IT IS IN THE VOICE OF YEARS THAT ARE GONE.
I
“It is” in “the voice of years that are gone,”
In the tale that descends from father to son,
We enrol for ever the hero's name,
And circle his tomb with the laurel of fame.
II
His glory time's progress diminishes not,
His actions survive without stain, without blot;
The banner and trophy shall over him wave,
And the tears of his country shall water his grave.
III
His name is the beacon that shines from afar,
To encourage our sons 'mid the dangers of war;
To teach them to do as their fathers have done,
And to live in “the voice of years that are gone.”
IV
Hast thou gaz'd on the sea in the stillness of night,
When the moon o'er the waves throws a tremulous light;
When a long line of glory shines radiantly through
The expanse of the ocean's more shadowy blue?
V
Oh! as bright as the radiance that beams o'er the flood,
Is the course which is trod by the great and the good;
And as purely the light of their valour and worth
Shines forth 'mid the spiritless shadows of earth.
