Page:Sir Walter Raleigh by Thoreau, Henry David,.djvu/100

 Blood must be my body's balmer,

No other balm will here be given,

Whilst my soul, like quiet palmer,

Travels to the land of heaven,

Over all the silver mountains,

Where do spring those nectar fountains:

And I there will sweetly kiss

The happy bowl of peaceful bliss,

Drinking mine eternal fill

Flowing on each milky hill.

My soul will be adry before,

But after, it will thirst no more.

In that happy, blissful day,

More peaceful pilgrims I shall see,

That have cast off their rags of clay,

And walk apparell'd fresh like me.

But he wrote his poems, after all, rather with ships and fleets, and regiments of men and horse. At his bidding, navies took their place in the channel, and even from prison he fitted out fleets with which to realize his golden dreams, and invited his companions to fresh adventures.

Raleigh might well be studied if only for the excellence of his style, for he is remarkable even in the midst of so many masters. All the distinguished writers of that period