HIS LIFE, POEMS AND SPEECHES.
365
Long time I lay in the darkened room,
Dawn just piercing the silent gloom,
And prayed, "O Saviour, whoe'er it be.
May the parting spirit find rest in Thee!"
The morn rose brightly and sweetly smiled
O'er the dancing waves, like a happy child;
I was singing softly, when some one said,
"The truest of all the true is dead."
And I knew that thousands of miles away
Hearts were breaking that summer day, —
That the wide world over, from pole to pole,
There were sighs and tears, and "God rest his soul!"
And I knew—his dearest friends apart.
The life of his life and the heart of his heart—
None wept more for that vacant place
Than I,—who never had seen his face.
