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XXVI.

"My father lived beside the Tyne,
A wealthy lord was he;

And all his wealth was marked as mine,
He had but only me.

XXVII.

"To win me from his tender arms
Unnumbered suitors came;
Who praised me for imputed charms,
And felt, or feigned a flame.

XXVIII.

"Each hour a mercenary crowd

With richest proffers strove;

Amongst the rest young Edwin bowed,

But never talked of love.k

XXIX.

"In humble, simplest habit clad, No wealth nor power had he;

VARIATIONS.

And as he had but only me,
Whate'er he had was mine.

"To win me from his tender arms,
Unnumbered suitors came;

Their chief pretence my flattered charms,
My wealth perhaps their aim.

k" Among the rest young Edwin bowed,
Who offered only love.

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Wisdom and worth were all he had,
But these were all to me.1

XXX.

"And when beside me1 in the dale
He carolled days of love;

His breath lent fragrance to the gale,
And music to the grove.

XXXI.

m

"The blossom opening to the day,TM

The dews of heaven refined,
Could nought of purity display,
To emulate his mind.

XXXII.

"The dew, the blossom on the tree,
With charms inconstant shine;
Their charms were his, but woe to me!
Their constancy was mine.

120

And when beside me] This stanza, written some years after the rest of the poem, was communicated by Richard Archdall, Esq. to whom it was given by Goldsmith.

VARIATIONS.

1 A constant heart was all he had,
But that was all to me.

m "Whene'er he spoke amidst the train,
How would my heart attend!
And till delighted even to pain,
How sigh for such a friend!

"And when a little rest I sought,
In sleep's refreshing arms,

XXXIII.

"For still I tried each fickle art, Importunate and vain ;

And while his passion touched my heart,

I triumphed in his pain..

XXXIV.

"Till quite dejected with my scorn,
He left me to my pride;
And sought a solitude forlorn,
In secret, where he died."

XXXV.

"But mine the sorrow, mine the fault,
And well my life shall pay ;

I'll seek the solitude he sought,
And stretch me where he lay.

XXXVI.

"And there forlorn, despairing, hid, I'll lay me down and die;

VARIATIONS.

How have I mended what he taught,
And lent him fancied charms!

"Yet still (and woe betide the hour!)
I spurned him from my side,
And still with ill-dissembled power,
Repaid his love with pride.

n "Till quite dejected with my scorn,
He left me to deplore;

And sought a solitude forlorn,

And ne'er was heard of more.

"Then since he perished by my fault,
This pilgrimage I pay; &c.

130

140

'Twas so for me that Edwin did, And so for him will I."

XXXVII.

"Forbid it, Heaven!" the Hermit cried,
And clasped her to his breast:
The wondering fair one turned to chide,--
'Twas Edwin's self that prest.

XXXVIII.

"Turn, Angelina, ever dear,
My charmer, turn to see

Thy own, thy long-lost Edwin here,
Restored to love and thee.

XXXIX.

"Thus let me hold thee to my heart,

And

every care resign:

And shall we never, never part,

My life-my all that's mine?

VARIATION.

• "And there in sheltering thickets hid,

I'll linger till I die;

'Twas thus for me my lover did,

And so for him will I."

"Thou shalt not thus," the Hermit cried,

And clasped her to his breast;

The astonished fair one turned to chide,-
'Twas Edwin's self that prest.

For now no longer could he hide,
What first to hide he strove;

His looks resume their youthful pride,

And flush with honest love.

150

XL.

"No, never from this hour to part,
We'll live and love so true,

The sigh that rends thy constant heart
Shall break thy Edwin's too."P

THE DOUBLE TRANSFORMATION.1

A TALE.

ECLUDED from domestic strife,
Jack Bookworm led a college life;
A fellowship at twenty-five

Made him the happiest man alive;

1 First printed as Essay 26, in "Essays by Mr. Gold smith," 1765, 12mo.

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VARIATIONS.

No, never, from this hour to part,
Our love shall still be new;

And the last sigh that rends thy heart
Shall break thy Edwin's too."

In the original draft the ballad ended thus:

:

"Here amidst Sylvan bowers we'll rove,
From lawn to woodland stray;

Blest as the songsters of the grove,
And innocent as they.

"To all that want, and all that wail,
Our pity shall be given,

And when this life of love shall fail,

We'll love again in heaven."

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