John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892). The Poetical Works in Four Volumes. 1892.
Personal PoemsSamuel J. Tilden
Greystone, Aug. 4, 1886
O
The nation’s Pantheon opens wide;
Once more a common sorrow saith
A strong, wise man has died.
Our own, to question and asperse
The worth we doubted or forgot
Until beside his hearse?
To strike down fraud with resolute hand;
A patriot, if a partisan,
He loved his native land.
The banner droop its folds half way,
And while the public pen and tongue
Their fitting tribute pay,
To set our feet on party lies,
And wound no more a living ear
With words that Death denies?