Poems (Sewell)/On Wit

by Mary Young Sewell

LINES ON WIT. WRITTEN AT SCHOOL.

Wit is an excellence, we find,
Too oft when Malice clouds the mind,
Or Pride or Vanity molests
The sweet composure of our breasts.

Wit seldom shines, with lustre bright,
Till sacred Truth withdraws her light—
Denies her more benignant spark,
And Common Sense is in the dark.

'Tis thus, when stormy winds arise,
And tempests blacken all the skies,
Keen lightnings dart a poignant ray,
And doom th' unguarded for their prey.