the last time i came o'er the moor

    the last time i came o'er the moor,

    and left maria's dwelling,

    what throes, what tortures passing cure,

    were in my bosom swelling:

    condemn'd to see my rival's reign,

    while i in secret languish;

    to feel a fire in every vein,

    yet dare not speak my anguish.

    love's veriest wretch, despairing, i

    fain, fain, my crime would cover;

    th' unweeting groan, the bursting sigh,

    betray the guilty lover.

    i know my doom must be despair,

    thou wilt nor canst relieve me;

    but oh, maria, hear my prayer,

    for pity's sake forgive me!

    the music of thy tongue i heard,

    nor wist while it enslav'd me;

    i saw thine eyes, yet nothing fear'd,

    till fear no more had sav'd me:

    the unwary sailor thus, aghast,

    the wheeling torrent viewing,

    'mid circling horrors yields at last

    to overwhelming ruin.