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Article FACES IN THE EIRE. Page 1 of 1
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Faces In The Eire.
FACES IN THE EIRE .
An aged man sat by bis fire , and watched the embers glow ; The stars were paling one by one as that fire was burning low ; The wind without was sighing , sad as a starving outcast ' s moan , — Within , that old man ' s misery gave answer groan for groan . Loud tolled the bells as hours flew by , yet he did gazing sit
€ ( In the hour of sorrow , And in darkness drear , To God entrust the morrow , — The angels then are near I "—Whittier ,
By that low fire , while flickering shades along the wall did flit ; Still , like some sculptured form of stone , he sat , and ne ' er did tire , Gazing with childlike earnestness on ¦ " faces in the fire . "
He'd wander'd long upon the earth , and oft would sadly sigh , That death , the friend of hopeless men too oft had passed him by : " 0 h ¦! death , " he cried , " come , come at last ; why mock ' st thou thus a prayer ? Oom ' st thou to crush youth's joyous heart , and heed ' st thou not despair ?"
The dwindling embers threw a light athwart his haggard face , On which an age of silent grief had left a searing trace ; Now , childlike in his helplessness , he mused on days of yore , And found joy ' s outlines in that fire , and was a child once more ! As gazing at his fire he sat , the embers seemed to change To faces kind , to long-lost scenes , by memory ' s magic strange : This ember was the village-church , where , happy child ,, he'd knelt ; And thdbt the cottage ' midst the trees , where once a lost love dwelt .
"Oh , blessed fire , " that old man cried , what magic in thee lies , That thou can ' st limn old memories fair before an old man ' s eyes ? I ' ve been a child , a joyous child , a lover and a sire ; I see the phantoms of such joys in thee , my own loved fire !" As gazing at his fire , he sat , a change upon him came , His trembling lips breathed tenderly an unforgotten name : Methinks that thou dost err , who deem ' st that old man then alone ; An angel , sure , God sent in love , to cheer that lonely one .
I know not—man may never know—what sounds did greet Ins ear , Which fired his soul;—he started up , as at a footfall near . Perchance his love , in angel guise , stood in that darkling room , As that old man murmur'd solemnly— " I come to thee , I come !" * * * * * = fc * When morning dawned , a gentle bird loud warbled forth a strain That aged man had often heard , might never hear again . Alas ! poor feather'd chorister , thou'lt miss thy crumbs of bread ; Sing tliou to God thy matin-song—thine ancient friend is dead ! W . E . B . S . YOIi . II . 2 L
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Faces In The Eire.
FACES IN THE EIRE .
An aged man sat by bis fire , and watched the embers glow ; The stars were paling one by one as that fire was burning low ; The wind without was sighing , sad as a starving outcast ' s moan , — Within , that old man ' s misery gave answer groan for groan . Loud tolled the bells as hours flew by , yet he did gazing sit
€ ( In the hour of sorrow , And in darkness drear , To God entrust the morrow , — The angels then are near I "—Whittier ,
By that low fire , while flickering shades along the wall did flit ; Still , like some sculptured form of stone , he sat , and ne ' er did tire , Gazing with childlike earnestness on ¦ " faces in the fire . "
He'd wander'd long upon the earth , and oft would sadly sigh , That death , the friend of hopeless men too oft had passed him by : " 0 h ¦! death , " he cried , " come , come at last ; why mock ' st thou thus a prayer ? Oom ' st thou to crush youth's joyous heart , and heed ' st thou not despair ?"
The dwindling embers threw a light athwart his haggard face , On which an age of silent grief had left a searing trace ; Now , childlike in his helplessness , he mused on days of yore , And found joy ' s outlines in that fire , and was a child once more ! As gazing at his fire he sat , the embers seemed to change To faces kind , to long-lost scenes , by memory ' s magic strange : This ember was the village-church , where , happy child ,, he'd knelt ; And thdbt the cottage ' midst the trees , where once a lost love dwelt .
"Oh , blessed fire , " that old man cried , what magic in thee lies , That thou can ' st limn old memories fair before an old man ' s eyes ? I ' ve been a child , a joyous child , a lover and a sire ; I see the phantoms of such joys in thee , my own loved fire !" As gazing at his fire , he sat , a change upon him came , His trembling lips breathed tenderly an unforgotten name : Methinks that thou dost err , who deem ' st that old man then alone ; An angel , sure , God sent in love , to cheer that lonely one .
I know not—man may never know—what sounds did greet Ins ear , Which fired his soul;—he started up , as at a footfall near . Perchance his love , in angel guise , stood in that darkling room , As that old man murmur'd solemnly— " I come to thee , I come !" * * * * * = fc * When morning dawned , a gentle bird loud warbled forth a strain That aged man had often heard , might never hear again . Alas ! poor feather'd chorister , thou'lt miss thy crumbs of bread ; Sing tliou to God thy matin-song—thine ancient friend is dead ! W . E . B . S . YOIi . II . 2 L