DE PROFUNDIS.
Reading edition
I thought today within the crowded mart I saw thee for a moment, friend of mine, And all at once my blood leapt fast and fine And a new light broke on my shadowed heart. 'T was but a moment that my fancy's art Moulded another's features into thine, For when he passed me by and gave no sign, The bitter truth came back with sudden start. Then I remembered how the Merlin spell Of waving arms and woven paces bands Thy dust forever in its four-walled cell, Heedless of all except thy Seer's commands— Holds thee enraptured with the charms that dwell In broken paces and in folded hands.
Transcriber's Note: Variant spellings and proper nouns remain as printed. Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note, whilst significant amendments have been listed below:
p. 8, 'pleasuance' amended to pleasaunce; 'Some decked for the pleasaunce bower'
p. 25, 'Hommé' amended to Homme; 'The old "Bon Homme Richard's" unlaid ghost'