196
THE FATHER
Chorus.—
Oh! Bitter tears! In this our world of woe
If any stays, the friends he loves must go:
Thus 'tis ordained, and he that smiles today
Tomorrow owns blank desolation's sway.
(Mitsunaka looks at Nakamitsu and slowly shakes his head, then taking Bijiyau by the hand leads him off left. As the curtain falls:)
Chorus.—
Nakamitsu stays,
Watching and watching with heart-broken gaze,
And, mutely weeping, thinks how ne'er again
He'll see his child borne homeward o'er the plain.
