A "MERCENARY" MARRIAGE.
233
I laugh—she laughs—the hills and vales
Laugh as we ride 'neath chestnuts tall,
Or start the deer that silent graze,
And look up, large-eyed, with soft gaze,
At the fair maid of Moreton Hall;—
Laugh as we ride 'neath chestnuts tall,
Or start the deer that silent graze,
And look up, large-eyed, with soft gaze,
At the fair maid of Moreton Hall;—
We let the neighbors talk their fill,
For life is sweet, and love is strong,
And two, close knit in marriage ties,
The whole world's shams may well despise,—
Its folly, madness, shame, and wrong.
For life is sweet, and love is strong,
And two, close knit in marriage ties,
The whole world's shams may well despise,—
Its folly, madness, shame, and wrong.
We are not proud, with a fool's pride,
Nor cowards—to be held in thrall
By pelf or lineage, rank or lands:—
One honest heart, two honest hands,
Are worth far more than Moreton Hall.
Nor cowards—to be held in thrall
By pelf or lineage, rank or lands:—
One honest heart, two honest hands,
Are worth far more than Moreton Hall.
Therefore, we laugh to scorn—we two—
The bars that weaker souls appal:
I take her hand, and hold it fast—
Knowing she 'll love me to the last—
My dearest maid of Moreton Hall.
The bars that weaker souls appal:
I take her hand, and hold it fast—
Knowing she 'll love me to the last—
My dearest maid of Moreton Hall.
