TO —
How can the sweetness of a gentle mind
Pall on thy spirit ? say, it is not so ;
H..er eyes are mournful and her sorrows flow,
For that she fears her hands have fail'd to bind
The tie of mutual wishes round thy heart ;
Thy faith was given, thy promise made a part
Of the pure office which confirm 'd her thine ;
Oh, do not thou annul that rite divine,
Nor bid such promise swell the tinsel-mart
Of empty shows, unmeaning types and vain —
But teach thy wife to nurse her hopes again
In love returning, never to depart ;
For nothing festers like a broken vow.
Which wrecks another's peace and blights another's
brow.
How can the sweetness of a gentle mind
Pall on thy spirit ? say, it is not so ;
H..er eyes are mournful and her sorrows flow,
For that she fears her hands have fail'd to bind
The tie of mutual wishes round thy heart ;
Thy faith was given, thy promise made a part
Of the pure office which confirm 'd her thine ;
Oh, do not thou annul that rite divine,
Nor bid such promise swell the tinsel-mart
Of empty shows, unmeaning types and vain —
But teach thy wife to nurse her hopes again
In love returning, never to depart ;
For nothing festers like a broken vow.
Which wrecks another's peace and blights another's
brow.