Excerpt from The Pleasures of Benevolence: A Poem

Mary, to thee, these lines I consecrate. E'en as a votive ofering at the shrine Of that Benevolence whose joys I sing For thou hast proved them - thou hast hailed her power, Wide as it spreads thro' being's mighty range. And thou hast tuned thy soul, in sweet response, To Nature's harmonies - as her's thy love To all the living tribes - as her's thy joy To see all happy. Thou an infant minds Hast rayed th' efislgence of celestial light, And bade them see. And reverent adore The great Creator's glory, as it beams, Radiant with life and love, thro' earth and heaven Host taught them too, in Inspiration's page To see, and love the beautiful, the grand, Of moral Truth, to learn her sacred lore, And dearly prize it as the pearl of price, The balm of bliss, the talisman of peace, And man's immortal hope. And thou hast shewn, In deeds of mercy, how that lore divine Warms thy own spirit, as a vivid fire, An emanation from the throne of Light, Mixed with its essence. Fearless hast thou sought The haunts of sore disease - inhaled the breath Of the Blue Plague, that thro' the city-walls, Spread deep dismay - 'midst rank infection stood The minister of health, and wafted by The blast of death. When friends and kindred fled Their perilous duty, thou, in faith and love, Host come with potent anodynes to soothe The mferer's anguish. While his dying lips Blest and re-blest thee, thou hast whispered peace, With hope, and trust, and consolation sweet E'en as a seraph come with words of balm, And such sweet sounds of thrilling potency, As seem an echo from the realms of bliss, To charm the parting spirit, while it breathes A kind farewell to earth, and mounts to heaven. As thou art want, with an approving smile, Receive the song, and make thy poet blest.

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