 | Denzil place |  |
At length arrived those last unwelcome days
Which heralded that last sad day of all,
When those who, haply, never should have met,
Felt bound in honor, or, to say farewell,
Or else to let the angry world go by
And cling together; she to bear the shame,
And he the keen reproach of having caused
Such shame in her. For Constance, who was weak,
And influenced above all influence
By him she lov'd, had deem'd it would be best
(Now she could never more on bended knee
Appeal to God but as a guilty thing,)
That she should honestly avow her love,
And live to be his wife, at least in heart,
Who vow'd to her his life's fidelity.
Which heralded that last sad day of all,
When those who, haply, never should have met,
Felt bound in honor, or, to say farewell,
Or else to let the angry world go by
And cling together; she to bear the shame,
194
Such shame in her. For Constance, who was weak,
And influenced above all influence
By him she lov'd, had deem'd it would be best
(Now she could never more on bended knee
Appeal to God but as a guilty thing,)
That she should honestly avow her love,
And live to be his wife, at least in heart,
Who vow'd to her his life's fidelity.
| Denzil place | |