descriptive poetry. He was an apprentice to a watchmaker, and had secretly
written a poem, which he published anonymously in the Philadelphia
newspaper, under the title of "The Temple of Fame." The attention which it
attracted, and the encomiums which the Provost in particular bestowed on
it, induced West, who was in the Poet's confidence, to mention to him who
was the author. The information excited the alert benevolence of Smith's
character, and he lost no time until he had procured the release of
Godfrey from his indenture, and a respectable employment for him in the
government of the state; but this he did not live long to enjoy: being
sent on some public business to Carolina, he fell a victim to the climate.

It is pleasant to redeem from oblivion the memory of early talent thus
prematurely withdrawn from the world. Many of Godfrey's verses were
composed under a clump of pines which grew near the upper ferry of the
river Schuylkill, to which spot he sometimes accompanied West and their
mutual friends to angle. In the heat of the day he used to stretch himself
beneath the shade of the trees, and repeat to them his verses as he
composed them. Reid was the name of the other young man, and the same
person who first opposed the British troops in their passing through
Jersey, when the rebellion of the Provinces commenced. Previous to the
revolution, he was bred to the bar, and practised with distinction in the
courts of Philadelphia. He was afterwards elected a Member of Congress,
and is the same person who was appointed to meet Lord Carlisle on his
mission from the British Court.

Provost Smith was himself possessed of a fluent vein of powerful
eloquence, and it happened that many of his pupils who distinguished
themselves in the great struggle of their country, appeared to have
imbibed his talent; but none of them more than Jacob Duchey, another of
the four youths whom he recommended to the Artist. He became a Clergyman,