Iii

Yea, and as thought of some departed friend By death or distance parted will descend, Severing, in crowded rooms ablaze with light, As by a magic screen, the seër from the sight (Palsying the nerves that intervene The eye and central sense between); So may the ear, Hearing not hear, Though drums do roll, and pipes and cymbals ring; So the bare conscience of the better thing Unfelt, unseen, unimaged, all unknown, May fix the entrancèd soul ’mid multitudes alone.