“The stately ship is seen no more,
The fragile skiff attains the shore;
And while the great and wise decay,
And all their trophies pass away,
Some sudden thought, some careless rhyme,
Still floats above the wrecks of Time.”

On an old Song. Reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).

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William Edward Hartpole Lecky 10
British politician 1838–1903

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