古老的大钟(3)

My grandfather said that of those he could hire,
Not a servant so faithful he found;
For it wasted no time, and had but one desire —
At the close of each week to be wound.
And it kept in its place — not a frown upon its face,
And its hands never hung by its side.
But it stopped short — never to go again —
When the old man died.
Ninety years without slumbering
(tick, tock, tick, tock),
His life"s seconds numbering,
(tick, tock, tick, tock),
It stopped short never to go again when the old man died
It rang an alarm in the dead of the night —
An alarm that for years had been dumb;
And we knew that his spirit was pluming for flight —
That his hour of departure had come.
Still the clock kept the time, with a soft and muffled chime,
As we silently stood by his side;
But it stopped short — never to go again —
When the old man died.
Ninety years without slumbering
(tick, tock, tick, tock),
His life"s seconds numbering,