quote · Legacy record
Death found strange beauty on that polished brow, And dashed it out. There was a tint of rose On cheek and lip. He touched the veins with ice, And the rose faded. Forth from those blue eyes There spake a wishful tenderness—a doubt Whether to grieve or sleep—which innocence Alone may wear. With ruthless hand he bound The silken fringes of those curtaining lids For ever. There had been a murmuring sound With which the babe would claim its mother’s ear, Charming her even to tears. The spoiler set The seal of silence. But there beamed a smile So fixed, so holy, from that cherub brow, Death gazed, and left it there. He dared not steal The signet-ring of heaven.
Death found strange beauty on that polished brow, And dashed it out. There was a tint of rose On cheek and lip. He touched the veins with ice, And the rose faded. Forth from those blue eyes There spake a wishful tenderness—a doubt Whether to grieve or sleep—which innocence Alone may wear. With ruthless hand he bound The silken fringes of those curtaining lids For ever. There had been a murmuring sound With which the babe would claim its mother’s ear, Charming her even to tears. The spoiler set The seal of silence. But there beamed a smile So fixed, so holy, from that cherub brow, Death gazed, and left it there. He dared not steal The signet-ring of heaven.
In print by 1888 AD · industrial
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- L. H. Sigourney (identity unresolved)
Attribution: unknown - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1888 AD · industrial
In print by 1888: recorded in A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888) (1888 AD)
Page 116 · printed citation: L. H. Sigourney · subject: CHILDHOOD—INFANCY
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.