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TRIBUTE.
Softly swing the silver censers, Let the purple incense rise,Like the shadow of his spirit Floating upward to the skies;Let the sweetest music tremble Through the stillness reigning there,And the fragrant breath of flowers Fill the tender, sunlit air;Strew the snowy, waxen blossoms Fair and fresh above his breast;Toll the bell in solemn sadness As we lay him down to rest.
Here, among his faithful children, Where his bright example shoneAs a light to lead them onward To the great eternal throne.His dear hands in benediction On so many heads have lain,Many he baptized and married, And their children yet again;He has soothed us in our sorrow When our hearts in anguish bled,He has brought us consolation When we wept above our dead.
