In Memoriam. - Madam Pond,

Widow of the late CALEB POND, Esq., died at Hartford, February 19th 1861, aged 73.     Would any think who marked the smile         On yon untroubled face,     That threescore years and ten had fled         Without a wrinkling trace?     Yet age doth sometimes skill to guard         The beauty of its prime,     And hold a quenchless lamp above         The water-floods of time.     And she, for whom we mourn, maintained         Through every change and care,     Those hallowed virtues of the soul         That keep the features fair.     They raised a little child to look         Into the coffin deep,     Who dream'd the lovely lady lay         But in a transient sleep,     And gazed upon the face of death         With eye of tranquil ray,     Well pleased, as with the snowy flowers,         That on her bosom lay.     Then on the sad procession moved,         And mid funereal gloom,     The only son was there to lay         His mother in the tomb.     Oh, memories of an only child,         How strong and rich ye are!     A wealth of concentrated love         That none beside can share.     And hence, the filial grief that swells,         When breaks its latest tie,     Flows onward with a fuller tide         Than meets the common eye.     With voice of holy prayer she pass'd         Forth from her pleasant door,     Where tender recollections dwell         Though she returns no more.     Even so the pure and pious rise         From tents of pain and woe,     But leave a precious transcript here         To guide us where they go.