| Hunt and Lee, comps. The Book of the Sonnet. 1867. | | | | II. Elia | | By John Hunter |
| | | A GENTLE spirit, sweet and pure and kind, | |
| Though strangely witted,—“high fantastical,”— | |
| Who mantles his deep feelings in a pall | |
| Of motley hues, by contrast more combined, | |
| That seems to hide, yet heightens what ’s enshrined | 5 |
| Beneath;—who, by a power unknown to all, | |
| Save him alone, can summon at a call | |
| A host of jarring elements, entwined | |
| In wondrous brotherhood,—humor, wild wit, | |
| Quips, cranks, puns, sneers,—with clear sweet thought profound;— | 10 |
| And stinging jests, with honey for the wound;— | |
| The subtlest lines of all fine powers, split | |
| To their last films, then marvellously spun | |
| In magic web, whose million hues are one! | | | | |
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