ESTEEM and CONFIDENCE.
Some little token of regard,
You wish from me to claim;
But as time is pressing hard,
I will but write my name.
Every joy that heaven can send;
Wealth, and every kind of treasure;—
Health and love to thee, my friend,
And happiness without measure.
In future years, should trusted friends
Depart like summer birds;
And all the comfort memory lends,
Is false and honeyed words,
Turn then to me who fain would prove,
However thy lot be cast,
That naught his heart can ever move
From friendship of the past.
May your path be strewn with roses,
Fair and flowery to the end;
And when your body in death reposes,
May your Maker be your friend.
Well, ----, I surely would like to please;
But can’t think what to say.
All your friends have wishes bright,
To cheer your life so gay.
I will add: May all their words
Be symbols of love and truth;
That when you grow weary, and seek for rest,
You will rejoice in the friends of your youth.
To write in your Album, dear friend you ask;
Ah, well! it is not such a difficult task.
All I can say is contained here in one line:
May the blessings of Heaven forever be thine.
Let not our friendship be like the rose, to sever;
But, like the evergreen, may it last forever.
He who does good to another, does also good to himself—not only in the act, but in the consciousness of well-doing is his reward.
In the evening of life, cherish the remembrance of one who loved thee in its morning.
Speak of me kindly when life’s dreams are o’er;
Speak of me gently when I am no more.
Safely down Life’s ebbing tide,
May our vessels smoothly glide,
And anchor side by side—in heaven.
That Hope and you,
Bright days will view.
Guard well thy thoughts; our thoughts are heard in heaven.
May He who hath pencilled the leaves with beauty, given the flowers their bloom, and lent music to the lay of the timid bird, graciously remember thee in that day when He shall gather His jewels.
From memory’s leaves,
I fondly squeeze
Three little words—
Forget Me Not.
A long life, and a happy one;
A tall man, and a jolly one—
Like—well—you know who!
The hills are shadows, and they flow
From form to form, and nothing stands;
They melt like mist, the solid lands,
Like clouds they shape themselves and go.
But in my spirit will I dwell,
And dream my dream and hold it true;
For though my pen doth write adieu,
I cannot say for aye farewell.
God’s love and peace be with thee, when
Soe’r this soft Autumnal air
Lifts the dark tresses of thy hair.
Thou lack’st not friendship’s spellword, nor
The half-unconscious power to draw
All hearts to thine by Love’s sweet law.
With such a prayer, on this sweet day,
As thou mayest hear and I may say,
I greet thee, dearest, far away.
This Album’s a mansion which offers its best,
To the friends who have written their thoughts,
And the banquet is spread with festal fare,
Where guests mingle enjoyment with rest;
And they leave their memorials under thy roof,
Sometimes in sorrow, more oft in joy divine,
Nor think a single thought quite good enough,
To measure its faintest pulse with thine.