sparkle in the whirls Of dance, like jewels in a maiden's curls. As some old skiff that hath not known an oar So long the moss grows on the slimy keel, Struck by a sudden wave from almost o'er The sea, obeys the impulse, and with reel And lurch, strains at the mooring chain-- Struck by a wave from almost o'er the main-- So some old dames, with uncouth step and check, Taught in their early youth and beauty's prime, Break in the dance at some young mocker's beck, But soon exhausted, yield the floor to time, And to their daughters, as the winter's snows To sunshine's joyance at hoar March's close: And on the borders of the ring there stand Grandfather's gray, (old venerable vines!) And priests, and crowned Ganymedes who hand The goblets flush with purest-strained new wines, While deep embossed in shade glide lovers who, All unperceived, would fain steal out of view. The dance being o'er, it was not strange, in sooth, A slender form, round-ripe with all, was seen Bending--soft-bending--towards a comelyyouth, Who led her homeward through the clover green: Two neighbors these; a sweet, French maid.Hermine; The other Claude, a youth with manly mien. Her voice was the sweet principle of oil; Within her eyes, pure-gushing founts whence flowed In crystal currents, fluid light and..
