The last bright relic of the moon's full gold Burns on the swiftly flowing river's breast; No sound but restless dipping of strong oars To break the charm of nature's perfect rest. Far off the town's faint mingled clamours stir, And through the silence of the nearer light The incense of the evening mist floats up—The day's last lingering love-word to the night. A sudden shiver of regretful change Sighs through the whispering boughs that overhead Sway in the wind's down the red sun dips, And in the twilight's arms the day lies dead. Then rain, and after, moonshine cold and fair, And scent of earth, sweet with the evening rain, And slow soft speech beneath the rain-washed trees, Ah, that such things should never come again! [Illustration] Oh listening trees, where are the words we spoke? Where are our sighs, wind whom those sighs caressed? Oh! what a fate is ours, too swift, too sad, If such an hour goes by with all the rest!
Author
Edith Nesbit (married name Edith Bland; 15 August 1858 – 4 May 1924) was an English author and poet; she published her books for children under the name of E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on over 60 books of fiction for children, several of which have been adapted for film and television. She was also a political activist and co-founded the Fabian Society, a socialist organisation later connected to the Labour Party. Edith Nesbit was born in Kennington, Surrey, the daughter of agricultural chemist and schoolmaster John Collis Nesbit. The death of her father when she was four and the continuing ill health of her sister meant that Nesbit had a transitory childhood, her family moving across Europe in search of healthy climates only to return to England for financial reasons. Nesbit therefore spent her childhood attaining an education from whatever sources were available—local grammars, the occasional boarding school but mainly through reading. At 17 her family finally settled in London and aged 19, Nesbit met Hubert Bland, a political activist and writer. They became lovers and when Nesbit found she was pregnant they became engaged, marrying in April 1880. After this scandalous (for Victorian society) beginning, the marriage would be an unconventional one. Initially, the couple lived separately—Nesbit with her family and Bland with his mother and her live-in companion Maggie Doran. Initially, Edith Nesbit books were novels meant for adults, including The Prophet's Mantle (1885) and The Marden Mystery (1896) about the early days of the socialist movement. Written under the pen name of her third child 'Fabian Bland', these books were not successful. Nesbit generated an income for the family by lecturing around the country on socialism and through her journalism (she was editor of the Fabian Society's journal, Today). In 1899 she had published The Adventures of the Treasure Seekers to great acclaim.
