  Say, doth the sculptor's ready tool engrave A mournful stanza o'er a conqueror's grave? Or bid the willow bend, or cypress twine? Or doleful tokens to his fame combine? Then trace no saddening sentence o'er the place Where rests the victor in a heavenward race; Meeter the laurel and the trumpet-strain For one who fought a fadeless crown to gain! Bring the memorials of a warrior true, The "sword," the "helmet," and the "breast-plate" too; Write on the marble that by these he won, And bid the gazer do as he hath done! Write of his faith; how humble, yet how bright, Diffusing round a clear and heavenly light; Write of his zeal; how quenchlessly it burned, How many a wanderer to the skies it turned! And, mourner, when thou comest with a tear, Love's costless tribute to remembrance dear, Bend there thy trembling knee upon the sod, And lift thy homage to the conqueror's God! |
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