To Mrs. Mary B. Hammond
"OLD TIME
[As] When He Buried the Beautiful
HOURS" (1851)
Song Ballad
The Words by
Mrs. Sarah T. Bolton
(Of Indianapolis)
The Music by
Professor Downie

25c[ent] Net.
Philadelphia, PA: A. FIOT, 196 Chestnut St.
[Source: @IndianaStateLibrary]

1. Old time as he buried the beautiful hours,
That faded away by thy side,
Enshrouded them all in bright leaves and fair flow’rs,
And gave me no hint when they died.
Their light fingers swept life’s eolian strings,
Too softly, too soon to depart
But many a jewel, that fell from their wings,
Is treasur’d away in my heart.

2. The angels have woven the tisue of life,
Of mystical sunshine and shade—
O, let us forget, love, its sorrow and strife,
And cherish its joys ere they fade.
And let us remember when love hold his reign,
To warm our chill hearts in his glow,
And treasure the brightness he leaves in his train,
To solace our moments of woe.

3. Thus love in the dim twilight future afar,
When hope in our sad hearts is dead,
The past like the light of a radiant star,
Will brighten the pathway we tread.
Then give not a sigh to the beautiful hours,
That brought no regret nor alloy—
Like fragrance that lingers around faded flow’rs.
Their mem’ry will still be a joy.