Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE LEGEND OF THE WATER-LILIES. FAR out from land fair lilies lie, That gaze into the Eastern sky, Upon a mighty river borne, The worship of the lands of morn. Far out from land, like some soft isle, The broad green leaves are laid; And over them the lilies smile, Or bow their beauteous heads awhile, With sweetness overweighed. Yet perfect though is their repose From morns that ope to eves that close, Something there is, more deep and high, That wins upon the wistful eye; Such holiness as makes men yearn For some forgotten life's return; Ev'n as, when heaven with stars is set, The starred snow-flakes would fain Rise to the life remembered yet, And float in heaven again. Then, flowers of wonder, let me seek, Not a presumptuous praise to speak,— Ye need no praise,—but if I may, To ease the burden of desire, By wafting lightest verse away, Sweet with the sweetness you inspire; As wafts the rich Seringa bloom, To ease her passionate love, perfume. The roughest hills take tender haze From distance; so my tale Comes softened down the vista'd days, Till passion's self is pale. So not of sadness let it seem, Save like the sorrows of a dream! The sun was halfway to the West, When to the river bank there pressed, So long long back, a band of boys, Intoxicate with summer joys. Fair were they all in face and limb; But one,—all left the prize to him, For loveliness of boyish face, And sinuous body's slender grace. With happy laughter through the sedge They burst, that hemmed the river's edge, Parting with outstretched arms the reeds, And feathered o'er with silken seeds. And one would cast the brittle cane At other, who returned again; Or with the plumy-pointed rush Would seek the warded face to brush. So with their bare limbs rosier grown W...