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BETRAYAL
THE SUN has kissed the violet sea, | |
| And burned the violet to a rose. | |
| O Sea! wouldst thou not better be | |
| Mere violet still? Who knows? Who knows? | |
| Well hides the violet in the wood: | 5 |
| The dead leaf wrinkles her a hood, | |
| And winter’s ill is violet ’s good; | |
| But the bold glory of the rose, | |
| It quickly comes and quickly goes,— | |
| Red petals whirling in white snows, | 10 |
| Ah me! | |
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| The sun has burnt the rose-red sea: | |
| The rose is turned to ashes gray. | |
| O Sea, O sea, mightst thou but be | |
| The violet thou hast been to-day! | 15 |
| The sun is brave, the sun is bright, | |
| The sun is lord of love and light, | |
| But after him it cometh night. | |
| Dim anguish of the lonesome dark!— | |
| Once a girl’s body, stiff and stark, | 20 |
| Was laid in a tomb without a mark, | |
| Ah me! | |
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THE HOUND
THE HOUND was cuffed, the hound was kicked, | |
| O’ the ears was cropped, o’ the tail was nicked, | |
| (All.) Oo-hoo-o, howled the hound. | 25 |
| The hound into his kennel crept; | |
| He rarely wept, he never slept. | |
| His mouth he always open kept, | |
| Licking his bitter wound, | |
| The hound, | 30 |
| (All.) U-lu-lo, howled the hound. | |
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| A star upon his kennel shone | |
| That showed the hound a meat-bare bone. | |
| (All.) O hungry was the hound! | |
| The hound had but a churlish wit: | 35 |
| He seized the bone, he crunched, he bit. | |
| “An thou wert Master, I had slit | |
| Thy throat with a huge wound,” | |
| Quo’ hound. | |
| (All.) O, angry was the hound. | 40 |
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| The star in castle-windows shone, | |
| The Master lay abed, alone. | |
| (All.) Oh ho, why not? quo’ hound. | |
| He leapt, he seized the throat, he tore | |
| The Master, head from neck, to floor, | 45 |
| And rolled the head i’ the kennel door, | |
| And fled and salved his wound, | |
| Good hound! | |
| (All.) U-lu-lo, howled the hound. | |
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