Troy Town (draft manuscript, U. of British Columbia)

Manuscripts Exhibit → Collection Intro → Browse Collection → Document → Transcript

Rossetti Archive Textual Transcription

Document Title: Troy Town (draft manuscript, U. of British Columbia)

Author: Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Date of Composition: 1869 September

Type of Manuscript: early draft manuscript

Scribe: DGR

The full Rossetti Archive record for this transcribed document is available.

page: 1

Burden for Lilith

Time is old
Fold on fold
She I make is wintry cold

Manuscript Addition: for / Burden for Lilith—Time is old / Fold on fold / She I make is wintry cold

Editorial Description: DGR here writes a possible burden for Eden Bower , which he was writing at the same time as this poem. It was never incorporated into that poem.

Troy Town

Fair Helen came to Venus shrine,
( O Troy Town!)
Saying, A little gift is mine,
She said
A little gift for a heart's desire.
Hear me speak & make me a sign!
( O Troy's down,
Tall Troy's on fire!)

Fair Helen came to Venus' shrine,
(Alas, Troy Town)
She said, a little gift is mine,
A little gift for a heart's desire.
Hear me speak & make me a sign!
(Troy Troy 's is down,
Alas
Alas tall Troy's on fire!)

page: 2

Look, I bring thee a carven cup,
you
golden
(O Troy Town!)
10See it here as I hold it up,
Shaped it is to the heart's desire,
Added TextFit to fill when the gods would sup.
[?]
(O Troy's down,
[?]
Tall Troy's on fire!)

Note: The (deleted) original of received line 19 was heavily revised before being struck out. None of it is decipherable in the image.

It was moulded like my breast;
I have shaped it
(O Troy Town!)
[?]
He that sees it may not rest s,
Bliss ?
never
Rest at all for his heart's desire,
Never rest
O give ear to my heart's request!
poor
20 (O Troy's down,
Tall Troy's on fire!)

See my breast how like it is;
(O Troy Town!)
See it bare for the air to kiss!
Is the cup to thy heart's desire?
Lo
O the breast let Love make his!
him
[?]
(O Troy's down,
Tall Troy's on fire!)

page: 3

Editorial Description: This stanza was transcribed after the succeeding one, but DGR here marks it to be placed before the other stanza.

Lo each breast is an apple sweet!
30 (O Troy Town!)
Once an apple stirred the beat
Of thy heart with the heart's desire,
Say, who brought it then to thy feet?
Answer
knelt with
(O Troy's down,
Tall Troy's on fire!)

They that claimed it then were three:
sought
(O Troy Town!)
For thy sake two hearts did he
Make forlorn of the heart's desire.
40Do for him as he did for thee!
(O Troy's down,
Tall Troy's on fire!)

Mine are apples grown to the south,
Here
ripe
(O Troy Town!)
Grown to taste in the days of drouth,
Taste and waste to the heart's desire:
in the days of drouth
Mine are apples meet for his mouth!
(O Troy's down,
Tall Troy's on fire!)

Deleted Text

Here are apples for his mouth
(O Troy Town!)
Grown to taste in the days of drouth,
Taste and waste to the heart's desire:
When the wind is warm in the south,
(O Troy's down,
Tall Troy's on fire!)

Note: DGR wrote this deleted stanza first, after stanza 5 of this manuscript, and then deleted it.

page: 3v

Note: This is the verso of page 3, here numbered 4. There is only one barely legible line of six words on the page. The third word may be “grass.”

page: 4

50Venus looked on Helen's gift,
(O Troy Town!)
Looked & smiled with subtle drift,
Knew the work of her heart's desire:
There thou kneel'st for love to lift!
Saw her kneel whom
must
(O Troy's down,
Tall Troy's on fire!)

Venus looked in Helen's face,
(O Troy Town!)
Knew far off an hour and place,
another [?]
60Fire s lit from the heart's desire;
Laughed and said,Thy gift hath grace!
(O Troy's down,
Tall Troy's on fire!)

Cupid looked on Helen's breast,
(O Troy Town!)
Saw the aching heart its guest,
burning
Saw the flames of the heart's desire;
heat
There his arrow stood confess'd.
(O Troy's down,
70 Tall Troy's on fire!)

Note: The words “stood” and “confess'd” in received line 82 have been underlined (separately) with a straight-edge. The marks are almost certainly non-autograph.

page: 5

Cupid took another dart,
(O Troy Town!)
Fledged it for another heart,
Winged the shaft with the heart's desire,
Drew the string and said Depart!
(O Troy's down,
Tall Troy's on fire!)

Paris turned upon his bed,
[?]
(O Troy Town!)
80Turned upon his bed and said,
Dead at heart with the heart's desire,—
O to clasp her golden head!
hold my Helen's
(O Troy's down,
Tall Troy's on fire!)

Electronic Archive Edition: 1

Source File: 30-1869.ubcms.rad.xml