| Andrew Macphail, comp. The Book of Sorrow. 1916. | | | XVI. Crossed Hands and Closed Eyes
Epitaph intended for himself | | By James Beattie (1735–1803) |
| | | ESCAPED the gloom of mortal life, a soul | |
| Here leaves its mouldering tenement of clay | |
| Safe, where no cares their whelming billows roll, | |
| No doubts bewilder, and no hopes betray. | |
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| Like thee I once have stemmed the sea of life, | 5 |
| Like thee have languished after empty joys, | |
| Like thee have laboured in the stormy strife, | |
| Been grieved for trifles, and amused with toys…. | |
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| Forget my frailties; thou art also frail: | |
| Forgive my lapses; for thyself may’st fall: | 10 |
| Nor read unmoved my artless tender tale— | |
| I was a friend, O man, to thee, to all. | | | | |
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