 | Sonnet and epitaph |  |
SONNET ON THE AUTHOR'S DEATH.
Tho' wreck'd his bark, tho' foams the wint'ry wave,
The daring mariner will firmly clasp
Some drifting plank, nor quit his anxious grasp,
Hoping 'gainst hope, his struggling life to save;
Thus, long afloat on death's o'erwhelming sea,
Bradford! thy buoyant spirit 'mid the storm
Undaunted rose—tho' every direful form
Of that last enemy assaulted thee.
The daring mariner will firmly clasp
Some drifting plank, nor quit his anxious grasp,
Hoping 'gainst hope, his struggling life to save;
Thus, long afloat on death's o'erwhelming sea,
Bradford! thy buoyant spirit 'mid the storm
Undaunted rose—tho' every direful form
Of that last enemy assaulted thee.
Hush'd is the storm, the whelming billowy close,
Nor wreck, nor sailor, meets th'enquiring eye,
Tempests no more shall break his dread repose,
Nor suffering thine; affection's rising sigh
Let faith repress, for thou again shalt rise,
To sail on calmer seas, beneath unclouded skies.
Nor wreck, nor sailor, meets th'enquiring eye,
Tempests no more shall break his dread repose,
Nor suffering thine; affection's rising sigh
Let faith repress, for thou again shalt rise,
To sail on calmer seas, beneath unclouded skies.
EPITAPH BY WILLIAM HAYLEY, Esq.
Bradford! thy early days, serenely fair,Promis'd a life exempt from pain, and care,
Thy piety, to friendship, seem'd to claim,
A guardian angel to protect thy frame;
Yet Death, who by a dark reluctant blow,
Laid all thy earthly expectations low,
Exclaim'd, as he destroy'd thy love-crown'd youth,
God , only God can recompense thy Truth .
| Sonnet and epitaph | |