Moral Pieces, in Prose and Verse/Evening Examination

by Lydia Sigourney

EVENING EXAMINATION.

AND now let sable night assert her power,
And summon back the late departed hour,
And call the pausing soul with care to trace
The lines that mark its half averted face.

The frown of pride, or semblance of content,
The deed of duty done, or time mispent,
The meek resolve, firm hope, or wandering bold,
The vain desire, or cherish'd, or controlled,

Eye fix'd on heaven, or page with error stain'd,
Does memory smile, or is thy conscience pain'd?

Of all thy wanderings, view the vast amount:
This is the emblem of thy last account.

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