Page:Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell (Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë, 1846).djvu/165

Rh And while the savage heart grows meek,

For other token do not seek,

But let the tear upon my cheek

Evince my gratitude!

.

SELF-CONGRATULATION.

, you were thoughtless once

Of beauty or of grace,

Simple and homely in attire,

Careless of form and face;

Then whence this change? and wherefore now

So often smooth your hair?

And wherefore deck your youthful form

With such unwearied care?

Tell us—and cease to tire our ears

With that familiar strain—

Why will you play those simple tunes

So often, o'er again?

"Indeed, dear friends, I can but say

That childhood's thoughts are gone;

Each year its own new feelings brings,

And years move swiftly on: