He wrote sketches of rambles in the country, in-
deed, that proved that he was already turning the
eye of an artist upon the beauties of nature; but
there was nothing to indicate the author who was

16



YOUTHFUL POEMS

destined to excite the generous envy of Ruskin by
his power of describing scenery. He was doing
the all-round work of the journalist, and the chief
benefit he derived from it was the power he gained
of writing good, nervous English, and of making
his epithets suit the objects to which they were ap-
plied. By-and-by, however, he struck a new vein
of his own. Beneath that mask of reserve which
he wore so constantly, especially in his youth, a
very warm and susceptible heart was beating, and
already his intense sensitiveness to beauty — beauty
in natural scenery and beauty in the human face
— was beginning to influence him. When he saw
a fair face it haunted him, and he invested it with
a hundred charms which in most cases existed only
in his own imagination. It is not difficult to imagine
that the shy, sensitive boy, who so resolutely con-
cealed every sign of emotion from those aroimd
him, must have had some painful experiences of
his own at this time. His fancy was always fol-
lowing some vision, seen perhaps for a moment
only, but remembered long. It was then that there
came to him the relief that his nature called for,
but which he resolutely refused to find in intercourse
with his friends. He began to write poetry. His
verses of those days were sufficiently simple and
artless. Sometimes they took the form of ballads,
in which some courageous action or some dark
deed of vengeance was recited. More frequently
they were little love songs, recounting the praises
of " Lilys " and " Eylomels," who may not all have
been imaginary persons, though none of them ever
• 17



WILLIAM BLACK

entered into his real life. It is an easy thing to
understand the reUef which he must have found in
the utterance of his pent-up feelings in this innocent
fashion. Every boy who has ever attempted to
write has tried his hand at poetry. 