The Star in the West

56 THE STAR IN THE WEST Who could withstand the sweet witchery of such a lover's wooing ? least of all Archais ; her breast , re luctant yet helpless , heaves with a soft passion , no wise understood , her pulse quickens , she speaks , he is en thralled : the piercing flame Of love struck through him , till his tortured mind Drove his young limbs , the wolf that hunts the hind , Far through the forest . 1 And then again bursts from his lips the enraptured song : Ere the grape of joy is golden With the summer and the sun , Ere the maidens unbeholden Gather one by one , To the vineyard comes the shower , No sweet rain to fresh the flower , But the thunder rain that cleaves , Rends and ruins tender leaves . Ere the crimson lips have planted Paler roses , warmer grapes , Ere the maiden breasts have panted , And the sunny shapes Flit around to bless the hour , Comes men know not what false flower : Ere the cup is drained , the wine Grows unsweet , that was divine . These last two lines contain the whole secret of this story . The beauty of the clinging love of childhood is tinged with a glowing desire , the pink desire of the bud bursts into the passionate crimson of the rose , and 1 The Tale of Archais , vol . i, p . 9. 2 Ibid . vol .i, pp . 9, 10 .