Page:Pleasant Memories of Pleasant Lands.djvu/211

 186 BREAD TO THE POOR.

Oh passenger ! hast ne er a tear To weep for her who wept with all ?

Who wept, yet set herself to cheer Them up with comfort s cordial ?

Her love shall live, her mercy spread,

When thou hast ne er a tear to shed.&quot;

With our feet resting almost on the very spot where the remains of the great poet slumber, we listened to the sacred services of the Church, and to three ser mons, from three different clergymen. In the first we were reminded of the love of the Redeemer, from the text, &quot; Draw us, and we will run after thee ;&quot; in the second, of the necessity of repentance, from the warn ing of Ezekiel, &quot; I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord ; wherefore turn your selves and live ye ; &quot; and in the last, at evening, of the duty and privilege of mental communion with the Father of our spirits, from the injunction, &quot; Continue in prayer.&quot;

At the close of the services in the afternoon, we saw what was then to us a new scene, the distribution of bread to the poor. It is not uncommon for benevolent persons to leave legacies for this form of charity. It was touching to see what numbers pressed forward to present a ticket, and receive their share. The greater part of the recipients were aged and decrepit, or else appeared to be the parents of large families ; and the eyes of many a child fixed earnestly upon the fair wheaten loaves which were dealt out, and from which it was doubtless expecting to make its evening meal.

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