Sonnet To Lake Leman

Rousseau—Voltaire—our Gibbon—and De Staël—
&nbspLeman! these names are worthy of thy shore,
&nbspThy shore of names like these! wert thou no more,
Their memory thy remembrance would recall:
To them thy banks were lovely as to all,
&nbspBut they have made them lovelier, for the lore
&nbspOf mighty minds doth hallow in the core
Of human hearts the ruin of a wall
&nbspWhere dwelt the wise and wondrous; but by thee
How much more, Lake of Beauty! do we feel,
&nbspIn sweetly gliding o'er thy crystal sea,
The wild glow of that not ungentle zeal,
&nbspWhich of the Heirs of Immortality
Is proud, and makes the breath of Glory real!