Literary cadet and Rhode-Island statesman. [volume] (Providence, R.I.) 1827-1829, 1828-10-18

for me. The tenderness that glistoned
in the eye OF age-the affection that
gIowed upon the cheek Of youth aud
beauly--and the deep drawn sigh that
died upon kindred lips. all speak tor me.
A mothers heart can feel for the loss
OF bosom friend, and she can speak
Cor me. Aud he little boy, whose in-
uoceni heart bed over the grave of his
fallen father, can speak for me, beyond
the power Of words. Oh how applica-
Bile were the words Of Jeremiah, when
The coniu slowly descended into the
grave, and the earth was ready TO close
IN upon the fond iather for ever. Then
were the gates Of affection and feeling
thrown open, and that sorrow which
breaks tho heart triumphed on the runs
Of hope. The eye invulun,ari,y sought
one more gaze, before the sound Of des-
olaiIon should strike doieiuIiy OIL TIE ear
OF gr!ef The parting was like thai
when the soul looks out from the body,
and shnddcrs at the gloom which must
surround the tenement It leayes.--The
grave covers all humun hopes Within
its gloomy aud s,ent walls all distinction
is at an end, and there the srlendor OF
pomp ,d pride is shroudcd in eternal
night. There the peasant sleeps alike
with tho gorgeous monarch; tor in the
Dire m Of death the sceptre falls from his
nerveless grasp. The sleep of death is
the grand pause OF nature, tho great
sabbath day Of the grave. Through the
gates OF the grave the rapid tide Of life
flows INTO the vast ocean OF eternity;
and it rolls and rolls on, even To the
throne of the great Jehovah. Latte Is a
state Of bondage, which confines the
soul in the body, until death, like a kind
phianthrophisl, unlncks the door, un-
binds the chains, and sets the prisoner
free. But l digress.
saw them lower the slumbeiing faith
er into the deep, damp grave. The sound
of the Garth, as IL fell upon tho coffin,
struck chilling upon the ear, and vb'aied
10 the heart. Ii was u sound that stall In
gers on my car. /, was a sound Of all
otho,s in nature the most touching, the
most tender. 1t was an awful charm,
that broke in upon the heart IN defiance
of the for;ltudc of nulure, and melted
down the energies OF the soul yea, II
rolled back again upon the mind the mem
ory Of years % yes, il was the sound Of
dcsoiat,on and death; but It struck not
on tho ear Of the fallen father. No, 40,
nc sleeps in peace, with his brothers and
fathers. Blu. il was a warning note to
tho living that they too Should ioiow. II
was the clarion Of deah--yca, i, was the
speaking trumpet of the grave IL calls
not 10 tho clangour Of battle, but 1t nails
the children Of peace, aad The candidates
for eternal fame But all! It died on the
ear Of sorrow with mournlul cadence,
and chilled the heart of sonsbllity. II
was the knell Of departed worth.
The lonely grave now rises to view,
where ago, and youth, ard beauty, sleep.
No scnptured cenotaph marks to grand
enr's eye the spot where sleeps the gen
erous father and the widows friend: but
al the evening hour alilIciion's foot shall
often tread the path, TO dwell in tears
There shall the sod grow green upon his
grave, watered by the homage of the
grateful heart, and there, when Summer
decks the ground with flowers, shall the
gentle zephyr whispcr--iather, rest in
peace. The mourncrs have returned to
the doso!ate mansion, and tho sound Of
lamenta;ion has ceased; bat they bend
over their sorrows in silent grief. Ma
ture has lost her charms to them, and the
returning Spring has proved to them the
sad winter Of the heart.
MILFORD BARD.