NEREIA
But one, apart a little from the rest,
And to the sea most near, kept still her face
Seaward, as tho’ a faithful watcher yet,
Even amid dreams, for somewhat that should come.
Those other maids but as a fair hedge were
For this, the fairest of the garden. She
Liege lady was by birth and beauty,―she,
Nereia, Princess, sea-named and sea-soul’d.
For by the sea it was she first drew breath,
And the first sight that met her opening eyes
Was the broad blue, a-dazzle with the sun.
Nor ever in all her sixteen years had she
Made once a journey to the dismal lands
That never see the ocean; but her ears
Might still receive its music, and her lips
Echo the voice of the waves. Her dancing eyes
Were sea-blue, and the sun shone clear in them
(Yea, you might read, if you knew how to read,
111
