[See "Elegiac Stanzas. (Addressed to Sir G.H.B., upon the death of his sister-in-law.)"—I.F.]
One of the "Epitaphs and Elegiac Pieces."—Ed.
By vain affections unenthralled,
Though resolute when duty called
To meet the world's broad eye,
Pure as the holiest cloistered nun
That ever feared the tempting sun, 5
Did Fermor live and die.
This Tablet, hallowed by her name,[410]
One heart-relieving tear may claim;
But if the pensive gloom
Of fond regret be still thy choice, 10
Exalt thy spirit, hear the voice
Of Jesus from her tomb!
"I am the way, the truth, and the life."
In the letter to Lady Beaumont, referred to in the notes, the title of this poem is "Inscription in the Church of Coleorton," and a footnote is added, "Say, to the left of the vista, within the thicket, below the churchyard wall.—M. W."
Mrs. Wordsworth also says, "To fit the lines, intended for an urn, for a Monument, W. has altered the closing stanza, which (though they are not what he would have produced had he first cast them with a view to the Church) he hopes you will not disapprove."—Ed.