Patrick Regan has kindly shared the material from his George Heath site with readers of the Victorian Web, who may wish to consult the original.
From the calm, burnished west,
O'er the radiant world
Growing silent and dim;
O'er the dew-sprinkled flowers,
O'er the grass-mantled hills,
And the valleys and meads,
Comes a murmurous breath;
Mid the trees breathing lowly,
"Good-night!"
Through the mist-burdened air
Come the forms of lost friends,
In the by-gone how dear!
Forms, so graceful and straight,
Forms, so shattered and bent;
Faces laughing and bright,
Faces tender and sad,
As I saw them the last!
Now they grasp my thin hand —
Wave a smiling, or sighing —
"Good-night!"
Far away, far away
Is the maiden I love,
Lying wrapt in repose,
On a pillow of down
Rests the beautiful head;
Loving angels watch o'er!
Now she smiles in her sleep,
And in dreams coyly whispers —
"Good night!"
O World, dim and sleeping!
O waifs from the by-gone!
O loved one reposing!
Ye fade from my vision;
A drowsiness steeps me,
Dull Somnus enwraps me;
I rest and 'tis peaceful —
My conscience is easy,
And my hope is beyond
In the skies! fleeting shadows —
"Good night!"
Last modified 3 September 2002