[First published in the Edition of 1901 from a manuscript in the possession of the Lady Dorchester.]

A NOBLE Lady of the Italian shore,
 Lovely and young, herself a happy bride,
 Commands a verse, and will not be denied,
From me a wandering Englishman; I tore
One sonnet, but invoke the muse once more
 To hail these gentle hearts which Love has tied,
 In Youth, Birth, Beauty, genially allied,
And blest with Virtue's soul and Fortune's store.
A sweeter language and a luckier bard
 Were worthier of your hopes, Auspicious Pair!
And of the sanctity of Hymen's shrine,
 But,—since I cannot but obey the Fair,
To render your new state your true reward,
May your Fate be like Hers , and unlike mine .
 R AVENNA , July 31, 1819.