“The hope that clings to the least glimpse of blue
Amid a sky of murkiness; the fear
That sickens at itself; the fond deceit,
That will not see the truth; the tenderness,
That only asks to trust; and, at the last,
The knowledge we have known in vain so long
Comes like a thunderbolt, and crashes.”

—  Letitia Elizabeth Landon

(24th July 1824) Poetic Sketches - 5th Series. Sketch the Second. - Infidelity
(31st July 1824) Poetic Sketches - 5th Series. Sketch the Third.—The Knight’s Tale. See The Vow of The Peacock
The London Literary Gazette, 1824

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Letitia Elizabeth Landon 785
English poet and novelist 1802–1838

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