Two figures meet below a tree in front of a gate. On the left, a man faces away from
the viewer and toward the woman. He holds
a handkerchief at his hip. On the right, a woman sits and faces both the man and the
viewer. She holds an umbrella and places her
feet on a stool. She looks toward a dog near her feet. The couple are surrounded by
grass, shrubs, and a tree. Hills, clouds, and
buildings are in the background. Full-page illustration.
The Meeting.
With Time I turn—years
backward flow,1
Again that golden shore I trace,2
Where, in the light of long ago,3
I first beheld thy face.4
Soft summer airs waved warm and light ;5
A solemn psalm, breathed o’er the bay,6
Came like the choral march of Night,7
Ascending far away.8
The sun burned downward to the deep,9
And glowed through many a purple bar ;10
While, like a virgin from her sleep,11
Arose the Evening Star.12
There oft had I, with care oppressed,13
Forgetful, dream’d of other lands ;14
And thou had’st sought a realm of rest,15
Along those silent sands.16
As mists that melt in azure skies,17
Thy tears fell fast ; such woe was mine ;18
Like magnets glanced thy streaming eyes,19
And drew my soul to thine.20