Susan Evance
Susan Evance Poems
PALE ruthless Demon! terrible Despair!
Whose step is horror, and whose voice is death!
Thou rid'st on blasts that rend the midnight air,
Mingling with wintry storms thy baleful breath.
...
AH! how Imagination's charms
Deceive the youthful ardent mind!
You choose a life of wild alarms,
And pleasure there expect to find.
...
A TENDER heart- O what a treasure
O what a source of varied pleasure!
A gentle word- a smile- a glance-
Can bid with joy the Spirits dance;
...
AH! child of sensibility!
The cold world nothing knows of thee!
The charm of sentiment- the thought
With tenderness enchanting fraught-
...
O THAT religion in that breast did dwell! -
See how he leans upon the vessel's side,
And gloomily surveys the surgy tide.
Could you the meaning of that aspect tell,
...
REPENTANCE, bathe me in thy sea of tears!
Ah touch my heart with purifying sway;
And let these stains my darken'd conscience bears,
By thy pale waters all be wash'd away;
...
AH no- enthusiasm's hour is fled; -
- Society, ! though many a saddening ill
Abides within the circle of thy tread,
Yet fondly do I cling unto thee still.
...
O TAKE me from the hated haunts of man;
O hide me on some rock-encompass'd shore,
Where I may spend unseen life's little span,
And never hear of guilt and misery more
...
SOFT the bud of pleasure spreads,
Like the rose on yonder tree;
Sweet the fragrance round it sheds,
Beautiful the tints we see.
...
LET me within these forest shades
Serenely live, serenely die!
This spot endear'd, which peace pervades,
Can all my humble wants supply.
...
Down by yonder copse remote,
Sweet to pass the evening hour;
There resounds each varied note
That can charm the woodland bow'r;
...
WHEN conscious guilt bedims the eye,
And fills the heart with sad alarms,
Where can the trembling Sinner fly,
Ah where, but to the Saviour's arms!
...
ALONE at Twilight's shadowy hour,
I touch the plaintive lay;
And all resign'd to music's pow'r,
My soul dissolves away
...
AH! bear with you, dear girl! away
The wishes of a heart sincere,
That ev'ry future rising day
May crown'd with tranquil bliss appear.
...
OF Love the raptur'd Poet sings-
Blooming enchanting as the day;
But ah remember, Love has wings-
He smiles- and charms- and flits away.
...
O LEAVE me not, Content! I cannot bear
The absence of thy sweet, thy heavenly smile;
'Tis that alone can gild the form of care,
Can smooth the ruggedness of wearying toil.
...
WHERE is the gentle hand to pour
The balm of Pity o'er my heart!
To sigh its aching sorrows o'er,
And sacred sympathy impart?
...
CEASE your desolating sound,
O ye furious winds! forbear-
Every gust that swells around
Chills my shuddering heart with fear.
...
WERE Hope's prophetic eye to close,
And Faith no longer see
Beyond this dreary scene of woes.
A blest eternity;
...
GENTLE Eve had blush'd adieu-
Soft the twilight breezes blew;
Faint appear'd the western star, -
O'er the tufted woods afar;
...
Susan Evance Biography
Little is known about Miss Evance, apart from two volumes of poetry, published in 1808 and 1818 respectively. Somewhere between these publications she married a Mr. Hooper, and it is suggested she had children, and a brother in the navy. Although reviews of her first collection were favourable, the second volume received little attention and, sadly, she dropped out of sight - and was quickly forgotten. Her first volume (1808) has an 'Advertisement by the editor', which reads: TO introduce the following poems to the attention of the public, will require very few observations.- In the present day of literary light and liberality, it is a rare circumstance if merit of any kind long escape notice and approbation.- The sentiments diffused through the following compositions, as well as the style and language in which they are written, will, I conceive, at least please the ear; may they affect and amend the heart. The melancholy strain of some pieces in the following collection, has a sanction in the mournful Sonnets of Charlotte Smith; but this excess of feeling, though often highly interesting, ought to be seldom or never admitted.- I know of no situation in life in which it can be right to indulge the petrifying gloom of lonely wretchedness, or the deep horror of wild despair.- The afflictions which we are called to endure, are to be regarded by us as the acts of a merciful and affectionate Being, calculated to teach us important lessons of virtue, and to prepare us for a happier state of existence. If the satisfaction and pleasure I have enjoyed in the perusal of these poems, shall, by their publication, be more generally diffused, I shall rejoice to have employed my influence in bringing them before the public. JAMES CLARKE.Organford- Dorset, 20th Oct.1808)
The Best Poem Of Susan Evance
Sonnet. To Despair.
PALE ruthless Demon! terrible Despair!
Whose step is horror, and whose voice is death!
Thou rid'st on blasts that rend the midnight air,
Mingling with wintry storms thy baleful breath.
Oft too thou sit'st upon a gloomy rock
That overhangs the wild and boist'rous deep;
Where foaming waves the ship-wreck'd seaman mock,
And o'er his head with raging fury sweep.
There dost thou view him struggling with the wave,
And panting, try to gain the welcome shore;
But ah thou doom'st him to a briny grave-
And soon he fainting sinks- to rise no more.
Unpitying Demon! sure thy pow'r accurst
Is of all human miseries the worst.
Susan Evance Comments
Delivering Poems Around The World
Poems are the property of their respective owners. All information has been reproduced here for educational and informational purposes to benefit site visitors, and is provided at no charge...
1/21/2026 7:33:35 PM # 1.0.0
