LINES OCCASIONED BY The Death of General JOSEPH REED—March, 1785

Swift to the dust descends each honour'd name That rais'd their country to these heights of fame, Sages that plann'd, and chiefs that led the way To freedom's temple—all too soon decay; Alike submit to one unalter'd doom, Their glories closing in perpetual gloom, Like the dim splendours of the evening, fade, While night advances to complete the shade. REED! 'tis for thee we shed th' unpurchas'd tear, Bend o'er thy tomb, and plant our laurels here, Thy own brave deeds the noblest pile transcend, And virtue, patriot virtue, mourns her friend, Gone to those realms where worth may claim regard, And gone where virtue meets her best reward. NO single art engag'd his manly mind, In every scene his active genius shin'd, Nature in him, in honour to our age, At once compos'd the soldier and the sage;— Firm to his purpose, vigilant, and bold, Detesting traitors, and despising gold, He scorn'd all bribes from Britain's hostile throne— For all his country's wrongs were thrice his own. REED, rest in peace, for time's impartial page Shall blast the wrongs of this ungrateful age: Long in these climes thy name shall flourish fair, The statesman's pattern, and the poet's care; Long on these plains thy memory shall remain, And still new tributes from new ages gain, Fair to the eye that injur'd honour rise— Nor traitors triumph while the patriot dies.