The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-12-03

Summerhill, and duet Hope Be-
yond," by George De Witt and j. T.
Watkins, proved, three delightful num-
bers,, - -. - - i IA
John e. Rarrettt;eAiser, ot.the Truth,
read the. following original poem: p
a Life's Journey;a rs
From Eden's ffst good morning to ME
last good night OF Time, is
Across the stored ages, through many O
creed and cline
Through desert-land and meadow, DER
snow-clad plain and sea,
Lifes journey leads the sons OF men unto
Eternity.
The way Is sometimes pleasant, but tits
often filled with pain, b, sat.
'Tis sometimes bright with spIendor, and
sometimes dark with rain, gt's
But whether gloom. or gladness fills the
toiling pilgrims breast,
At the end the journey leads to, there Is
rest, blessed rest. f.
Doubts gather In LIES pathway like black
storm-clouds In the sky,
And the stoutest-hearted tremble when
the tempest passes by;
There are steep and thorny. places, and
trials hard to bear;
We sometimes marvel how the weak en-
dure their weight of care.
Why the friends we prize the dearest are
first to faint and fall
The first to close llfe's journey In the sleep
that comes TO all;
Yet Hopes bright star Is shining in tho
distance, far and fair. o la.a-,
And our eager footsteps hasten when the
friends We love are there.
There is blended JOY and sadness along
Life's thorny path, rt g 'tr
There Pleasure holds his revels and Grief
her seasons hath: %"
Pride holds his feeting carnival, the bub-
BILE Of day, h
But Love alone Is lasting, and Will never
pass away ,,...t
For Love is heavens gift to man, to
keep his Eden near.
His Heaven on EARTH. his happiness. TIL
Time shall disappear; ~. ......
And by her aid he Journeys toward the
land he cannotssee, .l'
From the Beautiful that was. TO the
Beautiful TO be. .
The milestones of '1.ife's journey tell the
Y.
Yet some reach II In q decade, and some
reach 1t in q day; .....
But be II days, or be 1t years, or when
soe'er 1t ends,
Gods blessing will sustain us to whatever
length 1t tends: 't
WIN fill the desert places with the fiow'r
we hold most dear,
The thornless fow'r of friendship, balm
of hraa king hnp rt and tahr
Whose fragrance, like sweet incense,
when the head Is how'd with grief
Raises up the dropping spirit, gives the
fainting soul, relief, -...
Along this trying journey there are past
ures always fair, .'.
And glimpses of Gods garden in its
beauty, too, are there:
There are blossoms mid the thorns. and
the birds sing overhead,
And pictures Of enchantment, to delight
our eyes, are spread;
Tho the road leads through the desert,
there are living springs TO cheer;
Tho the selfish are about us. yet some
cherished friends are near
And who shall say that Eden's joys to us
have been denied b., t.
When the land is filed with beauty, and
our loved are by our side!
The absent friends we mourn, and vainly
look for through our tears,
Are bound to us by sacred ties through all
the passing years;
We may not see their faces, but their
memry cannot fade
Till life, and love, and friendship in q
common grave are laid,
And the pulslngs and the strivings of
mankind are at an end, Is;
And the present with the future in one
symphony shall blend,
And the choirs Of Heaven proclaim, in
- Anthems most sublime,
Eternity's good morning, and the last
good night Of Time!
Miss Tillie Lewis recited the following
original memorial poem composed by
+. A Niven, of Wilkes Barre:
In Memoriam. ,.
The sad Memorial day once again;
Breaks with Its mission high our vows
odd to prove;
The day that backward turns our sorrow
ing ken, .-r
Whose hours belong to Memory and
Love.
Soft be the music that our minstrels
make,
Low be the notes that stir the srIeving
breast; ..-.ttsg-f
Fragrant the flowers we scatter for theil
sake,
Whose lips are closed in sweet, eternal
rest.
1t Is time for tears and sober, thought,
A time TO con the lessons Of our creed,
And Gull from lives with virtues fair in
wrought,
The best and bravest for our own sad
need.
For our dear dead, no failings we recall
Only the honest work Of honest hands,
Their faults-which TO us all alike be-
fall
Are feebly writ upon the shallow sands
But all their virtues, like the shining
stars ,., s-
Stand out as Jewels in the arching sky
Haply no cloud the vision rudely mars!
For Love and Mercury, only good descry
A common bond Of common brotherhood,
Unites us all In gaiety or gloom
Its faith and tenets plainly, understood!
Tighten the path that leadeth to the
tomb.
List, brothers, list The spirits of oui
dead ---'a=
These solemn couhcils@ma perchance
'ait attend; y srE IS ."rt.
Here shall they find. IN rich effulgenct
,' spread, ~ ..tt.gsr ,y;s s,...
Loves sweetest tokens, cheering to tht
end "Nf " t''f \
Vaka than The songs our brothers loved
to sing!
--~,.,,,-.. vv-- vv->