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EPITAPH ON AN UNFORTUNATE LADY.

TO THE REV. GEORGE GLEIG, A.M.

1 MORTAL, whene'er by Contemplation led,
2 Thou seek'st these aweful mansions of the dead;
3 Here pause awhile, and view this humble grave,
4 Where no pale statues weep, no banners wave;
5 Here rests, secure from ev'ry human woe,
6 One whose sad fate commands the tear to flow;
7 Who, in the dawn of life, when all was gay,
8 Attentive heard seducing Pleasure's lay;
9 By the false Syren lur'd, she plow'd the wave,
10 Where ruthless rocks afford a certain grave;
11 By the rude storm despoil'd of peace and fame,
12 Your pity now is all she means to claim;
13 But, whilst celestial Pity, pausing here,
14 Shall kindly shed one tributary tear;
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15 Let none, who virtue more than mercy prize,
16 Disturb the dust that near this willow lies:
17 For, though beneath this humble, harmless stone,
18 Sleeps one to human frailty often prone,
19 Yet Pity's self shall draw a friendly veil
20 O'er all the guilt that clouds her hapless tale.
21 As vernal air then breathing pure and sweet,
22 One anxious pray'r to Heav'n's high Mercy-seat,
23 Thither shall cherub'd Peace the record bear,
24 Whilst radiant Hope shall fix her anchor there.

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Title (in Source Edition): EPITAPH ON AN UNFORTUNATE LADY. TO THE REV. GEORGE GLEIG, A.M.
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Genres: heroic couplet; epitaph

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Berkeley, George Monck, 1763-1793. Poems: by the late George-Monck Berkeley, Esq. ... With a preface by the editor, consisting of some anecdotes of Mr. Monck Berkeley and several of his friends. London: printed by J. Nichols; and sold by Messrs. Leigh and Sotheby; Mr. Edwards; Mr. Cooke, Oxford; Mr. Todd, York; Messrs. Simmons and Co.; Messrs. Flackton, Marrable, and Claris; and Mr. Bristow, Canterbury, 1797, pp. 16-17. viii,DCXXXII,212p.,plate: port.; 4⁰. (ESTC T142950; OTA K111746.000) (Page images digitized by the University of California Libraries.)

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The text has been typographically modernized, but without any silent modernization of spelling, capitalization, or punctuation. The source of the text is given and all editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. Based on the electronic text originally produced by the TCP project, 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.

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