Epitaph on Mr. Harcourt’s Tomb. BY MR. POPE.
To this sad shrine, whoe’er thou art, draw near,
Here lies the friend most wept, the son most dear,
Who ne’er knew joy but friendship might divide,
Nor gave his father grief——but when he died.
How vain is reason! eloquence how weak!
When Pope must tell what Harcourt cannot speak.
Yet let thy once-loved friend inscribe the stone,
And with a father’s sorrow mix his own.
Ah, no! ’tis vain to strive——it will not be;