[Page 48]

THE BANKS OF ALMOND.

(VIDE PENNANT'S TOUR.)

TO MARY LADY CLARKE OF PENNYCUICKE.

1 STILL was the night, and gently roll'd the wave,
2 When Almond's banks a pensive poet sought,
3 And free from care his rustic lay attun'd,
4 When, lo! by some superior pow'r compell'd,
5 The silver waves in equal parts divide,
6 And thence two lovely virgin forms arise,
7 (The fairest they of Caledonia's fair,)
8 Who thus with accent soft the bard bespeak:
9 "Be thine the task our hapless fate to sing,
10 Whilst we, O Bard, thy rustic verse inspire,
11 Still on these banks our pensive spirits stray,
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12 And oft at evetide by the swains are seen.
13 In ages past we were for friendship fam'd;
14 Nor love, nor death, our friendship could destroy.
15 One happy youth, by both alike belov'd,
16 Was with our kindest, tenderest wishes bless'd;
17 Whilst he for each with equal passion burnt.
18 When from contagions dire we hither fled,
19 For us, on yonder hill, a bower he built,
20 And oft at evetide climb'd the steepy brae
* A Scotch expression.
21 To meet the willing partners of his love;
22 But when at once the azure skies we sought,
23 O'er our remains a simple tomb he rear'd,
24 Then died, and join'd us in the realms of light.
25 Oh! from our tender tale this moral learn,
26 That real friendship lives beyond the grave;
27 And when from earth remov'd it seeks the skies,
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28 It then for ever burns a flame serene,
29 And gilds the regions of eternal day. "
30 The Almond's willing waves again divide,
31 And from his sight the lovely phantoms sink.

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Title (in Source Edition): THE BANKS OF ALMOND. (VIDE PENNANT'S TOUR.)
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Genres: blank verse; occasional poem

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Berkeley, George Monck, 1763-1793. Poems: by the late George-Monck Berkeley, Esq. ... With a preface by the editor, consisting of some anecdotes of Mr. Monck Berkeley and several of his friends. London: printed by J. Nichols; and sold by Messrs. Leigh and Sotheby; Mr. Edwards; Mr. Cooke, Oxford; Mr. Todd, York; Messrs. Simmons and Co.; Messrs. Flackton, Marrable, and Claris; and Mr. Bristow, Canterbury, 1797, pp. 48-50. viii,DCXXXII,212p.,plate: port.; 4⁰. (ESTC T142950; OTA K111746.000) (Page images digitized by the University of California Libraries.)

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The text has been typographically modernized, but without any silent modernization of spelling, capitalization, or punctuation. The source of the text is given and all editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. Based on the electronic text originally produced by the TCP project, this ECPA text has been edited to conform to the recommendations found in Level 5 of the Best Practices for TEI in Libraries version 4.0.0.

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