SLEEP on, dear babe, and take thy rest,
Enjoy thy sweet and soft repose,
May angels guard thy downy nest,
And watch thee while thy eyelids close.
Sweet is thy sleep, thy visions bright,
And when at morn thine eyes unclose,
Thy mother's face affords delight,
And nurture from her bosom flows.
Much do I wish 'twere thine to know
Thro' life such innocent delights,
Fair days of pleasure, free from woe,
And forever tranquil nights.
But ah! I know it cannot be,
I must, alas, the truth disclose;
From sorrow you'll not long be free,
You'll find a thorn to ev'ry rose.
This life is an uneven road,
Alas! sweet babe, I've found it so,
While fix'd on earth is your abode,
You'll often taste the cup of woe.
The storms of life will soon arise
But soon, indeed, they will be o'er,
May virtue raise thee to the skies,
Then sorrows thou shalt know no more,
ADVERSITY with stately step,
Came stalking o'er the plain,
I saw the maid approaching fast,
And view'd her with disdain.
But soon, indeed, I stood aghast
And strove myself to hide;
But still the faster she pursued,
And would not be denied.
Her meagre hand she clasp'd to mine
As cold as Zembla's snow,
Said she, "Do not offended be,
"Together we must go."
I view'd her features, coarse and harsh
Her air uncouth and rude,"
Said I would rather be excus'd,
Pray Madam don't intrude.
"Repulse me not," she sternly said, "I'm sent to be your guide, "And what together GoD has join'd, "Let no man e'er divide."
Prosperity I long had lov'd,
The maid was fair to view,
In flowery paths we long had stray'd, But now we bade adieu,
Adversity a friend I found,
And soon she seem'd more fair,
She prov'd a faithful guide, indeed,
The truth I must declare.
She taught me many a lesson new,
Which I had yet to learn;
My friends from foes she shew'd me how,
I plainly might discern.
At length came Resignation fair,
I knew her by her mein;
Her even steps and placid air
Announc'd she was a queen.
Her steadfast eye on Heav'n was plac'd,
And pointed out the way;
She told of joys beyond the skies,
In the bright realms of day,
No longer then could I contend
Against my adverse fate;
The rugged path of life she smooth'd,
And bade me calmly wait.
"Your suff'rings here will soon be o'er,"
She said, and bid me rise
Above the things of time and sense,
To mansions in the skies.
SWEET is the rosy blush of moru,
And sweet the ev'ning clear,
But sweeter still is sympathy,
And pity's gentle tear.
Sweet is the fragrant breath of Spring,
But sweeter far to me,
The pearly drop that glitters in
The eye of sympathy,
When grief sits heavy at the heart, And pleasure seems to die,
The drooping spirits soon are cheer'd By heav'n born sympathy.
That life is long which answers life's great end."
'Tis past, 'tis o'er, the much lov'd PENNO'S gone
To that blest world from whence there's no
Relentless death, with most tyrannic sway,
Has swept a brilliant gem from earth away.
No panegyric need the muse rehearse,
Nor need his name be eulogiz'd in verse.
Tho' dead, he lives in many a grateful heart,
And tears speak more than language can im-
part,
The tend'rest ties are sever'd by a stroke,
Connubial union cruel death has broke.
And while the parents mourn a darling son,
The lisping infants weep their parent gone.
The poor, distress'd, his hands did oft re-
Great is their loss, and justly may they grieve.
Integrity like his we seldom find,
Join'd to an active and capacious mind.
Each moral virtue might he justly claim,
And deeds of love immortalize his name.
|