Cross-currents Thomas Hardy

They parted - a pallid, trembling I pair,
       &nbsp And rushing down the lane
He left her lonely near me there;
       &nbsp - I asked her of their pain.

“It is for ever,” at length she said,
       &nbsp “His friends have schemed it so,
That the long-purposed day to wed
       &nbsp Never shall we two know.”

“In such a cruel case,” said I,
       &nbsp “Love will contrive a course?”
“ - Well, no . . . A thing may underlie,
       &nbsp Which robs that of its force;

“A thing I could not tell him of,
       &nbsp Though all the year I have tried;
This: never could I have given him love,
       &nbsp Even had I been his bride.

“So, when his kinsfolk stop the way
       &nbsp Point-blank, there could not be
A happening in the world to-day
       &nbsp More opportune for me!

“Yet hear - no doubt to your surprise -
       &nbsp I am sorry, for his sake,
That I have escaped the sacrifice
       &nbsp I was prepared to make!”