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.(1)

XXXVI.

"And there forlorn, despairing, hid,
I'll lay me down and die;
'Twas so for me that Edwin did;

And so for him will I." (2)

XXXVII.

"Forbid it Heaven!" the Hermit cry'd, And clasp'd her to his breast:

The wond'ring fair one turn'd to chide,— 'Twas Edwin's self that prest.

(1) [Imit." And for his sake these weeds I weare,

And sacrifice my tender age;

And every day Ile beg my bread,
To undergoe this pilgrimage.

"Thus every day I fast and pray,

And ever will doe till I dye;

And gett me to some secret place,

For so did he, and soe will I."-Gentle Herdsman.]

(2) ["And there in shelt'ring 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 clasp'd her to his breast:

The astonish'd 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."-First edit.]

XXXVIII.

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

Thy own, thy long-lost Edwin here,
Restor❜d to love and thee.

XXXIX.

"Thus let me hold thee to my heart,
And ev'ry care resign:

And shall we never, never part,
My life, my all that's mine?

XL.

"No, never, from this hour to part,
We'll live and love so true; (1)
The sigh that rends thy constant heart,
Shall break thy Edwin's too." (2)

(1) ["No, never, from this hour to part,
Our love shall still be new;

And the last sigh that rends the heart,

Shall break thy Edwin's too."-First edit.

(2) [Here followed in the original draught:

"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."]

THE

DESERTED VILLAGE.

A

POEM.

["THE Deserted Village" made its appearance in the latter end of May 1770, and at once obtained a place in popular esteem. On the 7th of June came out the second edition, on the 14th a third, on the 28th a fourth, and on the 16th of August a fifth; being a run of success such as few poems of the time had experienced within so short a period. The journals devoted to literature hailed it with the warmest applause, and the author was highly elated at his good fortune. See Life, ch. xix. Shortly after its appearance the following Lines were addressed to him by Miss Aikin, afterwards Mrs. Barbauld:

:

"In vain fair Auburn weeps her desert plainsIRA

OF THE

RY

She moves our envy who so well complains UNIVERSITY

CALIFORNIA

In vain hath proud oppression laid her low;
She wears a garland on her faded brow.
Now, Auburn, now, absolve impartial Fate,
Which, if it makes thee wretched, makes thee great.
So unobserv'd, some humble plant may bloom,
Till crush'd, it fills the air with sweet perfume:
So had thy swains in ease and plenty slept,
The Poet had not sung, nor Britain wept.
Nor let Britannia mourn her drooping bay,
Unhonour'd Genius, and her swift decay:
O Patron of the Poor! it cannot be,
While one-one poet yet remains like thee.
Nor can the Muse desert our favour'd isle,

Till thou desert the Muse, and scorn her smile."

The same lady, in her Lives of the British Novellists, thus characterizes the poetry of Goldsmith :—

"Of all the walks in which Goldsmith exercised his genius, that of poetry is the one in which it shone the brightest. Of his compositions in this line the bulk is small; but for beautiful description, touching sentiment, and a harmony of versification that operates like a charm upon any one who has an ear for poetry, they are scarcely exceeded by any in the language. There is scarcely any poem in the English language, in which harmony, beautiful description, and pathos are united with greater effect than in the Deserted Village."-British Novelist, vol. xxiii. p. 7.