ON THE DEATH OF WILLIAM LINLEY, ESQ.,

By William Lisle Bowles

Poor Linley! I shall miss thee sadly, now

Thou art not in the world; for few remain

Who loved like thee the high and holy strain

Of harmony's immortal master.

Thou

Didst honour him; and none I know, who live,

Could even a shadow, a faint image give,

With chord and voice, of those rich harmonies,

Which, mingled in one mighty volume, rise,

Glorious, from earth to heaven, so to express

Choral acclaim to Heaven's almightiness,

As thou! Therefore, amid the world's deep roar,

When the sweet visions of young Hope are fled,

And many friends dispersed, and many dead,

I grieve that I shall hear that voice no more.