Richard Henry Horne

“ O, Giant! child-like in thy truthfulness,
Yet full of noblest gifts, and hard-earned skill;
Cut off when love was perfect, and in the midst
Of all thy fresh designs for human weal,
To make the morning feel itself in vain,
And men turn pale who never shed a tear!
Thy task is finished—thou canst work no more—
Thy Maker takes thee, for he loved thee well.
⁠Haggard and chill as a lost ghost, the Morn,
With hair unbraided and unsandalled feet,—
Her colourless robe like a poor wandering smoke,—
Moved feebly up the heavens, and in her arms
A shadowy burden heavily bore ”

“ In the shop itself there was continually a crowd coming in to buy cakes or other things, for the counter was also covered with delightful wonders, and the old gentleman pastry-cook and great cake-maker himself walked about in the middle of the shop, dressed in his best, with a large red rose in the button-hole of his coat, smiling and rubbing his hands together, and chatting with all the children that came in, and sometimes going to the door and giving a handful of sugar-plums to children outside who had no money to buy anything. ”

“ In whose sweet smile these stars shall ever melt,
All human beauty perfected in thee,
Divine with human blending. In my heart
Bared full before thee, to the essence fine
Wherewith, by whisperings of my Maker's breath,
These stars of my new life are now inspired—
In this pure essence shall thy treasured love
Receive my adoration; and the thoughts
Of thee shall open ever in my mind
Like the bland meads in flower when thou appear'st. ”

“ Enormous sea-weeds, strombites, and whitening bones,
Submarine flowers that lift their welcoming heads,
And wail of starv'd birds echoing to the moon,
Now slowly rising from her daily grave,
Profusely furnish funeral honours due
To those whose life-lamps burnt in caves, like mine.
Young man! forbear thy touch!—thy tearful voice—
Begone at once! behold the waves flow near,
And soon will kiss these pale and paralyzed feet.
The crescent points creep round with gushing gleams,
And now they eddying meet, and deepening flow! ”

“ I had been accustomed hitherto to think myself not only very pretty, but one of the very nicest and best dolls that could possibly be. I had always understood that the celebrated Mr. Sprat, who had made me, was one of the very first doll-makers in England! The master of the doll-shop in Holborn, who had walked to and fro, like Napoleon Bonaparte in a brown paper cocked hat, had said so in my hearing, and I had believed it. I naturally considered myself a charming doll. ”

“ Like wave on wave when coloured by the clouds,
Pell-mell come rolling round the mountain side,
And crowd around the Goddess, who commands
The hunt to pause. At once the music stops—
And all the hounds, with wistful looks, crouch down.
⁠"Young Giant of the woods," said Artemis,
"The bow, that ne'er till now its glittering points
Bent back without recoil and whirring twang—
That sound a shaft's flight, and that flight a death—
For once to its quiescent shape returns
Unsated. ”

“ Maria Poppet was a doll of character who kept her eyes open and who never neglected an opportunity to learn from every event of her varied life; who was not puffed up by association with rank and wealth nor cast down by harrowing experiences; who valued loving hearts above jewels and titles and the glitter and show of fashion. ”

“ The human spirit is a mounting thing,
But ere it reach the constellated thrones,
It may attain, and on mankind bestow,
Substance, precision, mastery of hand,
Beauty intense, and power that shapes new life.
So shall each honest heart become a champion,
Each high-wrought soul a builder beyond Time—
The ever-hunted, ne'er o'ertaken Time,
For whom so many youthful hours are slain
Vainly: (the grave's brink shews we have been deceived,
And still the aged God his flight maintains!) ”

“ In your direct communion with the earth
And heavens, find sympathy with this branched frame
I bear, thus shaken; yet unlike your storm
Which may be wholesome, coming from without,
And from the operative round of things,
While mine is centred in myself, and rends
But does not remedy. Let me then shun
The baleful haunts of men—worse than the beasts
Whom I have exiled, and to shadows changed—
Savage as beasts with less of open force;
As wily, with less skill and promptitude;
As little reasoning, save for selfish ends;
Less faithful, true, and honest, than the dog ”

“ During all the time these dresses were being made, my mamma was so impatient and restless that it was quite an unhappiness to see her. I often thought what a pity it was she had not learned to make dresses herself, her mind would then have been employed, and she would have been so much more comfortable. Oh, how different was the happy day I spent among the poor little milliners when Ellen Plummy and Nanny Bell sat under the tent made of a sheet, to make me a frock and trousers! How happy were they over the work, and how impatient and cross was Lady Flora, who had no work to do! ”

“ But Harpax quick rejoined,
"I, for myself, would have this Merope,
And force Œnopion render up his crown,
If ye will aid me." "We will give our aid,"
Autarces cried—"and yet methinks this love
Affecting doubly, as by the self-same blow,
Might from some spells in the orgie-fumes arise?
Ye marked, wise Akinetos would not move."
"Doubtless 't was wise," Encolyon said, "More care
Befits our steps." They rose and strode away.
⁠There is a voice that floats upon the breeze
From a heathed mountain ”

“ As the ugly, thick-limbed little Dwarf said this, he stamped one foot,—a loud wind was heard, and in a moment he went straight down through the earth, and was quite gone! At the same moment we heard a sweet voice singing in the air, which said:—
‘He thinks he makes what mortals see;
It seems so—but it shall not be.’
Before we had time to recover ourselves, we saw that the whole scene of frost and snow was changing into a bright summer. ”

“ To lose themselves in bliss, which memory
Alone can find, so to renew their life.
Thou couldst not ever thus enjoy, thus give
Thy nature fully up; thine attributes,
Whate'er of loveliness or high estate
They owned, surrendering all before Love's feet,
And in his breath to melt. How shall we name
Thy passion,—ice-pure, self-entire, exacting
All worship, for a limited return? ”

“ When they all came back we saw, besides the fine gentlemen, a number of beautiful fat ladies in feathers, with diamonds and rosy cheeks, the fattest of whom, and the most beautiful of course, was the Lady Mayoress in an apricot satin dress with all sorts of embroidery, and lace, and ribbons, and spangles, and precious things, and looking all so stiff and expensive behind the glass, but yet seeming to be alive, although afraid to move in the least for fear of injuring some part of all this dress. ”

“ And sun-set forced its beams through strangling boughs,
Gilding green shadows, till it blazed athwart
The giant-caves, and touched with watery fires
The heavy foot-marks which had plashed the sward
On vacant paths, through foliaged vistas steep,
Where gloom was mellowing to a grand repose.
At intervals, as from beneath the ground,
Far in the depth of these primeval cells,
Low respirations came. There, in great shade,
The giants sleep. Lost sons are they of Time.
⁠There is no hour when rest is sacred held
By him who works and builds ”

“ Sometimes boys and girls look rather scornfully upon old-fashioned things. They think that nothing which is not “up to date” can [xi] possibly be as fine as modern shows. Well, I, for one, never saw a Fifth Avenue window display—and I love to gaze into Fifth Avenue shops—more dazzling than the pastry-cook’s window on Twelfth-night; nor a more gorgeous parade than the Lord Mayor’s; nor a play more enchanting than the New Grand Christmas Pantomime which the London Doll saw at Drury-Lane Theatre in the “old-fashioned” days of the story. ”

“ And Sylvans, who, half Faun, half shepherd, lead
A grassy life, with cymbals in each hand
Pressed cross-wise on the breast, waiting the sign;—
Attendant round a pale gold chariot moved:
By two large-antlered milk-white stags 't was drawn,
Their sleek hides 'neath the fine dews quivering,
In delicate delight. Above them rose
The fair-haired Goddess, onward softly gliding,
As though erect she stood on wafted clouds.
She smiled not; but the crescent on her brow
Gleamed with a tender light. He knew 't was love. ”

“ To yet more queenly grace, the shaft she placed
Within her burnished quiver, and the bow
A Nymph unstrung, while with averted face—
As gazing down the woodland vista slopes,
Which oft her bright orb silvered through black shades
When midnight throbbed to silence—Artemis asked,
"And who are these thy brothers of the cave,
And why dost with the Cyclops hold consort?"
⁠"My wood-friends, all of ancestry renowned,
Claim for their sires heroes, or kings, or gods;
And two of them have seen the ways of men;" ”

“ The music was changed to an ugly, broken, hobbling, harsh sound, and at the farthest end of the field we saw a strong-made, little old man, in a dark blue cloak, appear, and come down towards the white shrubs in front, just under us. His hat was the shape of an extinguisher, but with a broad brim. As he approached, we saw that he had a large blue nose, and very large uneven teeth, and blue goggle-eyes! Ugh! how we all shivered, except Lydia’s papa and mamma, who laughed and told us not to be frightened. ”

“ Which yet must have some office, rightly used,
Man hath a secret source, for some great end,
Which by delay seems wasted. Ignorance
Chokes us, and time outwits us."—On he passed.
"That soul hath greater cause for grief than I,"
Orion thought—yet not the less was sad.
⁠Away disconsolate the giant went,
Now clambering forest slopes, now hurrying down
Precipitous brakes, tearing the berried boughs
For food, scarce tasted, and oft gathering husks,
Or wind-eggs of strange birds dropt in the fens,
To toss them in some rapid brook, and watch
Their wavering flight. ”

“ Her Aunt Sharpshins was a very tall, thin, pale-faced woman, who was always dressed in a long gown made close up to the throat, of the color of old nankeen, with a faded bed-furniture pattern round the hem at the bottom. She had a nose like a parrot’s beak, and always spoke through it. She kept fifteen little milliner girls in the house, who were her apprentices, and obliged to work as long as she pleased. ”

“ Flashed torch and spear, while reed-pipes deeper blew
Sonorous dirgings and melodious storm,
And timbrels groaned and jangled to the tones
Of high-sustaining horns,—then round the blaze,
Their shadows brandishing afar and athwart
Over the level space and up the hills,
Six giants held portentous dance, nor ceased
Till one by one in bare Bacchante arms,
Brim-full of nectar, helplessly they rolled
Deep down oblivion. Sleep absorbed their souls.
⁠Region of Dreams! ye seething procreant beds
For germs of life's solidities and power ”

“ Here I lay hearing all sorts of noises of trumpets and drums, and singing and dancing, and tumbling about, and calling out, and laughing, and fireworks, and the great rolling of many wheels, and loud sounds of distant applause from the audience. When all was over, I was taken home by the Columbine and her grandmother. It was a wet night, and they walked through the rain in shawls and clogs, and holding up a great umbrella [168] with three slits in the top. They lived in the back parlor of a small green-grocer’s, near Covent Garden. ”

“ There is no better in all the world. You see how heavy it is; what a quantity of plums, currants, butter, sugar, and orange and lemon-peel there is in it, besides brandy and caraway comfits. See! what a beautiful frost-work of white sugar there is all over the top and sides! See, too, what characters there are, and made in sugar of all colors! ”

“ Struggled, and bounded onward to the goal.
⁠Her beauty awed the common race of men.
Hers was a shape made for a serpent dance,
Which charmed to stillness and to burning dreams,
But she herself the illusive charm o'er-ruled
As doth an element, merging for a time,
Ne'er lost; and none could steadily confront
Her sphynx-like bosom, and high watchful head. ”

“ But will they let me take Maria Poppet in with me?’
‘I should think they would hardly object,’ said her aunt, ‘for I never yet saw a doll left among the walking sticks and umbrellas at the door, however plain the doll might be. They could never object to a pretty doll like Maria—though, to be sure, she might be better dressed. Really, you must make haste with her clothes. I cannot let you take her out any more in that strange dress Mr. Johnson tied round her.’
Mary promised to finish my clothes in a day or two. ”

“ Which owns no thought nor action, yet comprises
Life's sole excuse for what seems worthiest hate—
Extremes and maddened self-opposing springs—-
Not always thus excused,—O Zeus! receive
Our prayers, and chiefly mine, which pardon sue,
Besides the dear request. Grant that the life
Of him these hands, once dazzling white, have slain,
May be to earth restored." More had she said,
But the dark pile of cloud shook with the voice
Of Zeus, who answered: "He shall be restored;
But not returned to earth. His cycle moves
Ascending!" The deep sea the announcement heard ”

“ Living at a doll-shop, and hearing the daughter of the master of such a wonderful shop reading so often, I naturally expected to have heard more about dolls than any other creatures! However, on the whole, I was very well contented, and should have been perfectly happy if they would only have hung me up in the shop-window! ”

“ Sylvans and Fauns at full length cast them down,
And cooled their flame-red faces in the grass,
Or o'er a streamlet bent, and dipped their heads
Deep as the top hair of their pointed ears;
While Nymphs and Oceanides retired
To grots and sacred groves, with loitering steps,
And bosoms swelled and throbbing, like a bird's
Held between human hands. The hounds with tongues,
Crimson, and lolling hot upon the green,
And outstretched noses, flatly crouched; their skins
Clouded or spotted, like the field-bean's flower,
Or tiger-lily, painted the wide lawns. ”

“ Who on him gazed in ecstasy! He strove
To rise—to speak—in vain. Yet still she gazed,
And still he strove; till a voice cried in his ear,
"Depart from Artemis!—she loves thee not—
Thou art too full of earth! " He started awake! ”

“ Ashbourn thanked her, and said her little girl would be delighted to have such a pretty doll; and so I was placed in the soft little hands of my present dear mamma, Lucy Ashbourn; and then, after a few minutes’ more talking, in which a great many flattering things were said of me, pretty little Columbine took leave, and left me in the house where I now am.
Here I feel that I am settled for life. Only yesterday, my mamma, as she was sitting on her papa’s knee, told him that when she grew too old to play with me, she would give me to her little sister. She takes the greatest care of me. ”

“ Good speed made he with his well-practised hand;
The Harpies slew; the eastward trees hewed down;
And laid the temple open to the morn,
With all her genial beams. Then Eos first
Felt doubt; and trembled as she saw the fane
Gleam with her presence, glancing like the light
Within an angry eye-ball. A keen breeze
Now whistled all around, and as it rose
The high green corn, like rapids tow'rds a fall,
Flowed, wave on wave, before the strenuous wind. ”

“ No doll in the world, and particularly a wooden doll, could have wished for anything softer. At the same place were also many articles of furniture, such as dolls of the higher class are accustomed to have, and some of these were bought for me. That which I was most pleased with was a doll’s wardrobe made of cedar wood, with drawers for clothes in the middle, and pegs to hang dresses upon at each side, and all enclosed with folding doors, and smelling so sweet. ”

“ The worker ever comes to thee cast down!
Who with alacrity would frame, toil, build,
If he had wisdom in results, like thee?
Would Strength life's soil upheave, though close it clung,
And heavy, like a spade that digs in clay,
Therein to plant roots certain not to grow? ”

“ The old Jew considered a long while, and then said he could give no money for the poor little pug, but he would give him something that would be better for him, because it would help him to make money. So saying, he offered me to the boy, in exchange for the monkey. The Italian boy hesitated at first; he said he wanted a little money. But his sister exclaiming, ‘Oh, do, brother, let us have the doll!’ he consented; and fitting on me the red jacket, he stuck me upon the top of the organ, and off we went into the street, to the tune of ‘I’d be a butterfly!’ which he immediately began to play. ”

“ The sea-wide corn fields, smiled in golden waves.
⁠The last, would need Poseidon's trident hand,
Which, fervent prayers and filial offerings
Would fail not to obtain; whereby a blow,—
Such as had lifted out of the frothed sea
Delos,—Kalliste, with its fathomless bay,—
Mountains, and coral rocks,—repeated oft,
Might many mountains cause at once to rise,
Higher and higher, till their summits kissed
The clouds. ”