"Mortimer sighs as he sees me dance,

Percy is sad as he passes by,

Herbert turns pallid beneath my glance;

All of them married—and so am I.

"Well, if the world must have it so,

Woman can only stand and endure;

Ever the grossness of all that is gross

Rises the tyrant of all that is pure.

"Marriage, they say, is a sacred thing;

So is the fetter that yields a smart.