ALAS! how many gems of human worth,Bright stars of nature, gifted souls of earth,Have left the orbit of their glorious spheres,Lured by the glowing of some meteor bright,On glitt'ring transit's blaze, to thread the pathWhere Pleasure's voice was heard, in siren notesOf sweet enchanting strains, that wooed them onTo feasts of joy and sparkling banqueting,—Where glowed the wine and whirled the giddy dance,And music soft, entrancing, thrilled the heart;—Where praises soft, delusive, sought the earOf untaught innocence, in whispers low,And ofttimes led, by flattery's witching spell,The unsuspecting to the snares of sin.Oh, look abroad! behold the tott'ring formsAnd haggard countenances that meet the eyeAt every turn of these your city's streets;And while your sympathies inquire why andWherefore all these sufferings, list the taleWhich hundreds of these sorrowing hearts might tell,Formed upright in the image of our God!
