" 'Tho' from my mind each flatt'ring thought retir'd, / 'And in my bosom Hope and Peace expir'd;"
— Jerningham, Edward (1727-1812)
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for J. Robson
Date
1771, 1806
Metaphor
" 'Tho' from my mind each flatt'ring thought retir'd, / 'And in my bosom Hope and Peace expir'd;"
Metaphor in Context
'Known to Misfortune from my tender years,
'My parents' ashes drank my early tears:
'A barb'rous uncle, to each vice allied,
'The office of a parent ill supplied:
'Of my entire inheritance possess'd,
'By lucre prompted, and by fortune blest,
'He pass'd the ocean never to return,
'And left me weeping o'er my parents' urn:
'Then Arabert, the gen'rous stranger, came,
'To soothe my sorrows, and relieve my shame:
'Beneath his tender care my woes decreas'd,
'More than Religion's, he was Pity's priest:
'To reach his bounty my affection strove,
'Till gratitude was heighten'd into love:
'Nor he at length refus'd the lover's part,
'The pity that adorn'd, betray'd his heart.
'How ardently he wish'd the nuptial rite
'In holy wedlock might our hands unite!
'But stern Religion at our vows exclaim'd,
'And tore the bands that Love and Nature fram'd:
'For then devoted to her hallow'd shrine,
'His country's laws forbade him to be mine.
'Tho' from my mind each flatt'ring thought retir'd,
'And in my bosom Hope and Peace expir'd;
'Yet on their ruins Love triumphant rose:
'Enough--shame o'er the rest a mantle throws:
'At length Remorse effac'd the guilty scene,
'And to his breast apply'd her dagger keen;
'Restrain'd in full career the erring youth,
'And led him back to Innocence and Truth:
''Twas then he fled (divorc'd from Pleasure's chain)
'To woo Religion in this gloomy fane:
'Yet ere he fled, my bliss he fondly plann'd,
'And scatter'd riches with a lavish hand:
'Ah, what to me avail'd the golden store?
'The giver gone, the gift could charm no more.
'My parents' ashes drank my early tears:
'A barb'rous uncle, to each vice allied,
'The office of a parent ill supplied:
'Of my entire inheritance possess'd,
'By lucre prompted, and by fortune blest,
'He pass'd the ocean never to return,
'And left me weeping o'er my parents' urn:
'Then Arabert, the gen'rous stranger, came,
'To soothe my sorrows, and relieve my shame:
'Beneath his tender care my woes decreas'd,
'More than Religion's, he was Pity's priest:
'To reach his bounty my affection strove,
'Till gratitude was heighten'd into love:
'Nor he at length refus'd the lover's part,
'The pity that adorn'd, betray'd his heart.
'How ardently he wish'd the nuptial rite
'In holy wedlock might our hands unite!
'But stern Religion at our vows exclaim'd,
'And tore the bands that Love and Nature fram'd:
'For then devoted to her hallow'd shrine,
'His country's laws forbade him to be mine.
'Tho' from my mind each flatt'ring thought retir'd,
'And in my bosom Hope and Peace expir'd;
'Yet on their ruins Love triumphant rose:
'Enough--shame o'er the rest a mantle throws:
'At length Remorse effac'd the guilty scene,
'And to his breast apply'd her dagger keen;
'Restrain'd in full career the erring youth,
'And led him back to Innocence and Truth:
''Twas then he fled (divorc'd from Pleasure's chain)
'To woo Religion in this gloomy fane:
'Yet ere he fled, my bliss he fondly plann'd,
'And scatter'd riches with a lavish hand:
'Ah, what to me avail'd the golden store?
'The giver gone, the gift could charm no more.
Categories
Provenance
Searching in HDIS (Poetry);
Citation
3 entries in ESTC (1771, 1772).
Text from Poems and Plays, by Mr. Jerningham. 4 vols, 9th ed. (London: Printed by Luke Hansard for Nornaville and Fell, 1806).
See The Funeral of Arabert, Monk of La Trappe: a Poem. By Mr. Jerningham. (London: Printed for J. Robson, 1771). <Link to ESTC>
Text from Poems and Plays, by Mr. Jerningham. 4 vols, 9th ed. (London: Printed by Luke Hansard for Nornaville and Fell, 1806).
See The Funeral of Arabert, Monk of La Trappe: a Poem. By Mr. Jerningham. (London: Printed for J. Robson, 1771). <Link to ESTC>
Date of Entry
04/20/2005
