68
POEMS.
Dwelt in her face, as if she fondly dreamed
Of her beloved France!
Of her beloved France!
There, poor Nell Gwynne, of whom the Merry King
Made much of in his gay and reckless court;
She looked at best a weak and giddy thing,
By riches sold and bought.
Made much of in his gay and reckless court;
She looked at best a weak and giddy thing,
By riches sold and bought.
And Kemble as the Prince of Denmark shone;
A full-length figure in majestic guise,
He stood in princely grandeur, sad, alone,
With madness in his eyes!
A full-length figure in majestic guise,
He stood in princely grandeur, sad, alone,
With madness in his eyes!
And farther, Scott, with deerhound at his feet,
Sat reading, in his chair, the covered page
Of some historic novel quaint and neat
Now handed down to age.
Sat reading, in his chair, the covered page
Of some historic novel quaint and neat
Now handed down to age.
And loyal Nelson showed so true and brave,
Old England's hero evermore to be,
Who knew no fear of an untimely grave,
The lion of the sea!
Old England's hero evermore to be,
Who knew no fear of an untimely grave,
The lion of the sea!
And Elizabeth Fry, the philanthropic friend
Who trod the dim, dark prison house, and came
With loving words and mercy without end
To all in sin and shame.
Who trod the dim, dark prison house, and came
With loving words and mercy without end
To all in sin and shame.
And many others of a long dead past,
Of high-born lineage and of ancient date,
Were pictured in those galleries dim and vast
In sweeping robes of state.
Of high-born lineage and of ancient date,
Were pictured in those galleries dim and vast
In sweeping robes of state.
