Classic Poem

FRIEND of the olden time!
With the kind messenger that came to-day,
Thy weary feet have turned from earth, away,
To some celestial clime.

He found thee, full of years—
Long years of alternating light and shade;
Of hopes that budded, blossomed but to fade,
Bright smiles and bitter tears.

Of those whose lots were cast
Amidst the Western wilds, when savage wrath
Left death and desolation in its path,
Thou wert among the last.

Among the last who stood,
Where rang the war-whoop in the border strife,
When gleaming tomahawk and scalping knife
Were red with kindred blood.

When thou hadst seen the dome,
The stately mansion, mart and city rise,
As by enchantment neath the sunny skies,
That spanned the Red Man's home;

When peace and plenty crowned
With Christian temples, forums, college halls,
The lovely land that ancient legend calls,
“The dark and bloody ground.”

Our Father's kind behest
Called thee from weary days and nights of pain
To thy reward, the guerdon and the gain
Of endless peace and rest.

The friends who met of yore
Around thy board and hearth, in converse sweet,
When hand clasped hand and hearts in union beat,
Shall meet there, nevermore.

From thine accustomed place
The sunshine of the olden days is flown—
We miss a kindly word, a pleasant tone,
A dear, familiar face.

Sleep on! In coming years,
The West, the proud, the beautiful, the free,
Upon her brightest page shall number thee,
Among her pioneers.

Farewell, true, generous heart!
Amidst the precious things we treasure here,
The priceless jewels, Memory holds most dear,
We shrine thy name apart.

Love mourns and would repair
The ties that Death's relentless hand hath riven,
But Faith unveils her brow, looks up to Heaven,
And joys to see thee there.