Poems and miscellanies selected from the writings of Miss Eliza Townsend Printed but not published |
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AN INSCRIPTION FOR A MONUMENT TO THE MEMORY OF GEN. HUMPHREYS.
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 | Poems and miscellanies selected from the writings of Miss Eliza Townsend |  |
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AN INSCRIPTION FOR A MONUMENT TO THE MEMORY OF GEN. HUMPHREYS.
WRITTEN BY REQUEST.
[1819.]
Oft to departed worth benignant HeavenA power of working miracles has given,
Insensate matter's gloomy rest to break,
Bid dust be eloquent and marble speak;
Then e'en this stone by future patriots read,
May bid the living emulate the dead.
He who in youth was armed for civil right,
And shared the dangers braved in freedom's fight,
These sylvan plains, where first to life he sprung,
His sword defended, and his numbers sung;
In graver years the statesman's toil he proved,
And served in foreign realms the land he loved.
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The fleecy treasures of Iberia's shore.
Patron of arts and guardian of the state;
Friend of the poor, and favored by the great;
To sum all titles of respect in one—
Here Humphreys rests, beloved of Washington!
| Poems and miscellanies selected from the writings of Miss Eliza Townsend | |