That very moment her whole frame
All bright and glorified became,
And at her back I saw unclose
Two wings magnificent as those

That sparkle round the eternal throne, Whose plumes, as buoyantly she rose

Above me, in the moon-beam shone With a pure light, which—from its hue, Unknown upon this earth–I knew Was light from Eden, glistening through! Most holy vision ! ne'er before

Did aught so radiant—since the day
When Lucifer, in falling, bore

The third of the bright stars away–
Rise, in earth's beauty, to repair
That loss of light and glory there!

But did I tamely view her flight ?

Did not I, too, proclaim out thrice

The powerful words that were, that night,Oh even for Heaven too much delight!

Again to bring us eyes to eyes,

And soul to soul in Paradise ? I did—I spoke it o'er and o'er

I pray'd, I wept, but all in vain; For me the spell had power no more,

There seem'd around me some dark chain, Which still, as I essay'd to soar,

Baffled, alas! each wild endeavour : Dead lay my wings, as they have lain Since that sad hour, and will remain

So wills the offended God-for ever!

Aught worthy of so pure a shrine,

Was the wild love with which I loved, Yet must she, too, have seen-oh yes,

"T is soothing but to think she saw The deep, true, soul-felt tenderness,

The homage of an angel's swe
To her, a mortal, whom pure love
?ben planed above him-far above-
And all that struggle to repress
A sinful spirit's mad excess,
Which work'd within me at that hour,

When--with a voice, where Passion shed
All the deep sadness of her power,

Her melancholy power-I said, “ Then be it somif back to heaven

I must unloved, unpitied fly,
Without one blest memorial given

To sooth me in that lonely sky-
One look like those the young and fond

Give when they're parting—which would be, Even in remembrance, far beyond

All heaven hath left of bliss for me! “Oh, but to see that head recline

A minute on this trembling arm, And those mild eyes look up to mine

Without a dread, a thought of harm ! To meet but once the thrilling touch

Of lips that are too fond to fear me, Or, if that boon be all too much,

Even thus to bring their fragrance near me ! Nay, shrink not so—a look—a word

Give them but kindly and I fly ; Already, see, my plumes have stirr'd,

And tremble for their home on high. Thus be our parting-cheek to cheek

One minute's lapse will be forgiven, And thou, the next, shalt hear me speak

The spell that plumes my wing for heaven!” While thus I spoke, the fearful maid, Of me and of herself afraid, Had shrinking stood, like flowers beneath The scorching of the south wind's breath; But when I named—alas, too well

I now recal, though wilder'd then
Instantly, when I named the spell,

Her brow, her eyes uprose again,
And, with an eagerness that spoke
The sudden light that o'er her broke,
“The spell, the spell !-oh, speak it now,

And I will bless thee !" she exclaim'd

Unknowing what I did, inflamed,
And lost already, on her brow

I stamp'd one burning kiss, and named
The mystic word, till then ne'er told
To living creature of earth's mould !
Scarce was it said, when, quick as thought,
Her lips from mine, like echo, caught
The holy sound—her hands and eyes
Were instant lifted to the skies,
And thrice to heaven she spoke it out,

With that triumphant look Faith wears
When not a cloud of fear or doubt,

A vapour from this vale of tears
Between her and her God appears !

It was to yonder star I traced
Her journey up the illumined waste-
That isle in the blue firmament,
To which so oft her fancy went

In wishes and in dreams before,
And which was now—such, Purity,
Thy blest reward-ordain'd to be

Her home of light for evermore! Once-or did I but fancy so ?

Even in her flight to that fair sphere, 'Mid all her spirit's new-felt glow, A pitying look she turn'd below

On him who stood in darkness here; Him whom, perhaps, if vain regret Can dwell in heaven, she pities yet; And oft, when looking to this dim And distant world remembers him.

But soon that passing dream was gone;
Farther and farther off she shone,
Till lessen'd to a point as small

As are those specks that yonder burnThose vivid drops of light, that fall

The last from day's exhausted urn. And when at length she merged, afar, Into her own immortal star, And when at length my straining sight

Had caught her wing's last fading ray, That minute from my soul the light

Of heaven and love both pass'd away;

And I forgot my home, my birth,

Profaned my spirit, sunk my brow, And revell'd in gross joys of earth,

Till I became-what I am now !

The kindlings of disdain and ire, Short was the fitful glare they threwLike the last flashes, fierce but few,

Seen through some noble pile on fire!

The Spirit bow'd his head in shame;
A shame that of itself would tell

-
Were there not even those breaks of flame,
Celestial, through his clouded frame-

How grand the height from which he fell ! That holy Shame which ne'er forgets

What clear renown it used to wear;
Whose blush remains, when Virtue sets,

To show her sunshine has been there.
Once only, while the tale he told,
Were his eyes lifted to behold
That happy stainless star, where she
Dwelt in her bower of purity!
One minute did he look, and then

As though he felt some deadly pain

From its sweet light through heart and brainShrunk back, and never look'd again.

Such was the Angel who now broke

The silence that had come o'er all, When he, the Spirit that last spoke,

Closed the sad history of his fall; And, while a sacred lustre, flown

For many a day, relum'd his cheek, And not those sky-tuned lips alone, But his eyes, brows, and tresses, roll'd Like sunset waves,

all seem'd to speakThus his eventful story told :

SECOND ANGEL'S STORY.

You both remember well the day

When unto Eden's new-made bowers, He, whom all living things obey,

Summon'd his chief angelic powers, To witness the one wonder yet,

Beyond man, angel, star, or sun, He must achieve, ere he could set

His seal upon the world as doneTo see that last perfection rise,

That crowning of creation's birth, When, ʼmid the worship and surprise Of circling angels, Woman's eyes

First open'd upon heaven and earth ; And from their lids a thrill was sent, That through each living spirit went, Like first light through the firmament !

Who was the Second Spirit ?–he

With the proud front and piercing glance

Who seem'd, when viewing heaven's expanse, As though his far-sent eye could see On, on into the Immensity Behind the veils of that blue sky, Where God's sublimest secrets lie ?His wings the while, though day was gone,

Flashing with many a various hue Of light they from themselves alone,

Instinct with Eden's brightness, drewA breathing forth of beams at will,

Of living beams, which, though no more They kept their early lustre, still

Were such, when glittering out all o'er,

As mortal eyelids wink'd before. Twas Rubi-once among the prime

And flower of those bright creatures, named Spirits of Knowledge,' who o'er Time

And Space and Thought an empire claim'd, Second alone to Him, whose lightWas, even to theirs, as day to night'Twixt whom and them was distance far

And wide, as would the journey be
To reach from any island star

The vague shores of infinity!
'Twas Rubi, in whose mournful eye
Slept the dim light of days gone by ;
Whose voice, though sweet, fell on the ear

Like echoes in some silent place,
When first awaked for many a year :

And when he smiled-if o'er his face

Smile ever shone—'t was like the grace
Of moonlight rainbows, fair, but wan,
The sunny life, the glory gone.
Even o'er his pride, though still the same,
A softening shade from sorrow came;
And though at times his spirit knew

Can you forget how gradual stole
The fresh awaken'd breath of soul
Throughout her perfect form—which seem'd
To grow transparent, as there beam'd
That dawn of mind within, and caught
New loveliness from each new thought ?
Slow as o'er summer seas we trace

The progress of the noon-tide air,
Dimpling its bright and silent face
Each minute into some new grace,

And varying heaven's reflections thereOr, like the light of evening, stealing

O’er some fair temple, which all day Hath slept in shadow, slow revealing

Its several beauties, ray by ray, Till it shines out, a thing to bless, All full of light and loveliness.

Can you forget her blush, when round Through Eden's lone enchanted ground She look'd—and at the sea—the skies-

And heard the rush of many a wing,

By God's command then vanishing, And saw the last few angel eyes, Still lingering—mine among the rest,-. Reluctant leaving scene so blest? From that miraculous hour, the fate

Of this new glorious Being dwelt For ever, with a spell-like weight, Upon my spirit-early, late,

Whate'er I did, or dream'd, or felt,

The thought of what might yet befall
That splendid creature mix'd with all.-
Nor she alone, but her whole race

Through ages yet to come—whate'er

Of feminine, and fond, and fair,
Should spring from that pure mind and face,

All waked my soul's intensest care :
Their forms, souls, feelings, still to me
God's most disturbing mystery!
It was my doom-even from the first,

When summon'd with my cherub peers,
To witness the

young

vernal burst
Of nature through those blooming spheres,
Those flowers of light, that sprung beneath
The first touch of the Eternal's breath-
It was my doom still to be haunted

By some new wonder, some sublime

And matchless work, that, for the time,
Held all my soul enchain'd, enchanted,
And left me not a thought, a dream,
A word, but on that only theme !
The wish to know-that endless thirst,

Which even by quenching, is awaked,
And which becomes or bless'd or cursed,

As is the fount whereat 't is slakedStill urged me onward, with desire Insatiate, to explore, inquireWhate'er the wondrous things might be, That waked each new idolatryTheir cause, aim, source from whence they

sprung, Their inmost powers, as though for me

Existence on that knowledge hung. Oh what a vision were the stars,

When first I saw them burn on high,
Rolling along like living cars

Of light, for gods to journey by !
They were my heart's first passion-days
And nights, unwearied, in their rays
Have I hung floating, till each sense
Seem'd full of their bright influence.
Innocent joy! alas, how much

Of misery had I shunn'd below,
Could I have still lived blest with such ;

Nor, proud and restless, burn'd to know

The knowledge that brings guilt and woe!
Often-so much I loved to trace
The secrets of this starry race-
Have I at morn and evening run
Along the lines of radiance spun,
Like webs, between them and the sun,
Untwisting all the tangled ties
Of light into their different dyes-
Then fleetly wing'd I off, in quest
Of those, the farthest, loneliest,
That watch, like winking sentinels,
The void, beyond which Chaos dwells,
And there, with noiseless plume, pursued
Their track through that grand solitude,
Asking intently all and each

What soul within their radiance dwelt,
And wishing their sweet light were speech,

That they might tell me all they felt.

Nay, oft so passionate my chase
Of these resplendent heirs of space,
Oft did I follow-lest a ray

Should ’scape me in the farthest night-
Some pilgrim Comet, on his way

To visit distant shrines of light,
And well remember how I sung

Exulting out, when on my sight
New worlds of stars, all fresh and young,
As if just born of darkness, sprung!
Such was my pure ambition then,

My sinless transport, night and morn;
Ere this still newer world of men,

And that most fair of stars was born,
Which I, in fatal hour, saw rise
Among the flowers of Paradise !
Thenceforth my nature all was changed,

My heart, soul, senses turn'd below;
And he, who but so lately ranged

Yon wonderful expanse, where glow
Worlds upon worlds, yet found his mind
Even in that luminous range confined,
Now blest the humblest, meanest sod
Of the dark earth where Woman trod!
In vain my former idols glisten'd

From their far thrones; in vain these ears
To the once thrilling music listen'd,

That hymn'd around my favourite spheres To earth, to earth each thought was given,

That in this half-lost soul had birth; Like some high mount, whose head 's in heaven,

While its whole shadow rests on earth!
Nor was it Love, even yet, that thrall'd

My spirit in his burning ties;
And less, still less could it be call’d

That grosser flame, round which Love flies

Nearer and nearer, till he dies~ No, it was wonder, such as thrillid

At all God's works my dazzled sense;
The same rapt wonder, only fill'd

With passion, more profound, intense,-
A vehement, but wandering fire,
Which, though nor love, nor yet desire,
Though through all womankind it took

Its range, as vague as lightnings run,
Yet wanted but a touch, a look,

To fix it burning upon One.
Then, too, the ever-restless zeal,

The insatiate curiosity
To know what shapes, so fair, must feel-
To look, but once, beneath the seal

Of so much loveliness, and see
What souls belong'd to those bright eyes-

Whether, as sun-beams find their way
Into the gem that hidden lies,

Those looks could inward turn their ray,

To make the soul as bright as they!
All this impell’d my anxious chase,

And still the more I saw and knew
Of Woman's fond, weak, conquering race,

The intenser still my wonder grew.
I had beheld their First, their EVE,

Born in that splendid Paradise,

Which God made solely to receive

The first light of her waking eyes. I had seen purest angels lean

In worship o'er her from above; And man-oh yes, had envying seen

Proud man possess'd of all her love.

As strong to charm, as weak to err,

As sure of man through praise and blame,

Whate'er they brought him, pride or shame, Their still unreasoning worshipper

And, wheresoe'er they smiled, the same

Enchantresses of soul and frame, Into whose hands, from first to last,

This world, with all its destinies, Devotedly by Heaven seems cast,

To save or damn it as they please!

Oh, 't is not to be told how long,

How restlessly I sigh'd to find Some one, from out that shining throng,

Some abstract of the form and mind Of the whole matchless sex, from which,

In my own arms beheld, possess'd, I might learn all the powers to witch,

To warm, and (if my fate unbless'd

Would have it) ruin, of the rest ! Into whose inward soul and sense

I might descend, as doth the bee Into the flower's deep heart, and thence

Rifle, in all its purity, The prime, the quintessence, the whole Of wondrous Woman's frame and soul!

I saw their happiness, so brief,

So exquisite--her error, too, That easy trust, that prompt belief

In what the warm heart wishes true; That faith in words, when kindly said, By which the whole fond sex is ledMingled with (what I durst not blame,

For 't is my own) that wish to know,

Sad, fatal zeal, so sure of woe;
Which, though from Heaven all pure it came,
Yet stain’d, misused, brought sin and shame

On her, on me, on all below!
I had seen this; had seen Man-arm'd

As his soul is with strength and sense-
By her first words to ruin charm’d;

His vaunted reason's cold defence,
Like an ice-barrier in the ray
Of melting summer, smiled away!
Nay-stranger yet-spite of all this,

Though by her coursels taught to err,

Though driven from Paradise for her (And with her--that, at least, was bliss,) Had I not heard him, ere he cross'd

The threshold of that earthly heaven,
Which by her wildering smile he lost-

So quickly was the wrong forgiven-
Had I not heard him, as he press'd
The frail fond trembler, to a breast
Which she had doom'd to sin and strife,
Call her-think what-his Life! his Life !!
Yes—such the love-taught name—the first

That ruin'd Man to Woman gave,
Even in his out-cast hour, when curst,
By her fond witchery, with that worst

And earliest boon of love—the grave!
She, who brought death into the world,
· There stood before him, with the light

Of their lost Paradise still bright
Upon those sunny locks, that curl'd
Down her white shoulders to her feet-
So beautiful in form, so sweet
In heart and voice, as to redeem

The loss, the death of all things dear,
Except herself—and make it seem

Life, endless life, while she was near!

At length, my burning wish, my prayer,
(For such-oh what will tongues not dare,
When hearts go wrong?—this lip preferr'd)
At length my ominous prayer was heard-
But whether heard in heaven or hell,
Listen—and you will know too well.

There was a maid, of all who move

Like visions o'er this orb, most fit To be a bright young angel's love,

Herself so bright, so exquisite ! The pride, too, of her step, as light

Along the unconscious earth she went,
Seem'd that of one, born with a right

To walk some heavenlier element,
And tread in places where her feet
A star at every step should meet.
'T was not alone that loveliness

By which the wilder'd sense is caught-
Of lips, whose very breath could bless-

Of playful blushes, that seem'd nought

But luminous escapes of thought-
Of eyes that, when by anger stirr'd,
Were fire itself, but, at a word

Of tenderness, all soft became
As though they could, like the sun's bird,

Dissolve away in their own flame-
Of form, as pliant as the shoots

Of a young tree, in vernal flower; Yet round and glowing as the fruits

That drop from it in summer's hour"T was not alone this loveliness

That falls to loveliest woman's share,

Though, even here, her form could spare From its own beauty's rich excess

Enough to make all others fairBut 't was the Mind, sparkling about Through her whole frame—the soul, brought out

Could I help wondering at a creature,

Enchanted round with spells so strongOne, to whose every thought, word, feature,

In joy and woe, through right and wrong, Such sweet omnipotence Heaven gav To bless or ruin, curse or save ?

Nor did the marvel cease with her

New Eves in all her daughters came,

I Chavah, the name by which Adam called the woman after their transgression, means "Life.”-See Note.

a

.

To light each charm, yet independent

Of what it lighted, as the sun, That shines on flowers, would be resplendent

Were there no flowers to shine upon'T was this, all this, in one combined,

The unnumber'd looks and arts that form The glory of young woman-kind

Taken in their first fusion, warm,

Ere time had chill'd a single charm, And stamp'd with such a seal of Mind,

As gave to beauties, that might be Too sensual else, too unrefined,

The impress of divinity!
'Twas thisma union, which the hand

Of Nature kept for her alone,
Of every thing most playful, bland,
Voluptuous, spiritual, grand,

In angel-natures and her own-
Oh this it was that drew me nigh
One, who seem'd kin to Heaven as I,
My bright twin sister of the sky,
One, in whose love, I felt, were given

The mixed delights of either sphere,
All that the spirit seeks in heaven,

And all the senses burn for here! Had we—but hold-hear every part

Of our sad tale-spite of the pain Remembrance gives, when the fixed dart

Is stirr'd thus in the wound againHear every step, so full of bliss,

And yet so ruinous, that led Down to the last dark precipice,

Where perish'd both—the fall'n, the dead!
From the first hour she caught my sight,
I never left her-day and night
Hovering unseen around her way,

And 'mid her loneliest musings near,
I soon could track each thought that lay,

Gleaming within her heart, as clear

As pebbles within brooks appear; And there, among the countless things

That keep young hearts for ever glowing, Vague wishes, fond imaginings,

Love-dreams, as yet no object knowingLight, winged hopes, that come when bid,

And rainbow joys that end in weeping, And passions, among pure thoughts hid,

Like serpents under flow'rets sleeping'Mong all these feelings—felt where'er Young hearts are beating—I saw there Proud thoughts, aspirings high-beyond Whate'er yet dwelt in soul so fond Glimpses of glory, far away

Into the bright vague future given,
And fancies, free and grand, whose play

Like that of eaglets, is near heaven!
With this, too—what a soul and heart
To fall beneath the tempter's art!
A zeal for knowledge, such as ne'er
Enshrined itself in form so fair,
Since that first fatal hour, when Eve,

With every fruit of Eden bless’d,
Save only one, rather than leave

That one unknown, lost all the rest.

It was in dreams that first I stole

With gentle mastery o'er her mind-
In that rich twilight of the soul,

When Reason's beam, half hid behind
The clouds of sense, obscurely gilds
Each shadowy shape that Fancy builds-
’T was then, by that soft light, I brought

Vague, glimmering visions to her view,
Catches of radiance, lost when caught,
Bright labyrinths, that led to nought,

And vistas with a void seen throughDwellings of bliss, that opening shone,

Then closed, dissolved, and left no traceAll that, in short, could tempt Hope on,

But give her wing no resting-place; Myself the while, with brow, as yet, Pure as the young moon's coronet, Through every dream still in her sight,

The enchanter of each mocking scene,
Who gave the hope, then brought the blight,
Who said “Behold yon world of light,"

Then sudden dropp'd a veil between!
At length, when I perceived each thought,
Waking or sleeping, fix'd on nought
But these illusive

scenes,

and

me,
The phantom, who thus came and went,
In half revealments, only meant

To madden curiosity-
When by such various arts I found
Her fancy to its utmost wound,
One night—t was in a holy spot,
Which she for prayer had chosen—a grot
Of purest marble, built below
Her garden beds, through which a glow
From lamps invisible then stole,

Brightly pervading all the place-
Like that mysterious light, the soul,

Itself unseen, sheds through the face-
There, at her altar while she knelt,
And all that woman ever felt,

When God and man both claim'd her sighs Every warm thought that ever dwelt,

Like summer clouds, twixt earth and skies,
Too

pure to fall, too gross to rise,
Spoke in her gestures, tones, and eyes,
Thus, by the tender light, which lay
Dissolving round, as if its ray
Was breathed from her, I heard her say
Oh, idol of my dreams! whate'er

Thy nature be-human, divine,
Or but half heavenly—still too fair,

Too heavenly to be ever mine! “Wonderful Spirit, who dost make

Slumber so lovely that it seems No longer life to live awake,

Since heaven itself descends in dreams. “Why do I ever lose thee ?-why

When on thy realms and thee I gazeStill drops that veil, which I could die,

Oh gladly, but one hour to raise ? “Long ere such miracles as thou

And thine came o'er my thoughts, a thirst