Matthew Arnold (1822–88). The Poems of Matthew Arnold, 1840–1867. 1909.
Poems; A New Edition. 1853Stanzas in Memory of the Late Edward Quillinan, Esq.
[First published 1853. Reprinted 1854, ’57.]
I
I knew his spirits low;
And wish’d him health, success, and fame:
I do not wish it now.
And leave no good behind;
They try us, oftenest make us hard,
Less modest, pure, and kind.
In this his mortal state,
Friends could not give what Fortune can—
Health, ease, a heart elate.
No more; and we retain
The memory of a man unspoil’d,
Sweet, generous, and humane;
With gentle voice and brow.
Alive, we would have chang’d his lot:
We would not change it now.