the hermit
And left the child a noble youth,
With heart of love, and soul of truth—
A being formed to grace the earth,
A monument of beauty's worth!
But ere those days of sunshine past,
His young heart's promise was o'ercast.
Who ever felt a moment's joy
Unfollowed by a deep alloy,
Or knew not life must ever be
A vision of uncertainty?
. . .He knew and loved a being bright,
Who was to him a star of light,
Or seemed an angel lent to earth
To fix his soul on moral worth.
Adela was the child of one
O'er whom the tides of Fate had run
With fearful force, and left her sire
A man of deep and gloomy ire:
And fits of passion, wild and deep,
Would o'er his frenzied spirit sweep;
While men would tremble neath the blight
Of one whose frown was dark as night.
With heart of love, and soul of truth—
A being formed to grace the earth,
A monument of beauty's worth!
But ere those days of sunshine past,
His young heart's promise was o'ercast.
Who ever felt a moment's joy
Unfollowed by a deep alloy,
Or knew not life must ever be
A vision of uncertainty?
. . .He knew and loved a being bright,
Who was to him a star of light,
Or seemed an angel lent to earth
To fix his soul on moral worth.
Adela was the child of one
O'er whom the tides of Fate had run
With fearful force, and left her sire
A man of deep and gloomy ire:
And fits of passion, wild and deep,
Would o'er his frenzied spirit sweep;
While men would tremble neath the blight
Of one whose frown was dark as night.
4
