198 ELEGY. 



LINES WRITTEN ON WITNESSING THE FUNERAL OF THE 

 LATE H. VlLLEBOIS, ESQ., OF MARHAM HOUSE, 

 NORFOLK. 



And is he gone, the good old Squire ? 



The like of him how few ! 

 Who is there that would not admire 



A specimen so true 

 A specimen of English heart 



With Christian virtues crown'd, 

 Rejoicing always to impart 



Its happiness around ? 



Not fam'd was he for deeds of arms, 



With pow'rs forensic bless'd ; 

 But where's the heart that living warms 



A kinder, nobler breast ? 



The poor man's friend, th' oppressor's bane, 



This earth he proudly trod : 

 In him was seen what poets feign, 



The noblest work of God. 



Oh ! could my feeble pen arrest 



The passing funeral bell, 

 How many would this truth attest, 



And of his goodness tell ! 



Weep on, weep on ! nor vainly try 



To staunch the gushing tear ; 

 For, while his spirit soars on high, 



Your grief shall deck his bier. 



Thus, then, did my days pass pleasantly 

 away, my family increasing with my years. 

 My father's utter ruin having been accom- 

 plished, the most distant hope of ever regain- 



