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LINES IMPROMPTU,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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LINES IMPROMPTU,

UPON HEARING AN ELEVATED INDIVIDUAL ACCUSED OF PRIDE, &c. &c.

I love to hear the grovelling mind,
Thy proud unyielding spirit blame,
Where genius, to itself confined,
Disdains the vulgar walks of fame:
But more I love the social scene,
Where as thy haughty virtues bend,
In silent eloquence serene,
The powers of gentleness descend.

129

Most loved, when from thy mental height,
Thou deign'st with lowly voice to cheer
The heart that trembles at thy sight,
And timid, greets thee with a tear!
Even thus the picturing artist throws
O'er the strong lines which nature gives,
That softening shade, whose touch bestows,
The grace that speaks, the charm that lives.
 

These were particularly induced to divert the attention of a very young person, who, having first been terrified into tears, was afterwards soothed into smiles by a severe but kind manner.