purpose Of the lofty and the humble, Met together and commingled In this sacred house of prayer. Now we leave this hallowed building, And again the street we enter. There we meet a mournful number, In a mournful measuring treading, All in sombre garments vested; And in reverent awe we follow To the place where sculls of dead men And the framework of the body In the grave’s deep stillness slumber,— Where the worms are ever feeding On the bodies fast decaying. There the mourners lay their burden In the cold grave, weeping on it Tears of anguish deep and bitter; And they heap the mould upon it, And return a little season, Till the time for their departure: Soon in death they also slumber. Let us always keep as sacred This still dwelling of our fathers, Whereto oft the lonely mourner, Oft the orphan and the widow, p. 75Come to weep a tear of sorrow On the cold ground which enshrineth The remains of dear ones parted Ever from their earthly presence. Now we leave the crowded city, With its mingled good and evil, With its noise, and din, and bustle, And the roll of laden waggon, And the mail cart, and the black van; And we pass a little onward, Down beside the pleasant river, To the fields of war and bloodshed, Where destruction’s storm is raging, Where the valiant and the brave men All around are thickly falling— Falling as the leaves of Autumn, Trampled in the dust around them, Where they soon will be forgotten, Sleeping in the depth of ages. Gory red the river runneth, And the plains with blood are steaming— Boiling blood, which from the wounded Floweth, gushing fast and freely. Why is all this ruthless ravage, And this people fiercely warring? It is for a vain ambition, p. 76Or a little earthly matter Which they cannot settle better Than in war and deadly bloodshed, Or to gain an angry vengeance For some insult which appeareth To imagination hideous. Now we leave the sterner presence Of the earth and all its changes, And we take the wings of fancy, (Which is sister to poesy), Guided by the light of record Thereon mount, and fly, surveying, Far above the heights of knowledge. And we take a retrospective Of the ancient times and people, When was nature young and blooming, When our fathers were created, And within the blessed Eden Set to tend and to adorn it. Adam with his Eve belovéd, Happy in their single nature, Thus brought forth to joy and pleasure, Innocent and sweet amusement, In attending on the fair wants Of the creatures set around them, Over which, in kingly greatness, p. 77They were made the head, the purpose Of these others in creation, From the unexploréd chaos. Thence we come into the present. Age to age doth bring us onward Through the fickle term of nations And the changes of the people, Mid their tumults and their tranquils, As they
Prev.
Back
Top