By the willow that waves o'er the tomb,
O, think not 'twas Charlotte, you spied;
When Werter had seal'd his sad doom,
She heard, — she despair'd, — and she died!
How deep, and how awful the sound —
Of the bell, — as it broke on the gale!
From the steep-rock I heard it rebound,
And it plaintively poured thro' the vale.
Where the yew-tree extends its dank shade,
And yarrow in loose-tusts appears,
At even I saw her corpse laid;
And I moisten'd the sod with my tears:
I mark'd when young Albert drew nigh,
All pale, and dejected was he!
I saw the big tear in his eye,
As he leant on the stem of the tree:
'Twas pride that forbad it to flow,
'Twas pride that denied him relief;
His heart was depress'd with its woe,
Yet silent, — and sullen his grief!
I mark'd him, — and inwardly said —
(His sorrows inclined to deplore)
Since Charlotte, ill-fated, is dead,
The joys of poor Albert are o'er!
Oft-times, at the noon of the night,
Pale Charlotte appears on the green,
When the moon strikes askaunt on the sight,
And fancy emblazons the scene;
Her cheeks all berest of their bloom!
Her eye-balls no lustre retain!
She steals, a wan ghost, from the tomb,
And glides to the verge of the plain
Where Werter's cold relics repose;
('Neath the willow impregnate with dew,
Where the green-grass luxuriantly grows
Round the tomb — half conceal'd from the view),
I've seen the light phantom recline,
The marble sustain'd her white breast;
In sounds that were almost divine,
I've heard her fond passion exprest:
" Dear shade! to thy Charlotte attend,
" Tho' fate have deprived her of breath,
" She hangs o'er the urn of her friend,
" And love's in the mansion of death: "
Soft murmurs ensued from below —
Faint echoes were heard thro' the grove,
The accents were mingled with woe —
But woe — that was sweeten'd with love.
If fancy impose on my mind
'Tis a cheat I shall ever hold dear,
I muse on their passion refined,
And I think on their fate with a tear:
O! Werter! — I pity thy youth!
Thy love and thy death I deplore,
May ages remember thy truth,
When thy crime is remember'd no more.
O, think not 'twas Charlotte, you spied;
When Werter had seal'd his sad doom,
She heard, — she despair'd, — and she died!
How deep, and how awful the sound —
Of the bell, — as it broke on the gale!
From the steep-rock I heard it rebound,
And it plaintively poured thro' the vale.
Where the yew-tree extends its dank shade,
And yarrow in loose-tusts appears,
At even I saw her corpse laid;
And I moisten'd the sod with my tears:
I mark'd when young Albert drew nigh,
All pale, and dejected was he!
I saw the big tear in his eye,
As he leant on the stem of the tree:
'Twas pride that forbad it to flow,
'Twas pride that denied him relief;
His heart was depress'd with its woe,
Yet silent, — and sullen his grief!
I mark'd him, — and inwardly said —
(His sorrows inclined to deplore)
Since Charlotte, ill-fated, is dead,
The joys of poor Albert are o'er!
Oft-times, at the noon of the night,
Pale Charlotte appears on the green,
When the moon strikes askaunt on the sight,
And fancy emblazons the scene;
Her cheeks all berest of their bloom!
Her eye-balls no lustre retain!
She steals, a wan ghost, from the tomb,
And glides to the verge of the plain
Where Werter's cold relics repose;
('Neath the willow impregnate with dew,
Where the green-grass luxuriantly grows
Round the tomb — half conceal'd from the view),
I've seen the light phantom recline,
The marble sustain'd her white breast;
In sounds that were almost divine,
I've heard her fond passion exprest:
" Dear shade! to thy Charlotte attend,
" Tho' fate have deprived her of breath,
" She hangs o'er the urn of her friend,
" And love's in the mansion of death: "
Soft murmurs ensued from below —
Faint echoes were heard thro' the grove,
The accents were mingled with woe —
But woe — that was sweeten'd with love.
If fancy impose on my mind
'Tis a cheat I shall ever hold dear,
I muse on their passion refined,
And I think on their fate with a tear:
O! Werter! — I pity thy youth!
Thy love and thy death I deplore,
May ages remember thy truth,
When thy crime is remember'd no more.