——like an ill-used ghost

Not to return;—or if it did, its visits,

Like those of angels, short and far between.—Grave.

But this pretty conceit originated with Norris, of Bemerton, (died 1711,) in a religious poem:—

But those who soonest take their flight

Are the most exquisite and strong:

Like angels’ visits, short and bright,

Mortality’s too weak to bear them long.—The Parting.


Dear as the light that visits these sad eyes,