Gertrude. Catherine Rebecca Grey, Lady Manners Alexander Huber Editor Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Broad Street Oxford OX1 3BG UK
Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive
Taylor Institution Library St Giles' Oxford OX1 3NA UK info@eighteenthcenturypoetry.org https://www.eighteenthcenturypoetry.org/
Oxford This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. T173070 Manners, Catherine Rebecca, Lady, 1766 or 1767-1852. Poems by Lady Manners. Second edition. London John Bell 1793 pp. [71]-75. 126p.

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Gertrude . ARISE , kind Sun ! with brighter rays " Illumine all the grove ; " Tune every voice to grateful praise , " To harmony and love . " Give to the pink a fresher die , " New sweetness to the rose ; " Let jessamine with lilies vie , " And rival charms oppose . " The gaudy pink shall lose its pride , " Compar'd to Henry's cheek ; " The lily its dull whiteness hide , " A browner hue to take . " But not the charms of shape or face " Have caus'd a transient love : " Such passions with each youthful grace " Shall suddenly remove . " 'Tis honour binds my lasting chain , " 'Tis goodness wins my heart ; " 'Tis pity that feels mental pain " From every sufferer's smart . " 'Tis Virtue's self , to gain the mind , " My Henry's form assumes : " Virtue , with beauty there combin'd , " In bright perfection blooms . " To-day the indissoluble knot " Shall be by Hymen tied , " When happy Gertrude's envied lot " Shall make her Henry's bride . " The gentle Gertrude quick arose , Her busy maids attend : The richest robes with care they chose , The richest gems commend . But Gertrude , scorning foreign aid , Is clad in simple white ; She shuns the pomp and vain parade Which vulgar eyes delight . Her auburn hair falls unconfin'd But by a myrtle crown ; Her veil flows loosely in the wind , And low her robe hangs down . She now ascends a lofty tower , To see if Henry's near : Far as the eye extends its power , She seeks for Henry there . No Henry glads her longing eye , No festive throng advance ; No maidens flowerets strew hard by , Or lead the lively dance . The glowing crimson leaves her cheek , A deadly pale succeeds : Her Henry still resolv'd to seek , She wanders o'er the meads . She sought him through the cypress grove , She sought him o'er the plain ; Sad by the crystal stream did rove , The woodland search'd in vain , Whilst anxious thus she view'd around To find her promis'd lord , She sees him breathless on the ground , Pierc'd by his rival's sword . Around his neck she throws her arms , Her lips to his are join'd ; Sure Gertrude's lips have potent charms To animate the mind ! But Henry's frozen heart no more Can transport feel or pain : The voice that gave delight before , Now calls the youth in vain . Clos'd are those eyes that beam'd so bright , His rosy bloom is fled ; In happier climes , in purer light , He joins the tranquil dead . Distraction seiz'd the wretched maid : With agony opprest , Frantic she grasp'd the sanguine blade That gor'd her Henry's breast . The fatal sword perform'd too well , It pierc'd her tender side ; Without a sigh fair Gertrude fell , And by her Henry died .