On the Death of Samuel Alexander, of Needham- Market
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 January 2022
Summary
“He whom the wretched and the poor knew best,
Whom, when the ear his footstep heard, it blest;
To whom the eye, with age or sorrow dim,
Gave witness, and whose works shall follow him:
Who silently his Saviour's steps pursued;
Whose creed was love, whose life was gratitude.”
JOSIAH CONDER.
Belov’d, rever’d, and mourn’d,— Farewell!
Though lost to every human eye,
Thy memory in our hearts shall dwell,
’Till we, like thee, in earth shall lie:
Thy name, now utter’d with a sigh,
As we thy recent loss deplore,
Hereafter shall a theme supply
For fondest thoughts to linger o’er.
Though well we knew thy zenith past,
And westward saw thy sun decline;—
So brightly, warmly—to the last
That orb in glory seem’d to shine;
We can but mournfully resign
A splendour which had known no chill,
Though, with a lustre more benign,
In brighter skies ‘tis glowing still.
There are who in advancing years
Yet more and more our love engage,
In whom the worth that most endears
Seems mellow’d, not impair’d, by age;
Who blend the wisdom of the Sage
With Childhood's tenderness and truth,
And bear about to life's last stage
The earlier greenness of its youth.
From such, although their locks be grey,
Oh! who can feel prepared to part?
For them affection would delay
By each procrastinating art
Life's certain close;— and tears will start
When Death has snapt the vital chain
And sighs uncheck’d will rend the heart,
Though sighs and tears alike are vain.
Thus have we mourn’d, thus mourn we yet;—
And cold indeed that heart must be
Which owns no pensive, fond regret,
When Death removes a friend like thee:
Oh! Spring may hang on many a tree
Green leaves by after Winter reft,
Ere we can hope on earth to see
Fill’d up the void which thou hast left.
How deeply will thy loss be known
In many a low and wretched cot,
Where oft thy kindness has been shown
To cheer the inmates’ joyless lot!
From many a sweet, secluded spot
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- Information
- Selected Poems of Bernard Barton, the 'Quaker Poet' , pp. 139 - 141Publisher: Anthem PressPrint publication year: 2020