Pale he is, and sad and stern;
And whene'er he cometh nigh,
Blue and dim the torches burn,
Pale and shrunk the roses turn;
While my heart that he has pierced
Many a time with fiery lance,
Beats and trembles at his glance:
Clad in burning steel is he,
All my strength he can defy;
For he never leaveth me-
And one of us must die!

I have said, "Let ancient sages
Charm me from my thoughts of pain!"
So I read their deepest pages,

And I strove to think-in vain!
Wisdom's cold, calm words I tried,
But he was seated by my side:-
Learning I have won in vain ;
She cannot rid me of my pain.

When at last soft sleep comes o'er me,
A cold hand is on my heart;

Stern sad eyes are there before me;
Not in dreams will he depart:
And when the same dreary vision
From my weary brain has fled,
Daylight brings the living phantom,
He is seated by my bed,

Bending o'er me all the while,
With his cruel, bitter smile,
Ever with me, ever nigh;

And either he or I must die!

Then I said, long time ago,
I will flee to other climes,
I will leave mine ancient foe!"
Though I wandered far and wide-
Still he followed at my side.

And I fled where the blue waters
Bathe the sunny isles of Greece;
Where Thessalian mountains rise
Up against the purple skies;
Where a haunting memory liveth
In each wood and cave and rill;
But no dream of gods could help me,-
He went with me still!

I have been where Nile's broad river
Flows upon the burning sand;
Where the desert monster broodeth,
Where the Eastern palm-trees stand;
I have been where pathless forests
Spread a black eternal shade;
Where the lurking panther hiding
Glares from every tangled glade;
But in vain I wandered wide,
He was always by my side!

Then I fled where snows eternal
Cold and dreary ever lie;

Where the rosy lightnings gleam,
Flashing through the northern sky;
Where the red sun turns again
Back upon his path of pain ;-
But a shadowy form was with me,
I had fled in vain!

I have thought, "If I can gaze
Sternly on him he will fade,
For I know that he is nothing
But a dim ideal shade."
As I gazed at him the more,
He grew stronger than before!

Then I said, "Mine arm is strong,
I will make him turn and flee";
I have struggled with him long -
But that could never be!

Once I battled with him so
That I thought I laid him low;
Then in trembling joy I fled,
While again and still again
Murmuring to myself I said,
"Mine old enemy is dead!"
And I stood beneath the stars,
When a chill came on my frame,
And a fear I could not name,
And a sense of quick despair,

And, lo! - mine enemy was there!

Listen, for my soul is weary,
Weary of its endless woe;

I have called on one to aid me
Mightier even than my foe

Strength and hope fail day by day;
I shall cheat him of his prey;
Some day soon, I know not when,
He will stab me through and through;
He has wounded me before,

But my heart can bear no more;

Pray that hour may come to me,
Only then shall I be free;

Death alone has strength to take me
Where my foe can never be;
Death, and Death alone, has power
To conquer mine old enemy!

THE TRIUMPH OF TIME.

HE tender, delicate Flowers,

I saw them fanned by a warm western
wind,

Fed by soft summer showers,
Shielded by care, and yet, (O Fate unkind!)
Fade in a few short hours.

The gentle and the gay,

Rich in a glorious Future of bright deeds,
Rejoicing in the day,

Are met by Death, who sternly, sadly leads
Them far away.

And Hopes, perfumed and bright,

So lately shining, wet with dew and tears,
Trembling in morning light;
I saw them change to dark and anxious fears
Before the night!

I wept that all must die:

"Yet Love," I cried, "doth live, and conquer

And breathed on Love, and killed it with his breath Ere Death was nigh.

More bitter far than all

It was to know that Love could change and die! Hush! for the ages call,

"The Love of God lives through eternity, And conquers all!"

A PARTING.

ITHOUT one bitter feeling let us part,
And for the years in which your love

has shed

A radiance like a glory round my head, I thank you, yes, I thank you from my heart.

I thank you for the cherished hope of years,
A starry future, dim and yet divine,
Winging its way from Heaven to be mine,
Laden with joy, and ignorant of tears.

I thank you, yes, I thank you even more

That my heart learnt not without love to live, But gave and gave, and still had more to give, From an abundant and exhaustless store.

I thank you, and no grief is in these tears;
I thank you, not in bitterness but truth,
For the fair vision that adorned my youth
And glorified so many happy years.