Poetical Fragments from Ethel Churchill Volume III/Stern Truth

by Letitia Elizabeth Landon

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE MASKED BALL.

Life is made up of vanities—so small,
So mean, the common history of the day,—
That mockery seems the sole philosophy.
Then some stern truth starts up—cold, sudden, strange;
And we are taught what life is by despair:—
The toys, the trifles, and the petty cares,
Melt into nothingness—we know their worth;
The heart avenges every careless thought,
And makes us feel that fate is terrible.

Blanchard’s title is:

STERN TRUTH