Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.

By William BinghamTappan

144 The Hour of Peaceful Rest

THERE is an hour of peaceful rest

To mourning wanderers given;

There is a joy for souls distrest,

A balm for every wounded breast,

’T is found alone in heaven.

There is a soft, a downy bed,

Far from these shades of even—

A couch for weary mortals spread,

Where they may rest the aching head,

And find repose, in heaven.

There is a home for weary souls

By sin and sorrow driven;

When tossed on life’s tempestuous shoals,

Where storms arise, and ocean rolls,

And all is drear but heaven.

There faith lifts up her cheerful eye,

To brighter prospects given;

And views the tempest passing by,

The evening shadows quickly fly,

And all serene in heaven.

There fragrant flowers immortal bloom,

And joys supreme are given;

There rays divine disperse the gloom:

Beyond the confines of the tomb

Appears the dawn of heaven.