| Hunt and Lee, comps. The Book of the Sonnet. 1867. | | | | I. Happiness | | By Richard Monckton Milnes, Lord Houghton (1809–1885) |
| | | A SPLENDOR amid glooms, a sunny thread | |
| Woven into a tapestry of cloud, | |
| A merry child a-playing with the shroud | |
| That lies upon a breathless mother’s bed, | |
| A garland on the front of one new-wed, | 5 |
| Trembling and weeping while her troth is vowed, | |
| A school-boy’s laugh that rises light and loud | |
| In licensed freedom from ungentle dread;— | |
| These are ensamples of the Happiness | |
| For which our nature fits us. More and less | 10 |
| Are parts of all things to the mortal given, | |
| Of Love, Joy, Truth, and Beauty. Perfect light | |
| Would dazzle, not illuminate, our sight; | |
| From Earth it is enough to glimpse at Heaven. | | | | |
|
|
