LINES
OCCASIONED BY A VISIT TO MR. JOHN BANIM, IN HIS LAST ILLNESS.
I
I saw him on his couch of pain,
And when I heard him speak,
It was of Hope long nurs'd in vain,
And tears stole down his cheek.
He spoke of honours early won,
Which youth could rarely boast;
Of high endeavours well begun,
But prematurely lost.
II
I saw him on a brighter day,
Among the first spring flow'rs;
Despairing thoughts had pass'd away,
He spoke of future hours;
He spoke of health, of spirits freed
To take a noble aim;
Of efforts that were sure to lead
To fortune and to fame!
III
They bear him to a genial land
The cradle of the weak;
Oh! may it nerve the feeble hand,
And animate the cheek!
Oh! may he, when we meet again,
Those flattering hopes recall,
And smiling say,—“They were not vain,
I've realised them all!”
