The Wilmingtonian, And Delaware Register

ORIGINAL POETRY.

TO Miss C
A Tutoress of small Girls.

Thou generous fair, forgive the Minstrel's lay,
Whose humble song is now devoted thine;
And O receive the tribute he shall pay,
Breath'd in the numbers of unpolish'd line.

The candid mind, by sage experience taught,
Cannot withhold the modest meed of praise;
And why should not the muse, in pleasing thought,
Weave in her verse, the sweetest, fairest lays?

No avocation here, on earth below,
Can more exalt, or can be more refin'd,
Than thine--to teach the youthful breast to glow,
And spread the light of learning o'er the mind.

To teach the genius to roll back its shroud,
And bid the lamp of heavenly wisdom, shine,
Is now thy task-and all the muses loud
Responsive cry, the task, is nobly thine!

Proceed, thou fair one—bid the genius, rise:
Exalt the soul, and purify the heart;
Strike out each thought that aims not at the skies:
For such a task prepar'd I know thou art.

And none shall snatch the laurel from thy brow,
While Virtue lives an honour'd guest with thee;
And base Ingratitude shall never bow--
Before the shrine of Love and Charity.

WILMINGTON MINSTREL.