578. L. M. Fergus.
At a Funeral.
1Farewell! what power of words can tell
The sorrows of a last farewell,
When, standing by the mournful bier,
We mingle with our prayers a tear!
2When memory tells of days gone by,
Of blighted hope and vanished joy:
Bright hopes that withered like a flower,
Cut down and faded in an hour.
3Give forth thy chime, thou solemn bell,
Thou grave, unfold thy marble cell;
Oh earth! receive upon thy breast
The weary trav'ller to his rest.
4Oh God, extend thy arms of love,
A spirit seeketh thee above!
Ye heav'nly palaces unclose,
Receive the weary to repose!