Page:Landon in Literary Gazette 1822.pdf/43

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Literary Gazette, 7th September, 1822, Page 569

ORIGINAL POETRY. POETICAL SKETCHES.

Third Series — Sketch the First. THE MINE.

Alas, the strange varieties of life! We live 'mid perils and pleasures, like Characters 'graven on the sand, or hues Colouring the rainbow. Wild as a sick fancy And changeful as a maiden, is this dream, This brief dream on earth - - - - Their doom was misery.

They were two lovers.—Oh how much is said In that brief phrase; how much of happiness, Of all that makes life precious, is summed up In telling they were lovers! In this world, In all its many pleasures, all its dreams Of riches, fame, ambition, there is nought That sheds the light of young and passionate love. Ah, its first sigh is worth all else on earth: That sigh may be most fugitive, may leave A burning, broken, or a withered heart; It may know many sorrows, may be crost With many cares, and all its joys may be But rainbow glimpses seen in clouds; yet still That sigh breathes paradise—Love! thou hast been Our ruin and our heaven! Well, they loved— and his ; from infancy They had been playmates, and they ever were Each other's shadow; but when woman's blush Came o'er the cheek, and woman's tenderness Shaded blue eyes, then  heart Caught deeper feeling. It was just the time When soft vows have been breathed, and answered By blushes, gentle sighs, the eloquent signs Of maiden bashfulness and maiden love, And knew he was beloved, that when The fresh spring leaves were on the firs, Would be his own indeed. 'Tis a sweet time, This season of young passion's happiness! The spirit revels in delicious dreams; The future is so beautiful, for hope Is then all powerful. They would often sit For hours by their bright hearth, and tell old tales Of love, true as their own—or talk of days Of quiet joy to come. And when the Spring Smiled in green beauty, they would sweetly roam