Portland Gazette, And Maine Advertiser

Original Poetry.

FOR THE GAZETTE.

To B--- A--- EsQ. Principal Of— ACADEMY.

Beneath thy parent eye, in youth,
Can I forget the joy I knew—
How sweetly bloom'd the flowers of truth,
How rifled every moment flew?

O no! howe'er my lot be cast,
In wisdom's path for folly's pell,
I'll hug the memory of the past,
Of scenes my soul enjoy'd so well.

I know thee rich (what would'st thou more
Of all, might heaven in peace impart ?)
I know thee rich in mental store,
And doubly rich in wealth of heart.

Still be a star in modest guise,
Content to cheer through shades of night;
While some, dread, transient meteors rise
To flash one awful gleam of light,

Still live, by favoring fate's decree,
To bless, instruct the human kind;
Fond science points the task to thee
To nurse the young, abstracted mind.

And oh! what joy, beneath thy hand,
(The pride of taste and genius thine)
To view the mental power expand,
And all its lovely tints combine!

How oft, whene'er I grop'd my way,
Perplexed in error's maze so dark,
Thy kindly voice forbade to stray,
And cheer'd ambition's flickering spark.

I thank thee. May thine every hour
Which Time's resistless children bring
(Unseen, unfelt its noxious power)
Shake floods of pleasure from its wing.

Thus travelling down the vale of years,
When thou at length shalt yield thy breath,
Thy urn shall swim in grateful tears,
Thy memory shall not sleep in death.

H****s.