When sorely aches the stricken heart,

How sweet it is to be alone;

Where precious tears can freely flow,

And none can hear my stifled moan.

Sweet Solitude! thou art to me,

Like rivers in a desert waste

To faint and weary travelers,

Who long the cooling stream to taste.

O, ye, whose hearts are desolate—

Ye tearful mourners, can ye tell