But the long sacrifice of woman’s days
Passes without a thought—without a word;
And many a holy struggle for the sake
Of duties sternly, faithfully fulfill’d—
For which the anxious mind must watch and wake,
And the strong feelings of the heart be still’d,—
Goes by unheeded as the summer wind,
And leaves no memory and no trace behind!
Yet it may be more lofty courage dwells
In one meek heart which braves an adverse fate,