Frances Sargent Osgood Quotes

He whom nature thus bereaves,Is ever fancy’s favourite child;For thee enchanted dreams she weavesOf changeful beauty, bright and wild.

Call me names, dearest! Call me thy birdThat flies to thy breast at one cherishing word,That folds its wild wings there, ne’er dreaming of flight,That tenderly sings there in loving delight!Oh! my sad heart keeps pining for one fond word,–Call me pet names, dearest! Call me thy bird!

Labor is life! ‘Tis the still water faileth;Idleness ever despaireth, bewaileth;Keep the watch wound, for the dark rust assaileth.

Better confide and be deceiv’d,A thousand times, by treacherous foes,Than once accuse the innocent,Or let suspicion mar repose.

Lie not down wearied ‘neath Woe’s weeping willow; work with a stout heart and resolute will.

Labor is rest from the sorrows that greet us; from all the petty vexations that meet us; from the sin-promptings that assail us; from the world-sirens that lure us to ill

Did you ever hearOf the frolic fairies dear?They’re a blessed little race,Peeping up in fancy’s face,In the valley, on the hill,By the fountain and the rill;Laughing out between the leavesThat the loving summer weaves.

And yet we check and chideThe airy angels as they float about us,With rules of so-called wisdom, till they growThe same tame slaves to custom and the world.

Within the oyster’s shell uncouthThe purest pearl may hide,Trust me you’ll find a heart of truthWithin that rough outside.

No grief so soft, no pain so sweet, as love’s delicious melancholy.

An exile, ill in heart and frame,–A wanderer, weary of the way;–A stranger, without love’s sweet claimOn any heart, go where I may!

Labor is rest–from the sorrow that greet us;Rest from all petty vexations that meet us,Rest from sin-promptings that ever entreat us,Rest from the world-sirens that hire us to ill.Work–and pure slumbers shall wait on thy pillow;Work–thou shalt ride over Care’s coming billow;Lie not down wearied ‘neath Woe’s weeping willow!Work with a stout heart and resolute will!