sidewise in disdain, Till by your nimble fingers fixed They settle amicably mixed! Moments of mutual mute surprise Made converse of our glancing eyes, As we went onward, all things seeming Strange, and rich, and fair, while dreaming Transient glimpses of what alone Is ever by great-winged angels known.

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We knew not whether you or I First saw the splendid butterfly Trembling about us as we turned To watch how blue and crimson burned In flashes ’twixt those blushing wings! Nelly, I see you watch the lark p. 179That fluttering high, aspiring sings; We both watch till our sight grows dark, And wonder whither he is fled In sapphire ether overhead. Tho’ vanished, still his rapture rings And thrills our bosoms, marching slow Our winding way; when brilliant, lo From somewhere starting, re-appears Our friendly butterfly, and nears A spider-web, in holly spun With rainbow hues that net the sun, Making coy circles ere he alight Entangled in the toil of death! Forward I spring, without my breath, To see the fiend, high-elbowed, whirl Around those limbs and wings, and twirl His thread to thwart the chance of flight. Fate on a single instant hangs, And ready the demon’s eager fangs To penetrate that sylphic breast! Nipping the wing-tips gently I p. 180Flirt him from danger suddenly; Strike with my cap a rapid blow, Dashing the enemy down below Thro’ grass crushed safely into dust. There shivering on my stretched forefinger A little while his terrors linger, Doubting if yet his wings to trust, Ere, with a bolder flap or two, He flutters into airy blue.

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Could any mortal boy resist, When heavenward, in a rosy pout Your lips you offered to be kissed; Fresh as carnations breaking out Of dewy sheaths, on summer dawns Yet pale upon the misty lawns! We pass from shadowy splendour soon To face the blazoned afternoon, Where wide around the basking sun Lies on the meadow fast asleep. Near random bushes, one by one, p. 181Nestled around a pond, the sheep Are scattered and doze in graceful shade; And hazed cornfields beyond the glade, Undulating and dazzling sight, Seem quivering for predestined flight To worlds of unrevealed delight. In lustrous sheen, their stately looks Sedate as parsons reading books, Flock grey-billed, see-saw-gaited rooks Strutting; or when they wings assume Pluck the warm air with fingered plume, Labouring, anxious if weight and size Make flight most hazardous or wise! Nelly we sauntered on and on By hedgerows, brightly overhung And sprinkled thick with snowy showers Of woodbine stars; where 

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