[Page 148]

HOPE.

1 SEE, from yonder hill descending,
2 Hope, with all her train attending!
3 "Quips, and cranks, and wanton wiles,
4 Nods, and becks, and wreathed smiles;"
5 Fancies light that tread on air,
6 Building fairy castles there;
7 Æolus his harp new stringing,
8 Tuning to the breezes singing;
9 Zeph'rus sweeping softest chords;
10 Fancy setting airs to words;
11 Words that seem another sound,
12 And lighter than a breath are found.
13 Here Morpheus comes, a wandering guest,
14 By plaintive murmurs lull'd to rest;
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15 Round him painted vapours stream,
16 Weaving soft the chequer'd dream,
17 Which on silken wings they spread,
18 Shaking o'er his drowsy head;
19 Subtile fumes waft round the brain,
20 And fan these joys so light and vain,
21 Which soft slumber loves to dress
22 In long robes of happiness.
23 See where come the dancing Hours,
24 Sprinkling Hope's gay path with flowers;
25 "Thyme that loves the brown hill's side,"
26 Heath in lasting colours dyed;
27 Feathery sprays that softly blow,
28 And lead the sweet gales as they go
29 Unheeded, — though the scented air
30 Fragrance steals we know not where.
31 Sweet Hope! lightly dost thou tread,
32 Bending not the weak flower's head;
33 Watching every changeful scene,
34 Sliding gilded shows between
35 Where new prospects open still,
36 Rising fair behind the hill.
37 'Tis true stern Reason scorns thy sway,
38 Nor basks beneath thy sunny ray;
39 Nor hears thy accents clear and sweet,
40 Where sprightly airs and softness meet,
41 Mixing with harmonic chords,
42 Pouring melody on words.
43 Nor will his fix'd eye deign to glance
44 On the mirthful mazy dance,
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45 When the Hours, all hand in hand,
46 Link with thee, a jocund band;
47 When thy white robes float on air,
48 Catching rays that tremble there,
49 Tinted with the varying beam,
50 Ending in prismatic stream.
51 On thy head a wreath of flowers
52 Nods in time to dancing Hours,
53 Feathery-footed, trim, and light,
54 Flitting round from morn till night;
55 From morn till night, thou gaily leads
56 Through dark green woods and painted meads,
57 With rose-ting'd cheeks, and clear blue eye
58 Looking through another sky,
59 Till we reach th' enamell'd lawn
60 Round which a river journeys on,
61 Where many a bridge is taught to please
62 Gothic eyes, or gay Chinese,
63 Thrown in every point of view
64 Arch can add a beauty to,
65 While here and there an ashling weaves
66 Verdant knots of summer leaves.
67 Now we reach thy mansion high,
68 Spiral turrets climb the sky,
69 Gilding clouds of varied light,
70 Changing underneath the sight.
71 See what crowds surround the gate,
72 See what Expectations wait;
73 And, running out, surround their queen,
74 Ask all at once where she has been;
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75 And if the promis'd Hours were found
76 With Elysian garlands crown'd;
77 Or if yet she'd leave to tell
78 Where true Happiness would dwell;
79 Or yet had seen the promis'd Day
80 When Expectation, grave or gay,
81 In happy, blissful bands should be
82 United into Certainty.
83 She sweetly smil'd, and wav'd her hand;
84 At which a specious flattering band
85 (Quick through the ear their credence reaches)
86 Bow'd round, — and, full of soothing speeches
87 Declar'd the Hours would soon appear;
88 Then, whispering softly in the ear,
89 Taught smiles along the cheek to glow,
90 As if those Hours they well did know.
91 Ye Promises! ye Flatterers vain!
92 That dress out Hope and varnish Pain,
93 And make the dullest things appear
94 Of shining surface, smooth and clear;
95 Handing the cup to Hope's sweet lip,
96 Of which we guests so fondly sip,
97 While seeing all the bottom shine,
98 Ne'er think there's poison in the wine: —
99 Dark Lethe's cup each grief subdues,
100 That used on former joys to muse;
101 For to Hope's enchanted dome
102 Dreaded Ills dare never come;
103 Not one mask'd Sorrow can you see
104 In all her court of revelry: —
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105 What though ye pull the careless sleeve,
106 And would tempt us to believe
107 These noon-joys are waning fast,
108 Form'd only for an hour to last;
109 Hence, miscreants! — let me, while I may,
110 Enjoy the gewgaws of my day.
111 Descend, sweet Hope, from thy bright throne
112 Glittering with each precious stone, —
113 Rubies red, and sapphires blue,
114 Amethysts of purple hue,
115 Topazes of sun-like blaze,
116 And diamonds with their thousand rays;
117 Descend! and mount yon hill with me,
118 There let me opening prospects see,
119 Which, step by step, shall fairer grow
120 The while as fades this scene below.
121 Forests of immortal oak;
122 Rocks by tumbling torrents broke;
123 "Shallow brooks, and rivers wide,
124 Verdant meads, with daisies pied;"
125 Distant cities, large and proud;
126 Mountains dim, that seem a cloud;
127 Castles high, that live on hills;
128 Little cots, that seek the rills;
129 Upland grounds, where flocks are seen
130 Mixing white with darkest green;
131 What! though painted on the air,
132 Still they look serene and fair.
133 Though my foot be left to tread
134 Barren heaths with brambles spread,
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135 Yet if thou check one falling tear,
136 Or bathe the eye till it grow clear,
137 I'll freely pardon all thy wiles,
138 And fancy good in all thy smiles;
139 Still pleas'd to find the ills we dread
140 Thy fairy wing can overspread;
141 And though thy promises deceive,
142 Bless my kind stars that I believe;
143 Thy cranks and wiles who would not see!
144 For happy they who doubt not thee.

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Title (in Source Edition): HOPE.
Author: Susanna Blamire
Themes:
Genres: narrative verse

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Blamire, Susanna, 1747-1794. The Poetical Works of Miss Susanna Blamire “The muse of Cumberland.” Now for the first time collected by Henry Lonsdale, M.D. with a preface, memoir, and notes by Patrick Maxwell, ... Edinburgh: John Menzies, 61 Princes Street; R. Tyas, London; D. Robertson, Glasgow; and C. Thurnam, Carlisle. MDCCCXLII., 1842, pp. 148-153.  (Page images digitized from a copy in the Bodleian Library [42.256].)

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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 Susanna Blamire