[Page 186]

WHEN THE SOFT TEAR STEALS SILENTLY.

1 WHEN the soft tear steals silently down from the eye,
2 Take no note of its course, nor detect the slow sigh;
3 From some spring of shy sorrow its origin flows,
4 Some tender remembrance that weeps as it goes.
[Page 187]
5 Ah! it is not to say what will bring to the mind
6 The sweet joys departed, the friends left behind;
7 A tune, or a song, or the time of the year,
8 Strikes the key of reflection, and moans in the ear.
9 Thro' the gay scenes of youth the remembrancer strays,
10 Till mem'ry steps back on old pleasures to gaze;
11 Fleeting shadows they seem that glide calmly away,
12 The remains of past hours, and the ghosts of a day.
13 When we set out in life every thing has its charms,
14 Enkindles the fancy, and all the heart warms;
15 'Tis this makes us look on the joys that are past
16 With an eye that turns coolly to glance on the last.
17 Let the tear then flow on, nor mark the full eye,
18 'Tis the soul's secret off'ring no mortal should spy;
19 Few hearts are prepar'd for a rite so divine,
20 When the feelings alone sacrifice at the shrine.

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Title (in Source Edition): WHEN THE SOFT TEAR STEALS SILENTLY.
Themes:
Genres: song

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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. 186-187.  (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