Classic Poem

Oh ! may thy life be ever bright, I pray,
And gladly mayst thou ever greet the morn:
But if (for who escapes of mortal born?),
If thou shouldst fall upon an evil day,
If that should fail which was thy chiefest stay,
If honour seem a jest, and life forlorn,
And friends are cold, and cruel is the scorn
Of worldlings yelping round a soul at bay:
Ah then, perchance this thought will come to thee:
" Far off across the seas I have a friend:
And though alone and all alone I be,
Though none be by to comfort or defend:
Yet know I one who still has faith in me,
And one who will be faithful to the end."