And thou, my earliest friend, my Brother dear, Thy fall untimely still renews my tear. In youthful sports, in toils, in taste allied, My kind companion and my faithful guide, When death's dread summons, from our infant eyes, Had call'd our last loved parent to the skies. Tho young in arms, and still obscure thy name, Thy bosom panted for the deeds of fame; Beneath Montgomery's eye, when by thy steel In northern wilds the frequent savage fell. Fired by his voice, and foremost at his call, To mount the breach or scale the flamy wall, Thy daring hand had many a laurel gain'd, If years had ripen'd what thy fancy feign'd. Lamented Youth! when thy great leader bled, Thro the same wound thy parting spirit fled, Join'd the long train, the self-devoted band, The gods, the saviors of their native land. On fame's high pinnacle their names shall shine, Unending ages greet the group divine, Whose holy hands our banners first unfurl'd, And conquer'd freedom for the grateful world. And you, their peers, whose steel avenged their blood, Whose breasts with theirs our sacred rampart stood, Illustrious relics of a thousand fields! To you at last the foe reluctant yields. But tho the Muse, too prodigal of praise, Dares with the dead your living worth to raise, Think not, my friends, the patriot's task is done, Or Freedom safe, because the battle's won. Unnumber'd foes, far different arms that wield, Wait the weak moment when she quits her shield, To plunge in her bold breast the insidious dart, Or pour keen poison round her thoughtless heart. Perhaps they'll strive her votaries to divide, From their own veins to draw the vital tide; Perhaps, by cooler calculation shown, Create materials to construct a throne, Dazzle her guardians with the glare of state, Corrupt with power, with borrowed pomp inflate, Bid thro the land the soft infection creep, Whelm all her sons in one lethargic sleep, Crush her vast empire in its brilliant birth, And chase the goddess from the ravaged earth.