Thou canst not hope, O nymph divine39
That I should ever court the
Or that, when passion’s glow is done,1
My heart can ever love but
When, from Hope’s flowers exhales the dew,2
Then Love’s false smiles desert us
Then Fancy’s radiance ’gins to flee,3
And life is robbed of all the
And Sorrow sad her tears must pour4
O’er cheeks where roses bloomed be
Yes! life’s a scene all dim as Styx;6
Its joys are dear at
Its raptures fly so quickly hence18d
They’re scarcely cheap at
Oh! for the dreams that then survive!25
They’re high at pennies
The breast no more is filled with heaven27
When years it numbers
And yields it up to Manhood’s fate28
About the age of
Finds the world cold and dim and dirty30
Ere the heart’s annual count is
Alas! for all the joys that follow25
I would not give a quarter dollar.
1 97½

Thus, my dear maid, I send to you

The balance of my meter due;

Please scrutinize the above amount,

And set it down to my account.


“FRAGMENTS OF AN ORIGINAL LOVE STORY.”

BY
J. G. STAUNTON, AND A SOUTH CAROLINA LADY.


After a “lovers’