I thought today within the crowded mart
I saw thee for a moment, friend of mine,
And all at once my blood leapt fast and fine
And a new light broke on my shadowed heart.
'T was but a moment that my fancy's art
Moulded another's features into thine,
For when he passed me by and gave no sign,
The bitter truth came back with sudden start.
Then I remembered how the Merlin spell
Of waving arms and woven paces bands
Thy dust forever in its four-walled cell,
Heedless of all except thy Seer's commands--
Holds thee enraptured with the charms that dwell
In broken paces and in folded hands.
Transcriber's Note:
Variant spellings and proper nouns remain as printed. Minor
typographical errors have been corrected without note, whilst
significant amendments have been listed below:
p. 8, 'pleasuance' amended to _pleasaunce_;
'Some decked for the pleasaunce bower'
p. 25, 'Homme' amended to _Homme_;
'The old "Bon Homme Richard's" unlaid ghost'