Our friend's defect long hid from sight, 150 Sometimes occasion brings to light And even from suspicion.. Then judge yourself, and prove your man And, having made election, Beware no negligence of yours, 155 May I myself at last appear Or may my friend deceive me! 215 The motto, "Amicitia nisi inter bonos esse non potest" (Friendship cannot exist except among good people), is from Cicero's "De Amicitia." 107. Gog and Magog in Guildhall. Gog and Magog are the names by which two effigies in the Guildhall, or council hall, of London are known. The figures are made of wood, and have been replaced from time to time with new ones. ON THE LOSS OF THE ROYAL GEORGE "On the Loss of the Royal George" was written in September, 1782. On August 29 of that year the Royal George, an English man-of-war, which had just returned from service in the American Revolution, was being refitted at Spithead, when she suddenly heeled over and sank. Admiral Kempenfelt and about eight hundred sailors, marines, and visitors were drowned. The " SONG ON PEACE 'Song on Peace" was written in 1783, at the request of Lady Austen, who suggested the sentiment. ON THE SHORTNESS OF HUMAN LIFE "On the Shortness of Human Life" was written in 1784. EPITAPH ON JOHNSON The "Epitaph on Johnson" was written in January, 1785. Samuel Johnson, the celebrated lexicographer, essayist, and poet, died on December 13, 1784. |