Ever gliding to the sea, flow the water fair and free...

Ever gliding to the sea,
Flow the water fair and free
Of clear Mondego tranquil through the plain;
Anxious thoughts and growing care
Bound my youthful bosom there,
And slowly fix'd their ever-during reign.
Along the pleasant margin green,
Where now I mourn the alter'd scene,
First did my eyes a nymph behold
Brighter than snow, and pure as gold;
Sweet smiles serene; and grace so well display'd,
That from my heart its form will never fade.

Still beneath this weight of woe
Some fond thoughts of comfort grow,
Some cheering rays amid the darkness shine;
While in happier hours of youth
Love approved our constant truth,
Thy soul was calm, thy breast ne'er glow'd like...
The fatal hour, which bade us part,
Wounds not alike thy tender heart;
And light to me the pangs, I bear,
Compared with knowing thy despair;
My knell will be rung; thou, Lady, live,
And taste the joy, which youth and beauty give !