To own thee master, and to yield myself, And evermore shall love thee !' Then I took The maiden in my arms. High in the air The small cicada sang his slumbrous song; The autumn breeze was warm upon our brows; The waves in distance glistened. Our warriors, in scarlet and in green, On the rocks In armour and in rags, a motley throng, And from a little village far below The priests came toiling up with bread and salt, Symbols of Slavic welcome: and with tears Upon their aged cheeks, they praised our deeds, And promised us an everlasting fame. THE BALLAD OF MIRAMAR. NABRESINA'S heights are fair, and Prosecco wine is rare! Sweet Trieste upon her terraces is beautiful to see ; II O the sea is great and gray when the borras on it play, But as gentle as a maiden in a dream when sinks the wind: Maximilian, sailor born, sailing forth one gusty morn, In a skiff was rudely cast ashore, and thus he chanced to find Miramar. III He had sailed to East and West, trodden lands accurst and blest; Set the royal Hapsburg banner up against the windy sky; And had followed it for years, knowing nor fatigue nor fears; And, when sailing proudly homeward, oft his ship had bounded by Miramar. IV Now, when cast upon the strand, 'twas as if enchanted land Opened suddenly by magic to his storm-bewildered gaze; Long he wandered in the vale, till a port where never gale Came to rage did he discover: then he hastened home to praise Miramar. V O the laurel-roses grow and the rich camelias blow In those valleys by the sea where the wild vine clothes the hills! O the nightingale goes mad, singing melodies half-sad, Half voluptuous, in summer, when the solemn moonlight fills Miramar. VI O the breezes from the South kiss the rose upon her mouth, And she blushes till her petals are with crimson flooded o'er. O the starry splendours break over thicket, grove, and lake, And the heavens seem with tenderness to bend and to adore Miramar ! VII Now the sailor-prince did bring home the daughter of a king, Fair Carlotta from the teeming plains beside the northern sea : And the bride was wild with joy, innocent, without alloy, When her princely husband told her that their future home would be Miramar. VIII "Tis a paradise on earth, where the soul may have new birth, Where our hearts to love may open without fear of worldly stain,' Quoth the bridegroom to the bride: 'Let the tossing navies ride On the deep: I sail no more, but I hasten to regain Miramar. IX 'There the merry birds shall praise through the sweet and bloomy days Love, the master of our spirits, while in vale and wood we stray; We will fly the camp and court, and the tranquil sheltered port Where our argosy of bliss may safely lie shall be alway Miramar.' X There the prince a palace fine built and o'er it trained the vine, And around it costly blossoms from remotest countries placed : |