And though thou bade the flattering thing give o'er, Yet, in return, she only woo'd thee more. How sweet thy accents! and how mild thy look! What smiling mirth was heard in all thou spoke; Manhood and grizzled age were fond of thee, And youth itself sought thy society. 40 The aged thou taught, descended to the young, Clear'd up the irresolute, confirm'd the strong; To the perplex'd thy friendly counsel lent, And gently lifted up the diffident; Sigh'd with the sorrowful, and bore a part In all the anguish of a bleeding heart; Reclaim'd the headstrong; and, with sacred skill, Committed hallow'd rapes upon the will; Soothed our affections; and, with their delight, To gain our actions, bribed our appetite. 50 Now, who shall, with a greatness like thy own, Thy pulpit dignify, and grace thy gown? Who, with pathetic energy like thine, The head enlighten, and the heart refine? Learn'd were thy lectures, noble the design, The language _Roman_, and the action fine; The heads well ranged, the inferences clear, And strong and solid thy deductions were: Thou mark'd the boundaries out 'twixt right and wrong, And show'd the land-marks as thou went along. 60 Plain were thy reasonings, or, if perplex'd, Thy life was the best comment on thy text; For, if in darker points we were deceived, 'Twas only but observing how thou lived. Bewilder'd in the greatness of thy fame, What shall the Muse, what next in order name? Which of thy social qualities commend-- Whether of husband, father, or of friend? A husband soft, beneficent, and kind, As ever virgin wish'd, or wife could find; 70 A father indefatigably true To both a father's trust and tutor's too; A friend affectionate and staunch to those Thou wisely singled out; for few thou chose: Few, did I say, that word we must recall; A friend, a willing friend, thou wast to all. Those properties were thine, nor could we know Which rose the uppermost, so all wast thou. So have I seen the many-colour'd mead, Brush'd by the vernal breeze, its fragrance shed: 80 Though various sweets the various field exhaled, Yet could we not determine which prevail'd, Nor this part _rose_, that _honey-suckle_ call But a rich bloomy aggregate of all. And thou, the once glad partner of his bed, But now by sorrow's weeds distinguished, Whose busy memory thy grief supplies, And calls up all thy husband to thine eyes; Thou must not be forgot. How alter'd now! How thick thy tears! How fast thy sorrows flow! 90 The well known voice that cheer'd thee heretofore, These soothing accents thou must hear no more. Untold be all the tender sighs thou drew, When on thy cheek he fetch'd a long adieu. Untold be all thy faithful agonies, At the last anguish of his closing eyes; For thou, and only such as thou, can tell The killing anguish of a last farewell.