What a picture of Life's young illusions! Oh, Night,
Drop thy curtain at once and hide _all_ from my sight.
[1] It is often very difficult to distinguish between clouds and
Alps; and on the evening when I first saw this magnificent scene, the
clouds were so disposed along the whole horizon, as to deceive me into an
idea of the stupendous extent of these mountains, which my subsequent
observation was very far, of course, from confirming.
EXTRACT IV.
Milan.
_The Picture Gallery.--Albano's Rape of Proserpine.--Reflections.--
Universal Salvation.--Abraham sending away Agar, by Guercino.--Genius_.
Went to the _Brera_--saw a Dance of Loves
By smooth ALBANO! him whose pencil teems
With Cupids numerous as in summer groves
The leaflets are or motes in summer beams.
'Tis for the theft of Enna's flower from earth,
These urchins celebrate their dance of mirth
Round the green tree, like fays upon a heath--
Those that are nearest linkt in order bright,
Cheek after cheek, like rose-buds in a wreath;
And those more distant showing from beneath
The others' wings their little eyes of light.
While see! among the clouds, their eldest brother
But just flown up tells with a smile of bliss
This prank of Pluto to his charmed mother
Who turns to greet the tidings with a kiss!
Well might the Loves rejoice--and well did they
Who wove these fables picture in their weaving
That blessed truth, (which in a darker day
ORIGEN lost his saintship for believing,[1])--
That Love, eternal Love, whose fadeless ray
Nor time nor death nor sin can overcast,
Even to the depths of hell will find his way,
And soothe and heal and triumph there at last!
GUERCINO'S Agar--where the bondmaid hears
From Abram's lips that he and she must part,
And looks at him with eyes all full of tears
That seem the very last drops from her heart.
Pages:
943
944
945
946
947
948
949
950
951
952
953
954
955
956
957
958
959
960
961
962
963
964
965
966
967