Gaze with delight on every scene she plann'd,

Kiss every flowret planted by her hand.

Ah! still he trac'd her steps along the glade,

When hazy hues and glimmering lights betray'd

Half-viewless forms; still listen'd as the breeze

Heav'd its deep sobs among the aged trees;

And at each pause her melting accents caught,
In sweet delirium of romantic thought!

Dear was the grot that shunn'd the blaze of day;

She gave its spars to shoot a trembling ray.

The spring, that bubbled from its inmost cell,
Murmur'd of JULIA's virtues as it fell;

And o'er the dripping moss, the fretted stone,

In FLORIO's ear breath'd language not its own.
Her charm around the enchantress MEMORY threw,

A charm that sooths the mind, and sweetens too!

But is Her magic only felt below?

Say, thro' what brighter realms she bids it flow;

To what pure beings, in a nobler sphere,

She yields delight but faintly imag'd here:

All that till now their rapt researches knew,
Not call'd in slow succession to review;

But, as a landscape meets the eye of day,
At once presented to their glad survey!

Each scene of bliss reveal'd, since chaos fled,

And dawning light its dazzling glories spread; Each chain of wonders that sublimely glow'd, Since first Creation's choral anthem flow'd; Each ready flight, at Mercy's smile divine,

To distant worlds that undiscover'd shine;

Full on her tablet flings its living rays,

And all, combin'd, with blest effulgence blaze.

There thy bright train, immortal Friendship, soar;

No more to part, to mingle tears no more!

And, as the softening hand of Time endears
The joys and sorrows of our infant-years,

So there the soul, releas'd from human strife,

Smiles at the little cares and ills of life;

Its lights and shades, its sunshine and its showers;

As at a dream that charm'd her vacant hours!

Oft may the spirits of the dead descend

To watch the silent slumbers of a friend;

To hover round his evening-walk unseen,
And hold sweet converse on the dusky green;

To hail the spot where first their friendship grew,

And heav'n and nature open'd to their view!

Oft, when he trims his cheerful hearth, and sees

A smiling circle emulous to please;

There may these gentle guests delight to dwell,

And bless the scene they lov'd in life so well!

Oh thou! with whom my heart was wont to share

From Reason's dawn each pleasure and each care;

With whom, alas! I fondly hop'd to know

The humble walks of happiness below;

If thy blest nature now unites above

An angel's pity with a brother's love,

Still o'er my life preserve thy mild controul,
Correct my views, and elevate my soul;

Grant me thy peace and purity of mind,

Devout yet cheerful, active yet resign'd;

Grant me, like thee, whose heart knew no disguise,

Whose blameless wishes never aim'd to rise,

To meet the changes Time and Chance present,

With modest dignity and calm content.

When thy last breath, ere Nature sunk to rest,

Thy meek submission to thy God express'd;

When thy last look, ere thought and feeling fled,

A mingled gleam of hope and triumph shed;
What to thy soul its glad assurance gave,

Its hope in death, its triumph o'er the grave?
The sweet Remembrance of unblemish'd youth,
The still inspiring voice of Innocence and Truth!

Hail, MEMORY, hail! in thy exhaustless mine From age to age unnumber'd treasures shine! Thought and her shadowy brood thy call obey, And Place and Time are subject to thy sway!

Thy pleasures most we feel, when most alone; The only pleasures we can call our own. Lighter than air, Hope's summer-visions die,

If but a fleeting cloud obscure the sky;