“Weep not, but hear me, how I came to know
Thee and thy Frances—this to heaven I owe;
And thou shalt view the pledge, the very ring,
The birth-day token—well you know the thing;
‘This,’ if I ever—thus I was to speak,
As she had spoken—but I see you weak: 680
She was not worthy——”
“O! you cannot tell
By what accursed means my Fanny fell!
What bane, compulsion, threats—for she was pure;