Could I have meekly stooped the yoke to bear,
Nor sought perfection in the man I loved;
But I had hoped a heaven on earth to share,—
Too ardent hope rebounds into despair.
When pride or passion fix the nuptial chain,
Time must the gilding from the fetters wear,—
Love’s golden links alone unchanged remain,
Hallowed by faith, to be renewed in Heaven again.
I now approach the crisis of my woes.
One, known in early life, again I met;—