Thy purity that might have been thy crown
Is in the grave of selfishness entombed,
Thy youth devoted at the shrine of pride;
We leave thee in thy thoughtless revelry,
Surrounded by the glories of a day,
Smiling and beautiful as any queen,
Amid the alluring brightness of display,
Gracefully joining in the giddy dance.
Is in the grave of selfishness entombed,
Thy youth devoted at the shrine of pride;
We leave thee in thy thoughtless revelry,
Surrounded by the glories of a day,
Smiling and beautiful as any queen,
Amid the alluring brightness of display,
Gracefully joining in the giddy dance.
Chapter II
(After the dance)
(After the dance)
The lights had vanished from the deserted hall,
The floral festoons wither where they hang,
Unbroken silence reigns supremely where
Before glad sounds and merry music rang,
And overhead the moon looks coldly down.
Unbroken save by the night-owl's hideous screech,
And now and then a cart that rattles by,
The houses stand like dense, unbroken clouds,
In the pale light the moon and stars supply,
And in the east the roseate peep of dawn.
The floral festoons wither where they hang,
Unbroken silence reigns supremely where
Before glad sounds and merry music rang,
And overhead the moon looks coldly down.
Unbroken save by the night-owl's hideous screech,
And now and then a cart that rattles by,
The houses stand like dense, unbroken clouds,
In the pale light the moon and stars supply,
And in the east the roseate peep of dawn.
A sad, mysterious air pervades the place,
The banquet hall when all the guests depart,
Reminds one of a lonely sepulcher,
Hiding within it a once joyous heart,
And keeping silent vigil o'er the dead;
But where is now the ballroom's beauteous queen?
She sits alone beside a glowing hearth,
Not with the radiant smiles and sunny air,
By which she shone within the hall of Mirth,
For none are near to praise her loveliness.
The banquet hall when all the guests depart,
Reminds one of a lonely sepulcher,
Hiding within it a once joyous heart,
And keeping silent vigil o'er the dead;
But where is now the ballroom's beauteous queen?
She sits alone beside a glowing hearth,
Not with the radiant smiles and sunny air,
By which she shone within the hall of Mirth,
For none are near to praise her loveliness.
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