On the Sudden Death of my muchrespected and highly valued
Friend, Susannah Davidson, Sen. of London.
READER tho’ health, and strength, and worth, be thine,
Tho’ thy full sun in its meridian shine,
Trust not tomorrow’s dawn; if these could save,
She had not sunk thus sudden to the grave,
Whose health, whose strength, had borne the dreadful blow,
And turn’d the arrows of the conquer’d foe;
Then had the king of terrors sheath’d his sword,
Our hearts reviv’d, nor we our loss deplor’d.
The gather’d fruit has reach’d a distant shore,
While here the blossom fades to bloom no more:
His valued prey the conqueror would not spare,
Nor warning sent the spirit to prepare;
She fellwhile angels on the wings of love,
Enraptur’d, bore her to the realms above.
Yes she is gonewhere now the happy hours,
That dress’d our onward way with life’s fresh flowers;
Shrinking beneath the stormthey cease to bloom,
They lanquish , droop, and fade upon her tomb.
From memory’s garland roughly are ye torn,
For memory only shall reserve the thorn;
When hope expects no more we cannot save,
We cannot snatch one pleasure from the grave,
To deck the paths of life.No cheering ray
Lights our dark passage to the realms of day,
But the bright promise of eternal rest,
That recompense which shall reward the blest.
Poor man!is this thy lotto bloom today,
Tomorrow mingle with thy kindred clay!
Uncertain tenant in life’s narrow cell,
In pain and sickness doom’d awhile to dwell;
O how impressive are the warnings giv’n,
That shew the narrow path ‘twixt earth and heav’n.
One moment hereanother far away,
Call’d to resign thy tenement of clay.
Gone!can it be?so lately seen to bloom,
Already mould’ring in the silent tomb!
Already laid upon corruption’s bed!
Already placed among the longlost dead!
We often see, and ’tis by Heav’n resign’d,
To cheat the eyes of those whom pleasures blind,
That while the sun of life is bright and high,
Death sits conceal’d behind its brilliancy.
That sudden blow from him who will not spare,
Gave not a moment for th’ expiring prayer;
Yet seraphs waited to exalt on high,
A light that glitter’d in mortality,
To burn with greater lustre in that clime,
Beyond the darts of deaththe waves of time.
The vapours that infest our lower sphere,
Obscure the soul’s pure rays while pris’ner here;
But when transported from this earthly scene,
They shall illumine heav’n and shine serene.
That spark extinguished HERE , shall there illume
Heav’n’s glorious arch and glitter o’er the tomb.
Was there a tie on earth to fix her mind,
She feels it still, tho’ not to earth confin’d;
The darts of death shall but destroy the form,
While pure affection conquers ev’ry storm.
Thou tender plant so often wont to share,
A mother’s fondness with a mother’s care;
Tho’ lost on earth she watches from above,
And watches o’er thee with a parent’s love.
She may regard and ev’ry loss repair,
And still protect thee with a parent’s care;
Thy present loss may future blessings bring,
Thou hast the shadow of an angel’s wing:
Mortality’s dark veil is drawn between,
To shade the glories of a heavenly scene:
Man’s feeble vision could not bear the blaze,
The bright effulgence of celestial rays.
Eternal Father!love and power are thine;
Teach us to thee our treasures to resign;
If it should please thy love each tie to rend,
And leave us in the world without a friend,
In thee a certain recompence we meet;
In thee a parent and a friend we greet;
The clouds of sorrow shall before us flee,
Chac’d by the radiance of a smile from thee.
(Elizabeth Bath)
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