Emma Catherine Embury

thumb|Emma Catherine Embury Emma Catherine Embury (née Manley; February 25, 1806 – February 10, 1863) was an American writer and poet. Under the pen name of "Ianthe", she contributed to the periodicals of the day, and is considered among the pioneers of female literature in the United States. Quotes 1820s Weep not for those Who sink within the arms of death Ere yet the chilling wintry breath    Of sorrow o'er them blows; But weep for them who here remain, The mournful heritors of pain, Condemn'd to see each bright joy fade, And mark grief's melancholy shade    Flung o'er Hope's fairest rose. "Stanzas", st. 1, in the New England Galaxy, vol. 9 (Dec. 15, 1826) p. 1, col. 3 (from The New York Times) Sorrow treads heavily, and leaves behind    A deep impression e’en when she departs; While joy trips by, with steps light as the wind,    And scarcely leaves a trace upon our hearts Of the faint footfalls, only this is sure — In this world nought, save suffering can endure. "The Dying Year", st. 6, in The Ladies' Garland, vol. 3, no. 50 (Harpers-Ferry, VA, Jan. 20, 1827) p. 200, col. 3. Revised in Sarah Josepha Hale (ed.) The Poet's Offering: for 1850 (Philadelphia: Grigg, Elliot & Co., 1850) p. 497: Sorrow treads heavily, and leaves behind    A deep impression, e'en when she departs: While joy trips by with steps light as the wind,    And scarcely leaves a trace upon our hearts Of her faint foot-falls: only this is sure, In this world nought, save misery, can endure. The gathered rose, and the stolen heart, Can charm but for a day. "Ballad", refrain, in the New-York Mirror, and Ladies' Literary Gazette, vol. 6 (May 30, 1829) p. 1. The poem's epigraph: "La rose cueillie et le cœur gagué ne plaisent qu'un jour." 1830s Like lamps in Eastern sepulchres,    Amid my heart’s deep gloom, Affection sheds its holiest light    Upon my husband’s tomb. And, as those lamps, if brought once more    To upper air grow dim, So my soul’s love is cold and dead,    Unless it glow for him. "The Widow's Wooer", st. 4, in The Ladies' Magazine and Literary Gazette, vol. 5, no. 6 (June 1832) p. 267 The charm of eloquence, — the skill    To wake each secret string, And from the bosom's chords at will    Life's mournful music bring, — The o'ermastering strength of mind, which sway    The haughty and the free, Whose might earth's mightiest one obeys,    These, — these were given to thee. "Lines suggested by a Bust of Madame de Stael", st. 3, in The Knickerbocker; or, New York Monthly Magazine (Feb. 1835) p. 116. Last line altered in The Poet's Offering: for 1850, p. 149: "This charm was given to thee." Oh never yet did Peace her chaplet twine, To lay upon base Mammon’s sordid shrine, Where Earth’s most precious things are bought and sold; Thrown on that pile, the "pearl of price" would be Despised, because unfit for merchantry. "Peace", st. 4, in John A. Clark (ed.) The Christian Keepsake and Missionary Annual (Philadelphia: William Marshall and Co., 1838) p. 144. The poem's epigraph is from Psalm 29, 11: "The Lord will bless his people with peace."              Peace, sweet Peace, is always found In her eternal home on holy ground. "Peace", st. 5 (1838) — "always" altered to "ever" in The Poet's Offering: for 1850, p. 402 When the glad sun, exulting in his might, Comes from the dusky-curtain'd tents of night. "Autumn Evening", l. 2, in Mrs. L. H. Sigourney (ed.) The Religious Souvenir, for MDCCCXL (New York: Scofield & Voorhies, 1839) p. 191. Collected in Poems (New York: Hurd and Houghton, 1869) p. 241. Reported in Maturin M. Ballou (ed.) Pearls of Thought (Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Co., 1881) p. 178. The poem's epigraph is from Genesis 24, 63: "And Isaac went out in the field to meditate at eventide." 1840s Like the sweet melody which faintly lingers    Upon the wind-harp's strings at close of day, When gently touch'd by evening's dewy fingers    It breathes a low and melancholy lay; So the calm voice of sympathy meseemeth;    And while its magic spell is round me cast, My spirit in its cloistered silence dreameth,    And vaguely blends the future with the past. "Slender-leaved Gerardia: Sympathy", sts. 1–2. American Wild Flowers in their Native Haunts (New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1845) p. 91 Number the riches by thy memory hoarded,    Relics of joys thy by-past years have known, — How many real things has life afforded?    How much true light was o'er thy pathway thrown? "Illusions", st. 1, in E. Oakes Smith (ed.) The Mayflower: for MDCCCXLVII (Boston: Saxton & Kelt, 1847) p. 76. Third line altered in The Poet's Offering: for 1850, p. 346: "How many real things are there recorded?" The poem's epigraph is from Burke: "Shadows we are, and shadows we pursue."                              — The grave's dark portal    Soon shuts this world of shadows from our view, Then shall we grasp realities immortal,    If to the truth within us we are true. "Illusions", st. 5 (1847) There dwelleth in the sinlessness of youth A sweet rebuke that vice may not endure. "A Portrait", st. 5, in The Literary World, vol. 1, no. 25 (July 24, 1847) p. 588 External links Category:19th-century poets from the United States Category:Children's authors Category:Women authors from the United States Category:Poets from New York City Category:1806 births Category:1863 deaths Category:Women born in the 19th century