 | Lines in Pleasant Places |  |
205
THE OLD SEXTON.
The news comes sadly to our ears—
The good old man has flown,
Who long hath furnished other's biers,
And now hath filled his own!
In Death's employ his lot was cast,
—Prime minister of woe—
And sore it grieves us at the last,
That we shall look on the face of the Old Sexton no mo.
The good old man has flown,
Who long hath furnished other's biers,
And now hath filled his own!
In Death's employ his lot was cast,
—Prime minister of woe—
And sore it grieves us at the last,
That we shall look on the face of the Old Sexton no mo.
A rough and rugged man was he,
—A man of sturdy mould,—
One might not from the surface see
The feeling that controlled;
But all of woman's tenderness
Dwelt in the heart below,
As hundreds he has soothed confess,
Who will look on the face of the Old Sexton no mo.
—A man of sturdy mould,—
One might not from the surface see
The feeling that controlled;
But all of woman's tenderness
Dwelt in the heart below,
As hundreds he has soothed confess,
Who will look on the face of the Old Sexton no mo.
Where Death his fatal dart has thrown,
His was the tender task
To do the last sad office known
Humanity might ask.
What feeling care, what gentle grace
Did he alway bestow!
Ah, many sigh, who this retrace,
That they'll look on the face of the Old Sexton no mo.
His was the tender task
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Humanity might ask.
What feeling care, what gentle grace
Did he alway bestow!
Ah, many sigh, who this retrace,
That they'll look on the face of the Old Sexton no mo.
He had few words withal to soothe,
But they were of the best,
That served the waves of grief to smooth,
And comfort the distrest;
But action more than word declared
His kindly feeling's flow,
And sadder they, whose grief he's shared,
That they'll behold the face of the Old Sexton no mo.
But they were of the best,
That served the waves of grief to smooth,
And comfort the distrest;
But action more than word declared
His kindly feeling's flow,
And sadder they, whose grief he's shared,
That they'll behold the face of the Old Sexton no mo.
Where grief in ostentatious guise
Demanded proud display,
He'd to the great occasion rise
In a befitting way;
Who've seen him wave the bannered pall,
And ope Death's portmanteau,
Will sigh, as they his form recall,
That they shall see the face of the Old Sexton no mo.
Demanded proud display,
He'd to the great occasion rise
In a befitting way;
Who've seen him wave the bannered pall,
And ope Death's portmanteau,
Will sigh, as they his form recall,
That they shall see the face of the Old Sexton no mo.
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The strong, the weak, the old, the young,
Like objects of his care,
He made no difference among,
Nor 'twixt the plain and fair;
Impartially he gave them room
Beneath the flowers or snow,
And mourners over many a tomb
Will sigh that they shall look on the Old Sexton no mo.
Like objects of his care,
He made no difference among,
Nor 'twixt the plain and fair;
Impartially he gave them room
Beneath the flowers or snow,
And mourners over many a tomb
Will sigh that they shall look on the Old Sexton no mo.
Impartial minister of fate,
The high and low he served;
Insignia or costly plate
Him ne'er from duty swerved.
He closed from sight with equal care
The rich and poor in woe,
And all will in the sorrow share
That they'll look on the face of the Old Sexton no mo.
The high and low he served;
Insignia or costly plate
Him ne'er from duty swerved.
He closed from sight with equal care
The rich and poor in woe,
And all will in the sorrow share
That they'll look on the face of the Old Sexton no mo.
And now he's gone—the pitying earth
Has closed above his breast;
The flowers will soon spring into birth,
And bloom above his rest;
While we above his dust shall say,
As breezes whisper low,
“Ah, sad 'twill be, and well it may,
For we shall look on the face of the Old Sexton no mo.
Has closed above his breast;
The flowers will soon spring into birth,
And bloom above his rest;
While we above his dust shall say,
As breezes whisper low,
“Ah, sad 'twill be, and well it may,
For we shall look on the face of the Old Sexton no mo.
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