"Knight and squire and dame are there
Priests beside the altar wait,
Frets and fumes the bridegroom fair.
Wherefore is the bride so late?
"Sought they far and sought they wide
Where the river seeks the west;
Floating on its flowing tide,
Fair Fiona is at rest."
"WHEN CELIA PASSES
"When Celia passes through the grove
And down the verdant alleys,
The lily droops her envious head,
The rose for jealous anger's red
As in the shade she dallies.
And when her dainty footsteps rove
Over the meadow grasses,
The flowers all weep in sheer despair
To think they are not half so fair
When Celia passes.
"When Celia passes through the grove,
Under the bay and laurel,
The nightingale forgets to sing,
And silent sits with quivering wing
To hear her artless carol.
When cherry blooms their treasure-trove
Rain down in fragrant masses,
My heart leaps high to think perchance
I yet may catch one kindly glance
When Celia passes."
Cathy gripped my hand, and I gripped hers. We had each secretly hoped that the other would win the prize, so to share it between us was a satisfaction to us both. The girls clapped vigorously, and Janet started a cheer.
"That will do!" said Mrs. Marshall. "Catherine and Philippa have done well, but we must not turn their heads by overpraising them. They are not Mrs. Brownings yet, by any means! It is encouraging, however, to find that the literature classes have been of some help in teaching you the rules of poetical composition, and you will appreciate real poetry all the more after your attempts to frame verses for yourselves. I have much pleasure in presenting Catherine Winstanley with a copy of Moore's Irish Melodies, and Philippa Seaton with a volume of Extracts from Byron."
We went up together to receive our prizes, which Mrs. Marshall handed to us with a kind word of approval and encouragement, and then the girls were allowed to disperse, as the platform was required next by the dramatic society, and the actors withdrew to dress themselves as rapidly as possible for their parts.
I was sitting among the audience, waiting for the play to begin, when Doris, who was stage-manager, entered quietly, and drew me aside, with a troubled face.
"I wish you would come upstairs to Cathy's bedroom," she said. "She seems quite ill and is asking for you. We can't think what is the matter with her."