Litchfield enquirer., 1833-09-19
THE GRAVE.
Br LEwls c. CLARK.

THE GRAVE. BY LEWIS c. CLARK.
 sLamuss have their sime 70 laIl,
 And a0wers 70 ~iiher, at che north windss hFssths
 Aud stars sea-bus alR-
 Thou hnss aH seasone for thine own. eh, D4ArE."
 Who bath not thought of the dark and gloomy abode-ahe sepnlchre-aiike of the proud king and humble coiiager, along whose brow the care and labor of years have scattered many farrow-and whose only hope in fhe foil and chance. ofa bless ed immortality! There is something in the silent precincts of the narrow house. whore all lie nndistinguished together-the mighty and the noble in state, magnificent, in their ruin, and the one above whose si-s lent breath and mouldering form no storied monument of scnlptnred marble tells how he ended his existence; there is something. say, in all this, which shoald bow the mighty to the earth. and cause the humble slave to walk with proud heart and kindling eye before the tyrant who beats him. This is common place theme but the mind of man reverts to it often against his will. There is nought which gives such blunt to the distinction of earth-which by reflection will subdue every cause ofen- "; as this simple but all important theme. Look at the mighty of old the philos- ophers and statesmen of years gone yl- Where are ihey7 How many have been forgotten3 Their deeds are slumbering in the lap of oblivion; the wave of time hath swept even their historians into the sea of ETERNITY! The fallen wall con- ceals their sepulchres in the lonely aisles of tlieir forefathers, and the night wind signs among their ruins, where once the song of joy and the burst ofgladness stole forth from the heart ofgles. The lustre of ma ny an eye is shrouded in the deep graves night, which kindled with love and looked abroad on the varied scenes of nature with admiration and delight. Alas tho pride of man goes down with him to the dust l- It withers, when the lamp of his ancient existence flickers out into tho long slumber. ing of the tomb. Where are they who sounded the clarion of war along the plains of Thessaly; the Mount of Narration, and SamoG Rocky Isler The trumpet,s voice hath died upon the breeze--the thop- sands which it reused have gone to rest castles which have been subdued, and on whose walls the spear glittered, and the cannon pealed, have cIumbled into dust The ivy fingers about she dscaying turrets the raven builds her nest in the easement and sends upon the ear of midnight he desolate meanings. The owl hoots wher, the song was heard and man, proud man once fought and won; he who reared tn, structure,
 Sleeps where all must sleep.
 His memory is not in the bosom of ihl guide who conducts the traveller amonl the monuments which tell of the shadow, magni6cence ofnthes ages, he is forgotten
 Should not these thiHgs--the mutability of earthly grandeur pour into the soul { deep and solemn contemplation Of thatlas change, whom "a long and dfeamless slum Der falleth upon man2 When the snause ous earth-worIn shall prey alike upon th hero and the cottager, in that narro, bourne, where
 Liie'a idle throbhihgs cease, %,
 And pain is lal'd lO resti
 sWhy.s says Ossian, shonld'st tho build thy hall; son ofihe winged days T. ThOu lOOkest from the towers to-day; y, few years, and the blast of the desc comes it howls in the empty court, an whistles around the half-worn shield T. Then why should man look forth, as | fondly hopes upon tle su6ny future vii the eye of fancy, and lay up the golden V sions. which have passed like sun-beams hispilgrimage. in the hopes of brighter on, yet to come, when to-morrow the elos may be ,heaped upon his coffin, and abos his quies rest the melancholy cypress lren ble in the wind! Alas if there ia auel onearsh which should subdae prids--whis should make men feel that the rich as the poor meet together and that the Lo is maker of them nll'-is $ the GRAVE! is sIseFs resentments die revenge and au bition saiiaied. Is is'ahere. above the . of sorrow, man must learn that
 --"E E.iie is isVsid day,
 Rsroh'1 5 the wind upd sun--
 And deafb, tise ealm cool aiRhl, .
 When ths WsAEy 2ny lS d0usw