University of Virginia Library


208

FEMALE CONSTANCY.

Stars through rolling centuries shine,
Nor does their lustre ever fade;
And thus the virtues of the maid
Glitter when her form's decayed,
With beauteous radiance divine,
Who never sighed to any swain
But one, and constant doth remain,
Still rememb'ring him with care,
Before the Maker of the spheres
She breathes for him incessant prayers,
And not another youth appears,
That wounds the bosom of the fair:
And can the youth deceive such love,
And conscience never once reprove?
Maids to flowers have been compared,
But flowers of sweetest scent decay:
So doth the fair, who runs astray
From Virtue's sweet sequestered way,
Whose heart to many a youth is shared;
While she who true through life has been,
Falls like a branch of evergreen.