The Newly-Wedded

But in their hue;

Maiden pinks, of odor faint,

Daisies smell-less, yet most quaint,
And sweet thyme true;

Primrose, firstborn child of Ver;
Merry springtime's harbinger,
With her bells dim;

Oxlips in their cradles growing,
Marigolds on death-beds blowing,
Larks'-heels trim;

All dear Nature's children sweet
Lie 'fore bride and bridegroom's feet,
Blessing their sense!

Not an angel of the air,

Bird melodious or bird fair,

Be absent hence!

The crow, the slanderous cuckoo, nor
The boding raven, nor chough hoar,
Nor chattering pye,

May on our bride-house perch or sing,

Or with them any discord bring,

But from it fly!

1161

John Fletcher (?) [1579-1625]

THE NEWLY-WEDDED

Now the rite is duly done,

Now the word is spoken,
And the spell has made us one
Which may ne'er be broken;
Rest we, dearest, in our home,
Roam we o'er the heather:
We shall rest, and we shall roam,
Shall we not? together.

From this hour the summer rose
Sweeter breathes to charm us;
From this hour the winter snows

Lighter fall to harm us:

Fair or foul-on land or sea

Come the wind or weather,
Best and worst, whate'er they be,
We shall share together.

Death, who friend from friend can part,

Brother rend from brother,

Shall but link us, heart and heart,

Closer to each other:

We will call his anger play,

Deem his dart a feather,

When we meet him on our way

Hand in hand together.

Winthrop Mackworth Praed [1802-1839]

"I SAW TWO CLOUDS AT MORNING"

I SAW two clouds at morning,

Tinged by the rising sun,

And in the dawn they floated on,

And mingled into one;

I thought that morning cloud was blest,

It moved so sweetly to the west.

I saw two summer currents

Flow smoothly to their meeting,

And join their course, with silent force,

In peace each other greeting;

Calm was their course through banks of green,
While dimpling eddies played between.

Such be your gentle motion,

Till life's last pulse shall beat;

Like summer's beam, and summer's stream,

Float on, in joy, to meet

A calmer sea, where storms shall cease,

A purer sky, where all is peace.

John Gardiner Calkins Brainard [1796-1828]

Holy Matrimony

1163

HOLY MATRIMONY

THE Voice that breathed o'er Eden,
That earliest wedding-day,
The primal marriage blessing,
It hath not passed away.

Still in the pure espousal

Of Christian man and maid,
The holy Three are with us,
The threefold grace is said.

For dower of blessed children,
For love and faith's sweet sake,

For high mysterious union,

Which naught on earth may break.

Be present, awful Father,
To give away this bride,

As Eve thou gav'st to Adam
Out of his own pierced side:

Be present, Son of Mary,

To join their loving hands, As thou didst bind two natures In thine eternal bands:

Be present, Holiest Spirit,

To bless them as they kneel,
As thou for Christ, the Bridegroom,
The heavenly Spouse dost seal.

Oh, spread thy pure wing o'er them,
Let no ill power find place,

When onward to thine altar

The hallowed path they trace,

To cast their crowns before thee

In perfect sacrifice,

Till to the home of gladness

With Christ's own Bride they rise. AMEN.

John Keble [1792-1866]

THE BRIDE

BEAT on the Tom-toms, and scatter the flowers, Jasmine, hibiscus, vermilion and white,

This is the day, and the Hour of Hours,

Bring forth the Bride for her Lover's delight. Maidens no more as a maiden shall claim her, Near, in his Mystery, draweth Desire. Who, if she waver a moment, shall blame her? She is a flower, and love is a fire.

Give her the anklets, the ring, and the necklace,
Darken her eyelids with delicate art,

Heighten the beauty, so youthful and fleckless,
By the Gods favored, oh, Bridegroom, thou art!
Twine in thy fingers her fingers so slender,
Circle together the Mystical Fire,

Bridegroom, a whisper,-be gentle and tender,
Choti Tinchaurya knows not desire.

Bring forth the silks and the veil that shall cover
Beauty, till yesterday careless and wild;

Red are her lips for the kiss of a lover,
Ripe are her breasts for the lips of a child.
Center and Shrine of Mysterious Power,
Chalice of Pleasure and Rose of Delight,

Shyly aware of the swift-coming hour,
Waiting the shade and the silence of night.

Still must the Bridegroom his longing dissemble,
Longing to loosen the silk-woven cord,
Ah, how his fingers will flutter and tremble,

Fingers well skilled with the bridle and sword. Thine is his valor, oh Bride, and his beauty, Thine to possess and re-issue again,

Such is thy tender and passionate duty,

Licit thy pleasure and honored thy pain.

A Marriage Charm

1165

Choti Tinchaurya, lovely and tender,

Still all unbroken to sorrow and strife,

Come to the Bridegroom who, silk-clad and slender,
Brings thee the Honor and Burden of Life.
Bidding farewell to thy light-hearted playtime,
Worship thy Lover with fear and delight;
Art thou not ever, though slave of his daytime,
Choti Tinchaurya, queen of his night?
Laurence Hope [1865-1904]

A MARRIAGE CHARM

I SET a charm upon your hurrying breath,
I set a charm upon your wandering feet,
You shall not leave me-not for life, nor death,
Not even though you cease to love me, Sweet.

A woman's love nine Angels cannot bind,
Nor any rune that wind or water knows,
My heart were all as well set on the wind,
Or bound, to live or die, upon a rose.

I set a charm upon you, foot and hand,
That you and Knowledge, love, may never mect,
That you may never chance to understand
How strong you are, how weak your lover, Sweet.

I set my charm upon your kindly arm,

I set it as a seal upon your breast;
That you may never hear another's charm,
Nor
guess another's gift outruns my best.

I bid your wandering footsteps me to follow,
Your thoughts to travel after in my track,
I am the sky that waits you, dear gray swallow,
No wind of mine shall ever blow you back.

I am your dream, Sweet; so no more of dreaming,
Your lips to mine must end this chanted charm,

Your heart to mine, 'neath nut-brown tresses streaming,
I set my love a seal upon your arm.

Nora Hopper [18