The poetical works of William Lisle Bowles ... with memoir, critical dissertation, and explanatory notes, by the Rev. George Gilfillan |
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II. |
EPITAPH ON JOHN HARDING,
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The poetical works of William Lisle Bowles | ||
EPITAPH ON JOHN HARDING,
IN THE CHURCHYARD OF BREMHILL.
Lay down thy pilgrim staff upon this heap,And till the morning of redemption sleep,
Old wayfarer of earth! From youth to age,
Long, but not weary, was thy pilgrimage,
Thy Christian pilgrimage; for faith and prayer
Alone enabled thee some griefs to bear.
Lone, in old age, without a husband's aid,
Thy wife shall pray beside thee to be laid;
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To fourteen children of her faithful love.
May future fathers of the village trace
The same sure path to the same resting-place;
And future sons, taught in their strength to save,
Learn their first lesson from a poor man's grave!
April 1835.
The poetical works of William Lisle Bowles | ||