The Jig of Forslin; A Symphony - Tapa blanda

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1916 edition. Excerpt: ... And laughter of virgins; I blew the light, And followed her, heedless of the ending, Into the carnival of that night. Make haste, beloved! the night passes, The day breaks, the cock crows, Mist slinks away in the sunlight, And the thin blood drips from the rose. Black stallions rushed us through the air, Their hooves upon the wind struck fire; Rivers, and hills, and a moonlit spire Glided beneath us, and then a flare Of gusty torches beckoned us down To a palace-gate in a darkened town. She took my hand and led me in Through walls of basalt and walls of jade, And I wondered, to hear a violin Sweetly within that marble played. I heard it sing, a wandering tone, Imprisoned forever in that deep stone. And then upon a coach we lay. And heard invisible spirits play A ghostly music; the candles muttered, Rose-leaves trembled upon the floor, Lay still, or rose on the air and fluttered; And while the moon went dwindling down Poisoning with black web the skies, She narrowed her eyelids, and fixed her eyes, Fiercely upon me; and searched me so With speeding fire in every shred That I, consumed with a witching glow, Knew scarcely if I were alive or dead: But lay upon her breast, and kissed The deep red mouth, and drank the breath, And heard it gasping, how it hissed To mimic the ecstasy of death. Above us in a censer burning Was dust of lotos-flowers, and there Ghosts of smoke were ever turning, And gliding along the sleepy air, And reaching hands, and showing faces, Or coiling slowly like blue snakes, To charm us moveless in our places... But then she softly raised her head And smiled through brooding eyes, and said 'O lover, I have seen you twice. You changed my veins to veins of ice. The first time, it was Easter Eve,--By the church door you...

Aiken was an American poet, short story writer, critic and novelist.