Page:Halleck.djvu/238

206 “Yet ’tis a thought consoling,
 * That, till our latest breath,

We loved in life, and shall not be
 * Divided in our death.

“Alas, for those that wait us
 * On their couch of dreams at home,

The morn will hear the funeral-cry
 * Around their daughter’s tomb.

“They hoped” (’twas a strange moment
 * In Dutch to quote Shakespeare)

“Thy bride-bed to have decked, sweet maid,
 * And not have strewed thy bier.”

But sweetly-voiced and smiling,
 * The trusting maiden said,

“Breathed not thy lips the vow to-day,
 * To-morrow we will wed?

“And I, who have known thy truth
 * Through years of joy and sorrow,

Can I believe the fickle winds?
 * No! we shall wed to-morrow!”

The tempest heard and paused—
 * The wild sea gentler moved—

They felt the power of woman’s faith
 * In the word of him she loved.