GO, LITTLE BOOK 83
GO, LITTLE BOOK—THE ANCIENT PHRASE
Go, little book—the ancient phrase And still the daintiest—go your ways, My Otto, over sea and land, Till you shall come to Nelly's hand.
How shall I your Nelly know ? By her blue eyes and her black brow, By her fierce and slender look, And by her goodness, little book !
What shall I say when I come there ? You shall speak her soft and fair: See—you shall say—the love they send To greet their unforgotten friend !
Giant Adulpho you shall sing
The next, and then the cradled king *
And the four corners of the roof
Then kindly bless; and to your perch aloof,
Where Balzac all in yellow dressed
And the dear Webster of the west
Encircle the prepotent throne
Of Shakespeare and of Calderon,
Shall climb an upstart