Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895. 1895.

Joseph Skipsey b. 1832

Mother Wept

MOTHER wept, and father sigh’d;

With delight a-glow

Cried the lad, “To-morrow,” cried,

“To the pit I go.”

Up and down the place he sped,

Greeted old and young,

Far and wide the tidings spread,

Clapp’d his hands and sung.

Came his cronies, some to gaze

Rapt in wonder; some

Free with counsel; some with praise;

Some with envy dumb.

“May he,” many a gossip cried,

“Be from peril kept;”

Father hid his face and sighed,

Mother turned and wept.