DEPARTURE OF THE WEDDING GUESTS.
O thou young bridegroom, thou rose in its beauty,
Lo! we have brought thee a rosemary branch;
And if the rosemary branch should decay,
Thine will the shame be, the sorrow be ours.
Scatter the rosemary leaves o’er thy way;
Let not destruction disparage its flowers.
TO THE BRIDE, WHEN THE MARRIAGE HOOD [233] IS FIRST PUT ON.
Maid! from a distant forest tree,
A verdant leaf is blown to thee;
And that green leaf has fixed it now,
In the green garland on thy brow:
The garland green, that we have bound,
Maiden! thy auburn ringlets round:
O no! it is no leaf, that we
Have braided in a wreath for thee;
’Tis the white hood that thou must wear,
The token of domestic care:
Thou hast no mother now—another,
A stranger must be called thy mother;
And sister-love thy heart must share,
With one who was not born thy brother.