I know not all the truth, but I am sure
The path of sin is downward, and the poor
Weak soul that yields is bound by fetters tight
'Till comes the end as it has come to-night.
And he lies there; oh, in this bitter cup
Which Thou, my Father, bids't me drink up.
I bless thy strong, calm power, which, through the years,
The long, dark, downward time of change and tears
Hast kept before my dimmed and fading sight
One word which warned with an undying light,
When love had proved an "_ignis fatuus_" gleam.
Duty stood forward with a godlike beam,
And brought before the fainting sickened heart,
The words God listened to, "till death us part,"
Two short words, Love and Duty, when together
How bearable the rains of stormy weather;
But when they unclasp hands, e'en then the dew
Grows into ice-points, piercing through and through.
"Till death us part," and am I really free?
Is the chain severed for eternity?
Look back my conscience, for the hours go fast,
Through the dim corridors of the far past.
Oh memory, from what point will thou start,
Back to the time when Victor won my heart;
He was my idol, bright star of my life,
Our home was planned, I was to be his wife;
When off to India he sailed far away,
Expecting to return an early day.
Ah, that last night when he put out to sea,
When by his side I sang "Abide with me;"