The Poetry Corner

In Memoriam. - Mrs. Joseph Morgan,

By Lydia Howard Sigourney

Died at Hartford, August, 1859. I saw her overlaid with many flowers, Such as the gorgeous summer drapes in snow, Stainless and fragrant as her memory. Blent with their perfume came the pictur'd thought Of her calm presence,--of her firm resolve To bear each duty onward to its end,-- And of her power to make a home so fair, That those who shared its sanctities deplore The pattern lost forever. Many a friend, And none who won that title laid it down, Muse on the tablet that she left behind, Muse,--and give thanks to God for what she was, And what she is;--for every pain hath fled That with a barb'd and subtle weapon stood Between the pilgrim and the promised Land. But the deep anguish of the filial tear We speak not of,--save with the sympathy That wakes our own. And so, we bid farewell. * * * * * Life's sun at setting, may shed brighter rays Than when it rose, and threescore years and ten May wear a beauty that youth fails to reach: The beauty of a fitness for the skies,-- Such nearness to the angels, that their song "Peace and good will," like key-tone rules the soul, And the pure reflex of their smile illumes The meekly lifted brow. She taught us this,-- And then went home.