CANTO THE FIRST XIX |
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CANTO THE FIRSTXIX
With all that chilling mystery of mien,
And seeming gladness to remain unseen,
He had (if `twere not nature`s boon) an art
Of fixing memory on another`s heart:
It was not love, perchance — nor hate — nor aught
That words can image to express the thought;
But they who saw him did not see in vain,
And once beheld, would ask of him again:
And those to whom he spake remember`d well,
And on the words, however light, would dwell.
None knew nor how, nor why, but he entwined
Himself perforce around the hearer`s mind;
There he was stamp`d, in liking, or in hate,
If greeted once; however brief the date
That friendship, pity, or aversion knew,
Still there within the inmost thought he grew.
You could not penetrate his soul, but found
Despite your wonder, to your own he wound.
His presence haunted still; and from the breast
He forced an all-unwilling interest;
Vain was the struggle in that mental net,
His spirit seem`d to dare you to forget!
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