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Mary Darby Robinson - Elegy to the Memory of Werter
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"With female Fairies will thy tomb be haunted
"And worms will not come to thee." SHAKSPERE. 


  WHEN from Day`s closing eye the lucid tears
    Fall lightly on the bending lily`s head;
    When o`er the blushing sky night`s curtains spread, 
  And the tall mountain`s summit scarce appears;
    When languid Evening, sinking to repose,
    Her filmy mantle o`er the landscape throws; 
  Of THEE I`ll sing; and as the mournful song 
  Glides in slow numbers the dark woods among; 
  My wand`ring steps shall seek the lonely shade, 
  Where all thy virtues, all thy griefs are laid! 

  Yes, hopeless suff`rer, friendless and forlorn,
    Sweet victim of love`s power; the silent tear
  Shall oft at twilight`s close, and glimm`ring morn
    Gem the pale primrose that adorns thy bier, 
  And as the balmy dew ascends to heaven, 
  Thy crime shall steal away, thy frailty be forgiv`n. 

  Oft by the moon`s wan beam the love-lorn maid,
    Led by soft SYMPATHY, shall stroll along;
  Oft shall she listen in the Lime-tree`s * shade,
    Her cold blood freezing at the night-owl`s song:
  Or, when she hears the death-bell`s solemn sound,
  Her light steps echoing o`er the hollow ground;
  Oft shall the trickling tear adorn her cheek,
Thy pow`r, O SENSIBILITY ! in magic charms to speak! 

For the poor PILGRIM, doom`d afar to roam
  From the dear comforts of his native home,
  A glitt`ring star puts forth a silv`ry ray,
  Soothes his sad heart, and marks his tedious way;
  The short-liv`d radiance cheers the gloom of night,
And decks Heaven`s murky dome with transitory light. 

So from the mournful CHARLOTTE`s dark-orb`d lids,
    The sainted tear of pitying VIRTUE flows; 
  And the last boon, the "churlish priest" forbids,
    On thy lone grave the sacred drop bestows;
  There shall the sparkling dews of Evening shine,
AND HEAVEN`S OWN INCENSE CONSECRATE THE SHRINE.
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