VALL'S WELL.

THE

HE day is ended. Ere I sink to sleep My weary spirit seeks repose in Thine. Father! forgive my trespasses, and keep This little life of mine.

With loving kindness curtain Thou my bed;
And cool in rest my burning pilgrim-feet;
Thy pardon be the pillow for my head,-
So shall my sleep be sweet.

At peace with all the world, dear Lord, and Thee
No fears my soul's unwavering faith can shake;
All's well! whichever side the grave for me
The morning light may break!

HARRIET MCEWEN KIMBALL

MIDNIGHT HYMN.

IN

N the mid silence of the voiceless night, When, chased by airy dreams, the slumbers flee,

Whom in the darkness doth my spirit seek,
O God, but Thee?

And if there be a weight upon my breast,
Some vague impression of the day foregone,
Scarce knowing what it is, I fly to Thee,
And lay it down.

Or if it be the heaviness that comes

In token of anticipated ill,

My bosom takes no heed of what it is,
Since 'tis Thy will.

For oh, in spite of past and present care,
Or any thing beside, how joyfully
Passes that silent, solitary hour,
My God, with Thee.

More tranquil than the stillness of the night, More peaceful than the silence of that hour, More blest than any thing, my spirit lies Beneath Thy power.

For what is there on earth that I desire
Of all that it can give or take from me,
Or whom in heaven doth my spirit seek,
O God, but Thee.

ANON. Found in a chest, in an English cottage

EVENING DEVOTION.

ER

RE on my bed my limbs I lay,
It hath not been my use to pray
With moving lips or bended knees;
But silently, by slow degrees,

My spirit I to Love compose,
In humble trust mine eyelids close,

With reverential resignation,

No wish conceived, no thought expressed!
Only a sense of supplication,

A sense o'er all my soul imprest
That I am weak, yet not unblest,
Since, in me, round me, everywhere,
Eternal Strength and Wisdom are.

SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE

LIFE AND DUTY.

ODE TO DUTY.

ST

TERN Daughter of the Voice of God!
O Duty! if that name thou love
Who art a light to guide, a rod
To check the erring, and reprove;
Thou, who art victory and law

When empty terrors overawe;

From vain temptations dost set free,

And calm'st the weary strife of frail humanity!

There are who ask not if thine eye
Be on them; who, in love and truth,
Where no misgiving is, rely
Upon the genial sense of youth;
Glad hearts! without reproach or blot,
Who do thy work, and know it not :

Long may the kindly impulse last!

But thou, if they should totter, teach them to stand fast!

Serene will be our days and bright,
And happy will our nature be,
When love is an unerring light,
And joy its own security.

And they a blissful course may hold,
Even now, who, not unwisely bold,
Live in the spirit of this creed ;

Yet find that other strength, according to thei!

need.

I oving freedom, and untried;
No sport of every random gust,
Yet being to myself a guide,
Too blindly have reposed my trust:
And oft, when in my heart was heard
Thy timely mandate, I deferred

The task, in smoother walks to stray;

But thee I now would serve more strictly, if I

may.

Through no disturbance of my soul,
Or strong compunction in me wrought,
I supplicate for thy control;

But in the quietness of thought:

Me this unchartered freedom tires;

I feel the weight of chance-desires :
My hopes no more must change their name,
I long for a repose that ever is the same.

Stern Lawgiver! yet thou dost wear
The Godhead's most benignant grace;
Nor know we any thing so fair
As is the smile upon thy face;
Flowers laugh before thee on their beds;
And fragrance in thy footing treads;