Page:The Amyntas of Tasso (1770) - Percival Stockdale.djvu/15

Rh me this publick testimony of the respect I have for the Earl of Moray. We were happily acquainted in the best season of life, and friendship. We roved then, at large, through the sacred groves of poetry, and philosophy; the fiend, Care, had not yet diverted our attention to meaner objects. Our connection was not formed by the frail bands of interest, but by the stronger tie of congenial sentiments. Your Lordship chose me for a companion in those hours in which you unlocked your soul; and I admired it's brightness, without glancing one thought on the inferiour lustre of your birth, and fortune.

With regard to myself, I cannot dedicate this translation with more propriety to any one than to your Lordship, with whom I formerly had the honour to cultivate a most agreeable friendship, which was begun, cherished, and dignified by our love of letters. And I surely pay due veneration to the memory