26
IN WASHINGTON.
She waits there patiently, but no one stops to buy,
And her small memrchandise remains unsold.
And her small memrchandise remains unsold.
Her eyes are fixed upon the stinted grass,
Browned by the sunshine, in the dusty square,
While youth and beauty pass, but give no thought, alas!
To her who once was also young and fair.
Browned by the sunshine, in the dusty square,
While youth and beauty pass, but give no thought, alas!
To her who once was also young and fair.
In her now faded hair were golden gleams,
And youth shone on her forehead like a crown;—
Ah, how remote it seems, that time of joyous dreams,
Far from the hot streets of this tedious town!
And youth shone on her forehead like a crown;—
Ah, how remote it seems, that time of joyous dreams,
Far from the hot streets of this tedious town!
Sometimes, I fancy, in her dull despair,
Across her thought this pleasant memory slips;
Once, as I passed her there, a sweet, old-fashioned air
Quavered in broken treble from her lips.
Across her thought this pleasant memory slips;
Once, as I passed her there, a sweet, old-fashioned air
Quavered in broken treble from her lips.
No matter whose rich skirts against her blow,
She never speaks, or turns her head, or stirs;
Oh, flutterers to and fro, what can your gay hearts know
Of such an empty, hopeless life as hers?
She never speaks, or turns her head, or stirs;
Oh, flutterers to and fro, what can your gay hearts know
Of such an empty, hopeless life as hers?
