190 TO HIS DEAD LOVE, TO HIS DEAD LOVE. TELL me, thou soul of her I love, Or dost thou, free, at pleasure, roam, Oh! if thou hover'st round my walk, I to thy fancy'd shadow talk, And every tear is full of thee; Should then the weary eye of grief, James Thomson. FRIENDS DEPARTED. 191 FRIENDS DEPARTED. THEY are all gone into the world of light! It glows and glitters in my cloudy breast Or those faint beams in which this hill is drest I see them walking in an air of glory, O holy Hope! and high Humility! High as the Heavens above! These are your walks, and you have shew'd them me Dear, beauteous death; the Jewel of the Just! Shining no where but in the dark; What mysteries do lie beyond thy dust, Could man outlook that mark! 192 FRIENDS DEPARTED. He that hath found some fledg'd bird's nest may know At first sight if the bird be flown; But what fair dell or grove he sings in now, And yet, as Angels in some brighter dreams So some strange thoughts transcend our wonted themes, If a star were confin'd into a tomb, Her captive flames must needs burn there; O Father of eternal life, and all Created glories under thee! Resume thy spirit from this world of thrall Either disperse these mists which blot and fill Or else remove me hence unto that hill Where I shall need no glass, H. Vaughan. THE DYING MAN IN HIS GARDEN. 193 THE DYING MAN IN HIS GARDEN. WHY, Damon, with the forward day From tree to tree, with doubtful cheer, What do thy noontide walks avail, Vain wretch! canst thou expect to see Thy narrow pride, thy fancied green George Sewell. Elder Poets. 13 194 THE WISDOM OF AGE. THE WISDOM OF AGE. THE seas are quiet when the winds give o’er The soul's dark cottage, batter'd and decay'd, As they draw near to their eternal home. E. Waller. |