Read "The Musical Box" by Thomas Hardy online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
LIFELONG to be / Seemed the fair colour of the time; / That there was standing shadowed near / A spirit who sang to the gentle chime / Of the self-struck notes, I did not hear, / I did not see.
Thus did it sing / To the mindless lyre that played indoors / As she came to listen for me without: / "O value what the nonce outpours- / This best of life-that shines about / Your welcoming!"