Out of the church she followed them
With a lofty step and mien:
His bride was like a village maid,
Maude Clare was like a queen.
"Son Thomas," his lady mother said,
With smiles, almost with tears:
"May Nell and you but live as true
As we have done for years;
"Your father thirty years ago
Had just your tale to tell;
But he was not so pale as you,
This may indicate hope — or false hope — for the young couple. Does this mean that marriage survives despite a shaky foundation? Or is this long marriage an unhappy one. We don’t know at this stage, but the older woman can see an impending explosion of emotion.
Maude Clare