Contents -BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD

Alfred H. Miles, ed. The Sacred Poets of the Nineteenth Century. 1907.

By Rondeaux. IV. “Before he passed”

Charles Dent Bell (1819–1898)

BEFORE he passed from mortal view,

To where he sleeps beneath the yew,

He said, “Weep not; to thee I’ll come,

If spirits ever leave that home

Through whose dark gates I go from you.”

How firm his promise well I knew;

So as he spake life sweeter grew,

And flowered again my heart in bloom,

Before he passed!

Alas! the sweet hope is not true;

He may not tread the avenue

That leadeth from the nether gloom;

Else would he come to this dear room.

I heard his vow,—God heard it too,

Before he passed!