| Arthur Quiller-Couch, comp. The Oxford Book of Victorian Verse. 1922. | | | | Misconceptions | | By Robert Browning (1812–1889) |
| | | 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! | |
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| 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! | | | | |
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