Sabin 104148 mistakenly attributed this to Eaglesfield [misspelt Englesfield] Smith, Scottish poet and surgeon, who had published William and Ellen, a tale, in 1796. It was restored to the Presbyterian divine at PBSA 70 (1976) 116-21.
Cf Smith:............Their bodies scarr’d, and scratch’d, and hard,
.............................They scarce a clout had on;
........................ Their hair and beards were long and rough,
..............................Their feet as hard as horn.
With Ely:............Mild is the transit from the month of May
........................To Summer’s longer fructifying day;
........................For as the gentle waves succeed in train,
........................Or concords follow in Æolian strain...
Having Ely’s verse fathered on him was not Eaglesfield Smith’s worst affliction. His best poem, The Sorrows of Yamba, a classic of the abolitionist movement, was first mauled by Hannah More, then attributed to her.