The hope
of her later years was that she might not be required to witness the
death of any of her children; but it was willed differently, as two of
them preceded her to the grave. April 13, 1874, ripe in years, loved by
the poor, honored and respected by all for her virtues and her
well-spent life, she quietly and peacefully passed from the midst of her
sorrowing family to the other and better shore.
The following lines from the pen of Miss Marcella A. Fitzgerald, the
gifted poetess of Notre Dame Convent, San Jose, were published in the
San Francisco Monitor, at the time of Mrs. Breen's death:
In Memoriam.
Mrs. Margaret Breen.
The spring's soft light, its tender, dreamy beauty
Veils all the land around us, and the dome
Of the blue skies is ringing with the music
Of birds that come to seek their summer home.
But one whose heart this beauty often gladdened
No more shall see the fragrant flowers expand;
For her no more of earth - but fairer portion
Is hers, the beauty of the Better Land;
The beauty of that land to which with yearning
Her true heart turned in faith and trust each day
The land whose hope a glorious bow of promise
Illumed her path across life's desert way.
A loving wife; a fond, devoted mother;
A friend who reckoned friendship not a name;
A woman who with, gentle influence brightened
The hearts of all who to her presence came.
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