The Blind Girl: And Other Poems

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Wiley & Putnam, 1844 - American poetry - 159 pages
 

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Page 14 - She sat beside her cottage door, Her brow a pensive sadness wore ; And while she listened to the song That issued from that youthful throng, The tears, warm gushing on her cheek, Told what no language e'er could speak ; While their young hearts were light and gay, The hours passed heavily away. A mental night was o'er her thrown, She sat dejected and alone. Yet, no; a mother's accents dear, Came softly on that blind girl's ear. While all were...
Page 147 - lumes the spacious earth we tread : But vain, alas ! its golden ray Upon our sightless eyes is shed. They tell us of the landscape fair, — The gushing fount, the pleasant shade, — Of spring's young flowers that blossom there, In nature's lovely garb arrayed. The smile that decks the human face, The brilliant eye, the joyous brow, Are beauties we may never trace ! A rayless midnight shades us now. But why, O why the falling tear ? Why heave that sad, unbidden sigh ? The lamp of knowledge, bright...
Page 139 - Who will shew us any good ? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. 7 Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. 8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep : for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.
Page 8 - ... rounded sentences, which is said to be a characteristic of the blind. In the preface of her first work, the writer of it observes : " That one who, from the earliest period of infancy, has been deprived of sight, and whose entire knowledge of external objects, from which to paint with the imaginative pencil, has been derived from oral description, should be able thus faithfully to present scenes from nature, and in colors so vivid and true as to render the reader incredulous as to the originality...
Page 35 - The Blind Girl, and Other Poems," these characteristics are strikingly apparent. They are also well illustrated in this excerpt from "The Desolate": "A trembling star, of mildest hue, Was gleaming in the purple west, And pearly drops of balmy dew Young flowers caressed. "Oh! lovely orb as the eye traced, Methinks thou to my memory Didst paint a well remembered face, Once dear to me. "While thus I mused, a threat'ning cloud Swept o'er the sky of azure blue; That radiant star, in its dark shroud. Sank...
Page 9 - Thus the dawn of her mental existence may be said to have commenced with her introduction to the Institution, from which period her intellectual powers have expanded, until her imaginative mind has been enabled to clothe its thoughts in language at once chaste and poetic.
Page 148 - Why heave the sad, unbiclden sigh ? The lamp of knowledge, bright and fair, Pours lustre on our mental eye. And oh ! Religion's heavenly ray Our bosoms light with sacred love, And bids us look from earth, away To an eternal world above. To us our Father hath denied The blessing he on you bestows, Yet, sweetly now our moments glide, He gives us friends to soothe our woes. And though we never can express The gratitude to you we owe, God your benevolence will bless, And his approving smile bestow.
Page 19 - How changed ! that sightless orphan now : No longer clouded is her brow ; Her buoyant step is light and free, Arid none more happy is than she : For Edwation's glorious light Hath chased away her mental night. Contentment smiles upon her face, And with delight, her fingers trace The page, " by inspiration given," To guide her to a brighter heaven. If o'er the past her memory stray, Then music's sweet and charming...
Page 29 - Yon glorious orb that gilds the azure skies, Sheds not a ray to cheer these sightless eyes ; The dewy lawn, mild nature's sylvan bowers, To trace these lovely scenes must ne'er be ours...
Page 19 - Edwation's glorious light Hath chased away her mental night. Contentment smiles upon her face, And with delight, her fingers trace The page, " by inspiration given," To guide her to a brighter heaven. If o'er the past her memory stray, Then music's sweet and charming lay, Drives each dark vision from her breast, And lulls each heaving sigh to rest. Her grateful lips breathe many a prayer For him who kindly placed her there. [The...

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