The Tint I cannot take－is best－1
The Color too remote
That I could show it in Bazaar－
A Guinea at a sight－
The fine－impalpable Array－5
That swaggers on the eye
Like Cleopatra's Company－
Repeated－in the sky－
The Moments of Dominion 9
That happen on the Soul
And leave it with a Discontent
Too exquisite－to tell－
The eager look－on Landscapes－13
As if they just repressed
Some Secret－that was pushing
Like Chariots－in the Vest－
The Pleading of the Summer－17
That other Prank－of Snow－
That Cushions Mystery with Tulle,
For fear the Squirrels－know.
Their Graspless manners－mock us－21
Until the Cheated Eye
Shuts arrogantly－in the Grave－
Another way－to see－
The Color too remote
That I could show it in Bazaar－
A Guinea at a sight－
The fine－impalpable Array－5
That swaggers on the eye
Like Cleopatra's Company－
Repeated－in the sky－
The Moments of Dominion 9
That happen on the Soul
And leave it with a Discontent
Too exquisite－to tell－
The eager look－on Landscapes－13
As if they just repressed
Some Secret－that was pushing
Like Chariots－in the Vest－
The Pleading of the Summer－17
That other Prank－of Snow－
That Cushions Mystery with Tulle,
For fear the Squirrels－know.
Their Graspless manners－mock us－21
Until the Cheated Eye
Shuts arrogantly－in the Grave－
Another way－to see－
(F.696/J.627)
[1] I:: a guinea-dropper. cannot take, best:: to drop something is not a good thing except for a guinea-dropper.
[2] remote:: not obvious, faint.
[3] Bazaar:: market, ideal place for the fraud.
[4] Guinea:: a hint on guinea-dropper.
[5] impalpable Array:: an arrangement hard to detect.
[6] swaggers:: ideal targets of the fraud.
[7] Cleopatra's company:: the guinea-dropper who made swaggers to think that he was a profusely luxurious man. Cleopatra:: Cleopatrical, profusely luxurious (OED Cleopatran).
[8] in the sky:: in the heaven, in an ecstasy.
[9, 10] Dominion, Soul:: a thought deep in the nature of swaggers to possess the guinea.
[11] leave it, discontent:: a vexation for them not to take the dropped guinea.
[12] Too exquisite to tell:: cannot identify the guinea; not to tell someone who had dropped something.
[13] The eager look on Landscapes:: the swaggers checked the surroundings to see if others had noticed the guinea too.
[14] repressed:: suppressed the secret of the dropped guinea.
[15,16] pushing, Chariots in the Vest:: a strong feeling to outburst one's chest.
[17] Summer:: one who sums; the swagger pleading the guinea being covered by snow.
[18] Prank of Snow:: a hint on snow-dropper, "one who steals linen from hedges or drying grounds." The Mysteries of London (1847)
[19] Cushions, Tulle:: a hint on snow-dropper.
[20] Squirrels:: people who searched and stored constantly.
[21] Graspless:: loose, relaxed. mock us:: the swaggers mocked at others who didn't get the guinea.
[22] Cheated Eye:: the swaggers' cheated mind.
[23] Grave:: sulky, somber mood after known the fraud.
[24] Another way to see:: another way to see the true side of swaggers.
SWEETNER. (1) A person who bids at a sale to raise the price, not intending to purchase. (2) A guinea-dropper; one who dropped a guinea, and then pretending to find it when a respectable person passed by, was liberal enough to offer him half as a proper compliment for being present at the discovery, treat him at a public-house, and eventually fleece him of his money. Guinea dropping or sweetening is a paultry little cheat that was recommended to the world about thirty years ago by a memorable gentleman that has since had the misfortune to be taken off, I mean hang'd, for a misdemeanour upon the highway. The Country Gentleman's Vade Mecum, 1699, p. 97.——A Dictionary of Archaic & Provincial Words, Obsolete Phrases (1852)
