Beside the bed, the tallow-dip burned low;
So, knowing that he dreaded more than aught
That he should die in darkness, on tip-toe
Out of the room I stole, and down the stair:
And, striking matches, high and low I sought;
But could not find a candle anywhere.

Thinking he dozed, I slipped across the lane,
And home to fetch some candles of my own:
But, as I made back to his house again,
I heard a scream, and saw his window dark;
And knew that he at midnight, and alone,
Had faced death; and I found him lying stark.

I made his body seemly on the bed,
And shut those eyes, fixed in a frightened stare;
And set two lighted candles at his head:
And trusted, as I watched with him till day,
His soul, that had set out in black despair,
Might catch their homely glimmer on the way.