Arthur Quiller-Couch, comp. The Oxford Book of Victorian Verse. 1922.
The BestElizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861)
W
June-rose, by May-dew impearl’d;
Sweet south-wind, that means no rain;
Truth, not cruel to a friend;
Pleasure, not in haste to end;
Beauty, not self-deck’d and curl’d
Till its pride is over-plain;
Light, that never makes you wink;
Memory, that gives no pain;
Love, when, so, you’re loved again.
What ’s the best thing in the world?
—Something out of it, I think.