* * * * * * * * * * *


--But by her dove's eyes and serpent-shape, I think she does not hate
me; by her smooth forehead and her crested hair, I own I love her; by
her soft looks and queen-like grace (which men might fall down and
worship) I swear to live and die for her!



A PROPOSAL OF LOVE





(Given to her in our early acquaintance)

"Oh! if I thought it could be in a woman (As, if it can, I will presume
in you) To feed for aye her lamp and flames of love, To keep her
constancy in plight and youth, Outliving beauties outward with a mind
That doth renew swifter than blood decays: Or that persuasion could but
thus convince me, That my integrity and truth to you Might be confronted
with the match and weight Of such a winnowed purity in love-- How were I
then uplifted! But, alas, I am as true as truth's simplicity, And
simpler than the infancy of truth."