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On viewing the Monument of the Right Honourable William Conolly, Esq
 
 
 


128

On viewing the Monument of the Right Honourable William Conolly, Esq

As on the Patriot's aweful Form we gaze,
The breathing Marble his great Soul displays;
Reclin'd and pale, with pungent Pains oppress'd,
He feels his Country in his dying Breast:
For her dear Sake would ward th'impending Dart;
From her reluctant, not from Life, to part.
For ever firm, to Heaven's high Will resign'd,
He calmly cast th'impartial Eye behind:
There the bright Virtue of each well-spent Year
Beams on his Soul, nor leaves one Cloud of Fear.
Bless'd Shade! one Moment cease thy Bliss to know
And view well-pleas'd that pious Form below.
Oh, see thy Country in thy Consort weep,
And o'er thy Ashes grateful Vigils keep!
Her fervent Pray'r to Heav'n, like Incense, flew
On Angel Wings, a Sacrifice for you:
The pure Oblation pass'd th'eternal Gate,
And rose sweet smelling round the Mercy-Seat:
But Heav'n, alas! the Soul-breath'd Wish denies;
Heav'n weigh'd thy Worth, and call'd thee to the Skies.
Still o'er thy Shrine thy faithful Consort bows,
Still to thy Mem'ry pays her plighted Vows.
See Grandeur here by social Virtue grac'd;
The Manner noble, as refin'd the Taste!

129

Not Pride, but Piety there strikes our Eyes,
And Meekness lifts yon Pillar to the Skies.
Why smokes at Noon that hospitable Dome?
To feed the Fatherless, the Orphan's Home.
By thy Example thus she wings her Way,
Once more to meet thee in the Realms of Day:
She treads thy shining Path, keeps still in Sight,
Thy Beam illustrious, and reflects thy Light.
Thus in the crimson West the Lamp of Day
Resplendent sets, and sinks his radiant Ray:
In th'Azure East, inrob'd with milder Beams,
The Queen of Night sends forth her chearing Gleams;
Connubial Lustre o'er the Ocean sheds,
Glads the low Vales, and gilds the Mountain Heads.