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3.

But Breeze of night again forbear,

In softest murmurs only sigh;

Let not a Zephyr's pinion dare

To lift those auburn locks on high.

4.

Chill is thy Breath, thou breeze of night!
Oh! ruffle not those lids of Snow;

For only Morning's cheering light

May wake the beam that lurks below.

5.

Blest be that lip and azure eye!

Sweet Fanny, hallowed be thy Sleep!

Those lips shall never vent a sigh,

Those eyes may never wake to weep.

February 23rd, 1808.

TO HARRIET.1

I.

HARRIET! to see such Circumspection,2

In Ladies I have no objection

Concerning what they read;

1. [From an autograph MS. at Newstead, now for the first time printed.]

2. [See the poem "To Marion," and note, p. 129. It would seem that J. T. Becher addressed some flattering lines to Byron with reference to a poem concerning Harriet Maltby, possibly the lines "To Marion." The following note was

An ancient Maid's a sage adviser,

Like her, you will be much the wiser,

In word, as well as Deed.

2.

But Harriet, I don't wish to flatter,

And really think 't would make the matter
More perfect if not quite,

If other Ladies when they preach,

Would certain Damsels also teach

More cautiously to write.

THERE WAS A TIME, I NEED NOT NAME.1

I.

THERE was a time, I need not name,
Since it will ne'er forgotten be,
When all our feelings were the same

As still my soul hath been to thee.

i. Stanzas to the Same.-[Imit. and Transl., p. 200.] attached by Miss Pigot to these stanzas, which must have been written on another occasion :-" I saw Lord B. was flattered by John Becher's lines, as he read Apollo, etc., with a peculiar smile and emphasis; so out of fun, to vex him a little, I said, 'Apollo! He should have said Apollyon.' 'Elizabeth! for Heaven's sake don't say so again! I don't mind you telling me so; but if any one else got hold of the word, I should never hear the end of it.' So I laughed at him, and dropt it, for he was red with agitation."]

1. [This copy of verses, with eight others, originally appeared in a volume published in 1809 by J. C. Hobhouse, under the title of Imitations and Translations, From the Ancient and Modern Classics, Together with Original Poems never before published. The MS. is in the possession of the Earl of Lovelace.]

2.

And from that hour when first thy tongue

Confess'd a love which equall'd mine,

Though many a grief my heart hath wrung,
Unknown, and thus unfelt, by thine,

3.

None, none hath sunk so deep as this-
To think how all that love hath flown;
Transient as every faithless kiss,

But transient in thy breast alone.

4.

And yet my heart some solace knew,
When late I heard thy lips declare,
In accents once imagined true,

Remembrance of the days that were.

5.

Yes! my adored, yet most unkind!
Though thou wilt never love again,

To me 'tis doubly sweet to find

Remembrance of that love remain.

6.

Yes! 'tis a glorious thought to me,
Nor longer shall my soul repine,
Whate'er thou art or e'er shalt be,

Thou hast been dearly, solely mine.

June 10, 1808. [First published, 1809.] i. The memory of that love again.—[MS. L.]

AND WILT THOU WEEP WHEN I AM LOW?

I.

AND wilt thou weep when I am low?

Sweet lady! speak those words again :

Yet if they grieve thee, say not so

I would not give that bosom pain.

2.

My heart is sad, my hopes are gone,

My blood runs coldly through my breast;

And when I perish, thou alone

Wilt sigh above my place of rest.

3.

And yet, methinks, a gleam of peace

Doth through my cloud of anguish shine:

And for a while my sorrows cease,

To know thy heart hath felt for mine.

4.

Oh lady! blessèd be that tear

It falls for one who cannot weep;

i. Stanzas.-[MS. L.]

To the Same.-[Imit. and Transl., p. 202.]

Such precious drops are doubly dear i

To those whose eyes no tear may steep.

5.

Sweet lady! once my heart was warm
With every feeling soft as thine;
But Beauty's self hath ceased to charm
A wretch created to repine.

6.ii.

Yet wilt thou weep when I am low?
Sweet lady! speak those words again :

Yet if they grieve thee, say not so-
I would not give that bosom pain.'

Aug. 12, 1808. [First published, 1809.]

i. For one whose life is torment here,
And only in the dust may sleep.—[MS. L.]

ii. The MS. inserts

Lady I will not tell my tale

For it would rend thy melting heart;

'Twere pity sorrow should prevail

O'er one so gentle as thou art.-[MS. L.]

I. [It was in one of Byron's fits of melancholy that the following verses were addressed to him by his friend John Cam Hobhouse :--

EPISTLE TO A YOUNG NOBLEMAN IN LOVE.

e;

Hail! generous youth, whom glory's sacred flame
Inspires, and animates to deeds of fame
Who feel the noble wish before you die
To raise the finger of each passer-by:
Hail! may a future age admiring view
A Falkland or a Clarendon in you.

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