The other shore might hold. My lily bark,
Being too frail for such a venturous cruise
I borrowed GONDOR's boat of nautilus' shells,
Put up my lua-leaf sail and swiftly sped
Across the ocean, till this level isle
Grew smaller than a star. The air grew cold:--
I almost shivered in my bird's-down mantle;
But when I neared the opposing shore, the sight
Of all its snowy scenery, repaid me.
Coasting along at leisure, on a cliff
Which overhung the sea, I saw appear
A being, whom I knew at once as Man.--
One of that mortal race which we have kept
Forever, since our chronicles began,
With war assiduous, from our inner realms,
Still undefiled by their invading feet.
The choking hurry of my noisy heart
Told me the truth. At first I would have fled,
But, being unperceived by him, I lingered,--
Inquisitive and wilful that I am.
Thenceforth, sweet Queen, I never can forget
The face of this one man which I have seen.
Triumph was on his brow, and yet not that
So much as doubt and earnest questioning.
Something arose into his eyes and shone
Which must have been his Soul; it searched the deep,
The earth, the sky, with bright and troubled gaze;
And then, glanced forward with so still a look,
It seemed that it, perforce, would vanish space,
And bring our secret world within its ken;