Lines Suggested by the Third Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science Held at Cambridge, in June, 1833. By the late William Sotheby ... With a Short Memoir of his Life |
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ON THE DEATH OF MY MOTHER. |
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 | Lines Suggested by the Third Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science |  |
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ON THE DEATH OF MY MOTHER.
Clifton, 1790.
Clifton, in happier hour, thy groves among
I stray'd, in tuneful extacy beguiled,
When fancy warbled wild her fairy song,
And youth in hope's gay sunshine sweetly smiled.
I stray'd, in tuneful extacy beguiled,
When fancy warbled wild her fairy song,
And youth in hope's gay sunshine sweetly smiled.
To youth, the dream of happiness I leave;
Me, sharp experience of man's bitter doom
Leads o'er the solitude of death to grieve,
And breathe a prayer upon a parent's tomb.
Me, sharp experience of man's bitter doom
Leads o'er the solitude of death to grieve,
And breathe a prayer upon a parent's tomb.
Spirit! I thank thee for each tender care,
That train'd my infancy; the Babe the while
Feeling no pang the Mother did not share,
Giving no recompense beyond a smile!
That train'd my infancy; the Babe the while
Feeling no pang the Mother did not share,
Giving no recompense beyond a smile!
But yesterday, the pious office mine
To steal the sharpness of thy pangs away,
And in the feebleness of Life's decline,
To age, that debt of infancy repay.
To steal the sharpness of thy pangs away,
And in the feebleness of Life's decline,
To age, that debt of infancy repay.
Yet, while I mourn that mute the voice revered
Which left its dying blessing on my head,
And closed the watchful eye, that soothing cheer'd,
And o'er life's onward way, a radiance shed.
Which left its dying blessing on my head,
And closed the watchful eye, that soothing cheer'd,
And o'er life's onward way, a radiance shed.
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I seek the consolation heaven design'd,
And may the God, who hears the mourner's cry,
Fix as thy death, thy life upon my mind,
That I like thee may live, like thee may die!
And may the God, who hears the mourner's cry,
Fix as thy death, thy life upon my mind,
That I like thee may live, like thee may die!
Farewell, blest spirit! To the world I go,
To trace the toilsome path, thy footsteps trod;
And bid my children learn to look on woe,
As chastenings of a Father and a God!
To trace the toilsome path, thy footsteps trod;
And bid my children learn to look on woe,
As chastenings of a Father and a God!
| Lines Suggested by the Third Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science | |