POETRY. 429 THE EARLY CALLED. The bridal wreath which graced thy brow And the dark cypress waveth now With tearful eyes we mourn for thee: We miss thy bright and lovely smile- With such a soft and hallowed ray In life's fair morning didst thou fade Desolate is the home, bereft Of thy sweet love and care, Yet have thy gentle virtues left Bright is thy memory! oh! that we Though death may for a season sever Hearts linked in Christ, are linked for ever, Where golden harps in concert swell, But never strike the note, farewell. Brighton. H. M. W. * See "Bridal Wishes," Youths' Magazine, 1844, page 322. THE DEPARTED. AND is it so, that I have lost from earth With whom my spirit held communion dear? Sweet was the promise which thy parting rays . O may we view the steady, even path, Which marked thy progress to eternal day; Thy life of faith, thy holy, happy death, And keep, by grace divine, the shining way. And thou, blest spirit! rest: 'twere cruel love, To wish thee back to sorrow, pain, and woe; No, let my friend the full enjoyments prove, Which angels taste, which ransom'd myriads know. For thou hast safely pass'd death's awful shade, Nor dark the vale, nor dangerous was the way; Jehovah was thy light, thy present aid, Thy guide, thy friend, thy guardian, and thy stay. My God, I thank thee for the gentle band, Which knit her soul in union with my own; Unbroken may we find it in that land, Where "parting accents are a sound unknown." There, may its silken cords our spirits bind, S. S. S. GEMS FROM BYROM. Unwilling Obedience. He that does good with an unwilling mind, "As he thinketh in his heart, so is he." To-morrow. If gold be offered thee, thou dost not say Hypocrites. Hypocrites in religion form a plan That makes them hateful both to God and man; To own a God who does not speak to men, Is having gods that are both deaf and dumb. The specious sermons of a learned man But he who preaches with a Christian grace Love and Learning. Without offence to authors, far above Ten men of learning, is one man of love. HOW TO READ THE BIBLE. To hear the words of Scripture, or to read Hearings and readings of no sort of use. Intention; or a fixed design To learn the truth concerning things divine; If previous disposition be not good, How shall a serious point be understood? The next, Attention; not the outward part, But the fair listening of an honest heart: Sound may, and figure, strike the ear and eye, But sense and meaning to the mind apply. The last, Retention; or the keeping pure From hurtful mixtures what is clear and sure; DARE QUAM ACCIPERE. SEE! how those worlds that roll afar, But helps to cheer some darker brother. Would'st thou, O! man, be good and wise? In giving-not in hoarding-lies The truest meed of learning's labors. Phonotypic Journal. |