Farewell, thou stream that winding flowsAround Eliza’s dwelling;O mem’ry! spare the cruel thoesWithin my bosom swelling.Condemn’d to drag a hopeless chainAnd yet in secret languish;To feel a fire in every vein,Nor dare disclose my anguish.8
Love’s veriest wretch, unseen, unknown,I fain my griefs would cover;The bursting sigh, th’ unweeting groan,Betray the hapless lover.I know thou doom’st me to despair,Nor wilt, nor canst relieve me;But, O Eliza, hear one prayer—For pity’s sake forgive me!16
The music of thy voice I heard,Nor wist while it enslav’d me;I saw thine eyes, yet nothing fear’d,Till fears no more had sav’d me:Th’ unwary sailor thus, aghastThe wheeling torrent viewing,’Mid circling horrors sinks at last,In overwhelming ruin.24