Once a Week (magazine)/Series 1/Volume 7/The broken vow
THE BROKEN VOW.
I.
Dying lies young Effie Logan
While the snowdrops spring:—
Tho’ her lily hand, so wasted,
Wears no bridal ring,
Yet a babe unto her white breast
Tenderly doth cling!
II.
She is dreaming of the false one,
And the traitor’s vow
That beguil’d her heart so trusting—
Trusting even now!
“He will come!” she softly murmurs—
Death dews on her brow!
III.
Lo, a Chief spurs o’er the heather
And the drawbridge falls,
And a stately step is sounding
Through Glenallen’s halls.
IV.
Well she knew that haughty footfall—
With a sobbing cry
Stretching wide her arms so wasted—
“Kiss me ere I die!
V.
“Fold me fondly to your bosom!
Clasp me closer still!
Let me feel my true-love’s kisses
Tho’ his kiss doth kill!
VI.
“Tho’ my woes of hope bereft me,
Did my sore heart break?
No! I lived—that bliss was left me—
For thy bairnie’s sake!
VII.
“Fast my soul is fleeting homeward
From this weary strife—
By the babe that calls ye Father—
By my ruined life—
Let the stone among the daisies
Bear the name of Wife!
VIII.
“Bring the priest and wed me, Gordon,
If ye love me still!”—
See, his proud, wild heart is heaving
With a softer thrill—
With a pang he kiss’d her white lips—
“By Christ’s love I will!”
*****
IX.
When the clans swept down to battle
On Culloden’s day,
Gallant Gordon bravely perish’d,
Foremost in the fray:
With his tartan pierced and bloody
On the muir he lay.
X.
Effie and her babe are resting
From this weary strife,
And the stone among the daisies
Bears the name of wife.
She hath sinned, and she hath suffered—
Christ absolve her life.