ON THE DEATH OF AN INFANT. And the mother gave, in tears and pain, She knew she should find them all again O, not in cruelty, not in wrath, 131 ON THE DEATH OF AN INFANT. HERVEY. YONDER white stone, emblem of the innocence it covers, informs the beholder of one who breathed out its tender soul almost in the instant of receiving it. There the peaceful infant, without so much as knowing what labor and vexation mean, "lies still, and is quiet: it sleeps, and is at rest." (Job iii. 13.) Staying only to wash away its native impurity in the laver of regeneration, it bade a speedy adieu to time and terrestrial things. What did the little hasty sojourner find so forbidding and disgustful in our upper world to occasion its precipitant exit? It is written, indeed, of its suffering Savior, that when he had tasted the vinegar mingled with gall, he would not drink, (Matt. xxvii. 34;) and did our new-come stranger begin to sip the cup of life, but, perceiving 132 ON THE DEATH OF AN INFANT. the bitterness, turn away its head, and refuse the draught? Was this the cause why the wary babe only opened its eyes, just looked on the light, and then withdrew into the more inviting regions of undisturbed repose? Happy voyager! no sooner launched than arrived at the haven. Highly-favored probationer! accepted without being exercised. It was thy peculiar privilege not to feel the slightest of those evils. which oppress thy surviving kindred; which frequently fetch groans from the most manly fortitude, or most elevated faith. The arrows of calamity, barbed with anguish, are often fixed deep in our choicest comforts. The fiery darts of temptation, shot from the hand of hell, are always flying in showers around our integrity. To thee, sweet babe, both these distresses and dangers were alike unknown. Consider this, ye mourning parents, and dry up your tears. Why should you lament that your little ones are crowned with victory before the sword was drawn, or the conflict begun? Perhaps the Supreme Disposer of events foresaw some inevitable snare of temptation forming, or some dreadful storm of adversity impending. And why should you be so dissatisfied with that kind precaution which housed your pleasant plant, and removed into shelter a tender flower, before the thunders roared, before the lightnings flew, before the tempest poured its rage? O, remember, they are not lost, but taken away from the evil to come. (Is. lvii. 1.) DEATH OF THE FIRST BORN. 133 DEATH OF THE FIRST BORN. WILLIS GAYLORD CLARK. YOUNG mother, he is gone! His dimpled cheek no more will touch thy breast; Float from his lips, to thine all fondly pressed; His was the morning hour, And he hath passed in beauty from the day, Torn, in its sweetness, from the parent spray; Never on earth again Will his rich accents charm thy listening ear, Breathing at eventide serene and clear; And from thy yearning heart, Whose inmost core was warm with love for him, 134 DEATH OF THE FIRST BORN. A gladness must depart, And those kind eyes with many tears be dim; Yet, mourner, while the day Rolls like the darkness of a funeral by, To stream athwart the grief-discolored sky, 'Tis from the better land! There, bathed in radiance that around them springs, Thy loved one's wings expand; As with the choiring cherubim he sings, And all the glory of that God can see, Mother, thy child is blessed: And though his presence may be lost to thee, And missed a sweet load from thy parent knee, HYMN FOR AN INFANT'S FUNERAL. 135 HYMN FOR AN INFANT'S FUNERAL. REV. LEGH RICHMOND. HARK! how the angels, as they fly, Securely freed from sin's alarms. "Welcome, dear babe, to Jesus' breast, Forever there in joy to rest: Welcome to Jesus' courts above, To sing thy great Redeemer's love! "We left the heavens, and flew to earth, To watch thee at thy mortal birth: Obedient to thy Savior's will, We staid to love and guard thee still. "We, thy protecting angels, came "When the resistless call of death |