THERE where the sea enwrapt A strip of land and wind-swept dune¹, Where nature was quiescent² in the glimmering³ Noonday sun of early June,—— The Placid⁴ sea lay shimmering⁵ In a mist of blue, >From which the sky now drew Its wealth of hue⁶ and colour； One heard but the deep breathing of the ocean, As it breathed along the shore in even motion. Among the pines and listless of the scene, Atthis and Alcaeus lay, Within the heart of each a hunger For the unknown gift of life. Here from day to day They met and dreamed away The soft unfloding days of spring,—— Now turning to the summer.

    Aleaeus：

    I am faint with all the fire In my blood, And I would plunge⁷ into the quiet blue And lose all sense of time and you.

    Atthis：

    I, too, would plunge And swim with you！

    Doffing⁸ her robe, the maid stood in her beauty, Calm and sure and unafraid, The sinuous⁹ splendour of her limbs, A silent symphony of curving line, Which reached its final note In breast and rounded throat. He had not known that flesh could be so fair； Each movement which she made Wove o'er his sense a deeper spell, Her beauty swept him like a flame And caught him unaware¹⁰. She looked into his eyes, then dropping hers Before that burning gaze, Softly turned and crept with sunlit shoulders Down among the boulders¹¹, To the sea. Secure within its covering depth She called to him to follow. She led him out along the tide, With swift unerring stroke, Nor paused till he was at her side. With conquering arm He seized her and from her brow Tossed back the dripping locks, and sought her lips- Her eyes closed,—— As all her body yielded to his kiss.

    Then home he bore her to the shore, Within his heart a song of triumph； In hers, a new-born joy of womanhood. So spring for them passed on to summer.