Page:The works of Anna Laetitia Barbauld volume 1.djvu/199



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past: dear venerable shade, farewell! Thy blameless life thy peaceful death shall tell. Clear to the last thy setting orb has run; Pure, bright, and healthy like a frosty sun: And late old age with hand indulgent shed Its mildest winter on thy favoured head. For Heaven prolonged her life to spread its praise, And blessed her with a patriarch's length of days. The truest praise was hers, a cheerful heart, Prone to enjoy, and ready to impart.