Oh! when the world's dull children bend the knee,

Meanly obsequious, to some mortal god,

It yields no vulgar joy

Alone to stand aloof;

Or when they jostle on wealth's crowded road,

And swells the tumult on the breeze, 'tis sweet,

Thoughtful, at length reclined,

To list the wrathful hum.

What though the weakly gay affect to scorn

The loitering dreamer of life's darkest shade,