The Portland daily press., 1880-08-04
POETRY.
Leonatus,
BY r. II. SToDDARD

THE fair boy LeonotuS
i.e page Of Ilnogen,
1t was his duty everm0rs
To tend the Lady Imogen;
By peep of day he might be seen
Tapping against her chamber door.
To wake the 81 eepy waiting-ma1d,
Who rose, and when she had arrayed
The Princess, and the twain had prayed,
with pearled rosaries used of yore,)
They called him. pacing to and fro,
And, cap in hand and bowling low,
He entered and began to feed
The singing birds with fruit and seed.
"7Re 5rare boy Leonatus,
The page Of Inaogen."
He tripped along the kingly hall,
From room to room, with messages;
He stopped the butler, clutched his keys
albeit he was broad and tallD
And dragged him down the vaults, where wine
In bins lay beaded and divine,
To pick flask of vintage fine;
Came up, and elomb the garden wall,
And plucked from out the sunny spots
Peaches and lucious apricots,
And filled his golden salver there,
And hurried to his lady fair
"The strange boy Leonatus,
The page Of Ihsogen.
Sometimes he used to stand for hours
Within her room, behind her chair:
The soft wind blew bis golden hair
Across his eyes, and bees from flowers
Hummed round him, but he did not stir:
He fixed his earnest eyes on her,
pure and rsverent orshiper,
A dreamer building airy towers.
But when she spoke he gave a start,
That sent the warm blood from his heart
To flush his cheeks and every word
The fountain of his feelings stirred.
"The sad boy Leonatus,
The page Of lnogen.
He lost all relish and delight
For all things that did please before;
By day he wished the day was DER;
By night he wished the same of night:
He could not miugle in the crowd,
He loved to be alone, and shroud
His tender thoughts, and sigh aloud,
And cherish In his heart its blight.
AT last his health began to fail,
His fresh and glowing cheeks to pale,
And in his eyes the tears unshed
Did hang like dew in yiolets dead,
''The anaid Leonotus,
what aiis the boy?' said Imogen
He stammered sighed and answered 'Naught.'
She shook her head, and then she thought
What all his malady could mean.
1t might be love, her maid was fair.
And Leon had loving air;
She watched them with jealous care,
And played the spy, but naught was seen.
That she. not knowing It, had nursed
His memory till it grew a part
Another heart within her heart
1.-THE dear boy Leonotus,
TIE page Of Inaogen.
She loved, but owned it not as yet,
When he was absent she was lone,
She felt void before unknown,
But Leon filled 1t when they met
She called him twenty times day,
She knew not why she could not say;
She fretted when he went away,
And lived in sorrow and regret.
Sometimes she frowned with stately mien,
And child him like a little queen;
And then she soothed him meek and mild
And grew as trustful as a child
.'The neat scribe Leonatus,
The page Of Innogeu.
She wondered that he did not speak,
1--we ind
1t was that made his spirit bleed;
And she bethOught her of freak
letter that a maiden might,
billet to to her hearts delight.
He took the pen with fingers weak.
Unknowingly what he did, and wrote,
And folded up and sealed the note,
She wrote the superscrption sage.
For Leonatus, Lady's page.
"The happy Leoaatus,
The page Of ImOgeB,
The page of Imogen no more,
But now her love, her lord, her life,
For she became his welded wife,
AS both had hoped and dreamed before.
He used to sit beside her :eet,
And read romances strange and sweet
And when she touched her lutte repeat
Impassioned madrigals of yore,
Unlocking In her face the while,
Until she stopped with loving smile,
And pressed her melting mouth to his,
That answered in a dreamy bliss
"The JOYFUL Leonatus,
The Lord Of Insogen."