To ----

A Stranger, and thou took’st me in. Great Heart! It fits not well my temper to high-trape My woes before a listless world, or drape With melancholy habit each grim part Life bad me to, for with a sovereign art She did it so, my stubborn thought to shape. Yet, tho’ I lightly scorn wide mouths agape, ’Twere worthy of high record, in this mart Of barter and exchange, how I to thee Came, all my prospect waste and spilt, A Stranger, and with what unquestioning air Thou took me in, and sought to succour me: Forget it thou may’st; likeliest is thou wilt; But not so I who found a heart so rare.

Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: italics.

Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the text and consultation of external sources. Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text, and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained.

The following corrections have been applied to the text (before/after):

(p. 72) Penned on “Valdimir’s Day” ... Penned on “Vladimir’s Day” ...

(p. 88) Be’t bliss or ill ... Be ’t bliss or ill ...