HYMN. Written on the morning of the 22d of November, 1877, when I entered my seventy-second year. H. B. G. I. Lord of the flaming orbs of space! Lord of the Ages that are gone! Lord of the teeming years to come- II. Look down in Mercy and in Grace III. In Thee, in Thee alone, O Lord! Thine aged Servant puts his Trust IV. Uphold him thro' Earth's devious ways- And may the Glory of Thy Praise Break from his lips in Life's last Hour. V. Grant the dear Pledges of Thy Love, VI. Lord, heed Thy servant's grateful praise For all the mercies Thou hast given :- VII. Oh! may he live in fear of Thee- VIII. Oh! bless those lov'd ones of his Heart, What a triumphant refrain is this: I CANNOT DIE. John xi, 26. By FORTH WINTHROP. g Time may glide by My pale wan face may show the waste of years; But I'll ne'er die! Fierce agony, That racks, by night and day, the mortal frame, The Sea's hoarse cry May shake the shore; and the wild toppling waves g Mr. Grigsby, in reading the "Life and Letters of John Winthrop," the first Governor of Massachusetts, by the Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, LL.D., was particularly attracted by the sketch of Forth Winthrop's brief career, and has affixed his name to these verses in memoriam, and in token, it may also be taken, to the admirable friend who had piously perpetuated the memory of his young relative of so many preceding generations. Forth Winthrop, was the third son of Governor John Winthrop. He was born on the 30th of December, 1609, at Great Stambridge, in Essex county, England, where his mother's family-the Forths-resided. He was prepared for college at the somewhat celebrated school founded by Edward VI, at Bury St. Edmunds, and entered Emanuel College, Cambridge, in 1627. After finishing his course at the University, he had engaged himself to his cousin, Ursula Sherman, and was contemplating marriage before following his father to New England. But a sudden illness terminated fatally, and the parish register at Groton records his burial on the 23d day of November, 1630. He was a young man of great promise, and his letters, while he was at school and at college, betoken him as one of the most affectionate of sons and brothers. True Chivalry, That bathes with patriot blood th' embattled plain, May count my mangled corse among the slain— But I'll ne'er die! Around may lie, In grassy mound, or 'neath the sculptured stone, Love's moisten'd eye May watch the falling lip-the gasp for breath— But I'll ne'er die! My friends may sigh, As the house fills; and as with sable plume All silently Around the new-made grave my friends may crowd, And my dear young and precious old be bow'd— But I'll ne'er die! As Ages ply Their round, my shape may vanish from the land, I soon must lie Beneath the lid; and the triumphant worm Full solemnly Kind friends may place me in the narrow cell, But I'll ne'er die! Unconsciously My name my dearest friends will cease to call, LIFE'S VICTORY Is mine! I wear the CONQU'ROR'S wreath, In upper sky, Clothed in the shining robes of Sov'reign Grace, That symphony, Sounding from Earth to Heav'n responsively, November, 1876. Among the many of the poetic compositions of Mr. Grigsby, printed and in MS., an ode to Horace Binney, the "Nestor of the American Bar," on the completion of the ninety-third year of his age, and "Lines to my Daughter on her Fourteenth Birthday," may be noted. The latter, a pamphlet of sixteen 8vo pages, breathes a spirit of tender affection, of lofty patriotism, and of fervent piety. Mr. Grigsby became the President of the Virginia Historical Society January 3d, 1870," succeeding that profound scholar and eminent statesman, William Cabell Rives. Mr. Grigsby had for many years given essential and earnest service in support of the Society, and was, in truth, one of the vital springs of its continued existence. He it was to first propose a hall, a safe repository of its own for the preservation of its treasures, and this hope and object he fondly cherished and fostered assiduously to his latest moment. Of his invaluable contributions to its mission, those herein listed, with others of his historical productions, are permanent memorials in the annals of American literature. Of the inestimable value of his services in behalf of the venerable institution of learning, William and Mary College, the second in foundation in America, the action of its Board of Visitors and Governors will bear best attestation. Of this object of his fervent and constant regard, in the fullness of his heart he said: "The names of her sons have become national property, and their fame illustrates the brightest pages of our country's history." h He had at a previous period been proffered the post of Corresponding Secretary and Librarian, to succeed William Maxwell, LL.D., but the demands of a large plantation and domestic claims properly forbade his acceptance of the trust. Two features of the college to which he contributed survive in their offices for good. He contributed, in 1870, $1,000 to the Library Fund, and in 1871 founded with a gift of a like sum the "Chancellor Scholarship.' In an address delivered by the Rev. William Stoddert, D. D.,1 in the Chapel of William and Mary College, on the 3d of July, 1876, he made this touching mention: "The speaker of last night gave some instances of men who had won success in spite of obstacles apparently insurmountable-he mentioned the blind professor of optics at Oxford; Ziska, the Bohemian general, and Milton, both blind; Prescott, nearly so; Byron and Scott, both lame; Beethoven, deaf; and, continuing, said: I might, in this connection, allude to one still nearer, even within these walls, although my words do not reach him. I might speak of his style, with its exquisite attractiveness; of his historic research, which has divined the hidden springs of human movement; of his mind, moulded by classic models until, even in ordinary conversation, his sentences are replete with elegance and strength; of the charm of his narration, beautified by the graces which have given immortality to Herodotus and Zenophon, to Livy and Tacitus; whose intellect seems still to brighten as i Rev. William Stoddert, D. D. (whose paternal name was legally changed in early manhood); born 1824; died 1886; was the son of Dr. Thomas Ewell, of Prince William County, Va., a loved and distinguished practitioner of medicine; the brother of Richard S. Ewell. Lieutenant-General C. S. Army, and of Colonel Benjamin S. Ewell, LL.D., President Emeritus of William and Mary College after quite two-score years of devoted service as instructor and President. Dr. Stoddert was graduated from Hampden-Sidney College and the Union Theological Seminary, ordained in the Presbyterian Church, and became a most successful preacher, popular lecturer, and esteemed teacher in Tennessee. William and Mary College conferred on him, on the occasion above, the degree of D. D. After a period of suspension it is most gratifying to note that the grand old college of William and Mary has resumed its useful functions under the able and energetic presidency of the Hon. Lyon G. Tyler, son of a former Chanceller, John Tyler, President of the United States. The number of students in attendance was last reported as 120, with the prospect of increase. With its proud prestige, advantages in healthful and central location, it may be hoped that its expanding usefulness may be even greater and more influential than in any period of its glorious past. |