| Andrew Macphail, comp. The Book of Sorrow. 1916. | | | XXVI. Melancholy
In a Churchyard | | By Charlotte Smith (1749–1806) |
| | | O THOU, who sleep’st where hazel bands entwine | |
| The vernal grass, with paler violets drest! | |
| I would, sweet maid, thy humble bed were mine, | |
| And mine thy calm and enviable rest. | |
| For never more, by human ills opprest, | 5 |
| Shall thy soft spirit fruitlessly repine: | |
| Thou canst not now thy fondest hopes resign | |
| Even in the hour that should have made thee blest. | |
| Light lies the turf upon thy virgin breast; | |
| And lingering here, to love and sorrow true, | 10 |
| The youth who once thy simple heart possest | |
| Shall mingle tears with April’s early dew; | |
| While still for him shall faithful memory save | |
| Thy form and virtues from the silent grave. | | | | |
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