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LOVERS AND LILIES.
The Naiad, like lily of the vale,
Whom youth makes so fair, and passion so pale,
That the light of her tremulous bells is seen
Thro' their pavilions of tender green.
Shelley.
Then seek the bank where flowering elders crowd,
Where scatter'd wild the lily of the vale
Her balmy essence breathes.
Thomson.
Come, Lady, mine, into the woods, for there
The sweet May lilies their young beauty show,
Bending their slender stems, whose pearly bells,
Like cups o'er-filled with perfume, shed it forth,
Lading the fragrant air.
Come, Love, mine,
And I will show thee how the lilies fair
Are guardian'd by their tall and shelt'ring leaves,
Who brave themselves the rude and boisterous wind
To shield from every harm the fair things wrapped
Safe by their careful love.
I'll tell thee then,
That thou, e'en like the lily bell, should'st be
Guarded by fond and all-enduring love;
