Of those who hurried to the city-gate. Echion he found there, with naked arm Swart-hair'd, strong-sinew'd, and his eyes intent

Upon the place where first the axe should fall:

He held it upright. "There are bees about, Or wasps, or hornets," said the cautious eld, "Look sharp, O son of Thallinos!" The youth

Inclin'd his ear, afar, and warily,

And cavern'd in his hand. He heard a buzz At first, and then the sound grew soft and clear,

And then divided into what seem'd tune, And there were words upon it, plaintive words.

He turn'd, and said, "Echion! do not strike That tree it must be hollow; for some

That sad old man!" said she. The old man went

Without a warning from his master's son, Glad to escape, for sorely he now fear'd, And the axe shone behind him in their eyes. Hamad. And wouldst thou too shed the most innocent

Of blood? No vow demands it; no god wills

The oak to bleed.

Rhaicos. Who art thou? whence? why here?

And whither wouldst thou go? Among the rob'd

In white or saffron, or the hue that most
Resembles dawn or the clear sky, is none
Array'd as thou art. What so beautiful
As that gray robe which clings about thee
close,

Like moss to stones adhering, leaves to trees,

Yet lets thy bosom rise and fall in turn, As, touch'd by zephyrs, fall and rise the boughs

Of graceful platan by the river-side ? Hamad. Lovest thou well thy father's

house?

The bark; the tree may hold its place awhile. Hamad. Awhile? thy father numbers then my days?

Rhaicos. Are there no others where the moss beneath

Is quite as tufty? Who would send thee forth

Or ask thee why thou tarriest? Is thy flock
Anywhere near?
Hamad.
I have no flock: I kill
Nothing that breathes, that stirs, that feels
the air,

The sun, the dew. Why should the beautiful

(And thou art beautiful) disturb the source Whence springs all beauty? Hast thou never heard

Of Hamadryads? Rhaicos.

Heard of them I have:

Tell me some tale about them. May I sit Beside thy feet? Art thou not tired? The herbs

Are very soft; I will not come too nigh; Do but sit there, nor tremble so, nor doubt. Stay, stay an instant : let me first explore If any acorn of last year be left

Within it; thy thin robe too ill protects Thy dainty limbs against the harm one small Acorn may do. Here 's none. Another day Trust me; till then let me sit opposite.

Hamad. I seat me; be thou seated, and content.

Rhaicos. O sight for gods! ye men below! adore

The Aphrodite ! Is she there below?
Or sits she here before me? as she sate
Before the shepherd on those heights that
shade

The Hellespont, and brought his kindred

'Tis said that laughs were heard within the wood :

But who should hear them? and whose laughs? and why?

Savory was the smell and long past noon, Thallinos in thy house; for marjoram, Basil and mint, and thyme and rosemary, Were sprinkled on the kid's well roasted length,

Awaiting Rhaicos. Home he came at last, Not hungry, but pretending hunger keen, With head and eyes just o'er the maple

plate.

"Thou see'st but badly, coming from the sull,

"Come back!" and twin'd her fingers in

the hem

Above his shoulder. Then she led his steps To a cool rill that ran o'er level sand Through lentisk and through oleander; there Bath'd she his feet, lifting them on her lap When bath'd, and drying them in both her hands.

He dar'd complain; for those who most are lov'd

Most dare it; but not harsh was his complaint.

"O thou inconstant !" said he, "if stern law Bind thee, or will, stronger than sternest law,

O, let me know henceforward when to hope The fruit of love that grows for me but

here."

Down fell the languid brow, both hands fell❘ down,

A shriek was carried to the ancient hall
Of Thallinos he heard it not his son
Heard it, and ran forthwith into the wood.
No bark was on the tree, no leaf was green,
The trunk was riven through. From that
day forth

Nor word nor whisper sooth'd his ear, nor sound

Even of insect wing; but loud laments The woodmen and the shepherds one long year

Heard day and night; for Rhaicos would not quit

The solitary place, but moan'd and died.

Hence milk and honey wonder not, O guest, To find set duly on the hollow stone.

THE DEATH OF ARTEMIDORA

“ARTEMIDORA! Gods invisible,
While thou art lying faint along the couch,
Have tied the sandal to thy veined feet,
And stand beside thee, ready to convey
Thy weary steps where other rivers flow.
Refreshing shades will waft thy weariness
Away, and voices like thine own come nigh,
Soliciting, nor vainly, thy embrace."

Then becomes worst; what loveliest, most

deform'd.

The heart is hardest in the softest climes,
The passions flourish, the affections die.
O thou vast tablet of these awful truths,
That fillest all the space between the seas,
Spreading from Venice's deserted courts
To the Tarentine and Hydruntine mole,
What lifts thee up? what shakes thee? 't is
the breath

Of God. Awake, ye nations! spring to life!
Let the last work of his right hand appear
Fresh with his image, Man.

FROM "GEBIR"

TAMAR AND THE NYMPH

"'T WAS evening, though not sunset, and the tide,

Level with these green meadows, seem'd yet higher :

'Twas pleasant, and I loosen'd from my neck

The pipe you gave me, and began to play. O that I ne'er had learn'd the tuneful art!

It always brings us enemies or love.
Well, I was playing, when above the waves
Some swimmer's head methought I saw
ascend;

I, sitting still, survey'd it with my pipe
Awkwardly held before my lips half-clos'd.
Gebir! it was a Nymph! a Nymph divine !
I cannot wait describing how she came,
How I was sitting, how she first assum'd
The sailor; of what happen'd there remains
Enough to say, and too much to forget.
The sweet deceiver stepp'd upon this bank
Before I was aware; for with surprise
Moments fly rapid as with love itself.
Stooping to tune afresh the hoarsen'd reed,
I heard a rustling, and where that arose
My glance first lighted on her nimble feet.
Her feet resembled those long shells ex-
plor'd

By him who to befriend his steed's dim sight
Would blow the pungent powder in the eye.
Her eyes too! O immortal gods! her eyes
Resembled - what could they resemble ?
what

Ever resemble those? Even her attire
Was not of wonted woof nor vulgar art: