AND when upon his casque the lurid light
That men call glory dwelt, he turned away,
Disgusted, from the foul phosphoric light
That feeds on death and torture, blood and tears,
And sighs from withering hearts.
ALAS, for human greatness! and alas,
For glory's splendour on a mortal brow!
The stateliest realms must down to ruin pass,
And mightiest monarchs to a mightier bow:
Alas! will death ne'er spare a gallant foe?
How like a fiend may man be made,
Plying the foul and monstrous trade
Whose harvest-field is human life,
Whose sickle is the reeking sword!
Quenching, with reckless hands in blood,
Sparks kindled by the breath of God;
Urging the deathless soul, unshriven
Of open guilt, or secret sin,
Before the bar of that pure Heaven,
ONE Cæsar lives a thousand are forgot. YOUNG.
THE proud victor's plume,
The hero's trophied fame, the warrior's wreath
Of blood-dashed laurel - what will these avail
The spirit parting from material things?
One slender leaflet from the tree of peace,
Borne, dove-like, o'er the waste and warring earth,
Is better passport at the gate of Heaven.
O, SHAME to men! devil with devil damned
Firm concord holds, men only disagree
Of creatures rational, though under hope
Of heavenly grace, and God proclaiming peace,
Yet live in hatred, enmity, and strife
Among themselves, and levy cruel wars,
Wasting the earth, each other to destroy;
As if, (which might induce us to accord,)
Man had not hellish foes enough besides,
That day and night for his destruction wait.
THERE, under a wide oak, disconsolate,
And drowned in tears, a mournful widow sate.
High in the boughs a murdered father hung;
Beneath, the children round the mother clung:
They cried for food, but 'twas without relief;
For all they had to live upon was grief.
A sorrow so intense, such deep despair,
No creature merely human long could bear.
First in her arms her weeping babes she took,
And with a groan did to her husband look;
Then leaned her head on theirs, and sighing, cried,
"Pity me, Saviour of the world!" and died.
Whom angry heavens do make their minister!
I therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. REVELATIONS, iii, 3.
What I say unto you, I say unto all, watch. MARK, xiii, 37.
But the end of all things is at hand, therefore be ye sober, and watch unto prayer I. PETER, iv, 7.
Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light EPHESIANS, v, 14.
O THOU, who in the garden's shade
Didst wake Thy weary ones again,
Who slumbered at that fearful hour,
Forgetful of Thy pain;
Bend o'er us now, as over them,
And set our sleep-bound spirits free;
Nor leave us slumbering in the watch
Our souls should keep with Thee!
So teach us, Lord, to count our days,
And eye their constant race,
To measure what we want in time,
By wisdom and by grace.
WATCH, remember, seek, and strive,
Exert thy former pains;
Let thy timely care revive,
And strengthen what remains:
Cleanse thine heart, thy works amend,
Former times to mind recall;
Lest my sudden stroke descend,
And smite thee once for all.
Up! 'tis no dreaming time! Awake! Awake!
For He who sits on the high Judge's seat,
Doth in His record mark each wasted hour,
Each idle word. Take heed thy shrinking soul
Find not their weight too heavy, when it stands
At that dread bar from whence is no appeal.
Lo, while ye trifle, the light sand steals on,
Leaving the hour-glass empty, and thy life
Glideth away; -stamp wisdom on its hours.
MRS. SIGOURNEY
LORD! we sit and cry to Thee,
Like the blind beside the way :
Make our darkened souls to see
The glory of Thy perfect day!
Lord! rebuke our sullen night,
And give Thyself unto our sight! H. H. MILMAN.
THINK not of rest; though dreams be sweet,
Start up, and ply your heavenward feet.
Is not God's oath upon your head,
Ne'er to sink back on slothful bed,
Never again your loins untie,
Nor let your torches waste and die,
Till, when the shadows thickest fall,
Ye hear your Master's midnight call?
Thou who shalt wake when the creation sleeps;
When, like a taper, all these suns expire;
When Time, like him of Gaza in his wrath,
Plucking the pillars that support the world,
In Nature's ample ruins lies intombed;
And midnight, universal midnight reigns!
GIRD thee, and do thy watching well,
Duty's Christian sentinel!
Sloth and slumber never had part
In the warrior's will, or the patriot's heart;
Soldier of God, on an enemy's shore,
Slumber and sloth thrall thee no more !
A FATHER of the fatherless, and a Judge of the widows, is God in His holy habi. tation. PSALM, lxviii, 5.
Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. ISAIAH, i, 17.
The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. Joв, xxix, 13.
As bereavement bendeth o'er the brow
Buoyant so lately, cold and quiet now,
Unbidden memory through her tears can trace
Each cherished outline of that placid face;
And fond affection linger by the bed,
To fix the last expression of the dead.
My wife! how fondly shall thy memory
Be shrined within the chamber of my heart!
Thy virtuous worth was only known to me,
And I can feel how hard it is to part.
Farewell, sweet spirit! thou shalt ever be
A star to guide me up to Heaven and thee.
J. L. CHESTER,
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