2
THE MOTHER'S TRAGEDY
Love that was strong die away as a song,
Melt as a cable of sand.
But I am watching, with unwearied eye,
The wayfare of the tragedy.
I see the brightness of the home; I see
The grisly phantom of despair to be.
I see the miserable past redeemed,
(Intolerable as its purpose seemed,)
Redeemed by love: I see the jealous days
Pass into sunshine, and youth-beaming rays
Quicken the soul’s elixir. Let me show
How these air-castles tumble into woe.
CORA.
Why did your eyelids quiver as I spoke ?
A smile, a tear? that trembling, in their deep
Violet passion, of the beautiful
Eyes that they half discover? Speak to me.
I have long thought a secret was your spouse,
Shared your deep fancies and your lightest word,
Partook your maiden bed, and gave you dreams
Somewhat too troublous to be virginal.
MADELINE.
My dear kind Cora, do they lie to you,
These fancies of my idle hours? Believe,
I seem to tremble at my inward thought ;
My heart is full of wonder. When I go
Nightward beneath the moon, and take my thoughts