Respectfully Dedicated to
Miss Sallie T. Lynch.
"The Flower Fadeth" (29 Dec 1857)
A Ballad
Written & Composed by
Alice Hawthorne
[psed. for Septimus Winner, 1827-1902]
To the melody of the
GONDELLIED.
[Music from "Gondelied" (1855) by James Bellak]

Philadelphia, PA: WINNER & KERK, 110 North 8th St.
[Source: 630930@LoC]

1.
The flower fadeth on the stem,
And summer birds forget their song,
We miss the joys we share with them,
As chilly Autumn creeps along;
And thus is life a constant change,
That varies from the sad or gay;
E'en those we love grow cold and strange
Before a year hath pass'd away:
Ah! then how sad to dream again
Of life and all its tearful cost,
'Tis but to know that hope is vain,
And soon the best of earth is lost.

2.
Yet in the dark and silent night,
There comes a gleam of days a-gone,
And oh! with what in tense delight,
We seek their shadows one by one;
The lost of earth we learn'd to prize,
In joy around our fancy plays,
Tho' but a charm that early dies
Like flow'rs that bloom in winter days:
Ah! then how doubly dear are those,
Who with a friendship deep and true,
Retain the motives that disclose,
A love that time cannot subdue.