TRIBUTES TO THE MEMORY OF MR. DOWNING. 



(Lrilmtrs ta tljf 3\lt\\mn\ nf Ml Dniuiiiiig. 



ODE ON THE DEATH OF A. J. DOWNING. 



BY A LADV (IF MARYLA.ND. 



!\IoLKN'. all yo iiUMiiilaiii nlU, whose crystal flow 

 Ijy peLilily iii;iigiii.s, .sooilies tlie summer gale! 



Mourn all ye lulls, 

 AVIiere cedars wave and tall pines darkly throw, 

 From (he grey rocks, their shadows down the vale. 

 And all ye gardens, where the cultured flowers 

 Of various climes perfume the vernal air, 

 Mourn ye! Mourn all ye genlle showers! 



Ve evening dews 

 Drop ditmiond tears in morning's early hour*, 



Sparkling profuse, 

 From lids yet heavy wuh the damps of night. 



His step, which gave delight 

 To the curved walk and tasteful lawn, no more 

 Treads the crisped, gravel'd shore, 

 Bord'ring the grassy swurd, with easy slope. 

 The eye, the hand, the pen, are silent all ! 

 Tastk mourjis the graceful spirit that portray'd 

 Her lines of beauty m each varied shade. 



Each slope and fall, 

 Each "long-withdrawing vale" 



And ivied wall. 

 Where wild hirds build and tell the am'rous tale. 

 Ve droop ng elms, and cedars dark, which sweep 

 With pendant boughs the grassy verdure, deep, 



Do ye not hear Her weep? 



DowM.VG ! Fair nalure was to ihec 



A glorious DeJiy : 

 Soniclhing akiu to Godliness, and Love, 

 And An I to build her altars 'nealh the skies, 



A Nymph of Paradise. 



O tuneful streams and lawns of velvet green, 



AViih clustering shrubs and bow'rnig vines between; 



Dark tow'ring firs, and Lebanon's own tree. 



As cyiee o'er sacred hills, droop solemnly! 



The irune of DowsiXG whisper as ye wave; 



And O ye winds! Blow lighUy o'er his gravel 



Each cot and stately hall, eacli tijiy bower. 

 And each fair girl who loves to rear a flower; 

 Each soul who seeks in Nature or in Art, 

 To bear an humble or a lofty part, 

 Put on the Cypress! Shroud in mourning weeds 

 The casements dark, for Rural Beauty bleeds 1 

 And ye neglected shades — our forest wealth, 

 No longer wearing glorious hues by stealth. 

 Come boldly forth I— assert your noblest powers! 

 Give us your stately forms— j-our brilliant flowers, 

 But while you shade America's young homes, 



When brilliant autumn pamts each fading leaf, 

 Give to I he rusi'ling wnid as forth k roams, 



A soft finiereal tone of tender grief. 



Artist AND Scholar! Thou art fallen asleep. 



In thy fair prime, 

 Where the blue waters of the Hudson sweep. 

 Alas! no opening bud or swelling fruit can charm: 



Nor votive rhyme 

 Light the cold eye, the sdent pulses warm. 



We nnngle tear with tear 

 With mourning friends around thy early bier, 

 And lay thy favorite rose upon tliy breast. 



Sweet be thy rest ! 

 And may that world where trees immortal grow. 



Around thy spirit throw 

 Their sot't refreshing shades, amidst the blest! 



Wevertoii, MaryUnd^ An^. 17. J. C. AV. 



Massachusetts Hort. Society. 



At a nieeling of the Massachusetts Horticul- 

 ttifal Society, held Saturday, Aug. 7, 1852, the 

 following preamble and resolutions reported by 

 a committee chosen at a previous meeting, 

 wore unanimously passed, aud placed on the 

 records of the Society: 



The Massacliusetts Horticultural Society 

 have been startled and pained bj- the intelligence 

 of the sudden death of tlieir co-laborer and 

 friend, A. J. Downing, of Newburgh, N. Y. — 

 a passenger in the ill-fated steamer Henry Clay. 



Eminent alike as a Horticulturist, a Land- 

 scape Gardener, and an Architect, Mr. Down- 

 ing has, in each character, made his mark upon 

 the age. "Where the grateful gardener plucks 

 the rich fruit from the laden bough, there is his 

 name known. Where taste has turned the un- 

 sightly pasture into a lovely lawn, and adorned 

 it with gems of the garden and the green wood, 

 there are his labors felt. 



The humble cot lie has made a picture of 

 beauty, and the elegant mansion, reared by his 

 genius, fills and satisfies the most nicely critical 

 eye. 



But he has gone! In a moment, as it were, 

 and without warning, he has been called to pass 

 the gloomy vale of death, and now rests — 



" Where rivers of pleasure flow over bright plaius 

 And the noon-tide of glory eternally reigns." 



In view of this unexpected and terrible stroke, 

 by which this Society is deprived of one of its 

 members, and the cause of Horticulture of an 

 eminent and earnest advocate, 



Your committee respectfully submit the fol- 

 lowing Resolves: 



Resolved, That the members of the Massa- 

 chusetts Horticultural Society greatly deplore 

 the loss of their associate, who has done so 

 much to advance and e.\tend a taste for the 

 kindred arts of Agriculture, Horticulture, 

 Landscape Gardening, and Architecture. 



Resolved, That in the death of the late Mr 

 Downing, Horticulture and Pomological Science 



