— i nted or A NOTE 500 only pr f and E ach numbered as BY F . H . S A L T U S . PR I N T E D Y . W . O LT O N BU F FA LO N Y B C M U , , . F R O M T H E S P IR IT O F T H E AU TH O R ’ ” N ow am th e c u l H o S lza a o ws ong st o nt ess osts f , T O TH O M S S TE PH E S CO LLIE R A N , WITH H EAVEN LY L OVE A N D GR ATITU D E: T h e buds o h th e w r o o f ope , fl o e s f j y , ’ A nd l ri ch rui w r a d a ll ife s f t, e e t ste Whi le time wa s twining round my brow ’ A w wre a tk—D ea tlz s c r a l sno y o on . E C O N T N T S . Life L e - o acqu r W rk z O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O S le ep H ands Goya T o Hele na Lo ve S ong T he Ide al ’ A Co urtesan s Whim E scurial T h b ud M D T o . e a . ] S . , S now S ong D efrauded S ouvenir Answers Je na The Old S tre et in Limoges A S oul M ay Linger There Fo r Thee Austerlitz Tete -a-Tete T he Awakening M y Faith xii CONTENTS. Pro file D olce far Nie nte T o Yulma Ce rtainty A A Fragme nt C o nfe ssion S onnet Improvisé Linda and Pasquin M o o n- Music Turqueri e S onne t Fant ais ie S o nne t ’ Papa s Asle ep A ffinitie s S o nnet Bah ! Pe rfume My Love r S onne t Pe rhaps Frothings : Mille rs and Coque tt e s T o My Fathe r o n H is Birth day Influe nce S ouve nir H e nry Irving “ E D o H e L . avenp rt as aml t ” As O thello As Macbeth CONTENTS. L D e o R 1 11 E . av np rt as ichard As R iche lieu As S ir Gile s Carl Maria Von We be r Charles Gouno d T0 S arah Bernhart Geovanni T agliapietra T o Victo r Hugo Charle s Baude laire Fer rdinand Hiller Gérard de Nerval ’ The H eart s S ad S ong Landscape Zaida Moo ds o f Madnes s Tete aTete Columbia to Cuba xiv CONTENTS. T he Jungfrau D ream o f Ice S o nne t S o ng S onnet T wo Love S tories S onne t E yes S onne t Kisses Language Punishment R ome By Moonlight La Griz ette T o Napole o n S mall Minds S o nne t T o Anna S altus T h e D ying S ta r The No rth S e a Maid Go o d Friday T he Gnome Fantasy Thine E ye s T o Marie B Nebulo sa Flo we rs of the H are m E fTe t de Neige S o uve nir CONTENTS. XV ’ Napoleon s Gift Ye llow T he Mo nkey Moo ds of Madness Bambo o T o a S pider Heinrich H e ine The Japanese Fan An Answe r T oo Late DREAMS AFTER SUNSE T. Wise is he who a man and a chooser ’ Spurns Life s book and its pages of days ; ’ wh o Wise is he is n o m an s accuser, no r Who laughs n ot , sin gs not , nor prays . Wise is he wh o sees all like a muser o f Through vague tenebrous shadows greys . o n i i Be content and live , nothing cla m ng, Shun the mass and their impoten t creeds . See with eye neither laudin g nor blaming o f o r Acts crime magnificent deeds , 0 Neither asking, nor h ping, nor aiming o f For j oys that are barren seeds . If we lived through long epochs and ages, If we saw but a century of peace , Had we time to calm murmurs and rages , H ad we time to make wickedness cease ; We might barter our faith to the sages , We might force evil thoughts to decrease . But we live but an hour and learn not If that hour will be short o r be long o n Shall we rush ahead , shall we turn not, Shall o ur voice be a sigh o r a son g ? n ot no t Shall we love , nor hate , n or spurn not , Who can guide to the right from the wrong ? Can we live without error or blunder ? Can we know when to come an d to go ? ’ Why love , when Death s sickle asunder Cleaveth down ev ’ry love with a blow ? If the spring turns to winter, why won der , - o rif rose s give way to the snow Every sunset in colorful glory Must bow to the menacing night ; Every moon in its opal sheen , hoary, ’ Is chased by the dawn s kiss of white ; From chaos there Spran g but one story Our story of ruin an d blight of Can we aught the infinite borrow, Can we plunge in the secrets of glooms ? th - Can we unveil e formless to morrow , ’ Can we sniff at the future s pe rfumes ? Can we say that in j oy o r in sorrow We will reach the pale portals o f tombs ? - Yet like lost lambs , wolf scented , we tremble ; We know not, yet would know and groan ; We worship o ur gods and assemble In temples of m arble and stone ; f We pray , hope, ear , lie and dissemble, Yet we err through Life ’s vortex alone ! DREAMS AFTER SUNSE T. So is wise he who nothin g remembers , Who c an banish , forget and ignore ; l Who c an crush o ut the s lo w b urning embers Of fire -thoughts that burned well in yore ; Who alike blends the Mays with Decembers , o f Who cares naught the past to restore . Wise is he who regrets not his gladness , His blisses of childhood n ow dead ; Wise is he who can laugh at his madness ’ When youth s ardor ruled heart an d ruled head ; Wise is h e who finds pleasure in sadness o f In the memories tears that were shed . L A c E R K oU WOR . — LACQUER WORK . ’ —l T he e i t l c y I ov Is In Japan , ’ With streets spread o ut like a lady s fan ; High towers of porcelain , white and blue , ’ o f O ertop the cottages bamboo . e e Pagodas lacquered enchant my y , Their kaolin steeples pierce the sky . Rare birds , with plumage all gold and red , ’ o e r m Chirp sweetest melodies y head . of Strange idols , carved , costume quaint, on out Grin blandly me from their paint . A music , not sad , yet dreamy , swells ’ k s ilv r Its rhythm eeps time with y bells . at at a as at d My lovely i ol is hidden here , With inch - lon g eyes and a gaze sincere ; Her feet are so small she cannot walk , Her breast is as white as snow o r chalk ; l Her laugh is like sunshine , ful of glee, And her sweet breath smells like fresh - made DREAMS AFTER SUNSE T. A S KY DREAM . one I dream t, lovely summer night , That a wee robin , swift and bright , In through my window fluttered ; An d as I watched it in surprise , I t gazed upon m e with soft eyes , And these words slowly uttered Excuse me for my long delay , I have been miles upon my way, An d really have not tarried ; I am so tired I can not speak , But take this letter from my beak , An d see who ’s to be married ! Then flyin g o ff through shadows It rested in my garden n ear ; I hardly breathed to listen , And in my open han d I saw , Still overcome by nameless awe , A lovely s unbea m glisten ! S K Y A DREAM. And written there in flaming lines, o f With specks light an d mystic signs , I read with eyes delighted , That the great weddin g of the sun With the chaste moon , had j ust begun , ' A fi d ' I h ad been invited A nd in a postscript I was told to The letter in my han d hold , And when the clock struck seven , To seek the fragrant woodlan ds , where The dewy roses scent the air , An d look up into Heaven . S o forth I went , and saw with pride , The pale moon blushing like a bride , Draped in a cloud - veil tender ; Escorted by the sun , whose glare Shone on her face , supremely fair, In fascinating splendor . Behind them trooped in gorgeous state And fiery robes the planets great , Their ministers and sages ; o f And far beyond , in skies flame, With twinkling eyes and bright feet came The stars, their merry pages ; DREAMS AFTER SUNSE T to o While brilliant meteors , , were there , Roaming about the radiant air, Most luminous and splendid ; And awful comets everywhere Trailed round the scintillating pair, With long tails nicely blended .