Oн could my mind, unfolded in my page, To Virtue wake the pulses of the heart, Oh could it still, thro' each succeeding year, My life, my manners, and my name endear; Still hold communion with the wise and just! a Yet should this Verse, my leisure's best resource, When thro' the world it steals its secret course, Revive but once a generous wish supprest, Chase but a sigh, or charm a care to rest; In one good deed a fleeting hour employ, Or flush one faded cheek with honest joy; Tho' short their date, as his who traced them here. |