FARNHAM! receive the mede of praise,
An humble mede--whose meteor rays
Cannot illumine worth like thine;
Worth , which with radiance divine,
Displays itself by doing good,
And nurturing a tender brood
Of helpless orphans!--yet who ne'er
Felt that deep loss--a mother's care!
For in thy tender arms caress'd,
They lean upon a mother's breast.
Still not to them alone confin'd
The gen'rous dictates of thy mind;
For never was the aged poor
Indignant driv'n from thy door:
E'en there the ready hand bestows
Sufficient for their present woes;
And with benevolence imparts
A balm to their afflicted hearts !
No vain domestic ever there,
Forbiddeth the appeal of care;
But, like the streamlet, in its course,
Nurtures from some great river's source!
Long may that river and its tide
Successive flow--and sweetly glide!
Long may its smooth meand'ring stream
Continue bright by Fortune's beam!
And ev'ry blessing life bestows,
With Farnham--and her lord repose!
An humble mede--whose meteor rays
Cannot illumine worth like thine;
Worth , which with radiance divine,
Displays itself by doing good,
And nurturing a tender brood
Of helpless orphans!--yet who ne'er
Felt that deep loss--a mother's care!
For in thy tender arms caress'd,
They lean upon a mother's breast.
Still not to them alone confin'd
The gen'rous dictates of thy mind;
For never was the aged poor
Indignant driv'n from thy door:
E'en there the ready hand bestows
Sufficient for their present woes;
And with benevolence imparts
A balm to their afflicted hearts !
No vain domestic ever there,
Forbiddeth the appeal of care;
But, like the streamlet, in its course,
Nurtures from some great river's source!
Long may that river and its tide
Successive flow--and sweetly glide!
Long may its smooth meand'ring stream
Continue bright by Fortune's beam!
And ev'ry blessing life bestows,
With Farnham--and her lord repose!
