To Walter D. Styer,
Chestnut Hill.
"The Meeting House Gate" (4 March 1877)
Ballad
Words and Music by Percy Guyer
(pseud. for Septimus Winner, 1827-1902)

[Source: 02978@LoC;
Philadelphia: Sep. Winner & Son,
Plate No. 3.4.77.4]

1.
How oft have I stood by the Meeting-house gate,
  Waiting there till the service was o'er,
Just to catch but a glimpse of my dear Mary's face,
  As she came thro' the wide open door,
Ah! then would my heart in its fullness rejoice,
  But to gaze in the depths of her eyes,
'Till my joy was complete when I learn'd her sweet voice
  And her heart I had won as a prize.

REFRAIN
I met her at first by the Meeting-house Gate,
  On a bright Sunday morning in May
And I ne'er can forget how my heart beat with joy
  On the morn of that beautiful day.

2.
How oft have we pass'd o'er the barren-worn sod,
  In all seasons, thro' sunshine and rain,
O'er the path that led up to the worship of God,
  Thro' the grass in the green shady lane,
How oft have we sang from the same little book,
  Kneeling fondly together in prayer,
Feeling proud if I caught but one favoring look
  Being conscious my darling was there.

(REFRAIN)

3.
Yes, oft have I stood by that meeting-house gate,
  With a joy that was sweet to my heart,
Never dreaming alas! to the bidding of fate--
  It would be that so soon we should part,
And now as I stand where I often have stood,
  As the low willows playfully wave,
I must turn with a sigh that comes deep from the heart
  To the hillock that telleth her grave.

(REFRAIN)

4.
Ah! now as I rest by the gate that is closed--
  Looking over the bars all alone--
The tears fill my eyes as I read the fond name
  That is carved on a lily-white stone,
The scenes of the past that were pleasant to share
  Wander over my mind as I wait.
And I weep when I think of the one lying there
  Buried low by the Meeting-house Gate.

(REFRAIN)