LONG, long ago, ere Sin had come To make the earth forlorn, Somewhere, within an Eastern home, Two pretty babes were born. The younger was a maiden fair, The elder was a boy; And, for their names, the infant pair Were christened Love and Joy. And as they grew in years and strength, Together they would rove As merry mates, until at length Joy seemed the twin of Love! And so, at length, it came to pass That all the neighbors said, Some happy day the lad and lass Were certain to be wed. In sooth, such happy mates they seemed, And so attached at heart, -- The pretty pair, -- who would have deemed That they would ever part? But so it fell; alas, the wrong! And woe betide the day That Sin, the monster! came along And frightened Joy away! And so poor Love, when Joy had flown, Since he could not abide To live unwedded and alone, Took Sorrow for his bride; As sad a bride as e'er was seen To grace a marriage-bed; With scowling brow and murky mien, And cypress round her head. And to the twain a child was born, That bore of each a part, -- The mother's countenance forlorn, The father's tender heart. "Pity," they called her, -- gentle child; And from her infant days Her voice was ever sweet and mild, And winning were her ways. And once, ere she had learned to walk, While in her cradle-nest, A dove, that fled the cruel hawk, Sought safety on her breast. The robin-redbreast came to seek A home where Pity dwelt; And all things timorous and weak Her kind compassion felt. Ah, sweet, sad face! her mixed descent Was shown in her attire, And with the mother's cypress blent The myrtle of her sire. And ever since to woman's height The maiden grew, she roams Through all the world, an angel bright, To gladden human homes. Her office still to follow where Her mother's feet have strayed, And soothe and heal, with tender care, The wounds the dame has made. But both are mortal, sages write, And so they both must die; Sorrow, at last, will cease to smite, And Pity cease to sigh. And then will Joy return, they say, From heaven, where she had flown, And Love, forever and for aye, Be married to his own. |