DEVOTIONAL POEMS . BY R. T. CONRAD. “JOY AND GLADNESS SHALL BE FOUND THEREIN, THANKSGIVING, AND THE VOICE OF MELODY.”—Isa. li. 3. PHILADELPHIA: LI LIB. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1862, by J. ALFRED EISENBREY, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 753 C754 dev TO MRS. ELIZA CONRAD. FROM thee, pure source of Conrad's birth, Arose his virtues; through thee ran Whatever heavenly gleams of worth Above us dignified the man. By thee his childish soul was taught, His nobler instincts brought in play, That, while with darkened days he fought, Flashed outward through his mortal clay. 66 What if they cry, who pry and probe, Lo! here a speck, or there a flaw!" He scorned the dust upon his robe Far more than any one who saw. 496 The dust he gathered on his path Was common dust,—what skirt is clear ?- Ere to God's presence he drew near. O merciful and patient God, We trust these songs of faith and love, Have moved as only song can move ! And that the soul Thy bounteous hands Gave to his mother, free from stain, From tainting earth washed pure again; So that she too may come before Thy mercy-seat quite reconciled, The early memory of her child ! I, as he wished, and in his name, To thee, whose love o'erruled his fate, Thus solemnly do dedicate. G. H. B. PHILADELPHIA, July 1, 1862. |