[Page 74]

SONNET [54] LIV. The sleeping Woodman. Written in April, 1790.

1 YE copses wild, where April bids arise
2 The vernal grasses, and the early flow'rs;
3 My soul depress'd from human converse flies
4 To the lone shelter of your pathless bow'rs.
5 Lo! where the Woodman, with his toil oppress'd,
6 His careless head, on bark and moss reclin'd,
7 Lull'd by the song of birds, the murm'ring wind,
8 Has sunk to calm, tho' momentary, rest.
9 Ah! would 'twere mine in Spring's green lap to find
10 Such transient respite from the ills I bear!
11 Would I could taste, like this unthinking hind,
12 A sweet forgetfulness of human care,
[*]

LINE 12. A sweet forgetfulness of human care. Pope.

13 'Till the last sleep these weary eyes shall close,
14 And Death receive me to his long repose.

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Title (in Source Edition): SONNET [54] LIV. The sleeping Woodman. Written in April, 1790.
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Genres: sonnet

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Smith, Charlotte Turner, 1749-1806. Elegiac sonnets, and other poems. By Charlotte Smith. The first Worcester edition, from the sixth London edition, with additions. Printed at Worcester [Mass.]: by Isaiah Thomas, sold by him in Worcester, and by said Thomas and Andrews in Boston, 1795, p. 74. xix,[2],22-126,[2]p.,[5] leaves of plates: ill.; 15 cm. (12mo) (OTA N22357)

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The text has been typographically modernized, but without any silent modernization of spelling, capitalization, or punctuation. The source of the text is given and all editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. Based on the electronic text originally produced by the TCP project, 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 Charlotte Smith (née Turner)