A TEST OF LOVE

He wooed her first in an atmosphere

Of tender and low-breathed sighs;

But the pang of her laugh went cutting clear

To the soul of the enterprise;

“You beg so pert for the kiss you seek

It reminds me, John,” she said,

“Of a poodle pet that jumps to‘ speak’

For a crumb or a crust of bread.”

And flashing up, with the blush that flushed

His face like a tableau-light,

Came a bitter threat that his white lips hushed

To a chill, hoarse-voiced “Good night!”

And again her laugh, like a knell that tolled,

And a wide-eyed mock surprise,—

“Why, John,” she said, “you have taken cold

In the chill air of your sighs!”

And then he turned, and with teeth tight clenched,

He told her he hated her,—

That his love for her from his heart he wrenched

Like a corpse from a sepulcher.

And then she called him “a ghoul all red

With the quintessence of crimes” —

“But I know you love me now,” she said,

And kissed him a hundred times.