47

 47. Penance  MORTAL! if e'er thy spirits faint,  By grief or pain opprest, Seek not vain hope, or sour complaint,  To cheer or ease thy breast:  But view thy bitterest pangs as sent  A shadow of that doom, Which is the soul's just punishment  In its own guilt's true home.  Be thine own judge; hate thy proud heart;  And while the sad drops flow, E'en let thy will attend the smart,  And sanctify thy woe.  Off Pantellaria .  December 23, 1832.