TO AN OLD LADY SEEN AT A GUESTHOUSE FOR SOLDIERS
Reading edition
Quiet thou didst stand at thine appointed place, There was no press to purchase—younger grace Attracts the youth of valour. Thou didst not know, Like the old, kindly Martha, to and fro To haste. Yet one could say, "In thine I prize The strength of calm that held in Mary's eyes." And when they came, thy gracious smile so wrought They knew that they were given, not that they bought. Thou didst not tempt to vauntings, and pretence Was dumb before thy perfect woman's sense. Blest who have seen, for they shall ever see The radiance of thy benignity.
Alexander Robertson