Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, No. 681

When the next year's Christmas cometh,
It shall find me still unwedded.'

…

But the Spring-time came with blossoms,
Left a bud so sweetly hidden,
Which the perfumed breath of Summer
Fanned into a flower unbidden.

And when Autumn's golden glory
Gleamed o'er fields and purple heather,
Then our love reached its fulfilment
When two hands were clasped together.

And the frosts and snows of Winter
Brought us not one thought of sadness,
For the outer desolation
Made more bright the inner gladness.

Christmas came! and some one fastened
In my hair a leaflet golden:
'Wear this as a penance, darling,
For the sake of memories olden.'

    H. K. W.

notes

1

Camille Desmoulins and his Wife. By Jules Claretie. Translated by Mrs Cashel Hoey. Smith and Elder, London, 1876.