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TO THE MEMORY OF THE LAMENTED MR. ROBERT HAWKE K——Y.
1 Fair breaks the morn o'er yonder eastern skies,
2 And bright'ning hills in pleasing prospect rise;
3 But who can say, serene the day will end,
4 The sun unclouded to its depth descend?
5 Such dear departed infant was thy dawn,
6 But gloom o'ershades the eve my hopes had drawn.
7 Oh, thou! so late my child — my hope and pride,
8 Who ever pleas'd, until the hour thou died,
9 In mournful strains let now my sad heart tell,
10 How I my darling boy could bid farewel!
11 Angelic brightness! oh! look down and see
12 What bitter pangs thy parent feels for thee.
[Page 2]13 If thy pure shade can know what passes here;
14 Accept the bursting sigh —— the gushing tear; ——
15 And thou, so soon enthron'd in realms above,
16 Forgive the murmurs of maternal love!
17 Severely kind was that all-sacred day,
18 When thy sweet form did ev'ry pain repay:
19 Thy angel beauty did my hope engage,
20 That thou shouldst bless my life, and chear my age;
21 And thou, fair spirit, now remov'd from pain,
22 Hast taught my humble heart, that life is vain:
23 Yet, what is this that struggles at my breast
24 For thee, my child? —— it will not be supprest:
25 Thy spotless innocence —— thy soul so pure,
26 From scorn could not thy guiltless clay secure.
27 What tho' distinguish'd by that honor'd name
28 Which gain'd to Britain glory, wealth and fame,
29 That swift destruction o'er her foes has hurl'd,
30 And liv'd the pride of an admiring world;
31 What tho' descended from that soldier's breast,
32 Who reigns*
* Col. K——y was then living, high in reputation as in rank — commanding the centre army in the Carnatic.
a hero, worshipt in the East,33 Whose gallant deeds adorn Indostan's page,
34 And thou the latest darling of his age;
35 Did it avail thee, honor, worth, and grace,
36 Gave brilliant lustre to thy mother's race, —
[Page 3]37 A noble race, where all the virtues glow,
38 Adorn'd with all that monarchs can bestow?
39 Ah, no! tho' thus distinguish'd by thy birth,
40 Thou wast deny'd a little spot of earth;
41 Tho' soft humanity exalts her crest,
42 And in Britannia reigns an honor'd guest,
43 Yet cruel C—b—w-l refus'd a grave*
* Neither clergyman nor sexton were in the church-yard — and, the corps obliged to be carried back till next day.
,44 The last retreat thy lovely form could crave
45 But if unhallow'd was thy closing scene,
46 Thou angel innocent art now serene;
47 And tho' no costly marble e'er may grace
48 Thy low-reposing bed — thy resting-place —
49 Yet shall the fairest flowers the spot adorn,
50 Cherish'd with purest tears of early morn;
51 And angels guard thy guiltless sleeping clay,
52 Till thou awakest to eternal day.
53 How sweet thy rest! from ev'ry evil free!
54 "The world is left to wretchedness and me."
55 Oh, why! — but soft — be still, my murm'ring breast, —
56 My little angel's gone to endless rest;
57 With kindred spirits, far remote from pain,
58 He waits the hour when we shall meet again.
About this text
Author: Isabella Kelly (née Fordyce)
Themes:
Genres:
heroic couplet; lament
Text view / Document view
Source edition
Kelly, Isabella, 1759-1857. Collection of Poems and Fables on Several Occasions. London: W. Richardson, 1794, pp. [1]-3. 72p. (ESTC T122123) (Page images digitized from a copy at the British Library.)
Editorial principles
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 Isabella Kelly (née Fordyce)
- ANSWER TO THE SONG OF 'TRUST NOT MAN,' &c. ()
- The CHOICE; or, DULL HOUR PAST. ()
- THE EAGLE, THE KITE, AND THE COCK. An Emblematic Fable, most respectfully addressed to the Right Hon. General C——y. Written in the year 1788. ()
- EPITAPH ON A FAVORITE TAME CHICKEN. ()
- EXTEMPORE AFTER A DISPUTE AT DUNKERQUE. ()
- EXTEMPORE in the GARDEN of a CONVENT belonging to LES SOEURS NOIR, à BOURBURG. ()
- EXTEMPORE ON ARRIVING IN THE COUNTRY. ()
- THE HAWK, THE MAGPIES, AND THE PIGEONS. A Fable, very respectfully addressed to the Hon. Mrs. E—tw—k. ()
- IN THE BLANK LEAF OF LORD LYTTELTON'S WORKS. ()
- LINES FOR THE BLANK LEAF OF MY PRAYER BOOK: WRITTEN ON A SUNDAY. ()
- MIRANDA and the RED-BREAST. A FABLE FOR THE LADIES. ()
- ON A CHILD'S BIRTH DAY. ()
- ON BEHOLDING ARTHUR ASLEEP. ()
- ON THE RIGHT HONORABLE GENERAL C——Y LOSING HIS ELECTION FOR BURY ST. EDMUND'S. ()
- REFLECTIONS AFTER VIEWING A SCENE OF DISTRESS. ()
- THE REFORMED MAN OF FASHION, TO HIS FRIEND. ()
- RETIRED THOUGHTS TO A DEPARTED INFANT. ()
- TO A BROTHER, ON ENTERING THE ARMY. ()
- TO A WANDERING HUSBAND, FROM A DESERTED WIFE. ()
- TO AN UNBORN INFANT. ()
- To ARTHUR. ()
- TO THE MEMORY OF AN HONEST MAN, MR. B. D., ADDRESSED TO HIS WIDOW. ()
- To the MEMORY of ELIZA F——E, AN EXEMPLARY MOTHER. ()
- TO THE MEMORY OF LIEUT. JAMES ABERNETHIE, LOST ON BOARD THE GLORIEUX, 1782. ()
- TO THE MEMORY OF THE HONORABLE MISS CAROLINE CAMPBEL. ()
- TO THE MEMORY OF THE LATE CAPTAIN T. H. ABBOTT. RESPECTFULLY ADDRESSED TO THE OFFICERS OF THE ARTILLERY. ()
- THE VISION. ()
- WRITTEN IN VERY DEEP AFFLICTION. ()