C.D. Warner, et al., comp. The Library of the World’s Best Literature.
An Anthology in Thirty Volumes. 1917.

The Maiden from Afar

Translation of Lord Edward Bulwer-Lytton

WITHIN a vale each infant year,

When earliest larks first carol free,

To humble shepherds doth appear

A wondrous maiden fair to see.

Not born within that lowly place;

From whence she wandered, none could tell;

Her parting footsteps left no trace,

When once the maiden sighed farewell.

And blessèd was her presence there:

Each heart, expanding, grew more gay;

Yet something loftier still than fair

Kept man’s familiar looks away.

From fairy gardens known to none

She brought mysterious fruits and flowers;

The products of a brighter sun,

Of nature more benign than ours.

With each, her gifts the maiden shared,—

To some the fruits, the flowers to some:

Alike the young, the aged, fared;

Each bore a blessing back to home.

Though every guest was welcome there,

Yet some the maiden held more dear;

And culled her rarest sweets whene’er

She saw two loving hearts draw near.