And as she paused--I know not why-- I longed to speak, yet could not speak; The bashful are the boldest--I-- I stooped and gently kissed her cheek. A murmur (else some fragrant air Stirred softly) and the faintest start-- O Hal! we were the happiest pair! O Hal! I clasped her heart to heart! And kissed away some tears that gushed; But how she trembled, timid dove, When my soul broke its silence, flushed With a whole burning June of love. Since then a happy year hath sped Through months that seemed all June and May, And soon a March sun, overhead, Will usher in the crowning day. Twelve blessed moons that seemed to glow All summer, Hal!--my peerless Kate! She is the dearest--"Angel?"--no! Thank God!--but you shall see her--wait. So all is told! I count on thee To see the Priest, Hal! Pass the wine! Here's to my darling wife to be! And here's to--when thou find'st her--thine! Serenade Hide, happy damask, from the stars, What sleep enfolds behind your veil, But open to the fairy cars On which the dreams of midnight sail; And let the zephyrs rise and fall About her in the curtained gloom, And then return to tell me all The silken secrets of the room. Ah, dearest! may the elves that sway Thy fancies come from emerald plots, Where they have dozed and dreamed all day In hearts of blue forget-me-nots. And one perhaps shall whisper thus: Awake! and light the darkness, Sweet! While thou art reveling with us, He watches in the lonely street. Youth and Manhood Another year! a short one, if it flow Like that just past, And I shall stand--if years can make me so-- A man at last. Yet, while the hours permit me, I would pause And contemplate The lot whereto unalterable laws Have bound my fate. Yet, from the starry regions of my youth, The empyreal height Where dreams are happiness, and feeling truth, And life delight-- From that ethereal and serene abode My soul would gaze Downward upon the wide and winding road, Where manhood plays; Plays with the baubles and the gauds of earth-- Wealth, power, and fame-- Nor knows that in the twelvemonth after birth He did the same. Where the descent begins, through long defiles I see them wind; And some are looking down with hopeful smiles, And some are--blind. And farther on a gay and glorious green Dazzles the sight, While noble forms are moving o'er the scene, Like things of light. Towers, temples, domes of perfect symmetry Rise broad and high, With pinnacles among the clouds; ah, me! None touch the sky.