Excerpt from Tamar, and Other PoemsManoah. With wavering hope and doubtful resolu tion Of what before so oft by me essayed, I have drawn thee to this place, where friendly Silence Will not inform against us, nor espial Descryour posture and close secrecy Here at this vacant hour of morning prime, Samson, once more, ere lastly thou determine That marriage to thy country's foe conjoined, This daughter of the Timnian infidel, If supplication and a father's tears May bend thy purpose, ere, too late, achieved Thy own undoing and thy country's shame. Too well against thy mother's wish thou knowest, And mine express, these bonds consummated; Hence I could well desist my vain attempts To move thee, as heretofore, could I my auguries Draw from successes past, or yet my heart Forego the dear regard which yet it bears thee. Then canst thou yet respect a mother's tears And these hoar locks, that plead more loud than words How vehement, as in our laws enjoined, To leave thy purposes, yet unperformed? I could be well content, with this regard, The marriage-ransom given to forego, And willingly, no, glad to scape so quit. Samson. Father, break ofi Since, though the love I bear thee In measure as our near relation ask, Yet herein, as I thus far have begun, So shall I finish, cast in heart, be sure, To cross thy hopes, or disappoint thy purpo'sé; But higher inspirations from above, Promptings divine, compel me, else unwilling, Into those paths, which else I should abhor.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.