LOST AND FOUND.

In the mildest, greenest grove

Blest by sprite or fairy,

Where the melting echoes rove,

Voices sweet and airy;

Where the streams

Drink the beams

Of the Sun,

As they run

Riverward

Through the sward,

A shepherd went astray —

E'en gods have lost their way.

Every bird had sought its nest,

And each flower-spirit

Dreamed of that delicious rest

Mortals ne'er inherit;

Through the trees

Swept the breeze,

Bringing airs

Unawares

Through the grove,

Until love

Came down upon his heart,

Refusing to depart.

Hungrily he quaffed the strain,

Sweeter still, and clearer,

Drenched with music's mellow rain,

Nearer — nearer — dearer!

Chains of sound

Gently bound

The lost Youth,

Till, in sooth,

He stood there

A prisoner,

Raised between earth and heaven

By love's divinest leaven.

Was there ever such a face?

Was it not a vision?

Had he climbed the starry space,

To the fields Elysian?

Through the glade

The milk-maid

With her pail,

To the vale

Passed along,

Breathing song

Through all his ravished sense,

To gladden his suspense.

“Love is swift as hawk or hind,

Chamois-like in fleetness,

None are lost that love can find,”

Sang the maid, with sweetness.

“True, in sooth,”

Thought the Youth,

“Strong, as swift,

Love can lift

Mountain weights

To the gates

Of the celestial skies,

Where all else fades and dies.”

Lightly flew the sunny days,

Joy and gladness sending;

Life becomes a song of praise

When true hearts are blending.

Guileless truth

Won the Youth,

Kept him there,

A prisoner;

While dear Love

From above

Poured down enduring dreams,

In calm supernal gleams.