Classic Poem

To Friendship thus a Fane I raise,
Th' off'ring, gratitude and praise;
A sacrifice to merit due,
And love like thine, sincere and true.
Let, whilst we live, the incense burn,
When we expire adorn the urn.
Proclaim to common hearts the cause,
Why we obey'd fair Virtue's laws;
Why tho' in gayest liv'ry drest,
To us base flatt'ry stood confest;
What caus'd the silent tear to flow,
At sight of real or fancied woe;
'Tis sympathy which rules our Souls,
And all our wayward wills controlls,
By hope inspir'd the tender heart,
Smiles at the fell envenom'd dart.
Thro' various channels sorrows flow,
And inundations cause of woe;
The swelling tide o'erflows the mind,
If not by reasons's banks confin'd;
Restrain'd in its impetuous course,
By Faith, and fair Religion's force.
If these the Pilots, we can glide,
With ease thro' life, and stem the tide
Of sorrow's stream, and find, at last,
Our lot in some fair Country cast;
Transported to that happy shore,
No longer our hard fate deplore;
Be thankful for the blessings giv'n,
And find ourselves at rest in Heav'n.
Oh! may the passage prove to thee,
A settled calm, and summer sea!
Like the bright Halcyon build thy nest,
In sweet tranquility and rest;
Blest with a kind and gentle mate,
Rejoicing in thy happy fate!