Page 30 - Poetry-Romance

Many, with ridicule and gibe—why not?—
Have dubbed thee “stove-pipe,” called thee “chimney-pot.”
They, as aesthetes, are not far wrong, maybe;
But I, for all that thou hast done for me,
Raise thee, in spite of nonsense sung or said,
With deep respect, and place thee on my head.
—(Harper’s, 1882)

Diana

Beside the busy little brook
Which skirts that clump of cedars
Sits fair Diana with her book,
Most picturesque of readers.

By idle tales she sets no store,
Her passion is for knowledge;
She’s reading up a treatise for
The tutor of her college.

She knows the structure of the eyes,
Can state the Great Bear’s distance,
Can tell you where Coimbo lies,
Or gauge the wind’s resistance.

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