[Ms. L.]]

AND WILT THOU WEEP WHEN I AM LOW? [i]

1.

And wilt thou weep when I am low? Sweet lady! speak those words again: Yet if they grieve thee, say not so-- I would not give that bosom pain.

2.

My heart is sad, my hopes are gone, My blood runs coldly through my breast; And when I perish, thou alone Wilt sigh above my place of rest.

3.

And yet, methinks, a gleam of peace Doth through my cloud of anguish shine: And for a while my sorrows cease, To know thy heart hath felt for mine.

4.

Oh lady! blessèd be that tear-- It falls for one who cannot weep; Such precious drops are doubly dear [ii] To those whose eyes no tear may steep.

5.

Sweet lady! once my heart was warm With every feeling soft as thine; But Beauty's self hath ceased to charm A wretch created to repine.

6. [iii]

Yet wilt thou weep when I am low? Sweet lady! speak those words again: Yet if they grieve thee, say not so-- I would not give that bosom pain.

Aug. 12, 1808. [First published, 1809.]

[Sub-Footnote A: In his mother's copy of Hobhouse's volume, Byron has written with a pencil,

"I have lost them all, and shall WED accordingly. 1811. B."]