Which secret steals adown thy lovely face, Dissembling smiles to cheer me-cheer me! Heaven! Look on the mighty ruin I have pluck'd, Pluck'd instant, unsuspected, in the hour Of peace and dear security, on her head! And where-O where can cheerfulness be found? Mine must be mourning ever. Oh, my wife, "I have undone thee !" What th' infuriate band Of foes vindictive could not have achievedIn mercy would not-I have wrought! Thy husband! Thy husband, loved with such unshaken truth,— Thy husband, loved with such a steady flame, From youth's first hour!-even he hath on thee pluck'd, On thee, his soul's companion, life's best friend, Such desolation, as to view would draw From the wild savage pity's deepest groan ! 5. A Convict Mother's Grief. Dr. Dodd. Oh, sleep not, my babe! for the morn of to-morrow Shall soothe me to slumber more tranquil than thine ; The dark grave shall shield me from shame and from sorrow, Though the deeds and the gloom of the guilty are mine. Not long shall the arm of affection enfold thee: Not long shalt thou hang on thy mother's fond breast; And who with the eye of delight shall behold thee, And watch thee, and guard thee, when I am at rest? And yet it doth grieve me to wake thee, my dearest, The pangs of thy desolate mother to see; Thou wilt weep when the clank of my cold chain thou hearest, And none but the guilty shall mourn over me. And yet I must wake thee-for while thou art weeping, To calm thee, I stifle my tears for awhile; But thou smil'st in thy dreams while thus placidly sleeping, And, oh! how it wounds me to gaze on thy smile! Alas! my sweet babe, with what pride had I pressed thee To the bosom that now throbs with terror and shame, If the pure tie of virtuous affection had blessed thee, And hailed thee the heir of thy father's high name! But now-with remorse that avails not-I mourn thee, Forsaken and friendless, as soon thou wilt be: In a world, if it cannot betray, that will scorn thee— Avenging the guilt of thy mother on thee. And when the dark thought of my fate shall awaken The deep blush of shame on thy innocent cheek,— When by all but the God of the orphan forsaken, A home and a father in vain thou shalt seek ;— I know that the base world will seek to deceive thee, With falsehood like that which thy mother beguil'd; Yet, lost and degraded-to whom can I leave thee? O God of the fatherless! pity my child! V.-Passions, with Intense Emotion. Dale. Passions of this class, indicating the greatest emotion and excitement of which the human mind is capable, are always connected with much mental suffering. They are expressed in those deep tones which are naturally associated with intense feeling, and frequently give occasion to great excitement, both of voice and manner. They may be illustrated by Anger, and Rage, its excess;-Hatred, and that condition of the mind to which it prompts, Revenge ;-Remorse, which connects itself chiefly with the past, and Despair, which looks forward also to the future; the former excited by individual acts, and the latter by circumstances beyond the sufferer's control. It must not be supposed, however, that the intense emotions of the mind are limited to such passions as are included in this chapter. Every passion is capable of being intensified, and requires, in such case, to be properly expressed in reading. (1.) ANGER AND RAGE. 1. Adam's Anger against Eve. To whom, then first incens'd, Adam reply'd: And am I now upbraided as the cause That lay in wait; beyond this had been force, What seem'd in thee as perfect, that I thought That error now, which is become my crime, Milton. 2. Henry the Fifth's Anger against Lord Scroop. But O! What shall I say to thee, Lord Scroop; thou cruel Thou, that did'st bear the key of all my counsels, And whatsoever cunning fiend it was Gave thee no instance why thou should'st do treason, O, how hast thou with jealousy infected Why, so did'st thou Why, so did'st thou Show men dutiful? seem they grave and learned? come they of noble family? seem they religious? or, are they spare in diet;Free from gross passion, or of mirth or anger; Constant in spirit, not swerving with the blood; Garnish'd and deck'd in modest complement? Such, and so finely bolted did'st thou seem: And thus thy fall hath left a kind of blot, To mark the full-fraught man, and best indued, With some suspicion. Shakspeare. 3. Queen Katharine's Indignation against Wolsey. Lord Cardinal, To you I speak.-I do believe, Induced by potent circumstances, that You are mine enemy; and make my challenge Hath blown this coal betwixt my lord and me. I utterly abhor, yea, from my soul Refuse you for my judge whom yet once more, At all a friend to truth.-My lord, my lord, I am a simple women, much too weak To oppose your cunning. You are meek and humblemouth'd; You sign your place and calling, in full seeming, You have, by fortune, and his highness' favours, I do refuse you for my judge. Shakspeare. 4. Rage of Marmion against Douglas. And-" This to me!" he said- Here in thy hold, thy vassals near And if thou said'st I am not peer, Lord Argus, thou hast lied!" Walter Scott. 5. W. Tell's Rage at being commanded to Bow to Gesler's Cap. Off, off, you base and hireling pack! I've scatter'd A flock of wolves that did outnumber you. For sport I did it. Sport! I scattered them |