[Page [116]]

To Solitude.

1 SOLITUDE, celestial maid,
2 Once again to thee I bow,
3 And beneath the beechen shade
4 Pour to thee my ardent vow.
5 Mingled with the worldly crowd,
6 Thee my heart has still ador'd;
7 Nor could Pleasure's revels loud
8 E'er to me one joy afford.
9 Come then, with that form divine,
10 Such as in Ierne's isle,
11 While I heap'd thy rustic shrine,
12 Oft you deign'd on me to smile.
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13 Come with modest, easy mien,
14 Unconstrain'd by modish art,
15 Blooming cheek, and eye serene,
16 Tranquil mind, and spotless heart.
17 Spread new verdure o'er the plain,
18 Add fresh odours to the breeze;
19 Crown the feather'd songster's strain
20 With unwonted melodies.
21 Lead me thro' yon waving grove,
22 Where the thickest boughs unite;
23 'Mid its mazes let me rove,
24 Wrapt with thee from mortal sight.
25 And from thy sequester'd cell
26 Bring the sober train along,
27 Who delight with thee to dwell,
28 Shelter'd from the guilty throng:
29 Meditation, pensive fair,
30 Deep immers'd in thought profound;
31 Leisure, with unruffled air,
32 Pacing careless o'er the ground:
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33 Active Health, with ruddy face,
34 Bounding thro' the woodlands wild;
35 Beauty, with unstudied grace;
36 Temperance, with carriage mild.
37 Happy they who ne'er have flown
38 From thy pure and gentle reign:
39 Happier who, life's quicksands known,
40 Rush to Peace and thee again.
41 For them sweeter scents the rose,
42 Clearer flows for them the stream;
43 Richer tints the groves disclose,
44 Brighter shines the morning beam.
45 From each vain delusion freed,
46 Passion's helpless slaves no more,
47 They, while fairer views succeed,
48 Smiling think on dangers o'er.
49 Thus the slumberer wrapt in night
50 Pines 'mid visions of distress —
51 But with the returning light
52 Wakes to real happiness.

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About this text

Title (in Source Edition): To Solitude.
Author: Catherine Rebecca Grey, Lady Manners
Themes:
Genres: narrative verse

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Source edition

Manners, Catherine Rebecca, Lady, 1766 or 1767-1852. Poems by Lady Manners. Second edition. London: John Bell, 1793, pp. [116]-118. 126p. (ESTC T173070)

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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.