“In Memoriam.” — The Rev. R. Templeton, Who Died in the Zuurberg Forest, January 1886
By winding paths, amid the tangled woods
That skirt the silent deep-kloofed Zuurberg hill,
A lately wedded pair meandering, fill
Their cup of tender joy. The peace that broods
O’er Nature’s tranquil face reflected shines
From loving eyes, as they in converse sweet
Plot out a rose-fringed path with prudence meet,
And mark with glowing hearts its “pleasant lines.”
Mysterious are Thy ways, great King of saints
In sudden fear they vainly strive to thread
Their homeward track, when lo! the husband faints.
Deaf to her voice, with agonizing dread
She dares the maze, in search of human aid.
In vain! The Teacher “sleepeth” in the shade.
William Selwyn.
Port Elizabeth, 25th Jan. 1886.