[Page 81]

WILLIAM AND NANCY,

A BALLAD.

FOUNDED UPON AN INTERESTING INCIDENT WHICH TOOK PLACE ON THE EMBARKATION OF THE 85TH REGIMENT FOR HOLLAND AT RAMSGATE, AUGUST 10, 1799.

1 AS on the transport's dusky side
2 Young William stood with folded arms,
3 Silent he watch'd the rising tide,
4 The loud wind fill'd him with alarms.
5 Not for himself he knew to fear,
6 But for one dearer far than life;
7 Nancy, in parting doubly dear,
8 His tender bride, his faithful wife.
9 She still had hop'd to share his fate,
10 To sooth him in affliction's hour;
11 On all his wand'ring steps to wait,
12 And give the comfort in her power.
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13 But chance denied the wish'd-for prize,
14 The envied lot another drew;
15 Now sorrow dim'd her sleepless eyes,
16 And to despair her sorrow grew.
17 But when the shouting seamen strove
18 To tow the vessel on its way,
19 Wak'd from despair by anxious love,
20 She rush'd along the crowded quay.
21 The sails unfurl'd, as gliding round,
22 The parting cheers still louder grew,
23 She flew, and with a fearful bound
24 Drop'd in her William's arms below.

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Title (in Source Edition): WILLIAM AND NANCY, A BALLAD.
Themes:
Genres: song

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Hunter, Anne Home (Mrs. John), 1742-1821. Poems, by Mrs. John Hunter. London: Printed for T. Payne, Mews Gate, by T. Bensley, Bolt Court, Fleet Street, 1802, pp. 81-82.  (Page images digitized from a copy in the Bodleian Library [280 e.4058].)

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Typography, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation have been cautiously modernized. The source of the text is given and all significant editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. 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.

Other works by Anne Hunter (née Home)