Page:In defense of Harriet Shelley, and other essays.djvu/403

 IN MEMORIAM

What marble seemed, was ivory;

The glories that enriched the milky surfaces

The trailing vines, and interwoven flowers,

And tropic birds awing, clothed all in tinted fire

They knew for what they were, not what they

seemed : Incrus tings all of gems, not perishable splendors of

the brush.

They knew the secret spot where one must stand They knew the surest hour, the proper slant of sun- To gather in, unmarred, undimmed, The vision of the fane in all its fairy grace, A fainting dream against the opal sky.

And more than this. They knew That in the temple s inmost place a spirit dwelt, Made all of light !

For glimpses of it they had caught Beyond the curtains when the priests That served the altar came and went.

All loved that light and held it dear That had this partial grace; But the adoring priests alone who lived By day and night submerged in its immortal glow Knew all its power and depth, and could appraise

the loss If it should fade and fail and come no more.

All this was long ago so long ago ! The light burned on; and they that worshiped it, And they that caught its flash at intervals and held

it dear,

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