On the Death of A Friend.

When the bustling throng on the streets did cease,
And silence reigned o'er night,
Then her weary soul found a glad release,
And on the inward sight
Came a parting ray of heavenly peace,
To gild the spirit's flight.

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How cheering to every Christian's eye,
Though all around seem dark,
Is the beacon that shines from yonder sky,
A never failing mark,
That tells of the shore we will soon be nigh,
Where safe we moor our bark.

Long, long the heaving bosom struggled sore,
To hold the parting breath,
Which quicker came, and fled when all was o'er
Life yielded unto death:
And the frail house of clay shall clog no more
The better part beneath.

When the nearest, dearest of earthly bands
Are bursting round the heart;
When each grasp of the tender trembling hands
Tells that we soon must part,
The spirit wings its way to other lands,
Beyond affliction's smart.

Another friend has passed away from earth,
'Mid Autumn's fading bloom;
And a shade has fallen on our household hearth,
Darker than midnight gloom;
But she's welcomed above with holy mirth,
Triumphant o'er the tomb.

She whom we always loved so well to meet,
And fondly thought our own,
Worships with joy around the mercy seat,
In strains of sweeter tone;
page 38 And casts her crown down at the Saviour's feet,
Before the Great White Throne.