ONE THOUSAND FAMOUS THINGS 257
Three Friends Meet in Engluh Literature
A hundred years and nmre ago there died in New York Joseph Rodman Drake,
and his great friend FitzGhreene Halleck vcrote this beautijul tribute to his memory.
i KEEN be the turf above thee,
Friend of my better days !
None knew thee but to love thee,
None named thee but to praise*
Tears fell, when thou wert dying,
From eyes unused to weep,
And longj where thou art lying,
Will tears the cold turf steep.
When hearts whose truth was proven,
Like thine, are laid in earthy
There should a wreath be woven
To tell the world their worth.
It should be mine to braid it
Around thy faded brow.
But I've in vain assayed it,
And feel I cannot now.
While memory bids me weep thee,
Nor thoughts nor words are free,
The grief is fixed too deeply
That mourns a man like thee,
Nearly sixty years passed by, and John Greenleaf Whittier paid this tribute to
FitzGreene Halleck, who had passed on to the "friend of his better days"
NOT his the soldier's sword to wield,
Nor his the helm of State,
Nor glory of the stricken field,
Nor triumph of debate.
He toiled and sang ; and year by year
Men found their homes more sweet,
And through a tenderer atmosphere
Looked down the brick-walled street*
Alive, he loved, like all who sing
The echoes of his song ;
Too late the tardy meed we bring,
The praise delayed so long.
Our lips of praise must soon be dumb,
Our grateful eyes be dim ;
O, brothers of the days to come,
Take tender charge of him !
New hands the wTires of song may sweep,
New voices challenge fame ;
But let no moss of years o*er creep
The lines of Halleek's name.
r.Trf_17