THE CRYSTAL CABINET.
THE maiden caught me in the wild,
Where I was dancing merrily,
She put me into her cabinet
And lock'd me up with a golden key.
This cabinet is form'd of gold
And pearl and crystal shining bright,
And within it opens into a world,
And a little lovely moony night.
Another England there I saw,
Another London with its Tower,
Another Thames and other hills,
And another pleasant Surrey bower.
Another maiden, like herself,
Translucent, lovely, shining clear,
Threefold each in the other closed;
O what a pleasant trembling fear!
O what a smile, a threefold smile,
Fill'd me, that like a flame I burn'd;
I bent to kiss the lovely maid
And found a threefold kiss return'd.
I strove to seize the inmost form
With ardour fierce and hands of flame,
But burst the crystal cabinet,
And like a weeping babe became—
