To Cowper and other poems : autograph manuscript of 9 poems, signed, 1842–1845
Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1900
“’Tis strange to think” (pp. 16–18)
Dated 21 November 1843, when Brontë was twenty-three. First published in Poems (1846) with title “Past Days.” Poem 26 in Chitham (1979).
“A Word to the Calvinists” (pp. 18–21)
Dated 28 May 1843, when Brontë was twenty-three. First published in Poems (1846) with title “A Word to the ‘Elect.’” Poem 22 in Chitham (1979).
But full of hope and glad and gay
We welcomed in the rising returning day.
AB Nov 21st 1843
A word to the Calvinists
You may rejoice to think yourselves secure
You may be grateful for the gift divine
That grace unsought which made your black hearts pure
And fits your earthborn souls in Heaven to shine
But is it sweet to look around and view
Thousands excluded from that happiness
Which they deserve at least as much as you
Their faults not greater nor their virtues less?
Text as published in Poems (1846)
But full of hope, and glad and gay,
We welcomed the returning day.
A WORD TO THE “ELECT.”
You may rejoice to think yourselves secure;
You may be grateful for the gift divinev
That grace unsought, which made your black hearts pure,
And fits your earth-born souls in Heaven to shine.
But, is it sweet to look around, and view
Thousands excluded from that happiness
Which they deserved, at least, as much as you,—
Their faults not greater, nor their virtues less?
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