Ann Radcliffe cont

Then, when the breeze has sunk away,
   And ocean scarce is heard to lave,
For me the sea-nymphs softly play
   Their dulcet shells beneath the wave.

Their dulcet shells! I hear them now;
   Slow swells the strain upon mine ear;
Now faintly falls---now warbles low,
   'Till rapture melts into a tear.

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The ray that silvers o'er the dew,
   And trembles through the leafy shade,
And tints the scene with softer hue,
   Calls me to rove the lonely glade;

Or hie me to some ruin'd tow'r,
   Faintly shewn by moon-light gleam,
Where the lone wand'rer owns my pow'r
   In shadows dire that substance seem;

In thrilling sounds that murmur woe,
   And pausing silence makes more dread;
In music breathing from below
   Sad, solemn Strains, that wake the dead.

Unseen I move---unknown am fear'd!
   Fancy's wildest dreams I weave;
And oft by bards my voice is heard
   To die along the gales of eve."

1.10am 



And when the false moon steals away,
   Or o'er the chasing morn doth rise,
Oft, fearless, we our gambols play
   By the fire-worm's radiant eyes.

And suck the honey'd reeds that swell
   In tufted plumes of silver white;
Or pierce the cocoa's milky cell,
   To sip the nectar of delight!

And when the shaking thunders roll,
   And light'nings strike athwart the gloom,
We shelter in the cedar's bole,
   And revel 'mid the rich perfume!

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How-sweet is Love's first gentle sway,
   When crown'd with flow'rs he softly smiles!
   His blue eyes fraught with tearful wiles,
Where beams of tender transport play:
Hope leads him on his airy way,
   And Faith and Fancy still beguiles---
   Faith quickly tangled in her toils---
Fancy, whose magic forms so gay
   The fair Deceiver's self deceive---
'How sweet is Love's first gentle sway!'
   Ne'er would that heart he bids to grieve
From Sorrow's soft enchantments stray---
Ne'er---till the God exulting in his art,
Relentless frowns and wings th' envenom'd dart."