The Poetical Works of Anna Seward With Extracts from her Literary Correspondence. Edited by Walter Scott ... In Three Volumes |
I. |
EPILOGUE
|
II. |
I. |
II. |
III. |
IV. |
III. |
I. |
II. |
III. |
IV. |
V. |
VI. |
VII. |
VIII. |
IX. |
X. |
XI. |
XII. |
XIII. |
XIV. |
XV. |
XVI. |
XVII. |
XVIII. |
XIX. |
XX. |
XXI. |
XXII. |
XXIII. |
XXIV. |
XXV. |
XXVI. |
XXVII. |
XXVIII. |
XXIX. |
XXX. |
XXXI. |
XXXII. |
XXXIII. |
XXXIV. |
XXXV. |
XXXVI. |
XXXVII. |
XXXVIII. |
XXXIX. |
XL. |
XLI. |
XLII. |
XLIII. |
XLIV. |
XLV. |
XLVI. |
XLVII. |
XLVIII. |
XLIX. |
L. |
LI. |
LII. |
LIII. |
LIV. |
LV. |
LVI. |
LVII. |
LVIII. |
LIX. |
LX. |
LXI. |
LXII. |
LXIII. |
LXIV. |
LXV. |
LXVI. |
LXVII. |
LXVIII. |
LXIX. |
LXX. |
LXXI. |
LXXII. |
LXXIII. |
LXXIV. |
LXXV. |
LXXVI. |
LXXVII. |
LXXVIII. |
LXXIX. |
LXXX. |
LXXXI. |
LXXXII. |
LXXXIII. |
LXXXIV. |
LXXXV. |
LXXXVI. |
LXXXVII. |
LXXXVIII. |
LXXXIX. |
XC. |
XCI. |
XCII. |
XCIII. |
XCIV. |
XCV. |
XCVI. |
XCVII. |
XCVIII. |
XCIX. |
C. |
The Poetical Works of Anna Seward | ||
176
EPILOGUE
TO THE FORRUNATE DISAPPOINTMENT.
To-night the scene display'd what secret smart,
What self-reproach must wound the virgin's heart,
Rashly who dares from monitory eyes
Veil her increasing passions, as they rise!—
Ah thankless!—cold!—she has no middle choice,
But long repentance, or enduring vice,
Eliza's tears, or the detested guile
Of artful Caroline's betraying smile;
Fault leads to fault, till all the soul's defiled,
And in base woman, ends the cunning child.
What self-reproach must wound the virgin's heart,
Rashly who dares from monitory eyes
Veil her increasing passions, as they rise!—
Ah thankless!—cold!—she has no middle choice,
But long repentance, or enduring vice,
Eliza's tears, or the detested guile
Of artful Caroline's betraying smile;
Fault leads to fault, till all the soul's defiled,
And in base woman, ends the cunning child.
Eliza,
drooping, seems a blighted rose,
That, while each sister-bud in beauty blows,
Deep in its core the cankering worm receives,
Whose sickly slime cements the yellowing leaves.
That, while each sister-bud in beauty blows,
Deep in its core the cankering worm receives,
Whose sickly slime cements the yellowing leaves.
177
Thus Disingenuousness, with chill controul,
Contracts the worth, the gladness of the soul;
Dims all the rays that light the artless eye,
Pales the soft cheek, and prompts the secret sigh.
Contracts the worth, the gladness of the soul;
Dims all the rays that light the artless eye,
Pales the soft cheek, and prompts the secret sigh.
But guilty Caroline we shuddering view,
Like the fell spider, weave her treacherous clue.
Emblem of hearts, where Envy's venom swells,
That dark, sly, solitary reptile dwells;
Bane to the heedless insect of the meads,
That near the gleaming maze of viscous threads
Waves the light wing, which now no more shall bear
The entangled victim thro' the sunny air.
Like the fell spider, weave her treacherous clue.
Emblem of hearts, where Envy's venom swells,
That dark, sly, solitary reptile dwells;
Bane to the heedless insect of the meads,
That near the gleaming maze of viscous threads
Waves the light wing, which now no more shall bear
The entangled victim thro' the sunny air.
Thus spirits mischievous, who ne'er can prove
Joys, or of sisterly, or social love,
Stung by their conscious worthlessness, prepare,
For others' peace, the smooth insidious snare.
Joys, or of sisterly, or social love,
Stung by their conscious worthlessness, prepare,
For others' peace, the smooth insidious snare.
O! be it ours to watch each thought betimes,
Ere errors grow, by habit, into crimes!
To think the counsels guardian friends impart
Best shield from ill the inexperienced heart;
Cherish each virtuous impulse, and improve
To fairest flowers the seeds of duteous love!
Ere errors grow, by habit, into crimes!
To think the counsels guardian friends impart
Best shield from ill the inexperienced heart;
Cherish each virtuous impulse, and improve
To fairest flowers the seeds of duteous love!
Flowers of the mind, ye fear no winter's rage,
Grace our gay prime, adorn our fading age,
If still, to strengthen their yet fragile stems,
And in unfading colours tint their gems,
Enlivening Gratitude, and generous Truth,
Shine the warm day-stars of our rising youth.
Grace our gay prime, adorn our fading age,
178
And in unfading colours tint their gems,
Enlivening Gratitude, and generous Truth,
Shine the warm day-stars of our rising youth.
The Poetical Works of Anna Seward | ||