TH saddest music all day
She soothed her secret sorrow:
At night she sighed "I fear 'twas
Such cheerful words to borrow.
Dearest, a sweeter, sadder songI'll sing to thee to-morrow." I thanked her, but I could not
That I was glad to hear it:
I left the house at break of day,
And did not venture near
Till time,
I hoped, had worn
Her grief, for nought could cheer it!
My dismal sister!
Couldst thou
The wretched home thou keepest!
Thy brother, drowned in daily woe,
Is thankful when thou sleepest;
For if I laugh, however low,
When thou'rt awake, thou weepest!
I took my sister t'other day(Excuse the slang expression)To Sadler's Wells to see the
In hopes the new
Might in her thoughts, from grave to
Effect some slight digression.
I asked three gay young dogs from
To join us in our folly,
Whose mirth,
I thought, might serve to
My sister's melancholy:
The lively Jones, the sportive Brown,
And Robinson the jolly.
The maid announced the meal in
That I myself had taught her,
Meant to allay my sister's
Like oil on troubled water:
I rushed to Jones, the lively Jones,
And begged him to escort her.
Vainly he strove, with ready wit,
To joke about the weather -To ventilate the last 'ON
IT' -To quote the price of leather -She groaned "Here I and Sorrow sit:
Let us lament together!" I urged "You're wasting time, you know:
Delay will spoil the venison.""My heart is wasted with my woe!
There is no rest - in Venice,
The Bridge of Sighs!" she quoted
From Byron and from Tennyson.
I need not tell of soup and
In solemn silence swallowed,
The sobs that ushered in each dish,
And its departure followed,
Nor yet my suicidal
To BE the cheese I hollowed.
Some desperate attempts were
To start a conversation;"Madam," the sportive Brown essayed,"Which kind of recreation,
Hunting or fishing, have you
Your special occupation?" Her lips curved downwards instantly,
As if of india-rubber."Hounds IN
LL
RY I like," said she:(Oh how I longed to snub her!)"Of fish, a whale's the one for me,
IT IS SO
LL OF
ER!" The night's performance was "King John.""It's dull," she wept, "and so-so!"Awhile I let her tears flow on,
She said they soothed her woe so!
At length the curtain rose upon'Bombastes Furioso.' In vain we roared; in vain we
To rouse her into laughter:
Her pensive glances wandered
From orchestra to rafter
ER
ON
ER!" she said, and sighed;
And silence followed after.
