Poems (Frances Elizabeth Browne)/L'inconstant
L'INCONSTANT.
He saw, he admired, her, and sought to inspire Her susceptible heart with love's sweetest emotion;He strove to anticipate every desire, And silently paid her the deepest devotion.
He saw the deep blush he could call to her cheek, And vainly imagined the conquest his own;Then heartlessly left her, fresh triumphs to seek, And exult in the victory he thought he had won.
But he knew not the spirit of womanly pride Which, though sweetness itself, she could call to her aid; She summoned it now, and successfully tried To forget the impression his falsehood made.
He saw, and too late, with remorse and regret, That she viewed him with feelings allied to disdain;He felt that like him she could learn to forget, And ne'er trifled with woman's affections again.