ON RECEIVING HEYNE'S VIRGIL FROM MR. HAYLEY Ост. 1793. I SHOULD have deem'd it once an effort vain TO MARY. AUTUMN OF 1793. THE twentieth year is well nigh past, Thy spirits have a fainter flow, I see thee daily weaker grow ; 'Twas my distress that brought thee low, My Mary! Thy needles, once a shining store, For my sake restless heretofore, My Mary! For though thou gladly wouldst fulfil My Mary! But well thou play'dst the housewife's part, And all thy threads with magic art Have wound themselves about this heart, My Mary! Thy indistinct expressions seem Like language utter'd in a dream; Yet me they charm, whate'er the theme, My Mary! Thy silver locks, once auburn bright, My Mary! For could I view nor them nor thee, My Mary! Partakers of thy sad decline, My Mary! Such feebleness of limbs thou provest, My Mary! And still to love, though prest with ill, With me is to be lovely still, My Mary! But ah! by constant heed I know, My Mary! And should my future lot be cast My Mary! ON THE ICE ISLANDS SEEN FLOATING IN THE GERMAN OCEAN. MARCH 19, 1799. WHAT portents, from what distant region, ride, Of sea-calves, sought the mountains and the groves; But now, descending whence of late they stood, Come they from India, where the burning earth, Should sooner far have mark'd and seized the prize. With borrow'd beams they shine. The gales, that breathe |