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TO SIMPLICITY.
1 FAIR village nymph, ah! may I meet
2 Thy pleasing form where'er I stray!
3 With open air and converse sweet,
4 Still cheer my undiscover'd way!
5 With eyes, that shew the placid mind,
6 And with no feign'd emotions roll;
7 With mien, that sprightly or resign'd,
8 Bespeaks the temper of the soul.
9 With smiles, where not the lips alone
10 Receive a brighter, vermil hue,
11 The cheek does warmer roses own,
12 And the eyes beam a deeper blue!
13 Though Fashion's minions scorn thy pow'r,
14 And slight thee, 'cause in russet drest,
15 Yet Joy frequents thy peaceful bow'r,
16 And sorrow flies to thee for rest.
17 The echoing laugh, the rapturous tear,
18 The smile of friendship, gay and free,
19 Delight but when they are sincere,
20 And given, lovely nymph, by thee.
21 When my Rosina reads a tale,
22 Though sweet the tuneful accents flow,
23 No studied pathos does prevail
24 To bid the hearer's bosom glow;
25 Her voice to sympathy resign'd,
26 Each different feeling can impart.
27 And, tell me not, we[ e'er] can find
28 A modulator, like the heart!
29 And Mary's locks of glossy brown,
30 That fall in waves, with graceful swell,
31 In ever-varying ringlets thrown,
32 The fairest curls of art excel.
33 Still rob'd in innocence and ease,
34 Daughter of Truth, shall thou prevail,
35 When Affectation cannot please,
36 And all the spells of Fashion fail.
Nov. 17, 1795
Source edition
Betham, Mary Matilda, 1776-1852. Elegies and Other Small Poems, by Matilda Betham. Ipswich: Printed by W. Burrell, and sold by Longman, Paternoster-Row, and Jermyn and Forster, Ipswich, 1797, pp. [57]-59. (ESTC T143264)
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.
Other works by (Mary) Matilda Betham
- ARTHUR and ALBINA. ()
- [CANTATA DELLO STESSO.] TRANSLATION. ()
- [CANTATA. [DELL] METASTAISO.] TRANSLATION. ()
- CEN'LIN, PRINCE OF MERCIA. ()
- THE COMPLAINT OF FANCY. To A. R. C. ()
- EDITHA ()
- FRAGMENT. ()
- FRAGMENT. ()
- THE FRATERNAL DUEL. ()
- HUMAN PLEASURE OR PAIN. ()
- IN A LETTER to A.R.C. ON HER WISHING TO BE CALLED ANNA. ()
- IN MEMORY OF Mr. AGOSTINO ISOLA, OF CAMBRIDGE, Who died on the 5th of June, 1797. ()
- INVITATION, To J. B. C. ()
- [LA FORTUNA. DELLO STESSO.] TRANSLATION. ()
- THE LONELY WALK To W. S. B. ()
- ON A FAN ()
- ON THE EVE OF DEPARTURE From O — ()
- THE OUTLAW ()
- PHILEMON. ()
- RHAPSODY ()
- [SONETTO. DI GIOVANNI DELLA CASA.] SONNET, TO SLEEP. TRANSLATION ()
- THE TERRORS OF GUILT ()
- TO M. I. ()
- TO M. I. ()
- TO THE NUNS OF BODNEY. ()
- Written April the 18th, 1796. ()
- Written in London, on the 19th of March 1796. ()
- WRITTEN IN ZIMMERMANN's SOLITUDE. ()
- WRITTEN ON WHITSUN-MONDAY 1795. ()