The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

It is worth noticing that in each of the last three poems, the physical
beauty described is that of dark eyes and hair. This may serve to remind
you that there are two distinct types, opposite types, of beauty
celebrated by English poets; and the next poem which I am going to quote,
the beautiful "Ruth" of Thomas Hood, also describes a dark woman.

She stood breast-high amid the corn,
Clasp'd by the golden light of morn,
Like the sweetheart of the sun,
Who many a glowing kiss had won.

On her cheek an autumn flush,
Deeply ripen'd;--such a blush
In the midst of brown was born,
Like red poppies grown with corn.

Round her eyes her tresses fell,
Which were blackest none could tell,
But long lashes veil'd a light,
That had else been all too bright.

And her hat, with shady brim,
Made her tressy forehead dim;
Thus she stood among the stooks,
Praising God with sweetest looks:--

Sure, I said, Heav'n did not mean,
Where I reap thou shouldst but glean,
Lay thy sheaf adown and come,
Share my harvest and my home.

We might call this the ideal of a peasant girl whose poverty appeals to
the sympathy of all who behold her. The name of the poem is suggested
indeed by the Bible story of Ruth the gleaner, but the story in the poem
is only that of a rich farmer who marries a very poor girl, because of her
beauty and her goodness. It is just a charming picture--a picture of the
dark beauty which is so much admired in Northern countries, where it is
less common than in Southern Europe. There are beautiful brown-skinned
types; and the flush of youth on the cheeks of such a brown girl has been
compared to the red upon a ripe peach or a russet apple--a hard kind of
apple, very sweet and juicy, which is brown instead of yellow, or reddish
brown. But the poet makes the comparison with poppy flowers and wheat.
That, of course, means golden yellow and red; in English wheat fields red
poppy flowers grow in abundance. The expression "tressy forehead" in the
second line of the fourth stanza means a forehead half covered with
falling, loose hair.

The foregoing pretty picture may be offset by charming poem of Browning's
describing a lover's pride in his illusion. It is simply entitled "Song,"
and to appreciate it you must try to understand th