20 



ways, and returning, leave behind them the dearest 

 objects of their reverence or their love ! 



And if this were all, sad indeed, and funereal would 

 be our thoughts ; gloomy, indeed, would be these 

 shades, and desolate these prospects. 



But — thanks be to God — the evils, which he per- 

 mits, have their attendant mercies, and are blessings 

 in disguise. The bruised reed will not be laid utterly 

 prostrate. The wounded heart will not always bleed. 

 The voice of consolation will spring up in the midst 

 of the silence of these regions of death. The mourner 

 will revisit these shades with a secret, though melan- 

 choly pleasure. The hand of friendship will delight 

 to cherish the flowers, and the shrubs, that fringe the 

 lowly grave, or the sculptured monument. The ear- 

 J iest beain a of_the in ornin g will play upon these sum- 

 mits with a refreshing cheerfulness ; and the lingering 

 tints of evening hover on them with a tranquilizing 

 glow- Spring will invite thither the footsteps of the 

 young by its opening foliage ; and Autumn detain the 

 contemplative by its latest bloom. The votary of 

 learning and science will here learn to elevate his 

 genius by the holiest studies. The devout will here 

 offer up the silent tribute of pity, or the prayer of 

 gratitude. The rivalries of the world will here drop 

 from the heart ; the spirit of forgiveness will gather 

 new impulses ; the selfishness of avarice will be 

 checked ; [the restlessness of ambition will be re- 

 buked ; vanity will let fall its plumes ; and pride, 

 as it sees " what shadows we are, and what shadows 



