| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895. 1895. |
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| Salopia Inhospitalis |
| | | Douglas B. W. Sladen (b. 1856) |
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| TOUCH not that maid: | |
| She is a flower, and changeth but to fade. | |
| Fragrant is she, and fair | |
| As any shape that haunts this lower air; | |
| In form as graceful and as free | 5 |
| As honeysuckles and the lilies be; | |
| Insensible, and shrinking from caress | |
| As flowers, which you peril when you press. | |
| Gaze not on her; | |
| She is a being of another sphere. | 10 |
| Brilliant is she, and bright | |
| As any star illuminate at night; | |
| Of stuff as sober and as fine | |
| As hers whose glory through the moon doth shine; | |
| Unliker to come down to this thy love | 15 |
| Than any orb that ’s fixed for aye above. | |
| Heed her no more: | |
| She is a gem whose heart thou canst not bore; | |
| Glistering is she, and grand | |
| As any stone that decks a monarch’s hand; | 20 |
| In face as free from flaw or stain | |
| As diamond from mine, or pearl from main: | |
| But she thy fire and fever never felt, | |
| For adamant can neither waste nor melt. | |
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