"We met, 'twas in a crowd, and I thought he would shun me.
He came, I could not breathe, for his eye was upon me.
He spoke, his words were cold, and his smile was unaltered,
I knew how much he felt, for his deep-toned voice faltered.
I wore my bridal robe, and I rivalled its whiteness;
Bright gems were in my hair,--how I hated their brightness!
He called me by my name as the bride of another.
Oh, thou hast been the cause of this anguish, my mother!"


In future, when the reformers of marriage have had their way, we
shall read:


"The world may think me gay, for I bow to my fate;
But thou hast been the cause of my anguish, O State!"


For even when true love is regulated by the County Council or the
village community, it will still persist in not running smooth.

Of these passions, then, Mr. Bayly could chant; but let us remember
that he could also dally with old romance, that he wrote:


"The mistletoe hung in the castle hall,
The holly branch shone on the old oak wall."