And the Sereno knows that he has seen The spectre of the Past, the ghost of Spain. THE SPHINX SPEAKS CARVED by a mighty race whose vanished hands Formed empires more destructible than I, In sultry silence I forever lie, Wrapped in the shifting garment of the sands. Below me, Pharaoh's scintillating bands With clashings of loud cymbals have passed by, And the eternal reverence of the sky I have with worlds of blazing stars been crowned, But none my subtle mystery hath known Save one, who made his way through blood and sea, The Corsican, prophetic and renowned, To whom I spake, one awful night alone! THE BAYADERE NEAR strange, weird temples, where the Ganges' tide Bathes domed Lahore, I watched, by spicetrees fanned, Her agile form in some quaint saraband, A marvel of passionate chastity and pride. Nude to the loins, superb and leopardeyed, With fragrant roses in her jewelled hand, Before some Kaât-drunk Rajah, mute and grand, Her flexile body bends, her white feet glide. The dull Kinoors throb one monotonous tune, And wail with zeal as in a hasheesh trance; Her scintillant eyes in vague, ecstatic charm Burn like black stars below the Orient moon, While the suave, dreamy languor of the dance Lulls the grim, drowsy cobra on her arm. BONDAGE THE BURDEN OF LOVE "AND this is freedom!" cried the serf; I BEAR an unseen burden constantly; "At last I tread free soil, the free air blows on me;" And, wild to learn the sweets of liberty, With eager hope his bosom bounded fast. But not for naught had the long years amassed Habit of slavery; among the free He still was servile, and, disheartened, he Crept back to the old bondage of the past. Long did I bear a hard and heavy chain Wreathed with amaranth and asphodel, But through the flower-breaths stole the weary pain. I cast it off and fled, but 't was in vain; For when once more I passed by where it fell, I took it up and bound it on again. Waking or sleeping I can never thrust The load aside; through summer's heat and dust And winter's snows it still abides with me. I cannot let it fall, though I should be Nor can the bands that bind it on me rust Or break, nor ever shall I be set free. Sometimes 't is heavy as the weight that bore Atlas on giant shoulders; sometimes light As the frail message of the carrier dove; But, light or heavy, shifting nevermore. What is it thus oppressing, day and night? The burden, dearest, of a mighty love. Laura Elizabeth Richards A SONG OF TWO ANGELS Two angels came through the gate of Heaven. (White and soft is a mother's breast!) Stayed them both by the gate of Heaven; Rested a little on folded wings, Spake a little of holy things. Over them rose the golden steeps, "Brother, and now I must take my way, "Brother, I too am thither sent; Sad and silent, am thither sent. Let us together softly wing Our flight to yon world of sorrowing." Down they swept through the shining air, LAURA ELIZABETH RICHARDS — GEORGE HOUGHTON 525 "Brother, I trow we here must part! Sad they gazed in each other's face; Then folded their hands in silent prayer, WHERE HELEN SITS1 WHERE Helen sits, the darkness is so deep, No golden sunbeam strikes athwart the gloom; No mother's smile, no glance of loving eyes, Lightens the shadow of that lonely room. Yet the clear whiteness of her radiant soul Decks the dim walls, like angel vestments shed. The lovely light of holy innocence Where Helen sits, the stillness is so deep, The great world storms along its noisy way, Yet do her gentle thoughts make melody And Love and Beauty, quiring each to each, A VALENTINE OH! little loveliest lady mine, I've searched the gardens all through, and For a bud to tell of my love so true; Shines like a halo round her bended head, So, little loveliest lady mine, Where Helen sits. Here is my heart for your valentine ! SANDY HOOK George Houghton WHITE sand and cedars; cedars, sand; 1 Helen Keller. dim, |