Mystery Mystery! All is a mystery, Fain would we drink of the immortal dew; The night's long and dreary, Without hope of morning, O what would we do. THE SEER. The temple was a ruined heap, And there the old Seer stood entranced, Time's broken hour-glass at his feet, Were eaten all away. He pointed ever and anon, His eye fixed upon air, While thus he talked to shadowy forms, Which seemed to hover there. "On, on, to the regions lone, The generations go, They march along to the mingled song Of hope, of joy, and woe. On, on, to the regions lone, For there's no tarrying here, And the hoary past is joined at last, "There, there, on the edge of air, I see them all, both great and small, Long, long, is the motley throng, Of every creed and clime, With the hopes and fears, the smiles and tears, Of the young and the olden time. "Round, round, on their earthly mound, No creak, no sound, to the ceaseless round, "There, there, with their long gray hair, A glory's shed on each hoary head, There was less of art, and more of heart, In that happy golden time. "There, there, are the ladies fair, Who danced in the lordly hall, And the minstrels gray, whose simple lay, Fleet, fleet, were your fairy feet, And ye knew the joy of tears, While the minstrels wove the tale of love, With its hopes, its doubts and fears. "There, there, still fresh and fair, I see them march along, The bowmen good, in the gay green wood, And I hear their jocund song; See, see, how the green oak tree, With shouts they circle in, And the stakes are set, and the champions met, And the merry games begin. "Round, round, on their earthly mound, The laden ages reel, No creak, no sound to the ceaseless round, "Hold! hold! ye were barons bold, I know by the garb ye wear, The lofty head and the stately tread, "Away, away, as if to the fray, Their tales they tell, of what befell, "Round, round on their earthly mound, No creak, no sound, to the ceaseless round, "Lo! lo! what a splendid woe, Yon rearward host reveals, It marches there with its golden care, To the sound of steam and wheels; |