But woman’s gamble—(there’s only one:
And it takes some pluck to play,
When the rules are broke ere the game’s begun;
When, lose or win, you must pay!)—
Is a double wager on human kind,
A limitless risk—and she goes it blind.
For she stakes, at love, on a single throw,
Pride, Honour, Scruples and Fears,
And dreams no lover can hope to know,
And the gold of the after-years.