page 16

Finale—Act II., Scene 2.

Lash And Soldiers.

"Romance and her rose-tinted visions."

Romance and her rose-tinted visions have led us
Far from the paths where our early steps strayed;
O'er ocean and land, through the long night have sped us
On, on to the goal her bright fingers portrayed.

Peace we have known it not: endless the strife has been:
Bloody's the mantle that covers the past;
Starless and black is the night of the future seen.
And War, death's handmaidens, followed us fast.

Gone are the hopes that the long years have lightened:
Vanished the dreams that have gilded the days:
Dulled is the aura of glory that brightened
And shone round the sword and the conqueror's bays.

Well, we would have it so; dimly we sense the dawn
Agleam through the clouds that encompass the earth:
Fullness of life we've known: dauntless we'll face the morn
And tread the far trail to the land of our birth.