I WORE THE ROBES OF A NOBLE BRIDE.
I
I wore the robes of a noble bride,
And a white wreath bound my hair;
I knelt by my own true lover's side,
And the priest was standing there;
But the ring fell from my trembling hand,
And the bridegroom himself was dumb,
For we heard the tramp of a warlike band,
And the sound of a distant drum.
II
Oh! little we thought of the bridal feast,
I wept on my bridal day;
The gates were closed, and every guest
Turn'd mournfully away:
Despair's unseen resistless wand
My senses did benumb;
And I heard the tramp of a warlike band,
And the sound of a distant drum.
III
My husband kissed my pallid cheek,
And said he would return.
I tried to smile—I could not speak,
My heart was too forlorn.
I know he fell in a foreign land,
Though they say that he soon will come,
For I hear no tramp of a warlike band,
And no sound of a distant drum.
