im, and the inscription carved upon it, which
errs only in the place of his nativity, was written by his friend, John
Quincy Adams:

Joseph Dennie,
Born at Lexington, Massachusetts,
August 30, 1768;
Died at Philadelphia, January 7, 1812;
Endowed with talents and qualified by education
To adorn the senate and the bar;
But following the impulse of a genius
Formed for converse with the muses
He devoted his life to the literature of his country.
As author of "The Lay Preacher,"
And as first editor of the _Port Folio_,
He contributed to chasten the morals, and to
Refine the taste of this nation.
To an imagination lively, not licentious,
A wit sportive, not wanton,
And a heart without guile, he
United a deep sensibility, which endeared
Him to his friends, and an ardent piety,
Which we humbly trust recommended him
to his God.
Those friends have erected this tribute of their
Affection to his memory;
To the mercies of that God is their resort
For themselves and for him.
MDCCCXIX.

John Quincy Adams, who wrote the lines upon the monument, was an old and
valued friend of Dennie's, and one of the earliest contributors to the
_Port Folio_.

His "Tour Through Silesia," afterward reprinted in London in two octavo
volumes, first appeared in the _Port Folio_ in 1801. He also contributed
to the first number of the magazine a version of the thirteenth satire
of Juvenal, and intended to continue the translation of Juvenal, but
abandoned the project when Gifford's work was announced. A brother of
John Quincy Adams, who was a resident of Philadelphia, had been a
fellow-student with Dennie at Harvard.

The obituary notice of Dennie in the _Port Folio_ of February, 1812, did
not satisfy his friends. His life was related at greater length,
accompanied by a silhouette, in May, 1816 (_Port Folio_, page 361). This
time the affection and admiration for the man found right expression. It
was said that Dennie had "erected the first temple to the muses on his
natal shore;" and "when the Muse of History shall hereafter narrate the
story of our rapid progress from ignorance, poverty and feebleness, to
knowledge, splendor and strength, the name of Dennie will be inscri