On the Portrait
of
Mrs. Horace Marryat.
Mother and Child ! so long as Earth is ours,1
Howe’er so fast Ambition runs his race—2
Howe’er so wildly Hate and War deface3
The Monarch’s palaces, the Beauty’s bowers,4
Your spirit shall o’errule their fiercest powers,5
By spell of purest Love and holiest Grace,6
And Faith prefigured in your close embrace ;7
And Hope that lightens Discord’s weary hours.—8
Even while I gaze upon this pictured page,9
A breath of Summer, and a voice of Spring,10
Around the prison-casement seem to sing11
Where I lie looking forth towards coming Age :12
“ Brighten, good Stars ! their path of pilgrimage :13
Refresh it, dews of Heaven, from many an Angel’s wing !”14