Moral Pieces, in Prose and Verse

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MORAL PIECES,


IN


Prose and Verse.






BY LYDIA HUNTLEY.







HARTFORD:

Sheldon & Goodwin.....Printers.

1815.



District of Connecticut, ss.

BE IT REMEMBERED: That on the thirtieth day of December, in the thirty-ninth year of the Independence of the United States of America, LYDIA HUNTLEY, of the said District, hath deposited in this office, the title of a Book, the right whereof she claims as Authoress in the words following, to wit:

"Moral Pieces, in Prose and Verse. By Lydia Huntley."

In conformity to the act of the Congress of the United States, entitled "An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned."

HENRY W. EDWARDS, Clerk of the District of Connecticut.
A true copy of Record examined and sealed by me,

HENRY W. EDWARDS, Clerk of the District of Connecticut.


ADVERTISEMENT.


A FEW of the productions now brought before the public were intended for the use of a School; but the greater part arose from the impulse of the moment, at intervals of relaxation from such domestic employments, as the circumstances of the writer, and her parents, rendered indispensable. Most of them were written when she was very young, and, with the exception of two or three short pieces, the whole, before she had attained the age of twenty-three years.


INTRODUCTION.


A DAMP and dewy wreath that grew
    Upon the breast of Spring,
A harp whose tones are faint and few,
    With trembling hand I bring.

The clang of war, the trumpet's roar,
    May drown the feeble note,
And down to Lethe's silent shore,
    The scattered wreath may float.

But He, who taught the flowers to spring
    From waste neglected ground,
And gave the silent harp a string
    Of wild and nameless sound;


Commands my spirit not to trust
    Her happiness with these:
A bloom that moulders back to dust,
    A music soon to cease.

But seek those flowers unstain'd by time,
    To constant virtue given,
And for that harp of tone sublime,
    Which seraphs wake in Heaven.

CONTENTS.

A. Page.
ADDRESS to the Deity,
34
Anniversary of the death of a venerable friend,
35
Address to the New Month,
47
Adieu,
121
Anniversary of the death of the Rev. Mr. Hooker,
133
A Thought,
134
Address from a young Pupil to her companions,
151
Application of the Roman Precept,
225
Autumnal Scene,
242
B.
Birth Day,
146
Birth day of a young Lady who had recently lost her Mother,
219
C.
Contemplation,
3
Conflagration at Washington,
31
Characters of Others,
66
Composition,
79
Courage of Cesar,
129
Cares of Earth,
149
Careless Heart,
199
Confidence of Alexander,
203
Creation,
239
Convention,
246
D.
Death of an Invalid,
13
Dove,
14
Death of Mr. Washburn,
49
Desertion of the Muse,
109
Deserted Garden,
107
Destruction of the Inquisition,
43
Deception,
137
Departure of Mrs. Nott with the Missionaries,
140
Dedication for a Book of Poetical Extracts,
143
Detached Thoughts,
157
E.
Election,
27
Excuse,
113
Evening Thought,
123
Evening,
131
Equanimity of Zeno,
131
Evils of Haste,
134
Exclamation at Midnight,
142
Emblem,
203
Evening Examination,
216
Evening Reflection,
228
Eclipse of the Moon,
250
Evening Prayer,
264
Filial Duty,
53
Farewell to the Month,
46
For the blank page of a new Bible,
122
Friendship,
141
First of September,
173
First Morning of May,
226
First Wintry Morning,
252
G.
God displayed in his Works,
4
Gratitude,
19
Do.
95
Giving the Bible to the Esquimaux,
9
Government of the Passions,
85
H.
Happiness,
97
Hearing a Bell Toll,
206
Hymn,
229
I.
Indecision,
91
Improvement of Scipio's Boast,
223
Infant,
255
Invocation,
257
L.
Life,
23
Longest Day,
220
Life,
136
M. Page.
Macdonough,
29
Malta,
39
Memory,
59
Montivideo,
103
Modesty,
94
Morning Thoughts,
118
Morning,
130
Moonlight Scene,
147
Midnight Prayer,
206
Moon and Star,
212
Morning Prayer,
260
Midday Prayer,
263
N.
Novel Reading,
56
O.
Our Country,
24
On hearing a friend sing at Midnight,
190
On the Character of a venerable Friend,
200
P.
Procrastination,
6
Philosopher's Reproof,
120
Psalm CXIX.
138
Psalm CXIX.
175
Paraphrase of Amos,
181
Parting,
205
Pope,
213
Page.
Parting Friend,
217
Paraphrase of Cleopatra's Advice,
222
Q.
Queen of Night,
128
R.
Richmond Theatre,
248
Rain Bow,
235
Rising Moon,
115
Regard due to the feelings of others,
126
Reflection,
133
Request,
148
Rose,
179
Rove Forever,
208
Rapidity of Time,
214
Reply of the Philosopher,
223
Do.
224
S.
Storm at Midnight,
5
Self Knowledge,
72
Sabbath Morning,
116
Susceptible Mind,
18
Summer Morning,
127
Sleeping Infant,
196
Solitary Star,
201
Seclusion of Basil,
226
St. Clair,
251
T.
Tribute,
1
Tear,
22
To a Friend in Affliction,
117
To a Young Lady,
124
Trust in the Almighty,
135
Tolling of a Bell,
139
To a Friend on the first day of the Year,
140
Transient Joy,
144
To a Friend whose correspondence had been interrupted,
193
To an Instructor,
209
Twilight,
215
To a Friend with Geraniums,
215
To a Friend on the 24th anniversary of her Marriage,
234
Thoughts on Childhood,
236
To a Friend,
241
V.
Vain Pursuits,
125
Vanity,
137
Vanity of Life,
204
Victory,
231
Vicissitudes of Nature,
258
W.
Weeping may endure for a Night,
154
Y.
Youth,
99
Young Friend Sleeping.
221