Moral Pieces, in Prose and Verse/Deception

by Lydia Sigourney

DECEPTION.

WHO can detect the bosom's hidden pain,
When peace, and love, and beauty, light the scene,
Ah, who can tell what sins the heart may stain
When smiles of mirth and pleasure deck the mein?

For oft hypocrisy will smile serene,
Veiling her falsehood with a semblance fair,
Soothing her victim while she toils unseen,
To wind him fast in her destructive snare,
While disappointed hope and misery are there.

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