THE OLD MAN’S FUNERAL.

New Zealander, Volume 9, Issue 709, 29 January 1853, Page 3

THE OLD MAN’S FUNERAL.

I saw an aggs man upon his bier, His jjtpr was white, and on his brow A record of the cares of many a year : Cares that were ended and forgotten now. And there was sadness round, and feces bowed, And woman’s tears fell fast, and children wailed aloud? Then rose another hoary man, and said, In faltering accents to that weeping tfain—- “ Why mourn ye that our aged friend is c|ead 1 Ye are not sad to see the gathered grain, Nor when their mellow fruit the orchards cast, IS or when the yellow woods shakedown the ripened mast? “ Ye sigh not when the sun, his course fulfilled. His glorious course, rejoicing earth and sky. In the soft evening, when the winds are stilled^ Sinks where his islands of refreshment lie. And leaves the smile of his departure, spread O’er fhp warm-colouredheaven, and ruddy mountain bead. Why weep ye then for him, who, having won The bound of naan’s appointed years, at last Life’s blessings all enjoyed, life’s labour done, Serenely to his final rest has passed ; While the soft mempry of his virtues, yet Lingers like twilight hues, when the bright sun is set. <« His youth was innocent; his riper age, Marked with some act of goodness, every day ; And watched by eyes that loved him, calm, and sage, Faded his late declining years away. Cheerfully he gave bis bping up, ami went To share the holy rest tliat jyaita a life well spent, * That life was happy, every day he gave Thanks for the iajr existence that was hjs; For a sick fancy made him not her slave. To mock him with her phantom miseries. No chronic tortures racked his aged limb. For luxury and sloth had nourished none for hia>- “ And I am glad, that he has lived thus long, Apd glad that he has gone to his reward; Nor can I deem that nature did him wrong. Softly to disengage the vital chord When l i> weak hand grew palsied, and bis ey,e Dark With the mists of age,—it was his time to die.” Bryant.