Henry Livingston, Jr.
Henry Livingston's Poetry




To my little niece Sally Livingston
on the death of a little
serenading wren she admired.



Hasty pilgrim stop thy pace
Turn a moment to this place
Read what pity hath erected
To a songster she respected.

Little minstrel all is o'er
Never will thy chirpings more
Soothe the heavy heart of care
Or dispel the darkness there.

I have known thee e'er the sun
Hath on yonder mountain shone;
E'er the sky-lark hath ascended,
Or the Thrush her throat distended;
Cheerful trill thy little ditty
As the singer, blithe and pretty.
Labour stood, half bent to hear,
Study lent a list'ning ear,
Dissipation stop'd a while,
Grief was even seen to smile,
Ambition - but the gushing tear
O'erwhelms the stone and stops me here.

View in Manuscript Book



Historical Background

Sally Livingston, then about eight years old, was the daughter of Henry's brother Gilbert. When Sally was 18, she married 26 year old Smith Thompson, a lawyer who had studied under her father. At the time she died, at the age of 56, Sally's husband had been a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court for ten years.






        
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