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THE STATUE AND THE BUST.
Calmly he said that her lot was cast,
That the door she had passed was shut on her
Till the final catafalk repassed.
That the door she had passed was shut on her
Till the final catafalk repassed.
The world meanwhile, its noise and stir,
Through a certain window facing the east
She might watch like a convent's chronicler.
Through a certain window facing the east
She might watch like a convent's chronicler.
Since passing the door might lead to a feast,
And a feast might lead to so much beside,
He, of many evils, chose the least.
And a feast might lead to so much beside,
He, of many evils, chose the least.
"Freely I choose too," said the bride—
"Your window and its world suffice."
So replied the tongue, while the heart replied—
"Your window and its world suffice."
So replied the tongue, while the heart replied—
"If I spend the night with that devil twice,
May his window serve as my loop of hell
Whence a damned soul looks on Paradise!
May his window serve as my loop of hell
Whence a damned soul looks on Paradise!
