Page:Songs of the Affections.pdf/42

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34
SONGS OF THE AFFECTIONS.

By the land's flower and chivalry,
    To her, his martyr'd one.

But on the face he look'd not,
    Which once his star had been;
To every form his glance was turn'd,
    Save of the breathless queen:
Though something, won from the grave's embrace,
    Of her beauty still was there,
Its hues were all of that shadowy place,
    It was not for him to bear.

Alas! the crown, the sceptre,
    The treasures of the earth,
And the priceless love that pour'd those gifts,
    Alike of wasted worth!
The rites are closed:—bear back the Dead
    Unto the chamber deep!
Lay down again the royal head,
    Dust with the dust to sleep!