Her manner was gracious but hardly fervent And she seldom raised her voice to a servant. She was often mistaken, not often blind, And she knew the whole duty of womankind, To take the burden and have the power And seem like the well-protected flower, To manage a dozen industries With a casual gesture in scraps of ease, To hate the sin and to love the sinner And to see that the gentlemen got their dinner Ready and plenty and piping-hot Whether you wanted to eat or not. And always, always, to have the charm That makes the gentlemen take your arm But never the bright, unseemly spell That makes strange gentlemen love too well, Once you were married and settled down With a suitable gentleman of your own.