OF FRIENDSHIP. As frost to the bud, and blight to the blossom, even such is self-interest to friendship: For Confidence cannot dwell where Selfishness is porter at the gate If thou see thy friend to be selfish, thou canst not be sure of his honesty; And in seeking thine own weal, thou nast wronged the reliance of thy friend. Flattery hideth her varnished face when Friendship sitteth at his board, For the sum of life is in trifles, and though, in the weightier masses. A coarse man grindeth harshly the finer feelings of his brother; A common mind will soon depart from the dull companionship of wisdom; A weak soul dareth not to follow in the track of vigour and decision; COME, I will show thee a friend; I will paint one worthy of thy trust: Thine heart shall not weary of him: thou shalt not secretly despise him. Thou art long in learning him, in unravelling all his worth; And he dazzleth not thine eyes at first, to be darkened in thy sight afteṛ ward, But riseth from small beginnings, and reacheth the height of thy esteem. He remembereth that thou art only man; he expecteth not great things from thee; And his forbearance toward thee silently teacheth thee to be considerate unto him. He despiseth not courtesy of manner, nor neglecteth the decencies of life: Nor mocketh the failings of others, nor is harsh in his censures before thee; For so, how couldst thou tell, if he talketh not of thee in ridicule? For as an ill example strengtheneth the hands of the wicked, So to put forward thy guilt is a secret poison to thy friend : For the evil in his nature is comforted, and he warreth more weakly against it, It he find that the friend whom he honoureth, is a man more sinful than himself. I hear the communing of friends; ye speak out the fulness of your souls, And being but men, as men, ye own to all the sympathies of man hood: (26) Confidence openeth the lips, indulgence beameth from the eye, The tongue loveth not boasting, the heart is made glad with kindness: ye toil up heart, Ye speak with pleasant interchange the treasured secrets of affection, CHOOSE thy friend discreetly, and see thou consider his station, For the graduated scale of ranks accordeth with the ordinance of heaven: If a low companion ripen to a friend, in the full sunshine of thy confidence, Know, that for old age thou hast heaped up sorrow: For thou sinkest to that level, and thv kin shall scorn thee, Yea, and the menial thou hast pampered haply snall neglect thee in thy death: And if thou reachest up to high estates, thinking to herd with princes, What art thou but a footstool, though so near a throne? O rush among the lilies, be taught thou art a weed, O briar among the cedars, hot contempt shall burn thee. And make not an intimate of one, thy servant or thy master; For only friendship among men is the true republic, Where all have equality of service, and all have freedom of command. And yet, if thou wilt take my judgment, be shy cf too much openness with any, Lest thou repent hereafter, should he turn and rend thee : For many an apostate friend hath abused unguarded confidence, ABSENCE strengtheneth friendship, where the last recollections were kindly ;) But it must be good wine at the last, or absence shall weaken it daily A rare thing is faith, and friendship is a marvel among men, Yet strange faces call they friends, and say they believe when they doubt Those hours are not lost that are spent in cementing affection. For a friend is above gold, precious as the stores of the mind. Be sparing of advice by words, but teach thy lesson by example; selfish : Worldliness, and apathy, and pride, leave not many that are worthy: For as thistledown flieth abroad, and casteth its anchor in the soil, So philanthropy yearneth for a heart, where it may take root and blos som. YET I hear the child of sensibility moaning at the wintry cold, Wherein the mists of selfishness have wrapped the society of men : He grieveth, and hath deep reasons; for falsehood hath wronged his trust, And the breaches in his bleeding heart have been filled with the briars of suspicion. For alas, how few be friends, of whom charity hath hoped well! And the world, that corrupteth all good, hath wronged that sacred name, There be few, O child of sensibility, who deserve to have thy confidence; To them is the chilling world a drear and barren scene, (And gladly seek they such as thou art,) for seldom find they the occasion. For, though no man excludeth himself from the high capability of friendship, Yet verily is the man a marvel whom truth can write a friend. OF LOVE. THERE is a fragrant blossom, that maketh glad the garden of the heart. Hope; Its companions are gentle flowers, and the brier withereth by its side. The violet rejoiced beneath it, the rose stooped down and kissed it; And yet what shall I say? Hath a seducer known it? Is a sordid man capable of-Love? Can an adulterer perceive it? Or he that seeketh strange women, can he feel its purity? Or he that changeth often, can he know its truth? Longing for another's happiness, yet often destroying its own; Chaste, and looking up to God, as the fountain of tenderness and joy: Lasting, and knowing not change-it walketh with Truth and Sincerity LOVE: what a volume in a word, an ocean in a tear, |