BY THE SIDE OF THE GRAVE SOME YEARS AFTER

Long time his pulse hath ceased to beat;

But benefits, his gift, we trace —

Expressed in every eye we meet

Round this dear Vale, his native place.

To stately Hall and Cottage rude

Flowed from his life what still they hold,

Light pleasures, every day, renewed;

And blessings half a century old.

Oh true of heart, of spirit gay,

Thy faults, where not already gone

From memory, prolong their stay

For charity's sweet sake alone.

Such solace find we for our loss;

And what beyond this thought we crave

Comes in the promise from the Cross,

Shining upon thy happy grave.