XII

That mouth, whence it was wont to draw the breath

      Which gave it strength to pierce the guarded wit,

      And pass into the panting heart beneath

      With lightning and with music: the damp death

      Quenched its caress upon his icy lips;

      And, as a dying meteor stains a wreath

      Of moonlight vapour, which the cold night clips,

It flushed through his pale limbs, and passed to its eclipse.