Adversity, ’t is thine to prove The truth of friendship or of love; Thy frown can drive the false away, But makes the faithful nearer stay; Thy chilling breath illusion rends, And is too cold for summer friends. MISFORTUNES. Misfortunes which have not been caused by our own misconduct, and which we may lay open to sympathy, are but as superficial wounds, which are easily healed; but those which guilt has produced, and shame conceals, like the stolen fox of the Spartan boy, prey on the vitals, and the pangs must be concealed, while hiding their inflictor in the breast he feeds on. LIBERTY. O liberty! the purest gift from heaven That ever was to erring mortals given; The heart that Heaven has form’d to worship thee, Must be from every grovelling passion free; The patriot would thy noble precepts use, While demagogues but know thee to abuse. AGE. When age is seen moving through scenes of gaiety and pleasure, its wrinkles concealed beneath a mask of paint, and its wig wreathed with flowers, it reminds one of the death’s heads which the ancients introduced at their festivals, to recall to their memories the brevity of life, and make them enjoy the present with more zest. CONTENT. We miss content in our search for happiness. FRIENDSHIP. I lost my spirits and my health. But kept my friends, so did not wince Until one day I lost my wealth, And never heard of friendship since. TRIALS. It is when we most suffer, that we least doubt the existence of that Power which can afflict or heal. LIFE. We pass our lives in regretting the past, complaining of the present, and indulging false hopes of the future. LOVE AND VANITY. Half the errors attributed to love have their source in vanity; and many a person has made sacrifices to this unworthy passion, who would have successfully resisted the pleadings of affection. ON SEEING PRINCE TALLEYRAND SUFFERING UNDER A SEVERE COLD. Why looks prince Talleyrand so cold— Why trembles he in every part? It is as doctors long foretold, His body’s caught cold from his heart. FRIENDS. We are often ashamed of our friends, when it is they who have cause to be ashamed of us. PRIDE AND POVERTY.