“Alas! for him whose youthful fire
Is vowed and wasted on the lyre,—
Alas! for him who shall essay,
The laurel's long and dreary way!
Mocking will greet, neglect will chill
His spirit's gush, his bosom's thrill;
And, worst of all, that heartless praise
Echoed from what another says.”

—  Letitia Elizabeth Landon

Canto I
The Troubadour (1825)

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Letitia Elizabeth Landon photo
Letitia Elizabeth Landon785
English poet and novelist 1802–1838

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