Page:New poems and variant readings, Stevenson, 1918.djvu/103

Rh GO, LITTLE BOOK—THE ANCIENT PHRASE

, little book—the ancient phrase

And still the daintiest—go your ways,

My Otto, over sea and land,

Till you shall come to Nelly's hand.

How shall I your Nelly know?

By her blue eyes and her black brow,

By her fierce and slender look,

And by her goodness, little book!

What shall I say when I come there?

You shall speak her soft and fair:

See—you shall say—the love they send

To greet their unforgotten friend!

Giant Adulpho yon shall sing

The next, and then the cradled king

And the four corners of the roof

Then kindly bless; and to your perch aloof,

Where Balzac all in yellow dressed

And the dear Webster of the west

Encircle the prepotent throne

Of Shakespeare and of Calderon,

Shall climb an upstart.