Necklaces

That was a fair one which a QueenPulled the great pearl from, in her spleen,And drank its rich corroded sheen;

And dazzling bright was that which met,And clasped its fatal diamond netAbout Maria Antoinette;

And cool and fresh the dripping bandWhich poor Undine, with trembling hand,Snatched from the wave for Hildebrand;

But better mine, a little threadOf jasmine blossoms, tipped with red,As if in breaking they had bled.

It was all sweetness, and to oneWhose life on shore had just begun,The very best beneath the sun!

Malta, August 23, 1851.