Some said she was proud, some call'd her a whore, 17
And some, when she passèd by, shut to the door;
A damp cold came o'er her, her blushes all fled,
Her lillies & roses are blighted & shed.
'O why was I born with a different Face? 21
Why was I not born like this Envious Race?
Why did Heaven adorn me with bountiful hand,
And then set me down in an envious Land?
'To be weak as a Lamb and smooth as a Dove, 25
And not to raise Envy, is call'd Christian Love;
But if you raise Envy your Merit 's to blame
For planting such spite in the weak & the tame.
'I will humble my Beauty, I will not dress fine, 29
I will keep from the Ball, and my Eyes shall not shine;
And if any Girl's Lover forsakes her for me
I'll refuse him my hand, & from Envy be free.'
She went out in Morning attir'd plain & neat; 33
'Proud Mary's gone mad,' said the Child in the Street;
She went out in Morning in plain neat attire,
And came home in Evening bespatter'd with mire.
She trembled & wept, sitting on the Bed-side, 37
She forgot it was Night, & she trembled & cried;
She forgot it was Night, she forgot it was Morn,
Her soft Memory imprinted with Faces of Scorn;
With Faces of Scorn and with Eyes of Disdain, 41
Like foul Fiends inhabiting Mary's mild Brain;
She remembers no Face like the Human Divine;
All Faces have Envy, sweet Mary, but thine;
17-20 Shepherd omits this stanza in his edition of 1866.17 some . . . whore] some reviled her still more DGR.21, 22 O why . . . Race] Cp. the lines occurring in one of Blake's letters to Mr. Butts, dated Aug. 16, 1803; —
'O why was I born with a different face?
Why was I not born like the rest of my race?'
31 forsakes] forsake Shep., WMR, EY, WBY.33, 35 in Morning] in the morning all edd. except Shep.36 in Evening] in the evening all edd. except Shep.
