 | Outlines of Edinburgh, and Other Poems |  |
91
SUPPOSED TO BE WRITTEN BY ---
Is she another's!—Is she not
Still mine, still constant,—still the same!
Can she,—can Rosa have forgot
My love—my fond acknowledg'd claim.
Still mine, still constant,—still the same!
Can she,—can Rosa have forgot
My love—my fond acknowledg'd claim.
From her own lips the tale must come,
From her—who if that tale be truth;
Has thrown a dark—a chilling gloom
O'er the fair prospects of my youth.
From her—who if that tale be truth;
Has thrown a dark—a chilling gloom
O'er the fair prospects of my youth.
Rosa must tell of shame like this,
Her foes would seek belief in vain;
If she has clos'd my dawning bliss,
She will not shudder at my pain.
Her foes would seek belief in vain;
If she has clos'd my dawning bliss,
She will not shudder at my pain.
92
She must convince me that the past,
Was all delusion,—all mistake!
And I perhaps may learn at last,
To love deceit—for Rosa's sake.
Was all delusion,—all mistake!
And I perhaps may learn at last,
To love deceit—for Rosa's sake.
Let none to me her faults impart,
I mourn'd those faults,—but never blam'd;
And though her follies break my heart,
I will not hear those follies nam'd.
I mourn'd those faults,—but never blam'd;
And though her follies break my heart,
I will not hear those follies nam'd.
Ah! when I think the time has been
When I was flatter'd, and preferr'd;—
The fascinating smiles I've seen,—
The fond—unmeaning vows I've heard.
When I was flatter'd, and preferr'd;—
The fascinating smiles I've seen,—
The fond—unmeaning vows I've heard.
Those smiles so beautifully sweet,—
Those vows implicitly believ'd;
Oh! if they were indeed deceit,
'Tis dreadful to be undeceiv'd.
Those vows implicitly believ'd;
Oh! if they were indeed deceit,
'Tis dreadful to be undeceiv'd.
93
Perhaps my tongue but faintly told
The tale—it scarcely dar'd to tell;
Perhaps she thought my manner cold,
Too cold for one who lov'd her well.
The tale—it scarcely dar'd to tell;
Perhaps she thought my manner cold,
Too cold for one who lov'd her well.
But hope and joy were then at stake,
My fate upon her answer hung;
Ah! surely Rosa then might make
Excuses for a faltering tongue.
My fate upon her answer hung;
Ah! surely Rosa then might make
Excuses for a faltering tongue.
Why is it that when hearts adore
One faultless mind; one form, one face;
If love is cross'd—they love no more—
Another ne'er can fill the place.
One faultless mind; one form, one face;
If love is cross'd—they love no more—
Another ne'er can fill the place.
Is it because in after years,
We seek its counterpart in vain;
Youth quits his dream of love with tears,
And trembles e'er he trusts again.
We seek its counterpart in vain;
Youth quits his dream of love with tears,
And trembles e'er he trusts again.
94
May my gay rival's love protect
The treasure I must now renounce;
Nor cause her by unkind neglect
To sigh for him she valu'd once.
The treasure I must now renounce;
Nor cause her by unkind neglect
To sigh for him she valu'd once.
I must forget her now—but no!
I feel that this can never be:—
The last—best wish I can bestow,
Is—that she ne'er may think of me.
I feel that this can never be:—
The last—best wish I can bestow,
Is—that she ne'er may think of me.
| Outlines of Edinburgh, and Other Poems | |