And rising at once with the fond recollection,
As man in the fulness of hope ever should,
I bade an adieu to the painful reflection,

And all the distempers of fancy withstood.

That instant a pansy implored me to linger,
And cherish the gift it is said to impart,
When taking the gem as you would on my finger,
I placed it in ecstasy close to my heart.

And there it shall live in the gentle emotion
Educed by the singular charms you possess,
Till death shall occur to reward my devotion

With rivers of pleasure that none can express.

EXTEMPORANEOUS VERSES,

ADDRESSED TO A LADY OF MUCH LEARNING, AT THE

INSTANCE OF ADMIRING FRIENDS.

THESE pretty maidens round me wait,

And charge me if I can to find

Sufficient skill, in verse, to state

The worth and compass of thy mind.

But man, without the special aid

Of some divine, ennobling power,

Might madly think as well to wade

The sea, or lift the cumbrous tower!

Thy talents and thy liquid tongue

Can only admiration raise;

And angels must be lured, in song

Exactly to record thy praise.

ΤΟ

WOULD that I were changed into a

Subtle agent of the wind;

Then unfettered might I woo a

Maid of thy exalted mind.

Round thy fair poetic vision

Would I oft serenely dwell;

And, to justify my mission,

Some delightful story tell.

Undiscovered would I cling to

That ethereal form of thine;

And in soothing accents sing to

Thee with fervour most divine.

N

Every wish thou shouldst discover,

Even in a transient sigh,

Would I, in the warmth of lover,

With indulgent haste supply.

Wheresoever thou shouldst wander

Would I joyfully attend,

And from hour to hour a fonder

Evidence of welcome lend.

Should thy light approving finger

Rest upon à tender spray,
a

In its blossom would I linger,

And about thy bosom play.

When no adventitious pleasure

Should attract thy passing gaze,

Would I bless thee without measure

In a novel theme of praise.

Should a less deserving rival,

In her bitterness, complain

That thou wast an earthly idol,

Greater yet should be thy gain.

Ever and anon alighting

On thy chaste unsullied cheek,

Pure affection would I plight in

Language that none else could speak.

Trusting that I might elicit

Deeper sentiment thereby,

Fondly would I soothe and kiss it

In my playful ecstasy.

Why, however, in my anguish,

Need I thus to thee aspire,

When upon thy knee I languish

Often in a form still higher.