"We met--we gazed--I saw, and sigh'd, She did not speak, and yet replied: There are ten thousand tones and signs We hear and see, but none defines-- 235 Involuntary sparks of thought, Which strike from out the heart o'erwrought[136] And form a strange intelligence Alike mysterious and intense, Which link the burning chain that binds, 240 Without their will, young hearts and minds: Conveying, as the electric wire, We know not how, the absorbing fire.-- I saw, and sigh'd--in silence wept, And still reluctant distance kept, 245 Until I was made known to her, And we might then and there confer Without suspicion--then, even then, I long'd, and was resolved to speak; But on my lips they died again, 250 The accents tremulous and weak, Until one hour.--There is a game, A frivolous and foolish play, Wherewith we while away the day; It is--I have forgot the name-- 255 And we to this, it seems, were set, By some strange chance, which I forget: I reckon'd not if I won or lost, It was enough for me to be So near to hear, and oh! to see 260 The being whom I loved the most. I watch'd her as a sentinel, (May ours this dark night watch as well!) Until I saw, and thus it was, That she was pensive, nor perceived 265 Her occupation, nor was grieved Nor glad to lose or gain; but still Play'd on for hours, as if her will Yet bound her to the place, though not That hers might be the winning lot. 270 Then through my brain the thought did pass Even as a flash of lightning there, That there was something in her air Which would not doom me to despair; And on the thought my words broke forth, 275 All incoherent as they were-- Their eloquence was little worth, But yet she listen'd--'tis enough-- Who listens once will listen twice; Her heart, be sure, is not of ice, 280 And one refusal no rebuff. VII