Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed. 1919. The Oxford Book of English Verse: 1250–1900.
Robert Browning. 1812–1889728. Misconceptions
| THIS is a spray the Bird clung to, | |
| Making it blossom with pleasure, | |
| Ere the high tree-top she sprung to, | |
| Fit for her nest and her treasure. | |
| O, what a hope beyond measure | 5 |
| Was the poor spray’s, which the flying feet hung to,— | |
| So to be singled out, built in, and sung to! | |
| This is a heart the Queen leant on, | |
| Thrill’d in a minute erratic, | |
| Ere the true bosom she bent on, | 10 |
| Meet for love’s regal dalmatic. | |
| O, what a fancy ecstatic | |
| Was the poor heart’s, ere the wanderer went on— | |
| Love to be saved for it, proffer’d to, spent on! |