I had a guinea golden —
I lost it in the sand —
And tho' the sum was simple
And pounds were in the land —
Still, had it such a value
Unto my frugal eye —
That when I could not find it —
I sat me down to sigh.
I had a crimson Robin —
Who sang full many a day
But when the woods were painted,
He, too, did fly away —
Time brought me other Robins —
Their ballads were the same —
Still, for my missing Troubador
I kept the "house at hame."
I had a star in heaven —
One "Pleiad" was its name —
And when I was not heeding,
It wandered from the same.
And tho' the skies are crowded —
And all the night ashine —
I do not care about it —
Since none of them are mine.
My story has a moral —
I have a missing friend —
"Pleiad" its name, and Robin,
And guinea in the sand.
And when this mournful ditty
Accompanied with tear —
Shall meet the eye of traitor
In country far from here —
Grant that repentance solemn
May seize upon his mind —
And he no consolation
Beneath the sun may find.