The Ballad of Reading Gaol The Ballad of Reading Gaol The Ballad of Reading Gaol is a poem by Oscar Wilde, written in exile in Berneval-le-Grand, after his release from Reading Gaol () on 19 May 1897. Wilde had been incarcerated in Reading after being convicted of homosexual offences in 1895 and sentenced to two years' hard labour in prison. During his imprisonment, on Tuesday, 7 July 1896, a hanging took place. Charles Thomas Wooldridge had been a trooper in the Royal Horse Guards. He was convicted of cutting the throat of his wife, Laura Ellen, earlier that year at Clewer, near Windsor. He was
The Little Grey Mother Who Waits All Alone (March Ballad) The Little Grey Mother Who Waits All Alone (March Ballad) "The Little Grey Mother Who Waits All Alone (March Ballad)" is a World War I era song released in 1915. Bernard Grossman wrote the lyrics. Harry De Costa composed the music. The song was published by M. Witmark & Sons of New York, New York. Vitagraph actress Mary Maurice is featured on the cover, reading a book and holding a rose. It was written for voice and piano. The sheet music can be found at Pritzker Military Museum & Library. The song tells the story of a mother of a