Elegant Tribute

Illustrious SHADE! accept these artless lays, The Muse this tribute to thy mem'ry pays. Thy loss, to no one private grief confin'd, Demands the general sorrow of mankind;— Thine was the first of fortune's gifts to claim, And thine the triumph of unbounded fame. Indulgent nature, emulously kind, Gave to thy form the graces of the mind. Millions unborn thy mem'ry shall revere, And wet thy marble with a pious tear: No more to thee by mortals can be given, Much honor'd shade—the rest is lost to Heaven.