POEMS.
65
IN THE PICTURE GALLERY AT SOUTH KENSINGTON.
PRIZE POEM CONTRIBUTED TO "GREAT THOUGHTS."
"A room hung with pictures is like a room hung with thoughts."—Sir Joshua Reynolds.
I SAW before me forms of long ago,
Immortal spirits of the great and wise,
Prolific genius flickering to and fro
From hosts of radiant eyes!
Immortal spirits of the great and wise,
Prolific genius flickering to and fro
From hosts of radiant eyes!
Adown the corridor slipped ghostly feet
Of bygone ages, and the dim dark light
Gleamed fitfully around me, soft and sweet,
As in an autumn night.
Of bygone ages, and the dim dark light
Gleamed fitfully around me, soft and sweet,
As in an autumn night.
Afar the city traffic rose and fell,
Innumerable murmurs filled the air
From rumbling wheels, and the cathedral bell
Struck out the hour for prayer.
Innumerable murmurs filled the air
From rumbling wheels, and the cathedral bell
Struck out the hour for prayer.
[ saw before me myriad forms of men,
Heroic women beauteous in their pride,
Statesmen and artists, sovereigns of the pen,
Each hanging side by side.
Heroic women beauteous in their pride,
Statesmen and artists, sovereigns of the pen,
Each hanging side by side.
And one I loved with all my soul was there,
The greatest writer of our time and race,
I knew at once 'twixt bands of folded hair,
George Eliot's noble face!
The greatest writer of our time and race,
I knew at once 'twixt bands of folded hair,
George Eliot's noble face!
