Blest be thy passage o'er the changing sea The young person to whom these lines were addressed was accidentally killed by the discharge of his fowling-piece, at Elton, in the county of Huntingdon, (England,) in 1834, at the age of nineteen years. His improvement and virtues had secured the love and esteem of his friends, and filled the hearts of his parents with fond hopes of his future success and honor. TO MARY. Salisbury and Vergennes, September 4 and 5, 1828. DEAR MARY, 'tis the fourteenth day Since I was parted from your side; But not a word has come to tell I am not of an anxious mind, 'Tis true, indeed, disease and pain. I need but dwell on thoughts like these, But no, a happier thought is mine; Is guided by a Friend divine, The issues of that gracious will And who should feel this tranquil trust Like us, who, 'mid the various hours Led on and taught as we have been, Darkness, 'tis true, and death, must come; O, who will keep a troubled mind, Then, dearest, present or apart, An equal calmness let us wear; Let steadfast Faith control the heart, And still its throbs of care. We may not lean on things of dust; But Heaven is worthy all our trust. SONG. 1815. O, SAY not that love is the light of an hour, I covet the love that will waken and stay, The face I could love must reflect the fair beam Its smile, like the sunshine that glows on a stream, Then sorrow might come, but it would not be dark; That love on the shadows would shine; And the near hope of heaven, with its rapturous spark, Would lighten and warm our decline. FOR THE ORDINATION OF MR. SPARKS. 1819. Tune, OLD Hundred. GREAT GOD, the followers of thy Son, O, grant thy blessing here to-day! And favor that shall never cease. We seek the truth that Jesus brought; And here their purest influence shed. May faith, and hope, and love abound; And we, in thy great day, be found Children of God and heirs of heaven! |