VALENTINE
TO
MISS
BRAND
,
WITH
A
Miniature
Picture
,
Laid
upon
her
Toilet
on
Saint
Valentine's
Eve
,
1786.
SISTER
belov'd
!
Friend
of
my
inmost
Heart
!
Accept
this
effort
of
the
Painter's
Art
.
Such
is
thy
Hannah's
form
,
but
who
shall
find
The
skill
to
paint
her
heart
,
where
thou
art
shrin'd
?
To
show
Thee
all
her
love
,
her
anxious
care
,
Her
fond
solicitude
for
Thee
declare
?
Those
ties
,
which
are
ordain'd
by
Nature's
laws
,
The
willing
hand
of
Friendship
closer
draws
;
For
hadst
thou
not
,
by
Nature's
sacred
voice
,
My
Sister
been
,
thou
still
hadst
been
my
choice
;
My
Friend
selected
,
partner
of
my
breast
,
Thy
Worth
esteem'd
,
thy
Merit
all
confess'd
:
Thy
Heart
in
which
the
Virtues
all
are
join'd
,
Thy
polish'd
Manners
,
and
thy
candid
mind
,
Had
won
my
Soul
to
court
the
Worth
it
loves
,
To
seek
the
modest
Merit
it
approves
.
Bless'd
may'st
thou
be
through
a
long
,
blameless
life
,
Nor
stung
by
Envy
,
nor
annoy'd
by
Strife
;
May
Health
still
blooming
on
thy
brow
be
seen
,
Nor
Care
,
nor
Sorrow
make
it
less
serene
.
Thou
,
Fortune
!
who
so
oft
hast
been
the
Slave
,
Of
many
a
Miser
,
Dastard
,
Fool
,
and
Knave
,
For
once
be
just
,
—
endow
one
gen'rous
Mind
,
Who'd
use
thy
Gifts
to
bless
,
as
Heaven
design'd
;
From
thy
huge
Wreath
one
little
Chaplet
twine
,
To
grace
my
Sister
,
Friend
,
and
Valentine
!