Date: 1788

"His verse as elegant; unspotted lines / Flow from a mind unspotted as themselves."

— Hurdis, James (1763-1801)

Date: 1788

"So have I heard / The captive finch, in narrow cage confin'd, / Charm all his woe away with cheerful song, / Which might have melted e'en a heart of steel / To give him liberty"

— Hurdis, James (1763-1801)

Date: 1788

"I would not hear / Aught else disturb the silent reign of death, / Save the dull ticking of a lazy clock. / That calls me home, and leads the pious soul / Through mazes of reflection, till she feels / For whom and why she lives"

— Hurdis, James (1763-1801)

Date: 1790

"Her sickly mind / Was ill at ease, though seated on the throne / of affluence and plenty."

— Hurdis, James (1763-1801)

Date: 1790

"With a soldier's care / He plan'd the conquest of Ophelia's heart/ and won it"

— Hurdis, James (1763-1801)

Date: 1790

"Is there a man whose iron heart is proof / Against such charms?"

— Hurdis, James (1763-1801)

Date: 1800

"Steel were the heart / That could this passing spectacle survey, / Nor feel the touch of sympathy within."

— Hurdis, James (1763-1801)

Date: 1800

"Piece of the nether millstone is his heart / Who marks ill-pleas'd the frolic of the child, / Or views the rural festival unmov'd."

— Hurdis, James (1763-1801)

Date: 1810

"And yet, my heart, within thy silent cell / Dwells a fair image which is lovelier still."

— Hurdis, James (1763-1801)