—S. Smiles.
What is a friend? one who in Fortune’s rays
Would bask with us as on a sun-kissed strand,
Beside a tranquil sea, whose restful sand
Glistens as gold to woo the passer’s gaze,
But who, should Sorrow’s clouds bedim our days
And angry winds, at adverse fate’s command,
Drive our life’s barque against a barren land,