New-York, 1779.
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_For the +New-York Weekly Magazine+._
ELEGY,
Addressed to a Young Lady on Transcribing for Her a Poem
on the Death of Two Unfortunate Lovers.
If o’er the lover’s melancholy bier
Unbidden sorrow from thine eyes should flow,
Check not the tender sympathising tear,
Nor blush to soften at another’s woe.
Indulge the tender luxury of grief,
Melt at those pangs which nipp’d their springing bloom,
And (soon as flattering hope deny’d relief,)
Consign’d them early victims to the tomb.
The heart insensible to woe like this,
Demands no caution to secure its case,
Alike depriv’d of every social bliss,
No wit can warm it, and no beauty please.
Yet while the soft emotion is admir’d,
Thro’ which thy virtues with mild radiance shine,
Forgive the pain thy danger has inspir’d.
The sigh----lest Emma’s fate should e’er be thine!
Ah! let it teach thee--nor be too secure----
That love, tho’ virtuous, may thy praise destroy,
That death’s dire dart may fix thy ruin sure,
And blast for ever all thy hopes of joy.
While this reflection dwells upon thy mind,
The wish truth dictates, sure thou wilt approve,
Long may thy heart its bliss in freedom find,
And dread the soft delusive pow’r of love.