The abyss recoil'd before the blast,
Firm stood the seamen till the last.

Like shooting stars, athwart the gloom
The merchant-sails were sped;
Yet oft, before its midnight doom,

They mark'd the high mast-head
Of that devoted vessel, tost

By winds and floods, now seen, now lost; While every gun-fire spread

A dimmer flash, a fainter roar;

-At length they saw, they heard no more.

There are to whom that ship was dear,
For love and kindred's sake;

When these the voice of Rumour hear,
Their inmost heart shall quake,

Shall doubt, and fear, and wish, and grieve,
Believe, and long to unbelieve,

But never cease to ache;

Still doom'd, in sad suspense, to bear

The Hope that keeps alive Despair.

THE SEQUEL.

He sought his sire from shore to shore,
He sought him day by day;
The prow he track'd was seen no more,
Breasting the ocean-spray :

Yet, as the winds his voyage sped,
He sail'd above his father's head,
Unconscious where it lay,

Deep, deep beneath the rolling main;
—He sought his sire; he sought in vain.

1810.

Son of the brave! no longer weep;
Still with affection true,
Along the wild disastrous deep,
Thy father's course pursue:
Full in his wake of glory steer,
His spirit prompts thy bold career,

His compass guides thee through;
So, while thy thunders awe the sea,
Britain shall find thy sire in thee.

TRIBUTARY POEMS.

TO THE MEMORY OF

THE LATE RICHARD REYNOLDS,

Who died on the 10th of September, 1816.

THE author has nothing to say in favour of the following verses, except that they are the sincere tribute of his affections, as well as his mind, to the Christian virtues of the deceased.

Richard Reynolds was one of the Society of Friends, but, as far as human judgment can extend, he was one of those who also are Christians, not in word only but in deed. To his memory the inhabitants of Bristol have already instituted and may their posterity perpetuate it!—the noblest monument, perhaps, that man ever raised in honour of his fellow-man. This will be sufficiently explained by the following advertisement :

"At a general meeting of the inhabitants of Bristol, held in the Guildhall of that city, on Wednesday, the 2d October, 1818, the right worshipful the Mayor in the chair :-It was unanimously resolved, That, in consequence of the severe loss which society has sustained by the death of the venerable Richard Reynolds, and in order to perpetuate, as far as may be, the great and important benefits he has conferred upon the city of Bristol and its vicinity, and to excite others to imitate the example of the departed philanthropist, an Association be formed under the designation of 'Reynolds's Commemoration Society.' That the members of the Society do consist of life subscribers of ten guineas or upwards, and annual subscribers of one guinea or upwards; and that the object of this Society be to grant relief to persons in necessitous circumstances, and also occasional assistance to other benevolent institutions in or near the city, to enable them to continue or increase their usefulness, and that especial regard be had to the Samaritan Society, of which Richard Reynolds was the founder. That the cases to be assisted and relieved be entirely in the discretion of the committee; but it is recommended to them not to grant any relief or assistance without a careful investigation of the circumstances of each case; and that, in imitation of the example of the individual whom the Society is designed to commemorate, it be considered as a sacred duty of the committee, to the latest period of its existence, to be wholly uninfluenced in the distribution of its funds by any considerations of sect or party."

The third piece in the ensuing series, entitled "A Good Man's Monument," was intended for a figurative representation of this sublime and universal charity. The resemblance ought to have been sufficiently obvious, without being pointed out here.

163

I. THE DEATH OF THE RIGHTEOUS.

THIS place is holy ground;

World, with thy cares, away!
Silence and darkness reign around,
But, lo! the break of day:

What bright and sudden dawn appears,
To shine upon this scene of tears?

"Tis not the morning light,

That wakes the lark to sing; "Tis not a meteor of the night, Nor track of angel's wing:

It is an uncreated beam,

Like that which shone on Jacob's dream.

Eternity and Time

Met for a moment here;

From earth to heaven, a scale sublime
Rested on either sphere,

Whose steps a saintly figure trod,

By Death's cold hand led home to God.

He landed in our view,

Midst flaming hosts above;

Whose ranks stood silent, while he drew
Nigh to the throne of love,

And meekly took the lowest seat,
Yet nearest his Redeemer's feet.

Thrill'd with ecstatic awe,
Entranced our spirits fell,

And saw-yet wist not what they saw And heard no tongue can tell What sounds the ear of rapture caught, What glory fill'd the eye of thought.

Thus far above the pole,

On wings of mounting fire,

Faith may pursue th' enfranchised soul,
But soon her pinions tire;

It is not given to mortal man
Eternal mysteries to scan.

-Behold the bed of death;
This pale and lovely clay;
Heard ye the sob of parting breath?
Mark'd ye the eye's last ray?

No;-life so sweetly ceased to be,
It lapsed in immortality.

Could tears revive the dead,

Rivers should swell our eyes;
Could sighs recall the spirit fled,

We would not quench our sighs,
Till love relumed this alter'd mien,
And all th' imbodied soul were seen.
Bury the dead;-and weep
In stillness o'er the loss;

Bury the dead;-in Christ they sleep,
Who bore on earth his cross,

And from the grave their dust shall rise,
In his own image to the skies.

II. THE MEMORY OF THE JUST.

STRIKE a louder, loftier lyre;

Bolder, sweeter strains employ;

Wake, Remembrance !—and inspire

Who was He, for whom our tears

Flow'd, and will not cease to flow?

-Full of honours and of years,
In the dust his head lies low.

Yet resurgent from the dust,
Springs aloft his mighty name;
For the memory of the Just

Lives in everlasting fame.