by Ian Graham, 1977
Image courtesy of Niagara Falls Public Library
This house would have been standing in 1826 when Erieus wrote this poem.
House of my Friend! — may no dishonoring stain
Pollute thy sacred walls: — may virtue bright
The blest direction of her course maintain,
And guide thy inmates in the ways of right:
May no intruding demon ever blight
Their mutual harmony, and love, and peace;
But meek Religion’s pure, celestial light
Shine in each heart, — there grow, and never cease,
Till Heaven itself shall be the measure of increase.
Written at Niagara, August 1826
Adam Hood Burwell published poems under the pen name Erieus, the “Pioneer Poet of Upper Canada.”
Source: MacDonald, Mary Lu. “New” Poems of Adam Hood Burwell. canadianpoetry.org/volumes/vol18/macdonald.html, 5/12/2020. Originally published in The U.E. Loyalist, October 28, 1826