“Holy was love at first, all true, all fair,
Virtue’s bright crown, and Honor’s mystic feast,
Purer than snows, more sweet than morning air,
More rich than roses in the kindling east.
“Then were the hearts of lovers blithe and glad,
And steeped in freshness like a dew‐drenched fleece:
Then glittered marriage like a cloud sun‐clad
Or flood that feeds the vale with boon increase
“Then in its innocence great love was strong—
Love that with innocence renews the earth:
Then Faith was sovran, Right supreme o’er wrong:
Then sacred as the altar was the hearth.
“With hope’s clear anthem then the valleys rang;
With songs celestial thrilled the household bowers:—”
Thus to the newly wed the minstrels sang
As home they paced, while children scattered flowers.