and the heart, personifying the threefold cord that metaphysicians ascribe to our mixed nature of body, mind, and soul.
A friend of a still higher order it was my privilege to retain as a companion at different periods during several consecutive years. I must indulge myself in here inscribing the name of Miss Anna Freeman. She possessed a rare combination of excellences, refinement with practical efficiency, and tact without its frequent concomitant of worldliness. She was one of the most disinterested beings I have ever known. Long care of an enfeebled mother had given her a nursing knowledge and a sweet patience that were invaluable. The bright smile that lighted up her face when she spoke communicated its spirit to those around, and seemed to inspire with vitality, until a stroke of paralysis took her from us.
The world seems poorer when the good depart—
The just, the truthful, such as never made
Self their chief aim, nor strove with glozing words
To counterfeit a warmth they never felt;
But, steadfast and serene, to friendship gave
Its sacred force, and ne'er from duty shrank
Because stern care or toil environ'd it.
They, loving others better than themselves,
Maintain the Gospel rule, and taste a bliss
Unknown to selfish souls. These, when they die,
Must find a realm of truth, as kindred streams
Turn to the absorbing ocean.
