 | A Summer Christmas and a Sonnet upon The S.S. "Ballaarat." |  |
126
“Ethel, is this charity—
Just your nobleness of heart,
Seeing all my friends depart
But yourself—or is it true?”
“True: I always have loved you;
But if you had come to me
In your wild prosperity
Then I should have answer'd, No,
Not until you've learn'd to show
What good stuff you're moulded of.
When you've proven this, enough,
I will gladly be your wife.
But while all you do is rife
With outrage and escapade,
I would sooner be a maid.
Now, you do not need advice,
But the light of loving eyes.”
| A Summer Christmas and a Sonnet upon The S.S. "Ballaarat." | |