Page:Poems of Nature and Life.djvu/383

 ODK TO FANCY 373

Wait, leaning on the arm of sacred Truth,

To inspire once more the glorious dreams of youtli.

Let not thine ornaments allure

Either to acts or thoughts impure ;

But through the broad, well-buildcd hall,

Adorn each niche and pedestal

With busts of many a saint and sage,

The glory of a by-gone age,

Becrowned with flowers and garlands gay.

Plucked freshly from the lap of May ;

And paint the walls and windows o'er

More brightly than thou didst of yore,

Nor only let thy pictures please the eye,

But charm the soul, and lift it to the sky.

Alas, if thou with Virtue must be friended

Ere with mankind, thy days on earth are ended !

Then fly not yet, nor cease to smile.

But fold thy wings and wait awhile.

Lest reason, robbed of thee, seem too severe.

Lest love grow cold when thou no more art near.

And life a dreary void, without a smile or tear.

Steal on yon wight in furry robe, Whose eyes are fixed on map and globe, And kindle up his twilight gray With light that never leads astray. Intrude not, decked with gaudy hue Of purple, crimson, green and blue. But, with a lustre pale and mild. Illume his cell for Science' child. Come smiling, clad in mellowest light Of sunny gold or silvery white ; There sport amidst the rays that fall Through stained glass of cloistered hall.

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