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’Tis in affection’s fond domain,
Where still unruffled joys denote thy golden reign.

Deprived of thee, does earth possess
One charm to bind us here below?
In vain may pomp and power caress,
Or wealth its glittering gifts bestow.
Lost is their worth when thou art fled,
When Discord lifts her sceptre dread,
And pallid Envy, Care, and Strife
Unite their darkening clouds to veil the noon of life.

But when thy welcome steps appear,
This dreaded train of evil flies,
Gay Cheerfulness is ever near,
And calm Content with placid eyes;
And all that to the soul endears
This dreary wilderness of years,
All that our happiest hours employ,
When beats the willing heart to transport and to joy.

Where’er I tread this varied scene,
Good-Humor! on my path attend;
Alike when pleasure smiles serene,
Or pain and grief my bosom rend,
Do thou infuse thy sovereign power,
In youth’s gay morn, in manhood’s hour,
Or when, in age, life’s parting ray
But faintly lingers low ere yet it fades away!

1811.