The Poetical Works of John Langhorne ... To which are prefixed, Memoirs of the Author by his Son the Rev. J. T. Langhorne ... In Two Volumes |
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 | The Poetical Works of John Langhorne |  |
Character of a Country Justice.
Thro' these fair vallies, stranger, hast thou stray'd,By any chance, to visit Harewood's shade,
And seen with honest, antiquated air,
In the plain Hall the magistratial chair?
There Herbert sate—the love of human kind,
Pure light of truth, and temperance of mind,
In the free eye the featur'd soul display'd,
Honour's strong beam, and Mercy's melting shade;
Justice, that, in the rigid paths of law,
Would still some drops from Pity's fountain draw,
Bend o'er her urn with many a gen'rous fear,
Ere his firm seal should force one orphan's tear;
Fair Equity, and Reason scorning art,
And all the sober virtues of the heart—
These sate with Herbert, these shall best avail,
Where statutes order; or where statutes fail.
| The Poetical Works of John Langhorne | |