Page:Poems Toke.djvu/70

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62

For thine was that gentle and lovely mind,
That could feel for others in joy or woe;
That longed in each bosom some grace to find,
Yet could weep o'er the faults of the bitterest foe.

And thou wert a pastor in deed and word,
Simple, devoted, fearless, and free;
All thine energies bent to serve thy Lord,
And live unto Him who had died for thee.

And thine every thought an unearthly power,
An impress of holiness, seemed to bear;—
Oh! none could behold thee for one short hour,
Nor feel that a man of God was there.

But thy mind was cast in a giant mould,
And it soared—perchance with too wild a flight;
Then foes gathered round thee, friends grew cold,
And the star of thy brightness was quenched in night.

And calumny winged her most venomed dart,
Till those forsook who mourn for thee now;
Jut though dauntless and firm was that noble heart,
Yet they broke the spirit they could not bow.

Yes; days of sorrow and hours of gloom
Soon traced with furrows that lordly brow;
And the locks once dark as the raven's plume
Were more than tinged with untimely snow.

Jut now it is over, thy race is run,
In thine own loved land thou hast sunk to rest:
Thy work is finished—thy warfare done,—
And thou art in peace on thy Saviour's breast.