,
Close by an emrald rock, within whose breast
A living spring slept like a smiling child.
Around the brim BERTHO had sculptured moss
And rare similitudes of southern flowers;
Shaped violets from sapphires, and from stalks,
Hung ruby roses, bright, but without soul,
As perfumeless as was that frigid land.
OENE, resplendent as a wintry moon,
Bent her proud eyes upon the waiting pair:--
"So! thou hast found thy lover, southern maid?
Are, then, these sunbeams which flow from thy head,
Pinions as well as tresses bearing thee
Across the perilous chasm which guards our cave?"

"Yes! I have found my lover, noble OENE;
And I am happy working by his side.
See! this sweet spring which we have brimmed with flowers--
A mirror for thy beautiful face, O Queen!
In adding my slight labor to his own,
In hopes that thou would'st never banish me,
But leave me by his side to aid his work,
I've found a consolation very sweet,
And have been happy."

"But _I_ have not been!"
Spoke BERTHO with a moody passionateness,
"And never can be till I am restored
To the full use of all my natural powers.
Happy! when hearing this young creature's laugh--
Seeing the dimples, begging for a kiss,
Peep from her cheeks, and hide themselves again--
Feeling her soft breath warming o'er my brow--
Yet be this bodiless ghost of what I was!
O, Queen! wilt thou not give me back that shape--
Which thou dids't cruelly bereave me of--
That I, again, may feel my bounding heart
Throbbing against the bosom of my bride?
Then thou shalt find what grateful souls can do.
For I will court invention, study art,
To decorate this favorite cave anew;
And she I love will serve thee patiently
Unnumbered years, till we our freedom earn."

The sternness of his tone had melted down
To liquid sweetness, and his fiery eyes
Grown humid, as he fixed them on the Queen
In soft entreaty.

From her lofty brow,
So pale and passive, had the shadow rolled,
As slightly and unconsciously she bent
To his quick utterance. A sudden ray
Stole from the twilight of her deepening eyes,
And a warm redness into either cheek,
Troubling its cold repose, shot quickly up.
A moment of suspense, and then she spoke:

"'Tis true that I thy body mi