Shade of my Friend, if haply thou canst see
The tear, that falls in memory of thee,
Accept the tribute to thy virtues due,
To candor, worth, and all that friendship knew,
Had thy frail frame been as thy spirit strong,
How blest thy ripen'd age! thy life how long!
Firm to the last amidst a baleful strife,
That robb'd thy breast of happiness and life,
Thine was the triumph, envy's the defeat,
And the still grave the happy calm retreat. –
Unkindly pow'r of malice's tainted breath,
Whose looks are poison, and whose words are death!