Princess

These are but the dreams of thy young fancy; I cannot comprehend thy choice. I have heard Of men who have waded through slaughter To a throne; of proud ambitions, struggles Fierce and wild for some imagined good; of men Who have even cut in twain the crimson threads That lay between them and a throne; but I Never heard of men resigning ease for toil, The splendor of a palace for the squalor Of a hut, and casting down a diadem To wear a servile badge. Sadly she gazed Upon the fair young face lit with its lofty Faith and high resolves—the dark prophetic eyes Which seemed to look beyond the present pain Unto the future greatness of his race. As she stood before him in the warm Loveliness of her ripened womanhood, Her languid eyes glowed with unwonted fire, And the bright tropical blood sent its quick Flushes o’er the olive of her cheek, on which Still lay the lingering roses of her girlhood. Grief, wonder, and surprise flickered like shadows O’er her face as she stood slowly crushing With unconscious hand the golden tassels Of her crimson robe. She had known life only By its brightness, and could not comprehend The grandeur of the young man’s choice; but she Felt her admiration glow before the earnest Faith that tore their lives apart and led him To another destiny. She had hoped to see The crown of Egypt on his brow, the sacred Leopard skin adorn his shoulders, and his seat The throne of the proud Pharaoh’s; but now her Dream had faded out and left a bitter pang Of anguish in its stead. And thus they parted, She to brood in silence o’er her pain, and he To take his mission from the hands of God And lead his captive race to freedom. With silent lips but aching heart she bowed Her queenly head and let him pass, and he Went forth to share the fortune of his race, Esteeming that as better far than pleasures Bought by sin and gilded o’er with vice. And he had chosen well, for on his brow God poured the chrism of a holy work. And thus anointed he has stood a bright Ensample through the changing centuries of time