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 frugal¹ eye --
That when I could not find it --
I sat me down to sigh.

I had a crimson² Robin³ --
Who sang full many a day
But when the woods were painted,
He, too, did fly away --

Time brought me other Robins⁴ --
Their ballads⁵ 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 repentance⁶ solemn
May seize upon his mind --
And he no consolation
Beneath the sun may find.

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