A fretful temper will divide
The closest knot, that may be tied,

By ceaseless sharp corrosion;
A temper passionate and fierce
May suddenly your joy disperse

At one immense explosion.

In vain the talkative unite
In hopes of permanent delight

The secret just committed
Forgetting its important weight,
They drop through mere desire to prate,

And by themselves outwitted.

How bright soe'er the prospect seems,
All thoughts of friendship are but dreams

If envy chance to creep in; .
An envious man, if you succeed,
May prove a dangerous foe indeed,

But not a friend worth keeping.

As envy pines at good poffessed
So jealousy looks forth distressed

On good, that seems approaching,

And if success bis steps attend,
Discerns a rival in a friend,

And hates him for encroaching.

Hence authors of illuftrious name, Unless belied by common fame,

Are sadly prone to quarrel, To deem the wit a friend displays A tax upon their own just praise,

And pluck each others laurel.

A man renowned for repartee
Will seldom scruple to make free

With friendship's finest feeling, Will thrust a dagger at your breast, And say he wounded you in jest,

By way of balm for healing.

Whoever keeps an open ear
For tattlers, will be sure to hear

The trumpet of contention;
Aspersion is the babbler's trade,
To listen is to lend him aid,

And rush into diffenfion.

A friendship, that in frequent fits
Of controversial rage emits

The sparks of disputation,
Like hand in hand insurance plates,
Most unavoidably creates

The thought of conflagrațion.

Some fickle creatures boast a soul
True as a needle to the pole,

Their humour yet so various
They manifest their whole life through
The needle's deviations too,

Their love is so precarious.

The great and small but rarely meet
On terms of amity complete,

Plebeians must surrender,
And yield so much to noble folk,
It is combining fire with smoke,

Obscurity with splendour.

Some are so placid and serene
(As Irish bogs are always green)

They sleep secure from waking;,

And are indeed a bog, that bears
Your unparticipated cares

Unmoved and without quaking.

Courtier and patriot cannot mix
Their heterogeneous politics

Without an effervescence,
Like that of salts with lemon juice,
Which does not yet like that produce

A friendly coalescence.

Religion should extinguish strife,
And make a calm of human life;

But friends that chance to differ
On points, which God has left at large,
How freely will they meet and charge,

No combatants are stiffer!

To prove at last my main intent
Needs no expence of argument,

No cutting and contriving-
Seeking a real friend we seem
To adopt the chymilts golden dream,

With ftill less hope of thriving.

Sometimes the fault is all our own, Some blemish in due time made known

By trefpass or omission; Sometimes occasion brings to light Our friend's defect long hid from fight,

And even from suspicion. ,

Then judge yourself, and prove your man As circumspectly as you can,

And having made election, Beware no negligence of yours, . Such as a friend but ill endures,

Enfeeble his affection.

That secrets are a sacred trust,
That friends should be sincere and just,

That constancy befits them,
Are observations on the case,
That savour much of common place,

And all the world admits them.

But 'tis not timber, lead, and stone,
An architect requires alone

To finish a fine building .