Ralph Waldo Emerson, comp. (1803–1882). Parnassus: An Anthology of Poetry. 1880.
The TouchstoneWilliam Allingham (18241889)
A
Bearing a Touchstone in his hand,
And tested all things in the land
By its unerring spell.
From fair to foul, from foul to fair:
The golden crown he did not spare,
Nor scorn the beggar’s clothes.
Were many changed to chips and clods;
And even statues of the Gods
Crumbled beneath its touch.
“The loss outweighs the profit far;
Our goods suffice us as they are:
We will not have them tried.”
To check his unrelenting quest,
They seized him, saying, “Let him test
How real is our jail!”
And in a fire his Touchstone burned,
Its doings could not be o’erturned,
Its undoings restored.
They strewed its ashes on the breeze,
They little guessed each grain of these
Conveyed the perfect charm.