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A MELANCHOLY LOVER'S FAREWELL TO HIS MISTRESS.

1 DEAR Phillis, all my hopes are o'er
2 And I shall see thy face no more.
3 Since every secret wish is vain,
4 I will not stay to give thee pain.
5 Then do not drop thy lowering brow,
6 But let me bless thee ere I go:
7 Oh! do not scorn my last adieu!
8 I've loved thee long, and loved thee true.
9 The prospects of my youth are crost,
10 My health is flown, my vigour lost;
11 My soothing friends augment my pain,
12 And cheerless is my native plain;
13 Dark o'er my spirits hangs the gloom,
14 And thy disdain has fixed my doom.
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15 But light waves ripple o'er the sea
16 That soon shall bear me far from thee;
17 And, wheresoe'er our course is cast,
18 I know will bear me to my rest.
19 Full deep beneath the briny wave,
20 Where lie the venturous and brave,
21 A place may be for me decreed;
22 But, should the winds my passage speed,
23 Far hence upon a foreign land,
24 Whose sons perhaps with friendly hand
25 The stranger's lowly tomb may raise,
26 A broken heart will end my days.
27 But Heaven's blessing on thee rest!
28 And may no troubles vex thy breast!
29 Perhaps, when pensive and alone,
30 You'll think of me when I am gone,
31 And gentle tears of pity shed,
32 When I am in my narrow bed.
33 But softly will thy sorrows flow
34 And greater mayest thou never know!
35 Free from all worldly care and strife,
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36 Long mayest thou live a happy life!
37 And every earthly blessing find,
38 Thou loveliest of woman kind:
39 Yea, blest thy secret wishes be,
40 Though cruel thou hast proved to me!
41 And dost thou then thine arm extend?
42 And may I take thy lovely hand?
43 And do thine eyes thus gently look,
44 As though some kindly wish they spoke?
45 My gentle Phillis, though severe,
46 I do not grudge the ills I bear;
47 But still my greatest grief will be
48 To think my love has troubled thee.
49 Oh do not scorn this swelling grief!
50 The laden bosom seeks relief;
51 Nor yet this infant weakness blame,
52 For thou hast made me what I am.
53 Hark now! the sailors call away,
54 No longer may I lingering stay.
55 May peace within thy mansion dwell!
56 O gentle Phillis, fare thee well!

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Title (in Source Edition): A MELANCHOLY LOVER'S FAREWELL TO HIS MISTRESS.
Themes: relations between the sexes
Genres: address

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Baillie, Joanna, 1762-1851. Fugitive Verses. By Joanna Baillie, author of “Dramas on the Passions,“ etc. London: Edward Moxon, Dover Street. MDCCCXL., 1840, pp. 62-64.  (Page images digitized from a copy in the Bodleian Library [40.17].)

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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 Joanna Baillie