And Hope but shed a dying spark
Which more misled my lonely way;
In that deep midnight of the mind,
And that internal strife of heart,
When dreading to be deemed too kind,
The weak despair—the cold depart;
When Fortune changed—and Love fled far,[1]
And Hatred's shafts flew thick and fast,10
Thou wert the solitary star[2]
Which rose and set not to the last.[3]
Oh! blest be thine unbroken light!
That watched me as a Seraph's eye,
And stood between me and the night,
For ever shining sweetly nigh.
And when the cloud upon us came,[4]
Which strove to blacken o'er thy ray—[5]
Then purer spread its gentle flame,[6]
And dashed the darkness all away.20
Still may thy Spirit dwell on mine,[7]
- ↑ When Friendship shook ——.—[MS. M.]
- ↑ Thine was the solitary star.—[MS. M.]
- ↑ Which rose above me to the last.—[MS. M.]
- ↑ And when the cloud between us came.—[MS. M.]
And when the cloud upon me came.—[Copy C. H.] - ↑ Which would have closed on that last ray.—[MS. M.]
- ↑ Then stiller stood the gentle Flame.—[MS. M.]
- ↑ Still may thy Spirit sit on mine.[MS. M.]
parting tribute to her whose tenderness had been his sole consolation in the crisis of domestic misery—were, we believe, the last verses written by Lord Byron in England. In a note to Mr. Rogers, dated April 16 [1816], he says, "My sister is now with me, and leaves town to-morrow; we shall not meet again for some time at all events—if ever! and under these circumstances I trust to stand excused to you and Mr. Sheridan, for being unable to wait upon him this evening."—Note to Edition of 1832, x. 193. A fair copy, broken up into stanzas, is endorsed by Murray, "Given to me (and I believe composed by Ld. B.), Friday, April 12, 1816."]
