The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations Preface

Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw, within the moonlight in his room,
Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,
An angel writing in a book of gold:—
Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,
And to the presence in the room he said,
‘What writest thou?’—The vision raised its head,
And with a look made of all sweet accord,
Answered, ‘The names of those who love the Lord.’
‘Abou Ben Adhem’ (1838)
You strange, astonished-looking, angle-faced,
Dreary-mouthed, gaping wretches of the sea.
‘The Fish, the Man, and the Spirit’ (1836)
‘By God!’ said Francis, ‘rightly done!’ and he rose from where he sat:
‘No love,’ quoth he, ‘but vanity, sets love a task like that.’
‘The Glove and the Lions’ (1836)
The laughing queen that caught the world’s great hands.
‘The Nile’ (1818); referring to Cleopatra
Jenny kissed me when we met,
Jumping from the chair she sat in;
Time, you thief, who love to get
Sweets into your list, put that in:
Say I’m weary, say I’m sad,
Say that health and wealth have missed me,
Say I’m growing old, but add,
Jenny kissed me.
‘Rondeau’ (1838)
Stolen sweets are always sweeter,
Stolen kisses much completer,
Stolen looks are nice in chapels,
Stolen, stolen, be your apples.
‘Song of Fairies Robbing an Orchard’ (1830)
And all the scene, in short—sky, earth, and sea,
Breathes like a bright-eyed face, that laughs out openly.
’Tis nature, full of spirits, waked and springing:—
The birds to the delicious time are singing,
Darting with freaks and snatches up and down,
Where the light woods go seaward from the town.
‘The Story of Rimini’ (1816) canto 1, l. 18