| William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. The Book of Georgian Verse. 1909. | | | | Dry Be That Tear | | By Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816) |
| | | DRY be that tear, my gentlest love, | |
| Be hushed that struggling sigh; | |
| Nor seasons, day, nor fate shall prove, | |
| More fixed, more true, than I. | |
| Hushed be that sigh, be dry that tear; | 5 |
| Cease, boding doubt; cease, anxious fear— | |
| Dry be that tear. | |
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| Ask’st thou how long my love shall stay, | |
| When all that’s new is past? | |
| How long? Ah! Delia, can I say, | 10 |
| How long my life shall last? | |
| Dry be that tear, be hushed that sigh; | |
| At least I’ll love thee till I die— | |
| Hushed be that sigh. | |
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| And does that thought affect thee, too, | 15 |
| The thought of Sylvio’s death, | |
| That he, who only breathed for you, | |
| Must yield that faithful breath? | |
| Hushed be that sigh, be dry that tear, | |
| Nor let us lose our heaven here— | 20 |
| Dry be that tear. | | | | |
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