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| THOU whom chance may hither lead, | |
| Be thou clad in russet weed, | |
| Be thou deckt in silken stole, | |
| Grave these counsels on thy soul. | |
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| Life is but a day at most, | 5 |
| Sprung from night,—in darkness lost; | |
| Hope not sunshine ev’ry hour, | |
| Fear not clouds will always lour. | |
| |
| As Youth and Love with sprightly dance, | |
| Beneath thy morning star advance, | 10 |
| Pleasure with her siren air | |
| May delude the thoughtless pair; | |
| Let Prudence bless Enjoyment’s cup, | |
| Then raptur’d sip, and sip it up. | |
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| As thy day grows warm and high, | 15 |
| Life’s meridian flaming nigh, | |
| Dost thou spurn the humble vale? | |
| Life’s proud summits wouldst thou scale? | |
| Check thy climbing step, elate, | |
| Evils lurk in felon wait: | 20 |
| Dangers, eagle-pinioned, bold, | |
| Soar around each cliffy hold! | |
| While cheerful Peace, with linnet song, | |
| Chants the lowly dells among. | |
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| As the shades of ev’ning close, | 25 |
| Beck’ning thee to long repose; | |
| As life itself becomes disease, | |
| Seek the chimney-nook of ease; | |
| There ruminate with sober thought, | |
| On all thou’st seen, and heard, and wrought, | 30 |
| And teach the sportive younkers round, | |
| Saws of experience, sage and sound: | |
| Say, man’s true, genuine estimate, | |
| The grand criterion of his fate, | |
| Is not,—Arth thou high or low? | 35 |
| Did thy fortune ebb or flow? | |
| Did many talents gild thy span? | |
| Or frugal Nature grudge thee one? | |
| Tell them, and press it on their mind, | |
| As thou thyself must shortly find, | 40 |
| The smile or frown of awful Heav’n, | |
| To virtue or to Vice is giv’n, | |
| Say, to be just, and kind, and wise— | |
| There solid self-enjoyment lies; | |
| That foolish, selfish, faithless ways | 45 |
| Lead to be wretched, vile, and base. | |
| |
| Thus resign’d and quiet, creep | |
| To the bed of lasting sleep,— | |
| Sleep, whence thou shalt ne’er awake, | |
| Night, where dawn shall never break, | 50 |
| Till future life, future no more, | |
| To light and joy the good restore, | |
| To light and joy unknown before. | |
| Stranger, go! Heav’n be thy guide! | |
| Quod the Beadsman of Nithside. | 55 |
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