Friend after friend departs;
Who hath not lost a friend?
There is no union here of hearts
That finds not here an end;
Were this frail world our only rest,
Living or dying, none were blest.
Beyond the flight of Time,
Beyond this vale of death,
There surely is some blessed clime
Where life is not a breath,
Nor life's affections transient fire
Whose sparks fly upward to expire.
--_James Montgomery._
We just shake hands at meeting
With many that come nigh;
We nod the head in greeting
To many that go by--
But welcome through the gateway
Our old friends and true;
Then hearts leap up, and straightway
There's open house for you,
Old friends,
There's open house for you!
--_Gerald Massey._