  As the little white hearse went glimmering by— The man on the coal-cart jerked his lines, And smutted the lid of either eye, And turned and stared at the business signs; And the street-car driver stopped and beat His hands on his shoulders, and gazed up-street Till his eye on the long track reached the sky— As the little white hearse went glimmering by. As the little white hearse went glimmering by— A stranger petted a ragged child In the crowded walks, and she knew not why, But he gave her a coin for the way she smiled; And a boot-black thrilled with a pleasure strange, As a customer put back his change With a kindly hand and a grateful sigh, As the little white hearse went glimmering by. As the little white hearse went glimmering by— A man looked out of a window dim, And his cheeks were wet and his heart was dry, For a dead child even were dear to him! And he thought of his empty life, and said:— “Loveless alive, and loveless dead— Nor wife nor child in earth or sky!” |
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