THE TEAR OF SYMPATHY No radiant perl which crested fortune wears No gem that sparkling hangs from beauties ears Nor the bright stars which nights blue arch adorn Nor rising sun that gild the vernal morn, Shines with such lustre as the tear that breaks, For others woe down virtues lovely cheeks.

Full Text: THE TEAR OF SYMPATHY No radiant perl which crested fortune wears No gem that sparkling hangs from beauties ears Nor the bright stars which nights blue arch adorn Nor rising sun that gild the vernal morn, Shines with such lustre as the tear that breaks, For others woe down virtues lovely cheeks.
Listed on Page Number: 345
Sampler Worked By: Lucy Morse
Date of Sampler: 1810
Place Sampler Made: Boston, MA
Sampler Listed on Page: 198
Author/Publication/Country/Date: Darwin, Erasmus. The Botanic Garden; A Poem, in Two Parts, London: J. Johnson, 1791, Part 11, p. 117 See also: “The Tear of Sympathy,” The English Reader; or, Pieces in Prose and Poetry …Lindley Murray, ed. 5th ed., York: T. Wilson and R. Spence, 1805, p. 251.
Notes: Also Stitched by: Miskey, Elizabeth, 1822, Philadelphia, p. 197; Robertson, Elizabeth, September 30, 1817, n.p., p. 216. https://archive.org/details/bim_eighteenth-century_the-botanic-garden-part_darwin-erasmus_1789 See Also: https://archive.org/details/piecesenglish00murrrich Erasmus Darwin is the original author of this poem. It appears without the heading “The Tear of Sympathy,” in the original. It does appear with the poem in Lindley Murray’s English Reader at least by this 1805 version.