Departed Brothers, No. II

Departed Brothers, No. II. [No. 84]

However we may fancy we despise
The estimation in which we are held
By others, are at times all compell’d
To yearn for Sympathy. The Mason wise
Seeks to endear himself unto the Good,— 5
Aiming at moral deeds of high enterprise;
Feeling that peace and highest honour lies
Alone in acts of virtue, he fain would
For Friends have all the Wisest and the Best:
And these are they who will his Memory cherish 10
When death has come. Then let the Body perish,
Returning to its parent, Earth, to rest
When this life’s trying work at last is done
So wisely-well that men must honour us when gone.

by George Markham Tweddell 1st published c 1887