[Page [139]]

TO HENRY.

1 SUPPRESS that cruel doubt, dear youth!
2 That starting tear, that sigh reprove;
3 Why dost thou wrong thine Emma's truth,
4 And think that aught can change my love?
5 Though of the world's vain selfish smile
6 Some adverse influence now bereave thee,
7 By fondness I'll thy cares beguile,
8 Though friends desert, I'll never leave thee.
[Page 140]
9 Then bid each anxious fear farewel,
10 Each cold suspicion bid depart!
11 With thee, in deserts I could dwell,
12 Be thou content with Emma's heart.
13 Should care, should labour dim thine eye,
14 Should nearly treasured hopes deceive thee,
15 I'll love's persuasive duties try,
16 And, till thou'rt cheered, I'll never leave thee.
17 Should I, still urged by female pride,
18 In humble scenes reluctant move,
19 The ignoble feeling soon I'll chide,
20 And hail the home of thee, and love.
[Page 141]
21 Should'st thou e'er frame a harsh reply,
22 I'll not with weak reproaches grieve thee,
23 But think new woes thy temper try,
24 And at thy bidding sigh, and leave thee.
25 Then learn to love affliction's hour,
26 From hollow friends it sets thee free,
27 And proves, beyond deception's power,
28 The value of a friend like me.
29 Then, whilst thou, Henry, hailst the day
30 That bade false hopes no more deceive thee,
31 I'll bless that passion's generous sway,
32 Which made me vow .... I'd never leave thee.

Text

  • TEI/XML [chunk] (XML - 64K / ZIP - 6.8K) / ECPA schema (RNC - 357K / ZIP - 73K)
  • Plain text [excluding paratexts] (TXT - 1.3K / ZIP - 859 )

Facsimile (Source Edition)

(Page images digitized by Library of Congress Research Institute.)

Images

PDF

All Images (PDF - 1.3M)

About this text

Title (in Source Edition): TO HENRY.
Author: Amelia Opie (née Alderson)
Themes:
Genres: ballad metre; address

Text view / Document view

Source edition

Opie, Amelia Alderson, 1769-1853. The Warrior's Return, and Other Poems. By Mrs. Opie. 2d. ed. London: Printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, Paternoster-row, 1808, pp. [139]-141.  (Page images digitized by Library of Congress Research Institute.)

Editorial principles

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.