By softer passions mov’d, to nature true,
His lovely heroine he describes from you, 30
Women of England! — Lo a bard unknown
Covets your favour — yet in abject tone
He scorns to plead — more general this appeal
Shall be, to all who think, to all who feel.
Of party guiltless, shunning all offense, 35
Trusting alone to nature, truth and sense,
To this whole audience he his cause confides,
Where British Candour hears, & British taste decides.
The Poems
Smith spent her childhood at Bignor Park, Pullborough, West Sussex
List of Poems in Chronological Order
SONNET I. THE PARTIAL MUSE, HAS FROM MY EARLIEST HOURS
SONNET II. WRITTEN AT THE CLOSE OF SPRING.
SONNET III. TO A NIGHTINGALE.
SONNET IV. TO THE MOON.
SONNET V. TO THE SOUTH DOWNS.
SONNET VI. TO HOPE.
SONNET VII. ON THE DEPARTURE OF THE NIGHTINGALE.
SONNET VIII. TO SPRING.
SONNET IX. BLEST IS YON SHEPHERD, ON THE TURF RECLINED
SONNET X. TO MRS. G.
SONNET XI. TO SLEEP.
SONNET XII. WRITTEN ON THE SEA SHORE, OCT. 1784.
SONNET XIII. FROM PETRARCH.
SONNET XIV. FROM PETRARCH.
SONNET XV. FROM PETRARCH.
SONNET XVI. FROM PETRARCH.
SONNET XVII. FROM THE THIRTEENTH CANTATA OF METASTASIO.
SONNET XVIII. TO THE EARL OF EGREMONT.
SONNET XIX. TO MR. HAYLEY
SONNET XX. TO THE COUNTESS OF A ——
SONNET XXI. SUPPOSED TO BE WRITTEN BY WERTER.
SONNET XXII. BY THE SAME. TO SOLITUDE.
SONNET XXIII. BY THE SAME. TO THE NORTH STAR.
SONNET XXIV. BY THE SAME.
SONNET XXV. BY THE SAME. Just before his Death.
SONNET XXVI. TO THE RIVER ARUN.
SONNET XXVII. SIGHING I SEE YON LITTLE TROOP AT PLAY
SONNET XXVIII. TO FRIENDSHIP.
SONNET XXIX. TO MISS C —— .
SONNET XXX. TO THE RIVER ARUN.
SONNET XXXI. WRITTEN ON FARM WOOD, SOUTH DOWNS, MAY 1784.
SONNET XXXII. TO MELANCHOLY.
SONNET XXXIII. TO THE NAIAD OF THE ARUN.
SONNET XXXIV. TO A FRIEND.
SONNET XXXV. TO FORTITUDE.
SONNET XXXVI. SHOULD THE LONE WANDERER, FAINTING ON HIS WAY
SONNET XXXVII. SENT TO THE HON. MRS. O’NEILL, WITH PAINTED FLOWERS.
SONNET XXXVIII. FROM THE NOVEL OF EMMELINE.
SONNET XXXIX. TO NIGHT. FROM THE SAME.
SONNET XL. FROM THE SAME.
SONNET XLI. TO TRANQUILLITY.
SONNET XLII. COMPOSED DURING A WALK ON THE DOWNS, NOV. 1787.
SONNET XLIII. THE UNHAPPY EXILE, WHOM HIS FATES CONFINE
SONNET XLIV. WRITTEN IN THE CHURCH-YARD AT MIDDLETON, IN SUSSEX.
SONNET XLV. ON LEAVING A PART OF SUSSEX.
SONNET XLVI. WRITTEN AT PENHURST, IN AUTUMN 1788.
SONNET XLVII. TO FANCY.
SONNET XLVIII. TO MRS ––
SONNET XLIX. FROM THE NOVEL OF CELESTINA.
SONNET L. FROM THE NOVEL OF CELESTINA.
SONNET LI. FROM THE NOVEL OF CELESTINA.
SONNET LII. FROM THE NOVEL OF CELESTINA. THE PILGRIM.
SONNET LIII. FROM THE NOVEL OF CELESTINA. THE LAPLANDER.
SONNET LIV. THE SLEEPING WOODMAN.
SONNET LV. RETURN OF THE NIGHTINGALE.
SONNET LVI. THE CAPTIVE ESCAPED
SONNET LVII. TO DEPENDENCE.
SONNET LVIII. THE GLOW-WORM.
SONNET LIX. WRITTEN SEPT. 1791, DURING A REMARKABLE THUNDERSTORM.
SONNET LX. TO AN AMIABLE GIRL.
SONNET LXI.
SONNET LXII.
SONNET LXIII. THE GOSSAMER.
SONNET LXIV. WRITTEN AT BRISTOL IN THE SUMMER OF 1794.
SONNET LXV. TO DR PARRY OF BATH.
SONNET LXVI. WRITTEN IN A TEMPESTUOUS NIGHT ON THE COAST OF SUSSEX.
SONNET LXVII. ON PASSING OVER A DREARY TRACT OF COUNTRY
SONNET LXVIII. WRITTEN AT EXMOUTH, MIDSUMMER, 1795.
SONNET LXIX. WRITTEN AT THE SAME PLACE, ON SEEING A SEAMAN RETURN WHO HAD BEEN IMPRISONED AT ROCHFORT.
SONNET LXX. ON BEING CAUTIONED AGAINST WALKING OVER A HEADLAND OVERLOOKING THE SEA, BECAUSE IT WAS FREQUENTED BY A LUNATIC.
SONNET LXXI. WRITTEN AT WEYMOUTH IN WINTER.
SONNET LXXII. TO THE MORNING STAR.
SONNET LXXIII. TO A QUERULOUS ACQUAINTANCE.
SONNET LXXIV. THE WINTER NIGHT.
SONNET LXXV.
SONNET LXXVI. TO A YOUNG MAN ENTERING THE WORLD.
SONNET LXXVII. TO THE INSECT OF THE GOSSAMER.
SONNET LXXVIII. SNOWDROPS.
SONNET LXXIX. TO THE GODDESS OF BOTANY.
SONNET LXXX. TO THE INVISIBLE MOON.
SONNET LXXXI. HE MAY BE ENVIED, WHO WITH TRANQUIL BREAST
SONNET LXXXII. TO THE SHADE OF BURNS.
SONNET LXXXIII. THE SEA VIEW.
SONNET LXXXIV. TO THE MUSE.
SONNET: THE FAIREST FLOWERS ARE GONE! FOR TEMPESTS FELL
SONNET WRITTEN NEAR A PORT ON A DARK EVENING
SONNET WRITTEN IN OCTOBER
NEPENTHE
TO THE SUN
TO OBLIVION
REFLECTIONS ON SOME DRAWINGS OF PLANTS
SONNET WRITTEN AT BIGNOR PARK IN SUSSEX, IN AUGUST, 1799
ODE TO DESPAIR
ELEGY
SONG FROM THE FRENCH OF CARDINAL BERNIS
THE ORIGIN OF FLATTERY
THE PEASANT OF THE ALPS
SONG FROM THE FRENCH
SONG: DOES PITY GIVE, THO’ FATE DENIES
THIRTY-EIGHT ADDRESSED TO MRS. H —— Y
VERSES INTENDED TO HAVE BEEN PREFIXED TO THE NOVEL OF EMMELINE, BUT THEN SUPPRESSED
THE DEAD BEGGAR
THE FEMALE EXILE.
WRITTEN FOR THE BENEFIT OF A DISTRESSED PLAYER, DETAINED AT BRIGHTHELMSTONE FOR DEBT, NOVEMBER 1792
INSCRIPTION ON A STONE, IN THE CHURCH-YARD AT BOREHAM, IN ESSEX
A DESCRIPTIVE ODE, SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN WRITTEN UNDER THE RUINS OF RUFUS’S CASTLE
VERSES SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN WRITTEN IN THE NEW FOREST, IN EARLY SPRING
APOSTROPHE TO AN OLD TREE
THE FOREST BOY
VERSES, ON THE DEATH OF HENRIETTA O’NEILL, WRITTEN IN SEPTEMBER, 1794
APRIL
ODE TO DEATH
STANZAS: AH! THINK’ST THOU, LAURA, THEN, THAT WEALTH
TO THE WINDS
TO VESPER
LYDIA
THE EMIGRANTS. BOOK I.
THE EMIGRANTS. BOOK II.
NOTES TO THE FIRST BOOK.
NOTES TO THE SECOND BOOK.
TO A GREEN-CHAFER, ON A WHITE ROSE
A WALK BY THE WATER
INVITATION TO THE BEE
THE HEDGE-HOG SEEN IN A FREQUENTED PATH
THE EARLY BUTTERFLY
THE MOTH
TO THE SNOW-DROP
VIOLETS
TO A BUTTERFLY IN A WINDOW
WILD FLOWERS
THE CLOSE OF SUMMER
THE WHEAT-EAR
AN EVENING WALK BY THE SEA-SIDE
THE HEATH
ODE TO THE MISSEL THRUSH
ODE TO THE OLIVE TREE
TO THE FIRE-FLY OF JAMAICA, SEEN IN A COLLECTION
LINES COMPOSED IN PASSING THROUGH A FOREST IN GERMANY
TO A GERANIUM WHICH FLOWERED DURING THE WINTER
TO THE MULBERRY-TREE
BEACHY HEAD.
THE DICTATORIAL OWL.
THE JAY IN MASQUERADE.
THE TRUANT DOVE, FROM PILPAY.
THE LARK’S NEST.
THE SWALLOW.
FLORA.
STUDIES BY THE SEA.
THE HOROLOGE OF THE FIELDS.
SAINT MONICA.
A W
ALK IN THE SHRUBBERY.
HOPE. A RONDEAU.
EVENING.
LOVE AND FOLLY, FROM THE FABLES OF LA FONTAINE.
ON THE APHORISM, “L’AMITIÉ EST L’AMOUR SANS AILES.”
TO MY LYRE.
HYMN TO LOVE AND LIFE
SONNET TO THE FOREST YTENE
PROLOGUE TO THE PLAY ‘WHAT IS SHE?’
EPILOGUE TO ‘WHAT IS SHE?’ I.
EPILOGUE TO ‘WHAT IS SHE?’ II.
EPILOGUE TO ‘WHAT IS SHE?’ III.
PROLOGUE TO WILLIAM GODWIN, ANTONIO; OR, THE SOLDIER’S RETURN
List of Poems in Alphabetical Order
A-D E-H I-L M-O P-S T-V W-Z
A DESCRIPTIVE ODE, SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN WRITTEN UNDER THE RUINS OF RUFUS’S CASTLE
A WALK BY THE WATER
A WALK IN THE SHRUBBERY.
AN EVENING WALK BY THE SEA-SIDE
APOSTROPHE TO AN OLD TREE
APRIL
BEACHY HEAD.
ELEGY
EPILOGUE TO ‘WHAT IS SHE?’ I.
EPILOGUE TO ‘WHAT IS SHE?’ II.
EPILOGUE TO ‘WHAT IS SHE?’ III.
EVENING.
FLORA.
HOPE. A RONDEAU.
HYMN TO LOVE AND LIFE
INSCRIPTION ON A STONE, IN THE CHURCH-YARD AT BOREHAM, IN ESSEX
INVITATION TO THE BEE
LINES COMPOSED IN PASSING THROUGH A FOREST IN GERMANY
LOVE AND FOLLY, FROM THE FABLES OF LA FONTAINE.
LYDIA
NEPENTHE
NOTES TO THE FIRST BOOK.
NOTES TO THE SECOND BOOK.
ODE TO DEATH
ODE TO DESPAIR
ODE TO THE MISSEL THRUSH
ODE TO THE OLIVE TREE
ON THE APHORISM, “L’AMITIÉ EST L’AMOUR SANS AILES.”
PROLOGUE TO THE PLAY ‘WHAT IS SHE?’
PROLOGUE TO WILLIAM GODWIN, ANTONIO; OR, THE SOLDIER’S RETURN
REFLECTIONS ON SOME DRAWINGS OF PLANTS
SAINT MONICA.
SONG FROM THE FRENCH
SONG FROM THE FRENCH OF CARDINAL BERNIS
SONG: DOES PITY GIVE, THO’ FATE DENIES
SONNET I. THE PARTIAL MUSE, HAS FROM MY EARLIEST HOURS
SONNET II. WRITTEN AT THE CLOSE OF SPRING.
SONNET III. TO A NIGHTINGALE.
SONNET IV. TO THE MOON.
SONNET IX. BLEST IS YON SHEPHERD, ON THE TURF RECLINED
SONNET L. FROM THE NOVEL OF CELESTINA.
SONNET LI. FROM THE NOVEL OF CELESTINA.
SONNET LII. FROM THE NOVEL OF CELESTINA. THE PILGRIM.
SONNET LIII. FROM THE NOVEL OF CELESTINA. THE LAPLANDER.
SONNET LIV. THE SLEEPING WOODMAN.
SONNET LIX. WRITTEN SEPT. 1791, DURING A REMARKABLE THUNDERSTORM.
SONNET LV. RETURN OF THE NIGHTINGALE.
SONNET LVI. THE CAPTIVE ESCAPED
SONNET LVII. TO DEPENDENCE.
SONNET LVIII. THE GLOW-WORM.
SONNET LX. TO AN AMIABLE GIRL.
SONNET LXI.
SONNET LXII.
SONNET LXIII. THE GOSSAMER.
SONNET LXIV. WRITTEN AT BRISTOL IN THE SUMMER OF 1794.
SONNET LXIX. WRITTEN AT THE SAME PLACE, ON SEEING A SEAMAN RETURN WHO HAD BEEN IMPRISONED AT ROCHFORT.
SONNET LXV. TO DR PARRY OF BATH.
SONNET LXVI. WRITTEN IN A TEMPESTUOUS NIGHT ON THE COAST OF SUSSEX.
SONNET LXVII. ON PASSING OVER A DREARY TRACT OF COUNTRY
SONNET LXVIII. WRITTEN AT EXMOUTH, MIDSUMMER, 1795.
SONNET LXX. ON BEING CAUTIONED AGAINST WALKING OVER A HEADLAND OVERLOOKING THE SEA, BECAUSE IT WAS FREQUENTED BY A LUNATIC.
SONNET LXXI. WRITTEN AT WEYMOUTH IN WINTER.
SONNET LXXII. TO THE MORNING STAR.
SONNET LXXIII. TO A QUERULOUS ACQUAINTANCE.
SONNET LXXIV. THE WINTER NIGHT.
SONNET LXXIX. TO THE GODDESS OF BOTANY.
SONNET LXXV.
SONNET LXXVI. TO A YOUNG MAN ENTERING THE WORLD.
SONNET LXXVII. TO THE INSECT OF THE GOSSAMER.
SONNET LXXVIII. SNOWDROPS.
SONNET LXXX. TO THE INVISIBLE MOON.
SONNET LXXXI. HE MAY BE ENVIED, WHO WITH TRANQUIL BREAST
SONNET LXXXII. TO THE SHADE OF BURNS.
SONNET LXXXIII. THE SEA VIEW.
SONNET LXXXIV. TO THE MUSE.
SONNET TO THE FOREST YTENE
SONNET V. TO THE SOUTH DOWNS.
SONNET VI. TO HOPE.
SONNET VII. ON THE DEPARTURE OF THE NIGHTINGALE.
SONNET VIII. TO SPRING.
SONNET WRITTEN AT BIGNOR PARK IN SUSSEX, IN AUGUST, 1799
SONNET WRITTEN IN OCTOBER
SONNET WRITTEN NEAR A PORT ON A DARK EVENING
SONNET X. TO MRS. G.
SONNET XI. TO SLEEP.
SONNET XII. WRITTEN ON THE SEA SHORE, OCT. 1784.
SONNET XIII. FROM PETRARCH.
SONNET XIV. FROM PETRARCH.
SONNET XIX. TO MR. HAYLEY
SONNET XL. FROM THE SAME.
SONNET XLI. TO TRANQUILLITY.
SONNET XLII. COMPOSED DURING A WALK ON THE DOWNS, NOV. 1787.
SONNET XLIII. THE UNHAPPY EXILE, WHOM HIS FATES CONFINE
SONNET XLIV. WRITTEN IN THE CHURCH-YARD AT MIDDLETON, IN SUSSEX.
SONNET XLIX. FROM THE NOVEL OF CELESTINA.
SONNET XLV. ON LEAVING A PART OF SUSSEX.
SONNET XLVI. WRITTEN AT PENHURST, IN AUTUMN 1788.
SONNET XLVII. TO FANCY.
SONNET XLVIII. TO MRS ––
SONNET XV. FROM PETRARCH.
SONNET XVI. FROM PETRARCH.
SONNET XVII. FROM THE THIRTEENTH CANTATA OF METASTASIO.
SONNET XVIII. TO THE EARL OF EGREMONT.
SONNET XX. TO THE COUNTESS OF A ——
SONNET XXI. SUPPOSED TO BE WRITTEN BY WERTER.
SONNET XXII. BY THE SAME. TO SOLITUDE.
SONNET XXIII. BY THE SAME. TO THE NORTH STAR.
SONNET XXIV. BY THE SAME.
SONNET XXIX. TO MISS C —— .
SONNET XXV. BY THE SAME. Just before his Death.
SONNET XXVI. TO THE RIVER ARUN.
SONNET XXVII. SIGHING I SEE YON LITTLE TROOP AT PLAY
SONNET XXVIII. TO FRIENDSHIP.
SONNET XXX. TO THE RIVER ARUN.
SONNET XXXI. WRITTEN ON FARM WOOD, SOUTH DOWNS, MAY 1784.
SONNET XXXII. TO MELANCHOLY.
SONNET XXXIII. TO THE NAIAD OF THE ARUN.
SONNET XXXIV. TO A FRIEND.
SONNET XXXIX. TO NIGHT. FROM THE SAME.
SONNET XXXV. TO FORTITUDE.
SONNET XXXVI. SHOULD THE LONE WANDERER, FAINTING ON HIS WAY
SONNET XXXVII. SENT TO THE HON. MRS. O’NEILL, WITH PAINTED FLOWERS.
SONNET XXXVIII. FROM THE NOVEL OF EMMELINE.
SONNET: THE FAIREST FLOWERS ARE GONE! FOR TEMPESTS FELL
STANZAS: AH! THINK’ST THOU, LAURA, THEN, THAT WEALTH
STUDIES BY THE SEA.
THE CLOSE OF SUMMER
THE DEAD BEGGAR
THE DICTATORIAL OWL.
THE EARLY BUTTERFLY
THE EMIGRANTS. BOOK I.
THE EMIGRANTS. BOOK II.
THE FOREST BOY
THE HEATH
THE HEDGE-HOG SEEN IN A FREQUENTED PATH
THE HOROLOGE OF THE FIELDS.
THE JAY IN MASQUERADE.
THE LARK’S NEST.
THE MOTH
THE ORIGIN OF FLATTERY
THE PEASANT OF THE ALPS
THE SWALLOW.
THE TRUANT DOVE, FROM PILPAY.
THE WHEAT-EAR
THIRTY-EIGHT ADDRESSED TO MRS. H —— Y
TO A BUTTERFLY IN A WINDOW
TO A GERANIUM WHICH FLOWERED DURING THE WINTER
TO A GREEN-CHAFER, ON A WHITE ROSE
TO MY LYRE.
TO OBLIVION
TO THE FIRE-FLY OF JAMAICA, SEEN IN A COLLECTION
TO THE MULBER
RY-TREE
TO THE SNOW-DROP
TO THE SUN
TO THE WINDS
TO VESPER
VERSES INTENDED TO HAVE BEEN PREFIXED TO THE NOVEL OF EMMELINE, BUT THEN SUPPRESSED
VERSES SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN WRITTEN IN THE NEW FOREST, IN EARLY SPRING
VERSES, ON THE DEATH OF HENRIETTA O’NEILL, WRITTEN IN SEPTEMBER, 1794
VIOLETS
WILD FLOWERS
WRITTEN FOR THE BENEFIT OF A DISTRESSED PLAYER, DETAINED AT BRIGHTHELMSTONE FOR DEBT, NOVEMBER 1792
Selected Novels
Woolbeding House, Chichester, West Sussex — Smith’s last home with her husband from 1785 till 1787. On 15 April 1787, after twenty-two years of marriage, she left Benjamin, writing that she might “have been contented to reside in the same house with him”, had not “his temper been so capricious and often so cruel” that her “life was not safe”.
Emmeline
OR, THE ORPHAN OF THE CASTLE
CONTENTS
VOLUME I
CHAPTER I
CHAPTER II
CHAPTER III
CHAPTER IV
CHAPTER V
CHAPTER VI
CHAPTER VII
CHAPTER VIII
CHAPTER IX
CHAPTER X
CHAPTER XI
CHAPTER XII
CHAPTER XIII
CHAPTER XIV
CHAPTER XV
CHAPTER XVI
VOLUME II
CHAPTER I
CHAPTER II
CHAPTER III
CHAPTER IV
CHAPTER V
CHAPTER VI
CHAPTER VII
CHAPTER VIII
CHAPTER IX
CHAPTER X
CHAPTER XI
CHAPTER XII
VOLUME III
CHAPTER I
CHAPTER II
CHAPTER III
CHAPTER IV
CHAPTER V
CHAPTER VI
CHAPTER VII
CHAPTER VIII
CHAPTER IX
CHAPTER X
CHAPTER XI
CHAPTER XII
CHAPTER XIII
CHAPTER XIV
VOLUME IV
CHAPTER I
CHAPTER II
CHAPTER III
CHAPTER IV
CHAPTER V
CHAPTER VI
CHAPTER VII
CHAPTER VIII
CHAPTER IX
CHAPTER X
CHAPTER XI
CHAPTER XII
CHAPTER XIII
CHAPTER XIV
CHAPTER XV
CHAPTER XVI
VOLUME I
TO MY CHILDREN
O’erwhelm’d with sorrow — and sustaining long ‘The proud man’s contumely, the oppressor’s wrong,’ Languid despondency, and vain regret, Must my exhausted spirit struggle yet? Yes! robb’d myself of all that Fortune gave, Of every hope — but shelter in the grave; Still shall the plaintive lyre essay it’s powers, And dress the cave of Care, with Fancy’s flowers; Maternal love, the fiend Despair withstand, Still animate the heart and guide the hand. May you, dear objects of my tender care! Escape the evils, I was born to bear: Round my devoted head, while tempests roll, Yet there— ‘where I have treasured up my soul,’ May the soft rays of dawning hope impart Reviving patience to my fainting heart; And, when it’s sharp anxieties shall cease, May I be conscious, in the realms of peace, That every tear which swells my children’s eyes, From evils past, not present sorrows, rise. Then, with some friend who loves to share your pain, (For ’tis my boast, that still such friends remain,) By filial grief, and fond remembrance prest, You’ll seek the spot where all my miseries rest, Recall my hapless days in sad review, The long calamities I bore for you, And, with an happier fate, resolve to prove How well ye merited your mother’s love!