He paus’d, and the old man went slowly away,
And I felt, as he left me, an impulse to pray.
Grant, Heaven! I may see, ere my own days are done,
A monument rise o’er my country’s lost son!
And oh! proudest task, be it mine to indite
The long-delay’d tribute a freeman must write;
‘Till then shall its theme in my breast deeply dwell,
So peace to thy slumbers, dear shade, fare thee well!
THE
LIFE AND CONVERSATIONS
OF
ROBERT EMMET, ESQ.
There are few persons whose name has been so hailed by the young and ardent, whose firmness and patriotism has been more admired, and whose character has produced a greater effect upon society, than the subject of these pages.