Chapter XXXI

In childhood, to my listening ear,
O! WASHINGTON! thy name was dear;
Embalm’d in every freeman’s breast,
The memory of thy deeds shall rest;
The first on glory’s radiant line,
In after days, thy name shall shine,
The freeman’s beacon blaze of war,
Columbia’s proudly beaming star.
First in the senate’s grave debate;
First at the troubled helm of state;
Thy name shall fill the future page,
The greatest of the present age.