Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-02-16
IN psEHORIAH.

of JOHN M. FLANAGAN, who died after linger-
ing illness at the residence of his parents, Feb.
Z, 1873. He was the eldest son Of Mrs. Mary
Doherty, and aged about q years.
so cherished and revered! fond memory well
On thee with sacred, sad delight may dwell!
So pure, 50 blest thy life, that death alone
Could make more perfect happiness thine own
He eame-thy cup OF Joy, serenely bright,
Full to the last, still hOw'd in cloudless light;
He came-an Angel, bearing from on high
The all it wanted-ImmortalityF
Cut down In the full freshness OF manhoOds
early prime, in the morning of life, ere its noon,
his sun has set, and the bright prospect and
sunny skies of its morning have vanished In the
shades Of death.
its lilies, or the vi0lets decked the yallles, thou
didst depart, gentle spirit, TO realms OF eternal
glory and brightness. There Is darknessy
void now in the home circle, and devoted
mother beWai,s the loss of the darling OF her
heart. Well may she weep tears, bitter tears
sne has lost treasure, jewel, son, whose
future looked brilliant with all that Is good, aud
great, and glorious. For several years stIdent
at the University of Notre Dame, he Gid credit
both to himself and his professors, graduating
with the full honOrs Of his Alma Mater. he
turning to the home of his parents, he enjoyed
their society but a shoIt time, III health com
pelling him to seek a milder cline meath the
sunny skies OF Florida. After enjoying the de-
icious Sunlight o. this Southern land, roaming
through its orange groves and sslllnS on us
sunny rivers, he revived for a time, and like
some beautiful and delicate flower that hourlshes
meath a brilliant sunshine, his health seemed
restored. Alas, it proved only deluslonj the
hectic flush mantled the pale cheek, the eye
flashed with unusual brilliancy, the dread pre-
mOnitiOn had cOme-consumption claimed its
victim All that science, attention or devotion
could do was done; it could not avert the eternal
decree. The Angel OF Death summoned him,
and the patient sufferer departed calmly and
peacefully as an infant slumber1ng on It's mothers
bosom.
An afectionate and dutiful son, a loving and
4, 49, and tn
society of which he was member feels an ire
parable loss Weep not, d!sconsclate mother,
the child OF thy bosom has passed from world
Of misery to one Of life and light; though ne
sleeps meath the shades of silent Mount Calvary,
holy angels guard his tomb.
'tThy grave shall be blessed shrine,
Adorned with Natures brightest wreath,
Each glO wing season shall combine
Its incense there to breathe;
And Oft upon the midnight air,
Shall viewless harps be murmuring there"
Ills sad to see the young, the beautiful and
the gifted pass from earth, with al their lnno-
cence and purity around them. Such were my
thoughts as 1 approached the casket and gazed
on the inanimate form within. Sueh Is the end
of all, like the pure and beautiful flowers on its
bosom, soon will that form fade and perish; but
like the fragrance OF the flowers that is borne
upon the summers breeze, thus will the purity
and goodness Of the loved and lost live IN our
hearts forever.
Farewell, departed friend, l will breathe a
prayer for thee, and shed the tear of regret Ger
thy grave; and when the day of resurrection
comes, then wilt thou receive the golden i'm
mortal crewn thou hast so Justly won.
ait is nor the tear at this moment shed,
When the cold turf has Just been laid DER him,
That can tell how beloved was the soul that's
fed,
Or how deep in our hearts we deplOre him.
It's the tear, through many long day wept,
Through life, by his loss all shaded;
IT'S the sad remembrance fondly kept
When all lighter griefs have faded.
Oh, thus shall we mourn, and his msmory's
light,
While it shines through our hearts, will i'm.
prove them,
For worth shall look fairer, and truth more
bright,
When we think how he lived but to love theml
And as buried saints the grave perfume,
Where fadeless they've long been lying,
So our hearts shall borrow sweet'ning bloom
From the image he left there in dying"
NASHVILLE, Feb. Is, 1873. NJ. K. b.