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Gentlb River! gentle river! Wilt thou thus complain for ever ? Why, when nought obstructs thy flow, Dost thou sigh, and murmuring low, Strike my ear with sounds of woe ? Is it that some sandbank's force For an instant stay'd thy course ? Has some shoal or rugged rock Stemm'd thy waves with sudden shock ? Wail no longer, gentle river ! These are past and gone for ever: Yonder is the wish'd-for sea, Home of peace and rest for thee !

Why does man, when all is shining,

Dim the brightness by repining ?

Why, when no dark cloud hangs o'er him,

Dreads he still some rock before him,

Weeps o'er woes he long has past,

Mourns his joys which did not last ?

Weep no more, nor sigh, nor mourn,

Yonder is the wish'd-for bourne,

Home of peace and rest for thee,—

Death and Immortality ! **

I

Affliction is the wholesome soil of virtue, where patience, honour, sweet humanity, and calm fortitude take root and strongly flourish. Mallet.