Upon her, and that day a boy was born,
Heir of his face and land, to Lionel.

And thus our lonely lover rode away,
And pausing at a hostel in a marsh,
There fever seized upon him:myself was then
Travelling that land, and meant to rest an
(hour;

And sitting down to such a base repast,
It makes me angry yet to speak of it

I heard a groaning overhead, and climb'd The moulder'd stairs (for everything was vile)

And in a loft, with none to wait on him, Found, as it seem'd, a skeleton alone, Raving of dead men's dust and beating (hearts.

A dismal hostel in a dismal land, A flat malarian world of reed and rush! But there from fever and my care of him Sprang up a friendship that may help us yet. For while we roam'd along the dreary coast, And waited for her message, piece by piece I learnt the drearier story of his life; And, tho' he loved and honour'd Lionel,

Found that the sudden wail his lady made Dwelt in his fancy: did he know her worth, Her beauty even? should he not be taught, Ev'n by the price that others set upon it, The value of that jewel he had to guard?

Suddenly came her notice and we past, I with our lover to his native Bay.

This love is of the brain, the mind, the
(soul:

That makes the sequel pure, tho' some of us
Beginning at the sequel know no more.
Not such am I: and yet I say, the bird
That will not hear my call, however sweet,
But if my neighbour whistle answers him-
What matter? there are others in the wood.
Yet when I saw her (and I thought him
(crazed,

Tho' not with such a craziness as needs

A cell and keeper), those dark eyes of hers -
Oh! such dark eyes! and not her eyes alone,
But all from these to where she touch'd on
(earth,

For such a craziness as Julian's seem'd
No less than one divine apology.

So sweetly and so modestly she came To greet us, her young hero in her arms! "Kiss him," she said. "You gave me life (again.

He, but for you, had never seen it once.
His other father you! Kiss him, and then
Forgive him, if his name be Julian too."

Talk of lost hopes and broken heart! his (own

Sent such a flame into his face, I knew Some sudden vivid pleasure hit him there.

But he was all the more resolved to go,
And sent at once to Lionel, praying him
By that great love they both had borne the
(dead,

To come and revel for one hour with him
Before he left the land for evermore;
And then to friends they were not
(many who lived
Scatteringly about that lonely land of his,
And bade them to a banquet of farewells.

And Julian made a solemn feast: I never From column on to column, as in a wood, Sat at a costlier; for all round his hall Not such as here. - an equatorial one, Great garlands swung and blossom'd; and (beneath,

Heirlooms, and ancient miracles of Art,

Chalice and salver, wines that, Heaven (knows when,

Had suck'd the fire of some forgotten sun,
And kept it thro' a hundred years of gloom,
Yet glowing in a heart of ruby--cups
Where nymph and god ran ever round in
(gold

Others of glass as costly. -some with gems
Moveable and resettable at will,
And trebling all the rest in value
(heavens!

Ah

Why need I tell you all?-suffice to say
That whatsoever such a house as his,
And his was old, has in it rare or fair
Was brought before the guest: and they, the
(guests

Wonder'd at some strange light in Julian's (eyes

(I told you that he had his golden hour), And such a feast, ill-suited as it seem'd To such a time, to Lionel's loss and his, And that resolved sell-exile from a land He never would revisit, such a feast So rich, so strange, and stranger ev'n than (rich,

But rich as for the nuptials of a king.

And stranger yet, at one end of the hall Two great funereal curtains, looping down,

Parted a little ere they met the floor,
About a picture of his lady, taken
Some years before, and falling hid the frame.
And just above the parting was a lamp:
So the sweet figure folded round with night
Seem'd stepping out of darkness with a
(smile.

Well then - our solemn feast we ate (and drank, And might (bleness Have jested also, but for Julian's eyes, And something weird and wild about it all: What was it? for our lover seldom spoke, Scarce touch'd the meats; but ever and anon A priceless goblet with a priceless wine Arising, show'd he drank beyond his use; And when the feast was near and end, he (said:

the wines being of such no

"There is a custom in the Orient, friendsI read of it in Persia - when a man Will honour those who feast with him, he (brings

And shows them whatsoever he accounts
Of all his treasures the most beautiful,
Gold, jewels, arms, whatever it may be.
This custom".

Pausing here a moment, all The guests broke in upon him with meeting (hands

And cries about the banquet Beautiful! Who could desire more beauty at a feast?" The lover answer'd, "There is more than (one

Here sitting who desires it. Laud me not Before my time, but hear me to the close. This custom steps yet further when the (guest

Is loved and honour'd to the uttermost. For after he has shown him gems or gold, He brings and sets before him in rich guise That which is thrice as beautiful as these, The beauty that is dearest to his heart'O my heart's lord, would I could show you,' (he says,

'Ev'n my heart too.' And I propose to-night To show you what is dearest to my heart, And my heart too.

But solve me first a doubt. I knew a man, nor many years ago; He had a faithful servant, one who loved His master more than all on earth beside. He falling sick, and seeming close on death,

His master would not wait until he died,
But bade his menials bear him from the door,
And leave him in the public way to die.
I knew another, not so long ago,
Who found the dying servant, took him
(home,

And fed, and cherish'd him, and saved his (life.

I ask you now, should this first master claim His service, whom does it belong to? him Who thrust him out, or him who saved his (life?"

This question, so flung down before the (guests,

And balanced either way by each, at length When some were doubtful how the law

(would hold,

Was handed over by consent of all
To one who had not spoken, Lionel.

Fair speech was his, and delicate of phrase. And he beginning languidly - his loss Weigh'd on him yet - but warming as he (went,

Glanced at the point of law, to pass it by,
Affirming that as long as either lived,
By all the laws of love and gratefulness,
The service of the one so saved was due
All to the saver — adding, with a smile,
The first for many week - a semi-smile
As at a strong conclusion-,,body and soul
And life and limbs, all his to work his will."

|
To bring Camilla down before them all,
And crossing her own picture as she came,
And looking as much lovelier as herself
Is lovelier than all others-on her head
A diamond circlet, and from under this
A veil, that seem'd no more than gilded air,
Flying by each fine ear, an Eastern gauze
With seeds of gold-so, with that grace of
(hers,

Then Julian made a secret sign to me

Slow-moving as a wave against the wind,
That flings a mist behind it in the sun-
And bearing high in arms the mighty babe,
The younger Julian, who himself was
(crown'd

With roses, none so rosy as himself-
And over all her babe and her the jewels
Of many generations of his house
Sparkled and flash'd, for he had decked
(them out

As for a solemn sacrifice of love

So she came in:-I am long in telling it.

Could lift them nearer God-like state
Than if the crowded Orb should cry
Like those who cried Diana great:
And I too, talk, and lose the touch
I talk of. Surely, after all,
The noblest answer unto such

Is perfect stillness when they brawl.

IDYLLS OF THE KING.

DEDICATION.

THESE to His Memory-since he held them (dear,

Perchance as finding there unconsciously
Some image of himself-I dedicate,
I dedicate, I consecrate with tears
These Idylls.

And indeed He seems to me Scarce other than my own ideal knight, Who reverenced his conscience as his king; Whose glory was, redressing human wrong; Who spake no slander, no, nor listen'd to it; Who loved one only and who clave to her-" Her-over all whose realms to their last isle, Commingled with the gloom of imminent (war,

The shadow of His loss drew like eclipse, Darkening the world. We have lost him: he (is gone:

We know him now: all narrow jealousies
Are silent; and we see him as he moved,
How modest, kindly, all-accomplish'd,wise,
With what sublime repression of himself,
And in what limits, and how tenderly;
Not swaying to this faction or to that;
Not making his high place the lawless perch
Of wing'd ambitions, nor a vantage-ground
For pleasure; but thro' all this tract of years
Wearing the white flower of a blameless life,
Before a thousand peering littlenesses,

In that fierce light which beats upon a (throne,

And blackens every blot: for where is he,
Who dares foreshadow for an only son

A lovelier life, a more unstain'd, than his ?
Or how should England dreaming of his sons
Hope more for these than some inheritance
Of such a life, a heart, a mind as thine,
Thou noble Father of her Kings to be,
Laborious for her people and her poor-
Voice in the rich dawn of an ampler day-
Far-sighted summoner of War and Waste

To fruitful strifes and rivalries of peaceSweet nature gilded by the gracious gleam Of letters, dear to Science, dear to Art, Dear to thy land and ours, a Prince indeed, Beyond all titles, and a housebold name, Hereafter, thro' all times, Albert the Good.

Break not, O woman's-heart, but still en(dure;

Break not, for thou art Royal, but endure, Remembering all the beauty of that star Which shone so close beside Thee, that ye (made

One light together, but has past and leaves The Crown a lonely splendour.

May all love, His love, unseen but felt, o'ershadow Thee, The love of all Thy sons encompass Thee, The love of all Thy daughters cherish Thee, The love of all Thy people comfort Thee, Till God's love set Thee at his side again!

THE COMING OF ARTHUR. LEODOGRAN, the King of Cameliard, Had one fair daughter, and none other child; And she was fairest of all flesh on earth, Guinevere, and in her his one delight.

For many a petty king ere Arthur came Ruled in this isle, and ever waging war Each upon other, wasted all the land; And still from time to time the heathen host Swarm'd overseas, and harried what was left. And so there grew great tracts of wilderness, But man was less and less, till Arthur came. Wherein the beast was ever more and more, For first Aurelius lived and fought and died, And after him King Uther fought and died, But either fail'd to make the kingdom one. And after these King Arthur for a space, And thro' the puissance of his Table Round, Their king and head, and made a realm, and Drew all their petty princedoms under him, (reign'd.

And thus the land of Cameliard was waste, Thick with wet woods, and many a beast (therein,

And none or few to scare or chase the beast; So that wild dog, and wolf and boar and bear Came night and day, and rooted in the fields, And wallow'd in the gardens of the king. And ever and anon the wolf would steal The children and devour, but now and then, Her own brood lost or dead, lent her fierce

(teat