Must widen early, is it well to droop

For a few days consumed in loss and taint?

O pusillanimous Heart, be comforted,—

And, like a cheerful traveler, take the road,

Singing beside the hedge. What if the bread

Be bitter in thy inn, and thou unshod

To meet the flints?—At least it may be said,

Because the way is short, I thank Thee, God!

Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

THE PROSPECT.