The blazing meteor glares along the sky;
The thunder shakes the mountain with its roar;
But meteors for a moment live--then die:
The thunder peals--and then is heard no more.
The most refreshing rains in silence fall;
The most entrancing tones are sweet and low;
The greatest, mightiest truths, are simplest all;
Life's dearest light comes forth in voiceless flow;
E'en so his heart and hand were ever found
Flinging in mute beneficence around
The germs of Truth and Charity combined,
To heal the heart and purify the mind.
(_a_) The life of Mr. Vaughan was one daily round of charitable deeds,
in furtherance of religion and social amelioration. His munificent
donation to the Swansea Hospital, offered conditionally, led to the
enlarged foundation of that noble institution, which stands a silent
tribute to his memory. This Elegy was written at the request of the
late Mr. John Williams, proprietor of the _Cambrian_, Swansea, who, in
the letter requesting me to write the verses, said: "Such noble
qualities as Mr. Vaughan possessed deserve everything good which human
tongue can say of them."