158
CRUCE AND CORONA.
To learn if 'twas thy brother, there are two,If still in life, can tell thee many things:The white-haired captain of the ship>which boreMy teacher to our isle, the minister,Through childhood-days and youth his pupil, thenHis friend in after-years. And ev'ry one,When each the wherefore of thy coming learns,Will gladly greet thee. In my father's homeThrice welcome shalt thou be: for thine own sake,For mine, and for the sake of him who taughtMy youthful years." The pilgrim thus replies:"For these, thy words of kindness, thanks, my friend;And if the God who guides His children, grantMe journey thither safe, and safe return,And if this hope thou hast awakened findReality, when to my native landAnd home returning, then to tell thee thisI'll see thee once again. But oh! so soonHave I forgotten that the darkness comesTo seal my vision, and to make my lifeOn earth henceforth one night, though soon to end!And though I never here shall see thee more,Yet in the land of everlasting dayI'll see thee crowned among the angels stand.And this I now do know, that for the hourWhen on the fair creations of thy soul