Page:Improvisatrice.pdf/125

Rh

There is a little chapel in the shade, Where many a pilgrim has knelt down and prayed To the sweet saint, whose portrait, o'er the shrine, The painter's skill has made all but divine. It was a pale, a melancholy face— A cheek which bore the trace of frequent tears, And worn by grief,—though grief might not efface The seal that beauty set in happier years; And such a smile as on the brow appears Of one whose earthly thoughts, long since subdued Past this life's joys and sorrows, hopes and fears— The worldly dreams o'er which the many brood,— The heart-beat hushed in mild and chastened mood. It was the image of the maid who wept Those precious tears that heal and purify. Love yet upon her life his station kept, But heaven and heavenly thoughts were in her eye.