Page:The Forest Sanctuary.pdf/158

—Hush'd, hush'd—how is it that I call,
    And that thou answerest not?
When was it thus?—woe, woe for all
    The love my soul forgot!

   "Thy silver hairs I see,
    So still, so sadly bright!
And father, father! but for me,
    They had not been so white!
I bore thee down, high heart! at last,
    No longer couldst thou strive;—
Oh! for one moment of the past,
    To kneel and say—'forgive!'

   "Thou wert the noblest king,
    On royal throne e'er seen;
And thou didst wear, in knightly ring,
    Of all, the stateliest mien;
And thou didst prove, where spears are prov'd
    In war, the bravest heart—
—Oh! ever the renown'd and lov'd
    Thou wert—and there thou art!