Epitaph on Two Young Men of the Name of Leitch, Who Were Drowned in Crossing the River Southesk
O thou! whose steps in sacred reverence tread
These lone dominions of the silent dead;
On this sad stone a pious look bestow,
Nor uninstructed read this tale of woe;
And while the sigh of sorrow heaves thy breast,
Let each rebellious murmur be suppress’d;
Heaven’s hidden ways to trace, for us how vain!
Heaven’s wise decrees, how impious to arraign!
Pure from the stains of a polluted age,
In early bloom of life they left the stage:
Not doom’d in lingering woe to waste their breath,
One moment snatch’d them from the power of Death:
They lived united, and united died;
Happy the friends whom Death cannot divide!
