The English Dance of Death from the designs of Thomas Rowlandson, with metrical illustrations, by the author of "Doctor Syntax" [i.e. William Combe] |
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 | The English Dance of Death |  |
108
Depriv'd him of his ancient mate.
She was a chaste and careful wife,
Whose temper ne'er engender'd strife:
For she had that commanding soul
Which kept the Knight in due controul.
Between them no one ever heard
An unkind phrase, an angry word;
No one e'er witness'd a dispute;
For when she spoke the Knight was mute.
Thus pass'd their tranquil life away:
When she said yes, he ne'er said nay;
And would have thought it much amiss,
When she said nay, should he say yes.
At length this Dame, so good and kind,
Left life—and all the world behind.
Sir Peter wept o'er his disaster;
But, for the wound, he found a plaister;
He felt, at last, that he was Master.
But so it is with mortal state;
Or high or low, or small or great;
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It's mansion in the human mind;
And soon the Knight began to own
'Twas comfortless to live alone;
Nay, that to soothe his irksome life,
He e'en would take another wife;
Would his deep mourning lay aside,
Dress himself smart, and get a Bride.
| The English Dance of Death | |