She Stood Alone At The Altar
She stood alone at the alter
Her groom was still on the sea
The marraige that was dreamed of she now knew
Was but a dream, and not to be.
The sea that took so many ships
Sent them below the waves
Saw the ship of love of a lonely girl
Swim to a watery grave
She never married another
Was not a sailor for lives storm
Preferred calm land to lifes cruel waters
Where she was though lonely, safe and warm.
Some say she kept a torn photograph
Of him who she never forgot
Who left here alone in the world
Forlorn, as he loved her not…
Background – The Ms Dopping-Hepenstal stood up by her groom who had eloped to India with another woman without her knowing is still spoken of today. Her sister was involved with one of the Edgeworths, but in the end neither girl married. Some versions of the story have Edgeworth as the cad, but most do not.