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 TAKING OF MANA. O AID Mora in the garden, " He is gone! But fear thou not, for in the hall to-day As the great storm subsided, I asked one About thy love who in the ambush lay, And he replied, ' Some bright God by the Sun Sent down to earth he seemed, as in the ray Of lightning he rushed through us, and his shout Worse than the thunder was and storm's wild rout!' "What think'st thou now of love ?" Then Blanid kept Her glance fixed on the ground awhile, and wrung Her lovely hands, and with wild passion wept As though her heart would burst, but from her tongue No answer came ; while Mora nigh her crept And kissed her cheek and said, " The bards have sung Thy fame throughout the world, and thinkest thou That he 'll forget ? that he forsakes thee now ? " I know not love, but yet I know fond eyes ! And each sad morn when thou from him didst part, O mistress fair, I marked his tear-drops rise And his great bosom heave, and saw him dart Sweet glances back on thee; and as for sighs, He sighed as doth the merchant for his mart Of jewels, when 'mid wrath and pillage born The robbers come and leave him all forlorn. " Who sighs like him will ne'er his love desert, Butf like my brother, when his bride he sought, The fair Brigantian, Nera ; — as thou wert These days she was, she loved him, till she brought Upon his head her father's ire ; — begirt For war my brother sailed the sea and fought For love and Nera, and with sword and fire And fifty galleys reft her from her sire. " So he will come and take thee, and when I, In other days, shall grow to womanhood, Some lovely lord with heart and courage high May spread his sails and plough the salty flood And win me for his bride, and when I die May weep for me!" Then up the brigh...