Classic Poem

Haec mihi semper erunt imis infixa medullis,
Perpetuusque ANIMI debitor HUJUS ero.
Ovid de Trist. Eleg. iv.

Of all the off'rings thanks can find,
None equally delights the mind;
Or charms so much, or holds so long,
As gratitude express'd in song.
We reckon all the Book of G RACE
By verses, as the source we trace,
And in the spirit all is great
By number, melody and weight.
By nature's light each heathen sage,
Has thus adorn'd th' immortal page;
Demosthenes and Plato's prose,
From skill in mystic measure flows;
And R OLT 's sublime, historic stile,
Is better that the Muses smile.
Take then from heartiness profest,
What in the bard's conceit is best;
The golden sheaf desertion gleans
For want of better helps and means.

Well nigh sev'n years had fill'd their tale,
From Winter's urn to Autumn's scale,
And found no friend to grief, and Smart ,
Like Thee and Her, thy sweeter part;
Assisted by a friendly pair
That chose the side of C HRIST and P RAY'R ,
To build the great foundation laid,
By one sublime, transcendent maid.
'Tis well to signalize a deed,
And have no precedent to plead;
'Tis blessing as by God we're told,
To come and visit friends in hold;
Which skill is greater in degree,
If goodness set the pris'ner free.
'Tis you that have in my behalf,
Produc'd the robe and kill'd the calf;
Have hail'd the restoration day ,
And bid the loudest music play.
If therefore there is yet a note
Upon the lyre, that I devote,
To gratitude's divinest strains,
One gift of love for thee remains;
One gift above the common cast,
Of making fair memorials last.

Not He whose highly finish'd piece,
Outshone the chissel'd forms of Greece;
Who found with all his art and fame,
A part'ner in the house I claim;
Not he that pencils C HARLOTTE 's eyes,
And boldly bids for R OMNEY 's prize;
Not both the seats, where arts commune
Can blazon like a word in tune;
But this our young scholasticks con,
As warrant from th' Appulian Swan.
Then let us frame our steps to climb,
Beyond the sphere of chance and time,
And raise our thoughts on H OLY W RIT ,
O'er mortal works and human wit.
The lively acts of C HRISTIAN L OVE ,
Are treasur'd in the rolls above;
Where Archangelic concerts ring,
And God's accepted poets sing.
So Virtue's plan to parry praise,
Cannot obtain in after days;
Atchievements in the Christian cause,
Ascend to sure and vast applause;
Where Glory fixes to endure
All precious, permanent and pure.
Of such a class in such a sphere,
Shall thy distinguish'd deed appear;
Whose spirit open and avow'd
Array'd itself against the croud
With chearfulness so much thine own,
And all thy motive God alone;
To run thy keel across the boom,
And save my vessel from her doom,
And cut her from the pirate's port,
Beneath the cannon of the fort,
With colours fresh, and sails unfurl'd,
Was nobly dar'd to beat the world;
And stands for ever on record,
IF TRUTH AND LIFE BE GOD AND LORD.