Where riches are of no avail
To win calm sea or favoring gale
And Lyman Perkins, what of thee,
Will pass for current coin from me?
Thou art a man of early date--
Of '27 or '28--
in Bytown's history, and 'tis said,
Though hard to drive, thou may'st be led,
That is, if one could just agree
In view and argument with thee;
When standing in the days of yore
At "Pooley's Bridge," thine eye ran o'er
The picture with a prescient glance;
Experience taught thee that thy chance
Was then--thy foresight came
To aid thee in life's winning game.
Although no silver spoon was in
Thy mouth, when to this world of sin
Thou camest, thou hast forged from fate
A path in life most fortunate;
To praise thee I shall take no pains,
Thy enterprise has brought thee gains--
'Tis something to be born with brains!
Daniel O'Connor there doth stand,
One of the old departed band--
Another of the pioneers
Of Bytown in its early years;
In memory's magic glass I see
Him as he first appeared to me
In '28 when passing down