LIV

And so she ever fed it with thin tears,

      Whence thick, and green, and beautiful it grew,

So that it smelt more balmy than its peers

      Of Basil-tufts in Florence; for it drew

Nurture besides, and life, from human fears,

      From the fast mouldering head there shut from view:

So that the jewel, safely casketed,

Came forth, and in perfumed leafits spread.