Reflections at the funeral of Joel F. Scovil son of Lucius and Lury Scovil; who died on the tenth of May, 1844. Aged 14 years and twelve days

BY MISS ELIZA R. SNOW.

The spirit had departed and had left But then the spirit of the living God

The mortal tenement a lifeless form! Waked with its light the vision of my mind,

I sat beside his coffin, but for him And I exclaim'd within myself, all, all

I had no tears to shed. How could I weep? Is well. He's gone to do a work for them

His years, indeed, had been but few, but then Of everlasting consequence; and they,

He was a saint, and he has gone to join Ere long shall understand the purposes

The spirits of the just. There was to him no Of him who holds the destinies of man;

Bitterness in death. The pow'r of faith In this their present loss, and then their joy

Imparted through the glorious gospel of Will be unspeakable.

The Son of God had shorn the monster of

His terrors and his sting. It rent in twain Soon, very soon

The parting vail [veil] that hides from mortal view The resurrection morn will dawn and bring

Eternal things: and Kindred spirits came An everlasting triumph o'er the grave.

To greet the dying one and waft him home.

Be faithful then ye parents! Keep the faith-

Freed from Mortality and all its ills; Be steadfast in the cause of Zion, till

To die as he has died, is endless gain. Your course is finished, and your work is done;

Such were my feelings: then I look'd upon And you shall soon embrace your child, array'd

His mourning parents, and I thought of their In robes of royalty-with glory crown'd

Bereavement! 'Tis their only son-he is In your own mansion of celestial light.

Their first-born, and to him with fond delight

Their expectations clung; and here he lies! There, fond affection, everlasting bond

Corruption preys already on the face Of kindred spirits and of kindred flesh,

They dearly lov'd! And now where is their hope? In strength perfecting, will entwine around

My heart was moved with tenderness; and grief The glorious objects of an endless claim.

For one short moment weigh'd my feelings down. Nauvoo May 11th, 1844

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