And his voice faltered, and the shortening breath
Came through his parted lips convulsively—
The last faint accents of a murmured prayer:
And then we turned us from his couch, and wept
That the dear ties were severed, which had bound
Our hearts in kindred intercourse:—We grieved
That he whom we had loved so tenderly,
Should pass away with the forgotten dead.
Oh, there is something saddening in the thought
Of death, whene’er it comes. To stand beside