John Pomfret

“If Heaven the grateful liberty would give, That I might choose my method how to live.”

“Near some fair town I'd have a private seat, Built uniform, not little, nor too great.”

“I'd have a clear and competent estate, That I might live genteelly, but not great.”

“A frugal plenty should my table spread, With healthy, not luxurious, dishes fed.”

“A few choice authors, of the best-esteemed, Should in my study be.”

“I'd have a select few, whom I could trust; A cheerful, honest, and a peaceful guest.”

“I'd be concerned in no litigious jar; Beloved by all, not vainly popular.”

“My house should be my own, and built to last.”

“I'd have a little vault, but well secured, From debts, and mortgages.”

“Since we can die but once, and after death our state is determined by the last drawn breath.”

“We trifle all our duties; every day, bears a new crime, or carries an old away.”

“Methinks I hear the last dread trumpet sound, To wake the nations sleeping under ground.”