Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
Poem
July 13, 1819
Elizabeth Town Gazette
Elizabeth, Union County, New Jersey
What is this article about?
A sentimental ballad about a blind widow tenderly holding her infant son, expressing deep anguish and praying for temporary sight to see his face, which resembles his father's.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
POETRY.
The reader who can peruse the following little
ballad with dry eyes, must be of ethereal origin
or have claims to be a substitute for a Greenland
image carved from an iceberg.—Centinel.
From the Ladies Literary Cabinet.
THE BLIND MOTHER,
I saw a Mother! in her arms
Her infant child was sleeping;
The Mother, while the infant slept,
Her guardian watch was keeping.
Around its little tender form
Her snow-white arm was flung;
And o'er its little infant head
Her bending tresses hung.
"Sleep sweetly on, my darling babe,
My own, my only child;"
And as she spoke the infant woke,
And on its mother smil'd.
But, oh! no fondly answering smile
The mother's visage graced,
For she was blind, and could not see
The infant she embraced.
But now he lisp'd his mother's name,
And now the mother press'd
Her darling, much-lov'd baby boy,
Unto her widow'd breast.
But sudden anguish seized her mind,
Her voice was sweetly wild;
"My God," she cried, "but grant me sight
One hour to see my child!
"To look upon its cherub face,
And see its father's there;
But pardon, if the wish be wrong,
A widow'd mother's prayer!"
And as she spoke, her anguish grew
More louder and more wild;
And closer to her aching breast
She clasp'd her orphan child.
E. R. Y.
Providence, June 8, 1819.
The reader who can peruse the following little
ballad with dry eyes, must be of ethereal origin
or have claims to be a substitute for a Greenland
image carved from an iceberg.—Centinel.
From the Ladies Literary Cabinet.
THE BLIND MOTHER,
I saw a Mother! in her arms
Her infant child was sleeping;
The Mother, while the infant slept,
Her guardian watch was keeping.
Around its little tender form
Her snow-white arm was flung;
And o'er its little infant head
Her bending tresses hung.
"Sleep sweetly on, my darling babe,
My own, my only child;"
And as she spoke the infant woke,
And on its mother smil'd.
But, oh! no fondly answering smile
The mother's visage graced,
For she was blind, and could not see
The infant she embraced.
But now he lisp'd his mother's name,
And now the mother press'd
Her darling, much-lov'd baby boy,
Unto her widow'd breast.
But sudden anguish seized her mind,
Her voice was sweetly wild;
"My God," she cried, "but grant me sight
One hour to see my child!
"To look upon its cherub face,
And see its father's there;
But pardon, if the wish be wrong,
A widow'd mother's prayer!"
And as she spoke, her anguish grew
More louder and more wild;
And closer to her aching breast
She clasp'd her orphan child.
E. R. Y.
Providence, June 8, 1819.
What sub-type of article is it?
Ballad
What themes does it cover?
Moral Virtue
Religious Faith
What keywords are associated?
Blind Mother
Infant Child
Widow Prayer
Maternal Anguish
Sentimental Ballad
What entities or persons were involved?
E. R. Y.
Poem Details
Title
The Blind Mother
Author
E. R. Y.
Subject
A Blind Widow And Her Infant
Key Lines
"My God," She Cried, "But Grant Me Sight
One Hour To See My Child!
"To Look Upon Its Cherub Face,
And See Its Father's There;
But Pardon, If The Wish Be Wrong,
A Widow'd Mother's Prayer!"