A Woman with a Past

Alice Duer Miller (1874–1942)

“A woman with a past.” What happier omenCould heart desire for mistress or for friend?Phœnix of friends, and most divine of women,Skilled in all arts to venture or defend,And with love's science at her finger's end,No tears to vex, no ignorance to bore,A fancy ripe, the zest which sorrows lend——