IN HALLS OF PRIDE.
I
In halls of pride fair Helen lived,
She was a chieftain's daughter;
Who with a friendly hand received,
The gallant Knights who sought her:
Each dawning day new conquests brought,
Each night fond vows were spoken;
To gain her favour champions fought;
And spears (and hearts) were broken.
II
But Helen heard their vows unmoved)
And wished their folly over;
She laughed at love—or if she loved,
It was some secret lover.
And every night alone she went,
Regardless of her pillow,
And stood upon the battlement,
And gazed upon the billow.
III
Why went she there, and who was He
Whose boat lay on the water?
What came he for? it could not be
To woo the Chieftain's daughter!
Oh! no! she surely went to watch
The stars with fond devotion;
And he, as surely came to catch
The fishes in the ocean.
IV
It may be so—yet strange to say,
The Knights were disconcerted,
When seeking her at dawn one day,
The chamber was deserted!
(Of course a good girl ne'er elopes;)
Yet Helen has bereft them
Of sanguine hopes,
And a ladder of ropes
Is all that she has left them!
