The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-05-15
THE DAILY NEWS.
A Row Poem.
BY OWEN MEREDITH.

The new volume of poems by Owen Meredith, just
published, ia highly praised by the English CRITICS
II nens with tales from Herodotus. OF these the
most beautiful is "ayges and Candaules" The old
legend Is amplfed and adorned and receivesa color
inr of modern feeling especially in the stanzas where
4heinaionaHon OF the insulted Queen is described
We eopv the stanzas that relate how Gyges waited,
against his win. concealed in the royal bed-chamber
for the Queens spproach:
Meanwhile. the music out of distant halls
Humued like the inland sound of hid sea-shore;
And phostiy daughters lspsed at intervals
Along the faint-Gt, cod-walled corridors;
And portals oped and shut, and then footballs
That wandered near. and, over other floors
To other silence, wandered OF again,
Kept up continual throbbing In his brain.
Atlength deep-down the opposing gallery,
From out the long. drawn darkness flashed Light;
And peering from bis purple privacy,
he spied, with red gold bound and robed in white.
Sole as the first star in sleepy sky,
That while men watch It, grows more large and
-. bright, ~.
rne slow queen sweeping down the lucid floor,
And In her hand silver lamp she bore
Anon; she entered, and her lamp down laid
By the smooth. .metalled mirror, and awhile
Stood slanting low the. glory Of her head,
And dipped her fun faee IN It's own warm smile;
linen iooKeo siio etVeipai6 sseAS0oeAA oo Aoo'sAeN
ofher rich hair. .:as though she would beguile
Some lDve-sick spirit on the air to linger, ~
Twtning gold curl round her glowing Anger.
But soon she an that twisted gold outshook,
. I'M over either shining shoulder streamed
The hidden splendor, and BEGAN TO unnooR
:. From those white slopes the buckled gems that
Deep in tbs mirrors kindNng dark, which took
Her mellow image to itself and cleaned
With soft surprises, and grew blight and warm
with tre delicious phantom Of her form.
Her Gyges watched. as one that helpless hears
The cataract call him downward. HIS heart maze
Such passionate pealipg in his auttered ears
That by bis fear he feared 70 be betrayed.
And, but that ever greater with his fears,
his rapturea grew, he had not so long sfaSeq;
But. having sayed so long. he stm must stay. Is
And, having looked, he may not look away.
The Queen discovers him. by his "groaning out
r6ht In the heat Of his bewildered heart, and flies,
with wrath and shame to seek the shelter of theroy-
alscuch. Gyges rushes from the chamber:
Aitdown the hollow gallery. after him
The loud stones shouted as MS aee,sapensno a.,ss
And dreadful space, breathes like burning WIND
Upon hts hair; swift fire IN every limb
Seetbed up snd down; nights blacsneas broke and
An ronnd With restless eddying Of the glare
Offhst strong vision. flooding the hot air.
The uext morning eyges is compelled 70 face the
tnsulted Queen, to whom he relates how the King
had reaired this shaeful thing OF him; and, as in
ths old hgend. she requires him to slsy candaules
ana mary han, or submit himself to death with her.
eyses p.stsrs y II TIE !. !King. BE e1elaims:
But might the hak Of this dear debt be paid
BY hecatombs Of hvestnd seas Of gore,
ana hsd the Kfnga thousard lives 30 lose.
n rsenh Thee fhfouffl them on Sill must choosel