I THOUGHT of Thee, my partner and my guide,   As being pass'd away.—Vain sympathies!   For, backward, Duddon! as I cast my eyes, I see what was, and is, and will abide; Still glides the Stream, and shall for ever glide;   The Form remains, the Function never dies;   While we, the brave, the mighty, and the wise, We Men, who in our morn of youth defied The elements, must vanish;—be it so!   Enough, if something from our hands have power   To live, and act, and serve the future hour; And if, as toward the silent tomb we go,   Through love, through hope, and faith's transcendent dower, We feel that we are greater than we know.