Letters and music on a table laid,
For much the lady wrote, and often play’d:
Beneath the window was a toilet spread,
And a fire gleamed upon a crimson bed.”
He paused, he rose; with troubled joy the Wife
Felt the new era of her changeful life;
Frankness and love appear’d in Stafford’s face,
And all her trouble to delight gave place.
Twice made the Guest an effort to sustain
Her feelings, twice resumed her seat in vain,