THE SECRET.

The throng about her did not know,

Her nearest friend could not surmise

Whence came the brightness and the glow,

The wondrous radiance of her eyes.

One said, half enviously: “Your face

Is beautiful with gladness rare,

With that warm, generous heart of yours

Some precious secret you must share.”

Ah, true beneath the filmy lace

That rose and fell upon her breast,

Her first love-taken held its place —

From him, from him whom she loved best!