Oh, would the fairies to her whisper The truths which they to him impart, Teach her a beautiful hereafter, A Heaven to bless a tired heart. Yet thinks she that the dear ones waiting Would envy not the boon she craves— To rear fair friendship's sacred alter Where love and hope sleep in their graves. She knows not that a loving welcome Will wait her in a realm of light, Nought of a future meeting whispers, No faith illumes her soul's dark night. But oh! she knows, has by experience, The saddest of all lessons learned; Knows that she gathered dead-sea apples, Which in her hands to ashes turned. She knows into a trammelled torrent, Is changed her life's free flowing tide; Knows that her hand no oar is holding, With which her drifting bark to guide. She knows, yes, knows that, like the mirage, Which for the thirsty traveler gleamed, The sweet ideal she fondly cherished Was never there; it only seemed. If what she knows is to her proven A false, deluding, fleeting show, Can she, generous spirit, can she Trust blindly what she does not know? But if for this he shuts against her The heart that's shining in his eyes, She'll bring the gift that for the Peri Unbarred the gate of paradise. REVENITA. If she'll left him be her teacher In the mysteries of life, In the spirit's grand unfoldment Far beyond this world of strife, A sacred altar he will build her, And dedicate to friendship true, And this shall be their bond of union, More constant that all others knew. SANSON. Kind teacher, henceforth be it mine, To kneel at friendship's sacred shrine, And hope's bright budding flowers entwine Into a garland for they brow. And thou shalt wait not for the hours That gem creation's radiant towers, To woo thee to elysian bowers, But wear it now. Too long a dreamer have I been, Too long life's dark side only seen; And if thou canst, while thus I kneel, The mystery of life reveal, Then gladly will I learn of thee. For as on flowers the dewdrops fall, As sunbeams break the storm-cloud's pall, As pardon comes to lives which blame Has crushed beneath its weight, so came Thy sympathy to me.