Philo

“ Praise—when it is fairly earned and justly due, is that meed which virtue delights to bestow upon merit; and, as it is highly gratifying to every worthy mind to receive, so next to those who merit it, it is to none more delightful than to those who are allied to, and love and regard the object of the Eulogy. Most grateful then must it be to the feelings of a beloved wife, to hear and even read of the honorable and praise-worthy actions of a kind and tender husband. ”

“ Bright truth shall guide me, like the solar rays,
Illume my darkness and direct my praise!
Inspire each thought, and breathe in ev’ry line,
And grace my Eulogy with rays divine;
And, while I paint the scene, the fact recite,
Still burst upon me in a blaze of light.
Wake then my Muse the gen’rous trump of fame,
And let her clarion laud the Patriot’s name;
p. 3Whose glorious actions well deserve the lay,
In deathless strains his merits to pourtray;
Who, while he makes his much loved Holkham smile,
Exalts the glory of our Sea girt Isle. ”

“ A man whose Virtue gilds the world below;
And, like the glory of the Northern star,
Is known, admired and gazed at from afar;
Who though he shines so high above his kind,
Is Polar light to Peasantry and Hind ”

“ And, with her Heavenly beams of warmth and light,
Illume the world, and teach mankind to know;
That Virtue, Wisdom, Arts and Science grow,
p. 17Only where Freedom reigns, around whose throne,
These Intellectual gems have ever shone;
For Liberty it is, whose beams divine,
Inspire the Sages thought, the Poet’s line,
Excite bright genius, spread its golden flame,
And fill a realm with glory, wealth, and fame. ”

“ Under this impression it is, that the Author has presumed to dedicate to your Ladyship, this humble tribute of his respect and esteem. If he must not be allowed to rank it with the brighter effusions of imagination; yet, being founded in truth, it is intrinsically superior to the flights of fancy, and he trusts when you consider the justness of the panegyric, and the sincerity which inspires it; you will look over the imperfection of the Performance, in regard to the goodness of the intention; and readily pardon the writers defects of genius in justice to the warmth of his feelings. ”

“ Of wealthy Farmers share the fertile space;
And while they feel his favours grateful glow,
Though from his streams their smaller streamlets flow;
In chrystal currents, gliding pure and clear,
Through all the country round the swains to cheer.
Though his bright beams, just like the orb of day,
The lesser stars eclipses with his ray;
It warms, illumes, and gladdens as it shines,
Each minor Planet which around him twines
While as they circle near their central sun,
p. 10Illumin’d by his light their course they run ”