In moody posture there he sate,

70

He heard a voice, and saw, with half-raised head,

A Visitant by whom these words were uttered;

"On Christian service this frail Bark

Sailed" (hear me, Merlin!) "under high

protection,

74

Though on her prow a sign of heathen power Was carved-a Goddess with a Lily flower, The old Egyptian's emblematic mark Of joy immortal and of pure affection.

66

Her course was for the British strand; Her freight, it was a Damsel peerless; God reigns above, and Spirits strong May gather to avenge this wrong Done to the Princess, and her Land Which she in duty left, sad but not cheerless.

66

And to Caerleon's loftiest tower

Soon will the Knights of Arthur's Table
A cry of lamentation send;

And all will weep who there attend,
To grace that Stranger's bridal hour,
For whom the sea was made unnavigable.

"Shame! should a Child of royal line Die through the blindness of thy malice?" Thus to the Necromancer spake

Nina, the Lady of the Lake,

A gentle Sorceress, and benign,

80

85

90

95

Who ne'er embittered any good man's chalice.

"What boots," continued she, "to mourn? To expiate thy sin endeavour:

From the bleak isle where she is laid,

Fetched by our art, the Egyptian Maid May yet to Arthur's court be borne Cold as she is, ere life be fled for ever.

66

My pearly Boat, a shining Light,

That brought me down that sunless river,
Will bear me on from wave to wave,
And back with her to this sea-cave;-
Then Merlin! for a rapid flight

100

105

Through air, to thee my Charge will I deliver.

66 The very swiftest of thy cars

Must, when my part is done, be ready;
Meanwhile, for further guidance, look
Into thy own prophetic book;

And, if that fail, consult the Stars

To learn thy course; farewell! be prompt and steady."

This scarcely spoken, she again
Was seated in her gleaming shallop,
That, o'er the yet-distempered Deep,
Pursued its way with bird-like sweep,
Or like a steed, without a rein,

115

Urged o'er the wilderness in sportive gallop. 120

Soon did the gentle Nina reach

That Isle without a house or haven;
Landing, she found not what she sought,
Nor saw of wreck or ruin aught

But a carved Lotus cast upon the beach 125

By the fierce waves, a flower in marble

graven.

Sad relique, but how fair the while! For gently each from each retreating With backward curve, the leaves revealed The bosom half, and half concealed, Of a Divinity, that seemed to smile On Nina, as she passed, with hopeful greeting.

130

No quest was hers of vague desire,
Of tortured hope and purpose shaken!
Following the margin of a bay,
She spied the lonely Cast-away,
Unmarred, unstripped of her attire,

135

But with closed eyes,-of breath and bloom forsaken.

140

Then Nina, stooping down, embraced, With tenderness and mild emotion, The Damsel, in that trance embound; And, while she raised her from the ground, And in the pearly shallop placed, Sleep fell upon the air, and stilled the ocean.

145

The turmoil hushed, celestial springs
Of music opened, and there came a blending
Of fragrance, underived from earth,
With gleams that owed not to the sun their
birth,

And that soft rustling of invisible wings Which Angels make, on works of love descending

And Nina heard a sweeter voice

150

Than if the Goddess of the flower had spoken:
"Thou hast achieved, fair Dame! what none
Less pure in spirit could have done;
Go, in thy enterprise rejoice!

155

Air, earth, sea, sky, and heaven, success betoken."

So cheered, she left that Island bleak,
A bare rock of the Scilly cluster;
And, as they traversed the smooth brine,
The self-illumined Brigantine

Shed, on the Slumberer's cold wan cheek
And pallid brow, a melancholy lustre.

160

Fleet was their course, and when they came
To the dim cavern, whence the river
Issued into the salt-sea flood,

Merlin, as fixed in thought he stood,
Was thus accosted by the Dame;
"Behold to thee my Charge I now deliver!

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170

But where attends thy chariot-where ? "Quoth Merlin, "Even as I was bidden, So have I done; as trusty as thy barge My vehicle shall prove-O precious Charge! If this be sleep, how soft! if death, how fair! Much have my books disclosed, but the end is hidden.'

He spake; and gliding into view

175

Forth from the grotto's dimmest chamber Came two mute Swans, whose plumes of dusky white

Changed, as the pair approached the light, Drawing an ebon car, their hue

(Like clouds of sunset) into lucid amber. 180

Once more did gentle Nina lift

The Princess, passive to all changes:
The car received her :-then up-went
Into the ethereal element

The Birds with progress smooth and swift 185 As thought, when through bright regions

memory ranges.

Sage Merlin, at the Slumberer's side, Instructs the Swans their way to measure; And soon Caerleon's towers appeared, And notes of minstrelsy were heard From rich pavilions spreading wide, For some high day of long-expected pleasure.

190

Awe-stricken stood both Knights and Dames
Ere on firm ground the car alighted;
Eftsoons astonishment was past,
For in that face they saw the last

Last lingering look of clay, that tames

195

All pride; by which all happiness is blighted.

Said Merlin, "Mighty King, fair Lords,
Away with feast and tilt and tourney!
Ye saw, throughout this royal House,
Ye heard, a rocking marvellous
Of turrets, and a clash of swords
Self-shaken, as I closed my airy journey.

Lo! by a destiny well known.

To mortals, joy is turned to sorrow;
This is the wished-for Bride, the Maid
Of Egypt, from a rock conveyed

200

205

Where she by shipwreck had been thrown; 209 Ill sight! but grief may vanish ere the morrow.'

66

Though vast thy power, thy words are weak," Exclaimed the King, "a mockery hateful; Dutiful Child, her lot how hard!

Is this her piety's reward?

Those watery locks, that bloodless cheek! 215 O winds without remorse! O shore ungrateful!

"Rich robes are fretted by the moth;
Towers, temples, fall by stroke of thunder;
Will that, or deeper thoughts, abate
A Father's sorrow for her fate?
He will repent him of his troth;

220

His brain will burn, his stout heart split

asunder.