I hasten as my eye grows dim, Wax more and more resplendent there; Of heaven, absorbs my raptur'd heart. XXV. "Come up hither.”—Rev. iv. 1. I HEAR the voices of the sons of light, In ceaseless tides of harmony, which know N XXVI. "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace.' BEHOLD the western evening light, It melts in deepest gloom; The winds breathe low; the withering leaf How beautiful on all the hills How mildly on the wandering cloud "T is like the memory left behind, And now, above the dews of night, So faith springs in the hearts of those And soon the morning's happier light Its glories shall restore; And eyelids, that are sealed in death, XXVII. [There is something exceedingly beautiful and touching in the circumstances of Mozart's death. After giving the last touch to his celebrated Requiem,' he fell into a gentle and quiet slumber. Being awoke by the footsteps of his daughter, he called her to him, and said, "My task is done the Requiem-my Requiem, is finished; take these, my last notes, and sing with them the hymn of your sainted mother. Let me once more hear those tones which have been so long my solace and delight." As she concluded the following stanzas, she dwelt for a moment on the low melancholy notes of the piece, and then, turning from the instrument, looked in silence for the approving smile of her father. It was the still, passionless smile which the wrapt and joyous spirit had left-with the seal those features.] Spirit, thy labour is o'er! of death upon Thy term of probation is run, Thy steps are now bound for the untrodden shore, And the race of immortals begun. Spirit! look not on the strife Or the pleasures of earth with regret, Pause not on the threshold of limitless life, To mourn for the day that is set. Spirit! no fetters can bind, No wicked have power to molest ; There the weary, like thee-the wretched, shall find A haven, a mansion of rest. Spirit! how bright is the road. For which thou art now on the wing! Thy home it will be, with thy Saviour and God, Their loud hallelujah to sing. |