First Line	Oft I've implor'd the gods in vain
Author	Frances Macartney Greville
Date	1763
Description	Lyric [Passions, sentiments]. See also Countess Carlisle's Answer "Without preamble, to my friend..." Transcribed from Mrs. G, "A Prayer for Indifference." The annual register... 1762, 1763, pp. 200–201. Eighteenth Century Collections Online, GALE\|CW0125074759.
Links	ESTC

Transcription

Oft I've implor'd the gods in vain,

And pray'd till I've been weary!

For once I'll strive my wish to gain,

Of Oberon, the fairy.

Sweet airy being, wanton sprite,

Who liv'st in woods unseen;

And oft, by Cynthia's silver light,

Trip'st gaily o'er the green;

If e'er thy pitying heart was mov'd,

(As ancient stories tell)

And for th' Athenian maid, who lov'd,

Thou sought'st a wond'rous spell;

Oh! deign once more t'exert thy pow'r,

Haply some herb or tree,

Sov'reign as juice from western flow'r,

Conceals a balm for me.

I ask no kind return in love,

No tempting charm to please;

Far from that heart such gifts remove,

Which sighs for peace and ease.

Nor ease, nor peace, that heart can know,

That like the needle true,

Turns at the touch of joy or woe,

But, turning, trembles too.

For as distress the soul can wound,

'Tis plain in each degree;

Bliss goes but to a certain bound,

Beyond 'tis agony.

Then take this treacherous sense of mine,

Which dooms me still to smart;

Which pleasure can to pain refine,

To pain new pangs impart!

Oh! haste to shed the sov'reign balm,

My shatter'd nerves new string;

And for my guest, serenely calm,

The nymph, Indifference, bring!

At her approach, see hope, see fear,

See expectation fly;

With disappointment, in the rear,

That blasts the purpos'd joy.

The tears which pity taught to flow,

My eyes shall then disown;

The heart which throbb'd for others woe,

Shall then scarce feel its own.

The wounds which now each moment bleed,

Each moment then shall close;

And peaceful days shall still succeed,

To nights of sweet repose.

Oh, fairy elf! but grant me this,

This one kind comfort send;

And so may never-fading bliss,

Thy flowery paths attend!

So may the glow-worm's glimmering light

Thy tiny footsteps lead,

To some new region of delight,

Unknown to mortal tread!

Beinecke Osborn c130

Title	Untitled
Period	1761-1790
Archive	Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library

pp. 3–6

Local title: Ode

Attributed author: Mrs. Greville

Adaptation: n/a

Other variants: n/a

Other: n/a

Beinecke Osborn c163

Title	Untitled
Period	1761-1790
Archive	Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library

pp. 15–17

Title: On Indifference

Attributed author: Mrs. Greville

Adaptation: n/a

Other variants: n/a

Other: "to Lady Carlisle"; accompanied by Carlisle's Answer.

Beinecke Osborn c662

Title	Untitled
Period	1761-1790
Archive	Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Page: 50-53

Local title: Prayer for indifference

Attributed author: n/a

Adaptation: n/a

Other variants: n/a

Other: n/a

Beinecke Osborn d49

Title	Untitled
Period	1791-1820
Archive	Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library

pp. 271–274

Local title: Ode to Indifference.

Attributed author: Mrs. Greville.

Adaptation: n/a

Other variants: n/a

Other: Potentially copied from an album at Crewe Hall (manuscript source).

Beinecke Osborn fc132

Title	Poems on Several Occasions; Collected from D [...]
Period	1761-1790 , 1791-1820
Archive	Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library

p. 94

Local title: Indifference—an admired poem.

Attributed author: n/a

Adaptation: n/a

Other variants: n/a

Other: n/a

Beinecke Osborn fc51

Title	The Parson's Barn A Collection of Poems of v [...]
Period	1731-1760
Archive	Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library

pp. 306–309

Local title: Ode to Indifference.

Attributed author: n/a

Adaptation: n/a

Other variants: n/a

Other: Followed by Carlisle's Answer (p. 309).

Bodleian MS Eng. poet. e. 18

Title	Untitled
Period	1731-1760 , 1761-1790
Archive	Bodleian Library

p. 19

Local title: An Ode to Indifference

Attributed author: n/a

Adaptation: n/a

Other variants: n/a

Other: n/a

British Library Add. MS 75569

Title	Untitled
Period	1731-1760 , 1761-1790
Archive	British Library

ff. 6–7v

Local title: Ode to a Fairy

Attributed author: Mrs. Greville

Adaptation: n/a

Other variants: n/a

Other: "to Lady Carlile"; "Answer to the Ode on Indifference from Lady Carlile to Mrs Greville" on ff. 12–13v.

Folger MS M.a.180

Title	Untitled
Period	1791-1820
Archive	Folger Shakespeare Library

pp. 121–123

Local title: Greville's Ode to Indiff.

Attributed author: Greville

Adaptation: n/a

Other variants: n/a

Other: Note at the bottom "Vide p. 153," which is "Answer to Mrs. Grevilles Ode on Indifference by Lady Carlisle."

Folger MS M.a.182

Title	A miscellaneous collection in prose and vers [...]
Period	1791-1820
Archive	Folger Shakespeare Library

Page: n/a

Local title: Ode on Indifference

Attributed author: Greville

Adaptation: n/a

Other variants: n/a

Other: n/a

Folger MS M.a.53–58

Title	Untitled
Period	1761-1790 , 1791-1820
Archive	Folger Shakespeare Library

vol. 1, p. 185f

Local title: Mrs. Greville's A Prayer to Indifference

Attributed author: Mrs. Greville

Adaptation: n/a

Other variants: n/a

Other: cross-references at the bottom of the page to Lyttleton's reply (p. 408) and Lady Carlisle's Answer (vol. 3, p. 450).

Folger MS W.a.271

Title	Poetry
Period	1761-1790
Archive	Folger Shakespeare Library

pp. 48–50.

Local title: A Prayer to Indifference

Attributed author: Mrs. Greville

Adaptation: n/a

Other variants: n/a

Other: Followed by Carlisle's Answer (pp. 147–149).

Leeds Brotherton Lt 99

Title	Old Songs & other Poems.
Period	1761-1790
Archive	Brotherton Library

pp. 141–144

Local title: An Ode to Indifference

Attributed author: Mrs. Greville

Adaptation: n/a

Other variants: n/a

Other: dated "Sepr. 19th. 1764."

UChicago Library Codex Ms. 757

Title	Untitled
Period	1761-1790 , 1791-1820
Archive	University of Chicago Special Collections and Research Center

pp. 25–28

Local title: Mrs Greville prays for Indifference.

Attributed author: Mrs Greville.

Adaptation: n/a

Other variants: n/a

Other: n/a