The richest robes they offered her,
But she refused them: "If my king
In my coarse garb, will deem me fair,
Then only will I take his ring."

Before the king the maid they brought,
And at his feet she bent the knee;
He gently raised her: "Nay, kneel not,
O sweetheart! I should kneel to thee,

"Fair as a poet's dream thou art,
Purer than lilies--Oh! mine own,
Since thou has won thy monarch's heart,
'Tis meet that thou shouldst share his throne."

The wise men stroked their beards and said:
"The gods have surely done this thing."
Then Rhodope the fair was wed,
And ruled all Egypt with the king.




_HOPE AND DESPAIR._


You love the sun and the languid breeze
That gently kisses the rosebud's lips,
And delight to see