Page:The Writings of John Green Whittier (v.1).pdf/286

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NARRATIVE AND LEGENDARY POEMS.
"And if the husband or the wife In home's strong light discoversSuch slight defaults as failed to meet The blinded eyes of lovers,
"Why need we care to ask?—who dreams Without their thorns of roses,Or wonders that the truest steel The readiest spark discloses?
"For still in mutual sufferance lies The secret of true living;Love scarce is love that never knows The sweetness of forgiving.
"We send the Squire to General Court, He takes his young wife thither;No prouder man election day Rides through the sweet June weather.
"He sees with eyes of manly trust All hearts to her inclining;Not less for him his household light That others share its shining."
Thus, while my hostess spake, there grew Before me, warmer tintedAnd outlined with a tenderer grace, The picture that she hinted.
The sunset smouldered as we drove Beneath the deep hill-shadows.Below us wreaths of white fog walked Like ghosts the haunted meadows.
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