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Poem by William Cowper


To a Young Friend, on His Arriving at Cambridge Wet, When No Rain Had Fallen There


If Gideon's fleece, which drenched with dew he found,
White moisture none refreshed the herbs around,
Might fitly represent the Church, endowed
With heavenly gifts to heathens not allowed;
In pledge, perhaps, of favours from on high,
Thy locks were wet when others' locks were dry.
Heaven grant us half the omen,--may we see
Not drought on others, but much dew on thee!



William Cowper


William Cowper's other poems:
  1. Olney Hymn 4. Jehovah-Nissi. The Lord My Banner
  2. See Where the Thames, the Purest Stream
  3. An Ode, on Reading Mr. Richardson's History of Sir Charles Grandison
  4. Olney Hymn 24. Prayer for Children
  5. An Apology for Not Showing Her What I Had Wrote


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