RENA
155
Then she laid the satin cushion on the wondering maiden's knee,
And to all her mute bewilderment, no syllable spake she.
And to all her mute bewilderment, no syllable spake she.
But, as in and out and round about, the silver pins among,
Flashed the white hand of the lady, and the shining bobbins swung,
Flashed the white hand of the lady, and the shining bobbins swung,
Lo! a web of fairy lightness like the misty robe she wore,
Swiftly grew beneath her fingers, drifting downward to the floor!
Swiftly grew beneath her fingers, drifting downward to the floor!
And as Rena looked and wondered, inch by inch the marvel grew,
Till the eastern windows brightened as the gray dawn struggled through.
Till the eastern windows brightened as the gray dawn struggled through.
Then the lady's hand touched Rena's, and she pointed far away,
Where the palace towers were gleaming in the first red light of day.
Where the palace towers were gleaming in the first red light of day.
But when once again the maiden turned her glance within the room,
With the lady fair had vanished all the splendor and perfume.
With the lady fair had vanished all the splendor and perfume.
Still the satin cushion lay there, quaintly fashioned, strangely set
With the silver pins that spanned it like a branching coronet;
With the silver pins that spanned it like a branching coronet;
Still the light web she had woven lay in drifts upon the floor,
Like the mist wreaths resting softly on some lone, enchanted shore!
Like the mist wreaths resting softly on some lone, enchanted shore!
