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In the Dead of the Night.

Sung by Mrs. Jordan in the Wedding Day.

(Sold by J. EVANS, No. 41, Long-lane.)

1 IN the dead of the night, when with labor oppress'd
2 All mortals enjoy the sweet blessing of rest,
3 A boy knock'd at my door, I awoke with the noise,
4 Who is it, I said, who is it that my rest thus destroys
5 He answered so softly, so gently, so mild,
6 I am a poor little unfortunate child;
7 Its a cold rainy night, I am wet to the skin,
8 And I have lost my way, so pray let me in.
9 In compassion I rose, and striking a light,
10 I open'd the door, when a boy stood in sight
11 He had wings on his shoulders, the rain from them drip'd,
12 And with bow and with arrows the boy was equip'd
13 I stir'd up my fire, set him down by my side,
14 And with a warm napkin the wet from him dry'd
15 I chal'd him all o'er, to keep out the cold air,
16 And I wrung with my hands the wet from his hair.
17 No sooner from wet and from cold he found ease,
18 Then he took up the bow and said, Ma'am, if you please,
19 [I]would fain, with your leave, by experiment know,
20 [If]the rain has not damag'd the strings of my bow.
21 Then straight from his quiver an arrow he drew.
22 Which he aim'd at my heart, and twang went the yew.
23 My bow is undamag'd, said he, and my dart,
24 And you will find trouble in bearing the smart.

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About this text

Title (in Source Edition): In the Dead of the Night. Sung by Mrs. Jordan in the Wedding Day.
Author: Elizabeth Inchbald (née Simpson)
Themes:
Genres: song

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Source edition

Inchbald, Mrs., 1753-1821. In the dead of the night. Sung by Mrs. Jordan in The wedding day. [London]: Sold by J. Evans, No. 41, Long-lane, 1791-1803. 1 sheet ([1] p.); 1/8⁰. (ESTC T196353; OTA K126403.000)

Editorial principles

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.