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He stood with zeal the untaught to As one great Will of Good to all,

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But dark decay may mine the tree,
Or lightning-bolt may blast,
And not a flower for wind or bee
Delight the saddening waste.
25.

The winter pressed with gloom and chill
Round Henry's wavering thread of life,
And though the eye shone boldly still,
The cheek grew thin amid the strife.
26.

And while at solitary night
His candle showed some ancient page,
And like a deft familiar sprite
Evoked for him the buried sage;
27.

While from the distant snow-clad world

The clown, belated, marked the beam, Nor guessed of what the glimmering told,

What human task, or goblin dream,

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She turned, and passed the dim churchdoor,

Beneath an ancient arch's frown,
And in the aisle upon the floor
She knelt not, but her knees fell down.
39.

Upon the seat she stooped her face,
But still she heard that doleful bell,
And though she prayed for Heaven's
dear grace,

'Twas still the same pursuing knell. 40.

And when the people stood to sing, Though now the weary bell was o'er,

She heard it through her bosom ring, As if 'twould ring for ever more.

41.

She could not rise upon her feet,
She could not stand when others stood,
And all the words she could repeat
Were still " To me, O God! be
good!"

42.

At last the service all was done,
And she might go from church away,
But still she could not be alone,
She must beside her father stay.

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But Henry more than all was dear;
On her he seemed to call for aid,
And she through wave and gale would
steer,

To track the wandering mourning shade.

4.

Along the churchyard path she went, And saw above the Yew

The low discoloured firmament,
While cold winds round her blew.
5.

But swift along the road she sped
With still increasing pace,

And walked where blackest darkness led,

The more to hide her face.

6.

And now to Henry's home she came,
Where never she had been before;
She could not now remember shame,
But knocked upon the door.
7.

An aged woman, dull and slow,
Came creeping at the sound,
Nor asked the comer's name to know,
But straight the key turned round.

8.

Jane hurried in, and at the first,
These words unpausing said-
"O! tell me, tell me all the worst!
Tell me, is Henry dead?"

9.

She marked the woman's wrinkled cheek,

And saw 'twas swollen with weeping, Before she heard her answering speak, "He is alive, and sleeping.

10.

"'Tis now the second day that he
Has been too weak to rise from bed,
And truly, as it seems to me,
He never more will lift his head.
11.

"I've loved him ever since a child,
And tended him from day to day;
I sometimes think 'twould drive me wild
If I should see him pass away."

12.

Then Jane exclaimed,-" What noise is there?

I hear a tapping faint and low.”
The other hastened up the stair,
And Jane with her would go.

13.

And she was there when Henry said

"I heard a voice that spoke below; Or was my heart by dreams betrayed? It seemed the voice that best I know." 14.

His words were weak, and drawn with pain,

His face looked flushed with burning red;

She would no more her love restrain, But swiftly knelt beside the bed.

15. Her arms around his neck she threw, She gave his lips a quivering kiss, And heart to heart tumultuous flew, For nought was left them now but this.

16

Few moments passed in hurried grief,
And then her face away she drew,
And gazing, sought to find relief
In looks where misery met her view.

17.

He strove to smile with happier eyes, But could not long the toil sustain ; From his deep glance the meaning flies,

The lids drop down-he longs in vain.

18.

On her young heart his withered hand She laid, and pressed it strongly there, As if her life she could command, And bid it pass to him from her.

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