Page:The poems of John Godfrey Saxe.djvu/450

And even the Furies,—those terrible shrews
Whom no one before could ever amuse,—
Those strong-bodied ladies with strong-minded views
Whom even the Devil would doubtless refuse,
Were his majesty only permitted to choose,—
Each felt for a moment her nature desert her,
And wept like a girl o'er the "Sorrows of Werter."

And still Sir Orpheus chanted his song,
Sweet and clear and strong and long,
"Eurydice!—Eurydice!"
He cried as loud as loud could be;
And Echo, taking up the word,
Kept it up till the lady heard,
And came with joy to meet her lord.
And he led her along the infernal route,
Until he had got her almost out,
When, suddenly turning his head about
(To take a peep at his wife, no doubt),
He gave a groan,
For the lady was gone,
And had left him standing there all alone!
For by an oath the gods had bound
Sir Orpheus not to look around
Till he was clear of the sacred ground,
If he'd have Eurydice safe and sound;
For the moment he did an act so rash
His wife would vanish as quick as a flash!

MORAL.
Young women! beware, for goodness' sake,
Of every sort of "sarpent snake";
Remember the rogue is apt to deceive,
And played the deuce with grandmother Eve!