Classic Poem

At Elizabeth's birth Love's fair Goddess presided
O'er a quorum of dames in her high court above;
On the child's future gifts all were strangely divided,
And contentions ran high through that Chamber of Love.

" I claim her, " said Beauty, " her cheeks are as roses,
Her brow as the Parian marble is fair;
And see these sweet dimples! in each one reposes
A sting for intrusion, a balm for despair. "

" She is mine! she is mine! " said the Goddess of Pleasure,
" What heart-thrilling looks are concealed in her eyes!
She shall revel in joys and delights without measure,
Such as seldom are felt in our own sunny skies. "

The Goddess of Mirth, her gay voice loudly ringing
Through the golden-roofed arches of that solemn court,
Laid claim to the sleeper, now laughing, now singing,
Uniting with Pleasure to furnish her sport.

Like the first purple flush of the warm light of Morning,
That tinges the east with its mellowy hue,
The Goddess of Smiles, that rich chamber adorning,
In ravishing sweetness arose on the view.

And pointing with joy to the innocent sleeper,
Her eyes filled with radiance, her looks all divine,
Said, in musical accents, " She's mine! I will keep her
'Neath my sheltering wing — She is mine! she is mine! "

As Venus, her wand in the air gently waving,
Approvingly tendered the gift to the child,
A shower of sunlight came down, gently laving
The innocent's face, and Elizabeth smiled.

The Angel of Goodness her watch had been keeping,
Unperceived by the lovely disputants till now,
And softly approaching the infant while sleeping,
Gently placed her fair seal on the slumberer's brow.

But Cupid, who'd witnessed the scene from his bower,
Now tendered his claim, with so artful a grace,
That his mother, embracing him, gave him the power
To mix Love with the Smiles on Elizabeth's face.