Love or Fame | Page 6

fail!
Where dangers lie
Poor Hilda stands and knows it not, the dream

Of life to her is bright, youth's sunny gleam
Shines over all in tender,
softened light,
And swiftly do the moments wing their flight.
But
yet so sensitive her shrinking soul,
That o'er her life sometimes great
shadows roll,
Like angry clouds; upon a wild dark shore
She stands,
alone and weak, while more and more
The unknown forces grow and
cast their blight,
Till all the past is lost in one dark night;
Unto the
woman's lot her life is cast,
And like a dream the girlish days drift
past.
Part II.
The Storm.
One eve she stood upon a lonely lea
And watched the deep'ning
shadows grim
That threw their forms athwart the restless sea,

Making the radiance of the West grow dim.
A glorious canopy
appeared to rest
O'er changing sky and distant rocky caves,
While
o'er some weary sea-bird's pure white breast,
A bright glow spread
when dipping in the waves,
Her tired form found therein coolness;
peace
Supremely reigned, and under Silence's wings
Vanished afar
and near the waves' wide rings;

Still grander grew the heavy golden
skies,
With gorgeous hues and airy snow-white fleece,
And
dreamier grew the maiden's watching eyes,
As through and through
her trembling soul and frame,
The thrill of nature's beauty softly

came;
And while her eyes with love and rapture filled,
Of all that
weird and strangely splendid scene,
All other thoughts within her soul
were stilled,
While o'er her head fair spirits seemed to lean.
Around her grew a stillness unto death,
The waves their ever restless
motion stayed;
All living nature seemed to hold its breath,
As if by
some stupendous power o'erweighed;
And right athwart the sunset's
fading glow,
A great black cloud, like some huge monstrous thing,

Threw round and round the sun's last dipping ring
The impress of its
shadow drooping low;
And lower, lower fell that mighty cloud,

With menacing shape as in defiance proud,
Until at last all sky and
earth and sea
Seemed filled with shadows from its darkening wings---

That dreadful spell cast over waves once free,
Hushed into silence
deep all living things.
And still the maiden's watching, eager eyes
Were fixed unmoved on
black'ning sea and skies;
So motionless she stood with hands clasped
close
And heart-beats growing few and fainter all this time,
That
e'en it seemed as though the life-blood froze
Within her veins, like
streams in frigid clime!
To-night she'd seen strange visions in the
clouds,
Of cities great and busy murmuring crowds,
That called her
on to some far different life,
'Mid active minds and noisy, changing
strife.
With beating heart she saw the clouds unfold,
Within their
depths there gleamed a crown of gold.
Too soon the scene had faded from the skies,
While o'er the earth the
threat'ning cloud had spread
That rudely thrust itself before her eyes

And filled her with an overpowering dread;
Yet still she stood with
proud, unbending form,
Though all the world seemed near some
awful doom.
That dreary silence by foretold the storm
That soon
would rage within the night's dark gloom;
A deathly hush o'er waiting
land and sea,
And then with one loud clap the storm cloud burst.
Behold! the elements again set free,

As if with fearful spell they'd

long been curst,
Now vented all the power of stifled birth
Upon the
luckless unoffending earth.
The waves around the cliff's low base
sprang high
And madly dashed their spray in furious rage;
The
maid, howe'er, looked down with scornful eye,
As if she could their
mighty power assuage.
She gloried in that strange, terrific storm,

The lightning's glare and hurried thunder peal
Awakened in her slight
and girlish form
A hidden might that bade her trembling kneel

Upon that lonely, wave-encircled height
And pledge her life to fame,
that she might win
The glory of the world's enthroning light,
Then
give it back to God all freed from sin.
Long, long she knelt, her soul
in prayer thrown,
Unheeding still the lightning's lurid glare;
For
what were raging storms and nature's moan
To that mad strife within
her bosom fair!
At last the lightnings ceased, the winds grew still;
All powers
recognized God's mightier will;
Old ocean, like a child with passion
spent,
Lay gently sobbing in its rocky bed;
Anon it sighed and to
the dark waves lent,
A sad, sweet song; the storm indeed was dead.

Along the sable robes that veiled the sky,
The red stars glowed, yet
paled each tiny fire
Before the yellow moon, who, throned on high,

Hung on her crescent bow a golden lyre.
From Hilda, too, the stormy grief had fled,
And with a strange, deep
peace inspired, she rose
From off the rocks and lifted up her head.

The moon smiled on her upturned face, and close
Beneath her feet the
waves swept to and fro.
A smile as that which lit the tide below,

Then dawned upon her lips, for god her prayer
Had heard; that harp
of gold--these skies now fair,
Seemed but the emblem that her soul's
dark strife
Should lead her soon unto a nobler life.
Beyond her, on the ledge, a dark form stood,
Regarding her with
wistful, wondering eyes;
He seemed the type of all that's true and
good

In man; down from the starry, moonlit skies
The radiance fell
and crowned his