Thrice the sad father tore thee from his heart, And thrice return'd, to bless thee, and to part; Thrice from his trembling lips he murmur'd low Till Faith, prevailing o'er his sullen doom, As bursts the morn on night's unfathom'd gloom, And weep not thus, (he cried) young Ellenore! My bosom bleeds, but soon shall bleed no more! Short shall this half-extinguish'd spirit burn, And soon these limbs to kindred dust return! But not, my child, with life's precarious fire, Th' immortal ties of Nature shall expire; These shall resist the triumph of decay, When time is o'er, and worlds have pass'd away! Cold in the dust this perish'd heart may lie, But that which warm'd it once shall never die! That spark unburied in its mortal frame, Yet, on the barren shore and stormy deep, One tedious watch is Conrad doom'd to weep; But when I gain the home without a friend, And press th' uneasy couch where none attend, This last embrace, still cherish'd in my heart, Shall calm the struggling spirit ere it part! Thy darling form shall seem to hover nigh, “Farewell! when strangers lift thy father's bier, Shall secret scenes thy filial sorrows hide, O'er friendless grief Compassion shall awake, And smile on Innocence, for Mercy's sake!" Inspiring thought of rapture yet to be, The tears of love were hopeless, but for thee! If in that frame no deathless spirit dwell, If that faint murmur be the last farewell! If fate unite the faithful but to part, Why does the Brother of my childhood seem Why do I joy the lonely spot to view, By artless friendship blest when life was new? Eternal Hope! when yonder spheres sublime Peal'd their first notes to sound the march of Time, M |