WRITTEN UPON THE DEATH OF MISS ELLEN N ...  OF JAY.

Addressed to her relatives.

   Ye gaze upon that fair young brow,
   Where death’s pale shade is resting now;—­
   Well, well may grief suffuse your eyes,—­
   Yet let no murm’ring thought arise,
   To stain with guilt affection’s tear,
   Which falls upon the loved one’s bier. 
   Tears are the antidote of grief,—­
   Kind nature sends them for relief. 
   While death a prisoner Lazarus kept,
   The Son of God stood by and wept;—­
   And, father, here are tears for thee,
   The babe that prattled on thy knee,
   And grew in beauty by thy side,
   Till warm affection’s glowing tide
   Gushed from the fountain in thy breast,
   To cherish her who made thee blest. 
   But now, to thee no more appears
   This light of thy declining years;
   No more her smile brings joy to thee,
   When tempest toss’d on life’s rough sea. 
   Fond mother, where’s the rosy child
   Which once upon thy bosom smiled?—­
   In her thou daily didst rejoice,—­
   She caught her language from thy voice;
   When she had learned to lisp thy name,
   New love with those sweet accents came. 
   Soon did this bud of promise bloom,
   But oh, it blossomed for the tomb!—­
   Each art, which thy fond care has tried,
   The fell destroyer’s power defied. 
   And brothers, ye, too, weeping stand—­
   Pale death has robbed your household band
   Well may stern manhood melt in tears,
   The playmate of your early years
   Before you lies in death’s cold sleep—­
   ’Tis manly, then, for you to weep. 
   No more will little Walter share
   Her love, her counsel, and her care;
   And thou, lone sister, now must feel
   What simple words can ne’er reveal;—­
   Thou callest many sister yet,
   In tones which they will ne’er forget;
   Yet no such love their bosoms fill,
   As throbbed in that which now lies still. 
   You oft, in love, each other greet,
   But no such melting glances meet,
   As ever have been wont to shine,
   When Ellen’s speaking eyes met thine. 
   Those eyes, which such pure love revealed,
   In death’s deep slumbers now are sealed;
   But I have watched the cloud that fades,
   While earth was wrapped in twilight shades,
   And quickly found the loss repaid
   By beauties which the heavens displayed;
   Anon, a sweet and pensive light
   Came stealing o’er the brow of night,—­
   The stars shone out from depths profound,
   Like bands of angels hov’ring round,
   Who look from off each lofty seat,
   To watch lest snares beguile our feet. 
   Though this was airy fancy’s dream,
   Yet still it doth an emblem seem,
   Of her who lies before us now
   With such calm beauty on her brow. 
   Death’s icy fingers plucked