THE VIRGIN
85
the
author of
" Tannhäuser " or " Alice .”
Neverthe
less
reproach followed , if shame
did not , the celebra
tion of love's mystic eucharist .
Reproach
rises , but
falls enamoured to his kisses ;
all
is
extremes
,
there
is
no
heaviness
,
no
deadness
of
sentiment
,
the smoke
curls
as
high
as
the flashing
flames
,
and tears wash
out smiles
,
and blushing cheeks dry tears
;
all
is
effluent
glory
,
glorious
as
a
Sun
of
gold
lingering
on
the
blushing
bosom
of
Dawn
:
We lay
in
naked chastity
,
caressed
Child
-
like
or
dreaming
,
till
the dawn repressed
Our sighs
:
that nuptial yet hath never ceased
.?
Still
the
future
rises
up
before them
,
as
a
serpent
,
"
prescience
of
next year
;"
the Minotaur
,
“
prodigious
offspring
of
the
fatal graft
?”
But
the
present
is
a
sublime kiss
,
and the future
as
hollow
as
the emblem
of
two parted lips
,
“
while love was hovering and our
lips
were
fain
?
”
Soon
the
parting
draws
nigh
,
he
attempts
to
detain her
;
but
he
knows
he
must
in
evitably fail
,
as
he
knew his first kiss must inevitably
lead
to
their great love and surrender
.
They spend
the last melancholy day together
:
Strong kisses that
had surfeited
a
score
Of
earthly bridals
in
an
hour we squandered
.?
And
at
last
:
THE FIFTIETH
DAY
At
noon
she sailed for home
,
a
weeping bride
Widowed
before
the honeymoon
was done
.
Always
before
the rising
of
the sun
I
swore
to
come
in
spirit
to
her side
Alice
,
an
Adultery
,
vol
.
ii,
p
.
79
.
2
Ibid
.
vol
.
ii,
p
.
84
.