Star.
London, England, 1826-09-23 00:00:00

Zr

VERSES
To the Memory of the Rev. WILLIAM Gmursets, who died hi the
loth year of his age, and the 20th of his Miniftry, at the Manse
of Kens, in Galloway.
In peace may the wild beast repose in Miden,
And gaily the wild bird may sing on the tree;
All nature be joyful in valley and glen—
Bot fur hearts lone and breaking no gladness can be.
For the Lord of her bosom a Lady is weeping,
Its Death's chill embrace he is slumberingnow ;
The tear of keen anguish her swollen eye steeping,
For with him in the grave all her hopes are laid low.
With ceaseless emotion fond sisters deplore him—
A brother so generous, so tender, so kind !
)Jay Heaven, in its mercy to calmness restore them,
And heal the deep wounds of each sorrowing mind """
Nis dock, all despondent, are scattered abroad—
Ab ! who with such calmness shall point out the way....
The path that conducts to the bosom of Gott—
To the kingdom of Coeur—to the regions of day?
Dear friend of my father! we long shall bewail thee—
Thou ever wart true in the dark hour of sorrow !
But nothing, alas! can our weeping avail thee—
" On the night of the grave" there awakens no morrow !
No morning awakes till the last awful day,
When the perishing Skies shall in flames disappear—
When Ocean and Earth shall like wax melt away,
And the wicked be covered with trembling and fear!
Then, then shalt thou rise from thy bed in the dust,
And with glory and gladness away thou soak wing
To the land of that SAVIOU& in whom was tby trust—
With Hut in the heights of His Zion to sing !
Dairy. - - ANNA.

In 1800, Mr. Gillespie was appointed assistant to his
father, and six years afterwards succeeded that revered
and venerable Clergyman ; so that fur more than a
quarter of a century he filled the pulpit of his native
parish, and every year endeared himself more and more
to his numerous parishioners by his private worth and
public usefulness. In the wide circle of relatives and
friends his death has left a blank that cannot be supplied;
and within our brief recollection, we are not aware of
any event that has spread a deeper gloom over the
South of Scotland. About three months previous to
his death, his friends had to congratulate him on his
union with a Lady to whom he had been long and ten-
derly attached ; and his funeral following so close on
his bridal, while it forcibly reminds us of the uncertainty
of time, adds not a little to the sentiment of regret with
which, under any circumstances, we deplore the loss of
a public character cut off in the very prime of his days,
and amidst the fairest prospects of domestic happiness.
In all that regards the domestic virtues—and where
is there a truer test of character ?—Mr. Gillespie has
not left a better man behind him. With those who were
dear to him, he would have shared the last farthing he
possessed in the world, and, throughout life, acted more
the part of a parent than a brother, to the respective
members of his own family. As the friend and pastor,
he was remarkable for the uniform cheerfulness of his
dicpesition,. and that pleasing urbanity of manners,
which distinguishes the Gentlemad from the mere
scholar. :Put, even in this last character, he yielded to
few men of his rank and standing ; his range of reading
was very ixtensive, and his public discourses were
marked by a warmth of colouring, and a depth of
pathos, which often find their stay to the heart, when
the most elaborate reasoning faOs of its aim.
As a poet, be has been long advantageously known
by his numerous contributions, to the literature of our
country. The " Progress of Refinement," " Consola-
tion," &c. are obviously the productions of a superior
mind ;—a mind that delighted to look through nature
up to nature's GOD, and paint the ever varying aspects
of the beautiful and truly romantic district in which
PRoVIDENCE had fixed his abode. Yes, the memory of
Gillespie is intimately associated with the 'scenery of
the Glenkens, and few, if any of his numerous friends,
that appreciated his genius, learning, and taste—his
buoyancy of spirits, and singleness of heart, will fail,
on visiting the banks of the Ken, to heave a sigh for
the asperity of his fate, and moisten, unnoticed, the turf
ith a tear, that folds within its bosom his mortal
remains.—Demfi les and Galway Courier.