There's scarce a wrinkle in her hand So delicate and fine
And when my chaperon is seen
15 They come from everywhere-
The dear old boys with silvery halt
With old-time grace and old-time ait,
To greet their old-time queen
They bow as my young Midas 2
20 here will never learn to bow
(The dancing-masters do not teach
That gracious reverence now);
with voices quavering just a bit
They play their old parts through
25 They talk of folk who used to woo
of hearts that broke in 'fifty-two-
Now none the worse for it.
And as those aged crickets chirp
I watch my chaperon's face,
30 And see the dear old features take
A new and tender grace:
And in her happy eyes I see
Her youth awakening bright,
With all its hope, desire, delight-
35 Ah mel I wish that I were quite
As young-as young as she!
1 box-a special, separate seating area in a th
2 Midas-a king in Greek mythology who was given the power to turn everything he touched into gold.
What does the allusion to Midas in the third stanza reveal about the
speaker? Use details from the poem to support your answer.