The Angel of Death | Page 5

your life's
career,
What griefs should bend, and what cheers uphold thee
And
what you had to accomplish here.
His power wrought you
What you transacted,
And wisdom taught
you
That right you acted,
If but you heard, from submissive choice,

The great celestial spirit's voice.
Attend the voice of the spirit sounder,
With upright steps, in His
errand walk;
And, then, not question if you shall founder,
Nor care
for grateful, or thankless, talk!
Fulfill your calling
With courage peerless!
If even falling,
Look
upward fearless!
Then there shall clasp thee an angel's hand
And
gently lead to thy promised land.
Stand firm, with conscience of pure intention,
Through times of trial,
of toil and pain!
Then may your happiness meet prevention,
But
mind and virtue can peace retain;
Then, in the sod
Though your corpse be buried,
These words of
God
On the soul are veried:
"Thou true hast labored till payments'
day,
Now, faithful servant, receive thy pay!"
To all do justice, and help the needy,
And comfort sorrow, where e'er
you can!
For truth's defence unto death be speedy,
And win, as
christian, and fall, as man!

No worldly samples
Of honors jading
Shall wreath your temples

With laurels fading;
But bright, eternal, shall thee entrance
The
blessed holies' inheritance.
What worth had faith, if it lay not resting,
A bright-eyed pearl, in the
heart enclosed,
In heav'nward gazes its sparkle vesting,
When
crumbling shell leaves the core exposed?
Sweet slumber follows
When pain expires....
And creak the gallows,

And flame the fires,
Lo, martyr! heaven shall open thence,
And
your Redeemer shall recompense!
What worth had virtue, if life were reckoned,
With matter's
glimmering spark as checked?
Thou _first Gustavus_! Thou _Great_,
the _second_!
Thou free and valiant Engelbrekt!
And all ye sage,
And ye tender hearted,
Extolled an age--
Or
forgot departed!
What worth had wisdom and heart and fame,
If but
the graveyard had been your aim?
What worth had honor, whose voice imposes:
For love of duty your
life to spend,--
If on the favors, foul mob disposes
By fouler leaders,
she did depend?
Now beam her features
With peace depicted,
Though time's mere
creatures
A sigh inflicted;
For dust of time cannot soil that street

Of starry splendor, where move her feet.
What worth had happiness, joy and gladness,
Those links of love in
its purest scope,
If, when they sever, in gloomy sadness,
You could
not join them by rays of hope?
What then were life?
But a mental stigma,
An empty strife,
An
unsolved enigma!
A heartless, cruel, Uriah note,
Which God, in
anger, for mankind wrote.

A hoary Jacob his Joseph loses,
And Jonathan from his David parts,

And woe-filled bosom a grief discloses,
To which no solace the
world imparts!
And Rachel, weeping,
Her children mourneth;
Her sorrow keeping

She comfort scorneth!
For, gone forever is all she prized
Which
mother's heart could have idolized.
But, God is love--so, with hope, look thither,
Ye hearts despondent,
and take relief!
The grain, you laid in the ground to wither,
Shall
rise to harvests of golden sheaf.
O! what was born
For your hearts to cherish--
And left forlorn
In
the grave to perish,
It is not gone; though it is not there--
The One
Eternal of it takes care.
In Him there liveth all life; He proveth
All force, and kindleth so
clear all light.
His love embraceth, too, what He moveth
To other
homes in His house, so bright.
Let fogs not blind thee,
Thou spirit childly!
Once shall find thee

That hour, when mildly
The Father calls thee. But, in the mean,

Endure and labor, with faith serene!
Like Mary, linger, with holy feeling,
And pray and listen, at Jesu feet!

Like Magdalene, at the cross appealing,
See looks of mercy
repentance meet!
Like John, so cling thee
To friend ne'er failing!
His love shall bring
thee,
From stress and ailing,
To bliss and freedom, forever nigh,

Within His heavenly realm on high.
Well those, who, noble in will, prevailing,
Have sought the right, and
the kindly felt,
Who much have loved, spite of all their failing!

Them much forgiveness shall too be dealt.

They were not rated
The _best_ desired;
But angels stated,
With
love untired,
What, in the smallest degree, through them,
Had
cheered that world from which they came.
They did adhere to their foremost duty,
To fear the Lord, with a
fervent heart;
They cleansed their garments, to stainless beauty,
In
blood, that innocence doth impart.
All grief is banished,
All sin remitted,
All anguish vanished,
All
weeping quitted--
Their names are kept in their Father's grace,
And
weary sink they in His embrace.
They go so peaceful in God to slumber,
They greet so joyful the final
day:
No tribulations their rest encumber,
No visitations of fortune's
sway.
No longer thwarted,
As earth compels us,
They have departed,

The spirit tells us,
Exchanging thralldom for freedom's gem,
And
their achievements shall follow them.
A noble feeling each step impelling,
They gained the home of their
Father soon.
That ample city shall be their dwelling,
Whose light
depends not on sun and moon:
For greater light,
Than the sun containeth,
Has He, whose might

From the throne there reigneth,
With grace to all in that city stay;

And life and bliss doth His glance convey!
And room for all, who, in faith, are hoping,
For all is room in the
Promised Land!
And, like, when fig-trees their buds are oping
You
know that summer is near at hand;
Thus, when the chill
Of your evening broaches,
You