62. lady Washington's Lamentation. December, 1799.1
When Columbia's brave sons called my hero to lead 'em,To vanquish their foes and establish their freedom,
I rejoiced at his honor — my fears I dissembled;
At the thought of his danger, my heart, how it trembled:
O my Washington! O my Washington! O my Washington!
All was hazardous.
The contest decided with peace to the nation;
My hero retired 'mid the loud acclamation
Of men without number, and praise without measure;
My own heart exulted in transports of pleasure.
O my happiness! O my happiness! O my happiness!
How precarious!
Our Freedom, with order, by Faction rejected,
A new Constitution our country erected;
My hero was raised to preside over the Union,
And his cares intercepted our blissful communion:
O my happiness! O my happiness! O my happiness!
How precarious!
Declining the trust of his dignified station,
With joy to the seat of his dear estimation,
Surrounded with honors, he humbly retreated;
Sweet hopes, softly whispered, my bliss was completed,
O my happiness! O my happiness! O my happiness!
How precarious!
When the pangs of disease had fatally seized him,
My heart would have yielded its life to have eased him;
I prayed the Most High if for death He designed him,
That he would not permit me to loiter behind him.
O my Washington! O my Washington! O my Washington!
All was dubious.
When hope was all fled, and I saw him resigning
His soul to his God without dread or repining,
What, my heart, were thy feelings, lamenting, admiring,
To see him so nobly, so calmly expiring?
O my Washington! O my Washington! O my Washington!
Has forsaken us!
When I followed his corpse with grief unconfined,
And saw to the tomb his dear relics consigned,
When I left him in silence and darkness surrounded,
With what pangs of fresh anguish my bosom was wounded.
O my Washington! O my Washington! O my Washington!
Has forsaken us!
His aspect so noble, pale grave-clothes disfigured,
And his conquering arm despoiled of its vigor;
On those lips, which dropped wisdom, is silence imposed,
And those kind, beaming eyes forever are closed.
O my Washington! O my Washington! O my Washington!
Has forsaken us!