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The Project Gutenberg ebook of Devotional Poetry for the Children, compiled by Jane Johnson.
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<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44835 ***</div>
<h1>DEVOTIONAL POETRY</h1>
<h1 class="smaller">FOR THE</h1>
<h1>CHILDREN.<br /><br /></h1>
<hr class="c33" />
<p class="center">SECOND PART.</p>
<hr class="c33" />
<div class="poem p4">
<span class="i1">“<i>Make us beautiful within,</i></span><br />
<span class="i2"><i>By Thy Spirit’s holy light;</i></span><br />
<span class="i0"><i>Guard us when our faith burns dim,</i></span><br />
<span class="i2"><i>Father of all love and might.</i>”</span><br />
</div>
<hr class="c50a" />
<p class="center p4">PHILADELPHIA:<br />
Published by the Book Association of Friends.<br />
1870.</p>
<hr class="c50a" />
<p class="center">Electrotyped and Printed for the Association,<br />
<span class="sc">By</span> THOMAS W. STUCKEY,<br />
403 North Sixth street, above Callowhill, Philadelphia.</p>
<hr class="c50b" />
<table summary="Table of Contents; provides poem title and page on which
the poem appears" class="p4 break">
<tr><th colspan="2" scope="colgroup" class="larger">INDEX.</th></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2" class="center"><hr class="c33" /></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2" class="right smaller">PAGE</td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">The Life-Clock,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a5">5</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">God is Love,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a6">6</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Time,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a7">7</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Thanksgiving,</td><td class="right"><a href="#b7">7</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">“Thou, God, seest Me,”</td><td class="right"><a href="#a8">8</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">The Beautiful Works of God,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a9">9</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Spiritual Blessings,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a10">10</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">The Dove’s Visit,</td><td class="right"><a href="#b10">10</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Teach Us to Pray,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a12">12</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Deeds of Kindness,</td><td class="right"><a href="#b12">12</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">An Evening Song,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a14">14</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Be Kind to The Poor,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a15">15</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">The Lesson of The Leaves,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a16">16</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">The Spring-Bird’s Lesson,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a17">17</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">The Orphan’s Hymn,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a18">18</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Morning,</td><td class="right"><a href="#b18">18</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Evening,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a19">19</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">A Moment Too Late,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a20">20</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">A Little Sonnet about Little Things,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a21">21</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Examination,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a22">22</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">God is in His holy Temple,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a23">23</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Morning Glories,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a24">24</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">How Beautiful the Setting Sun,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a25">25</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Summer Time,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a26">26</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Like Jesus,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a27">27</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">I Have a Home,</td><td class="right"><a href="#b27">27</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">God,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a28">28</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">The Bird’s Nest,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a29">29</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">The Lark,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a30">30</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Effort,</td><td class="right"><a href="#b30">30</a>
<span class="pagenum">[Pg iv]</span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">The Sea Shell,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a31">31</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">God is Good,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a32">32</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Despise not Simple Things,</td><td class="right"><a href="#b32">32</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">The Violet,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a33">33</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Child’s Talent,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a34">34</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">The Stars are Coming,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a35">35</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">The Flowers,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a36">36</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Little by Little,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a37">37</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Never, My Child, Forget to Pray,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a38">38</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">The Child’s Prayer,</td><td class="right"><a href="#b38">38</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">A Childlike Spirit,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a39">39</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Live for Something,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a41">41</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">The Beautiful,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a42">42</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Don’t Kill the Birds,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a43">43</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Little Acts of Kindness,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a44">44</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">The Blessings,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a46">46</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">When Father Comes Home,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a47">47</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Harvest-Field of Time,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a48">48</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Prayer,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a49">49</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Reflections,</td><td class="right"><a href="#b49">49</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">What is Heaven?</td><td class="right"><a href="#a50">50</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">The Child’s Monitor,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a51">51</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Give Us our Daily Bread,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a52">52</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">True Rest,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a54">54</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">One by One,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a56">56</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">God Seen in His Works,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a57">57</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">The Little Sunbeam,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a58">58</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Compassion,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a59">59</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">I Will be Good to-day,</td><td class="right"><a href="#b59">59</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">I’ll Do what I Can,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a60">60</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Time to Arise,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a61">61</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Divine Guidance,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a62">62</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Industry,</td><td class="right"><a href="#b62">62</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">“Prayer is the Soul’s sincere Desire,”</td><td class="right"><a href="#a63">63</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">Angry Words,</td><td class="right"><a href="#b63">63</a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="left">The Request,</td><td class="right"><a href="#a64">64</a></td></tr>
</table>
<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 005]</span></p>
<h2 class="p4">DEVOTIONAL POETRY</h2>
<h2 class="no-break smaller">FOR THE</h2>
<h2 class="no-break">CHILDREN.</h2>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a5"></a>THE LIFE-CLOCK.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">There is a little mystic clock,</span><br />
<span class="i2">No human eye hath seen,</span><br />
<span class="i0">That beateth on,—and beateth on,—</span><br />
<span class="i2">From morning until e’en.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">And when the soul is wrapped in sleep,</span><br />
<span class="i2">All silent and alone,</span><br />
<span class="i0">It ticks and ticks the livelong night,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And never runneth down.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Oh! wondrous is that work of art,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Which knells the passing hour;</span><br />
<span class="i0">But art ne’er formed, nor mind conceived,</span><br />
<span class="i2">The life-clock’s magic power.</span><br />
</div>
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 006]</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Not set in gold, nor decked with gems,</span><br />
<span class="i2">By wealth and pride possessed;</span><br />
<span class="i0">But rich or poor, or high or low,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Each bears it in his breast.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Such is the clock that measures life,—</span><br />
<span class="i2">Of flesh and spirit blended,—</span><br />
<span class="i0">And thus ’t will run within the breast,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Till that strange life is ended.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a6"></a>GOD IS LOVE.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Lo! the heavens are breaking,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Pure and bright above;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Light and life awaking,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Murmur, “God is love.”</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Music now is ringing,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Through the leafy grove,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Feathered songsters, singing,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Warble, “God is love.”</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Wake, my heart, and springing,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Spread thy wings above;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Soaring still, and singing,—</span><br />
<span class="i2">Singing, “God is love.”</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 007]</span></div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a7"></a>TIME.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i2">A minute,—how soon it is flown!</span><br />
<span class="i4">And yet, how important it is!</span><br />
<span class="i2">God calls every moment His own,—</span><br />
<span class="i4">For all our existence is His:</span><br />
<span class="i0">And tho’ we may waste many moments each day,</span><br />
<span class="i0">He notices each that we squander away.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i2">We should not a minute despise,</span><br />
<span class="i4">Although it so quickly is o’er;</span><br />
<span class="i2">We know that it rapidly flies,</span><br />
<span class="i4">And therefore should prize it the more.</span><br />
<span class="i0">Another, indeed, may appear in its stead;</span><br />
<span class="i0">But that precious minute, for ever, is fled.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i2a">’Tis easy to squander our years</span><br />
<span class="i4">In idleness, folly, and strife;</span><br />
<span class="i2">But, oh! no repentance nor tears</span><br />
<span class="i4">Can bring back one moment of life.</span><br />
<span class="i0">Then wisely improve all the time as it goes,</span><br />
<span class="i0">And life will be happy, and peaceful the close.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="b7"></a>THANKSGIVING.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">There’s not a leaf within the bower,—</span><br />
<span class="i2">There’s not a bird upon the tree,—</span><br />
<span class="i0">There’s not a dewdrop on the flower,—</span><br />
<span class="i2">But bears the impress, Lord, of Thee.</span><br />
</div>
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 008]</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Thy power the varied leaf designed,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And gave the bird its thrilling tone;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Thy hand the dewdrops’ tints combined,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Till like a diamond’s blaze they shone.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Yes, dewdrops, leaves and buds, and all,—</span><br />
<span class="i2">The smallest, like the greatest things,—</span><br />
<span class="i0">The sea’s vast space, the earth’s wide ball,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Alike proclaim Thee, King of kings!</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">But man alone, to bounteous Heaven,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Thanksgiving’s conscious strains can raise:</span><br />
<span class="i0">To favored man, alone, ’tis given,</span><br />
<span class="i2">To join the angelic choir in praise.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a8"></a>“THOU, GOD, SEEST ME.”</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Thine eye is on me always,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Thou knowest the way I take;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Thou seest me when I’m sleeping,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Thou seest me when I wake.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Thine arm is round about me,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Thy hand is underneath;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Thy love will still preserve me,</span><br />
<span class="i2">If I Thy laws do keep.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Thou art my present helper,—</span><br />
<span class="i2">Be Thou my daily guide;</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 009]</span>
<span class="i0">Then I’ll be safe for ever,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Whatever may betide.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Oh! help me, dearest Father,</span><br />
<span class="i2">To walk in wisdom’s way,</span><br />
<span class="i0">That I, Thy loving child, may be</span><br />
<span class="i2">Through every future day,</span><br />
<span class="i0">And, by my loving actions, prove</span><br />
<span class="i0">That He who guardeth me is Love.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a9"></a>THE BEAUTIFUL WORKS OF GOD.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">All things bright and beautiful,</span><br />
<span class="i2">All creatures great and small,</span><br />
<span class="i0">All things wise and wonderful,—</span><br />
<span class="i2">The Lord God made them all.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Each little flower that opens,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Each little bird that sings,</span><br />
<span class="i0">He made their glowing colors,</span><br />
<span class="i2">He made their shining wings.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The tall trees in the green wood,</span><br />
<span class="i2">The meadows where we play,</span><br />
<span class="i0">The rushes, by the water,</span><br />
<span class="i2">We gather every day,—</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">He gave us eyes to see them,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And lips, that we may tell</span><br />
<span class="i0">How great is God Almighty,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Who doeth all things well.</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 010]</span></div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a10"></a>SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Almighty Father! Thou hast many blessings</span><br />
<span class="i2">In store for every loving child of Thine;</span><br />
<span class="i0">For this I pray,—Let me, Thy grace possessing,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Seek to be guided by Thy will divine.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Not for earth’s treasures,—for her joys the dearest,—</span><br />
<span class="i2">Would I my supplications raise to Thee;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Not for the hopes that to my heart are nearest,</span><br />
<span class="i2">But only that I give that heart to Thee.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">I pray that Thou wouldst guide and guard me ever;</span><br />
<span class="i2">Cleanse, by Thy power, from every stain of sin;</span><br />
<span class="i0">I will Thy blessing ask on each endeavor,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And thus Thy promised peace my soul shall win.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="b10"></a>THE DOVE’S VISIT.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">I knew a little, sickly child,</span><br />
<span class="i2">The long, long summer’s day,</span><br />
<span class="i0">When all the world was green and bright,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Alone in bed to lay;</span><br />
<span class="i0">There used to come a little dove</span><br />
<span class="i2">Before his window small,</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 011]</span>
<span class="i0">And sing to him with her sweet voice,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Out of the fir-tree tall.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">And when the sick child better grew,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And he could creep along,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Close to that window he would come,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And listen to her song.</span><br />
<span class="i0">He was so gentle in his speech,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And quiet at his play,</span><br />
<span class="i0">He would not, for the world, have made,</span><br />
<span class="i2">That sweet bird fly away.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">There is a Holy Dove that sings</span><br />
<span class="i2">To every listening child,—</span><br />
<span class="i0">That whispers to his little heart</span><br />
<span class="i2">A song more sweet and mild.</span><br />
<span class="i0">It is the Spirit of our God</span><br />
<span class="i2">That speaks to him within;</span><br />
<span class="i0">That leads him on to all things good,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And holds him back from sin.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">And he must hear that “still, small voice,”</span><br />
<span class="i2">Nor tempt it to depart,—</span><br />
<span class="i0">The Spirit, great and wonderful,</span><br />
<span class="i2">That whispers in his heart.</span><br />
<span class="i0">He must be pure, and good, and true;</span><br />
<span class="i2">Must strive, and watch, and pray;</span><br />
<span class="i0">For unresisted sin, at last,</span><br />
<span class="i2">May drive that Dove away.</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 012]</span></div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a12"></a>TEACH US TO PRAY.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i4">Teach us to pray</span><br />
<span class="i0">Oh, Father! we look up to Thee,</span><br />
<span class="i0">And this our one request shall be,</span><br />
<span class="i4">Teach us to pray.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i4">Teach us to pray.</span><br />
<span class="i0">A form of words will not suffice,—</span><br />
<span class="i0">The heart must bring its sacrifice:</span><br />
<span class="i4">Teach us to pray.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i4">Teach us to pray.</span><br />
<span class="i0">To whom shall we, Thy children, turn?</span><br />
<span class="i0">Teach Thou the lesson we would learn:</span><br />
<span class="i4">Teach us to pray.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i4">Teach us to pray.</span><br />
<span class="i0">To Thee, alone, our hearts look up:</span><br />
<span class="i0">Prayer is our only door of hope;</span><br />
<span class="i4">Teach us to pray.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="b12"></a>DEEDS OF KINDNESS.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Suppose the little cowslip</span><br />
<span class="i2">Should hang its tiny cup,</span><br />
<span class="i0">And say, “I’m such a little flower,</span><br />
<span class="i2">I’d better not grow up.”</span><br />
<span class="i0">How many a weary traveler</span><br />
<span class="i2">Would miss the fragrant smell?</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 013]</span>
<span class="i0">How many a little child would grieve</span><br />
<span class="i2">To miss it from the dell!</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Suppose the glistening dew-drop,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Upon the grass, should say,</span><br />
<span class="i1">“What can a little dew-drop do?</span><br />
<span class="i2">I’d better roll away.”</span><br />
<span class="i0">The blade on which it rested,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Before the day was done,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Without a drop to moisten it,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Would wither in the sun.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Suppose the little breezes</span><br />
<span class="i2">Upon a summer’s day,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Should think themselves too small to cool</span><br />
<span class="i2">The traveler on his way:</span><br />
<span class="i0">Who would not miss the smallest</span><br />
<span class="i2">And softest ones that blow,</span><br />
<span class="i0">And think they made a great mistake</span><br />
<span class="i2">If they were talking so?</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">How many deeds of kindness</span><br />
<span class="i2">A little child may do,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Although it has so little strength,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And little wisdom, too.</span><br />
<span class="i0">It wants a loving spirit,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Much more than strength, to prove,</span><br />
<span class="i0">How many things a child may do</span><br />
<span class="i2">For others by his love.</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 014]</span></div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a14"></a>AN EVENING SONG.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">How radiant the evening skies!</span><br />
<span class="i2">Broad wing of blue in heaven unfurled,</span><br />
<span class="i0">God watching with unwearied eyes</span><br />
<span class="i2">The welfare of a sleeping world.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">He rolls the sun to its decline,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And speeds it on to realms afar,</span><br />
<span class="i0">To let the modest glowworm shine,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And men behold the evening star.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">He lights the wild flower in the wood,</span><br />
<span class="i2">He rocks the sparrow in her nest,</span><br />
<span class="i0">He guides the angels on their road,</span><br />
<span class="i2">That come to guard us while we rest</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">When blows the bee his tiny horn,</span><br />
<span class="i2">To wake the sisterhood of flowers,</span><br />
<span class="i0">He kindles with His smile the morn,</span><br />
<span class="i2">To bless with light the winged hours.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">O God! look down with loving eyes</span><br />
<span class="i2">Upon Thy children slumbering here,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Beneath this tent of starry skies,</span><br />
<span class="i2">For heaven is nigh, and Thou art near.</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 015]</span></div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a15"></a>BE KIND TO THE POOR.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Turn not from him, who asks of thee</span><br />
<span class="i2">A portion of thy store;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Poor though in earthly goods thou be,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Thou yet canst give,—what’s more,</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The balm of comfort thou canst pour</span><br />
<span class="i2">Into his grieving mind,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Who oft is turned from wealth’s proud door,</span><br />
<span class="i2">With many a word unkind.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Does any from the false world find</span><br />
<span class="i2">Naught but reproach and scorn?</span><br />
<span class="i0">Does any, stung by words unkind,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Wish that he ne’er was born?</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Do thou raise up his drooping heart,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Restore his wounded mind;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Though naught of wealth thou canst impart,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Yet still thou mayest be kind.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">And oft again thy words shall wing</span><br />
<span class="i2">Backward their course to thee,</span><br />
<span class="i0">And in thy breast will prove a spring</span><br />
<span class="i2">Of pure felicity.</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 016]</span></div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a16"></a>THE LESSON OF THE LEAVES.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i4">How do the leaves grow,</span><br />
<span class="i4">In spring, upon their stems?</span><br />
<span class="i0">Oh! the sap swells up with a drop for all,</span><br />
<span class="i4">And that is life to them.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i4">What do the leaves do</span><br />
<span class="i4">Through the long summer hours,</span><br />
<span class="i0">They make a home for the wandering birds,</span><br />
<span class="i4">And shelter the wild flowers.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i4">How do the leaves fade</span><br />
<span class="i4">Beneath the autumn blast?</span><br />
<span class="i0">Oh! they fairer grow before they die,</span><br />
<span class="i4">Their brightest is their last.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i4">We, too, are like leaves,</span><br />
<span class="i4">O children! weak and small;</span><br />
<span class="i0">God knows each leaf of the forest shade:</span><br />
<span class="i4">He knows us, each and all.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i4">Never a leaf falls</span><br />
<span class="i4">Until its part is done;</span><br />
<span class="i0">God gives us grace, like sap, and then</span><br />
<span class="i4">Some work to every one.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i4">We, too, must grow old,</span><br />
<span class="i4">Beneath the autumn sky;</span><br />
<span class="i0">But lovelier and brighter our lives may grow,</span><br />
<span class="i4">Like leaves before they die.</span><br />
</div>
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 017]</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i4">Brighter with kind deeds,</span><br />
<span class="i4">With love to others given;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Till the leaf falls off from the autumn tree,</span><br />
<span class="i4">And the spirit is in heaven.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a17"></a>THE SPRING BIRD’S LESSON.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Thou’rt up betimes, my little bird,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And out this morning early,</span><br />
<span class="i0">For still the tender bud is closed,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And still the grass is pearly.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Why rise so soon, thou little bird,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Thy soft, warm nest forsaking?</span><br />
<span class="i0">To brave the dull, cold morning sky,</span><br />
<span class="i2">While day is scarcely breaking?</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Ah! thou art wise, thou little bird,</span><br />
<span class="i2">For fast the hours are flying;</span><br />
<span class="i0">And this young day, but dawning now,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Will soon, alas! be dying.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">I’ll learn of thee, thou little bird,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And slothful habits scorning,</span><br />
<span class="i0">No longer sleep youth’s dawn away,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Nor waste life’s precious morning.</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 018]</span></div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a18"></a>THE ORPHAN’S HYMN.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Father,—an orphan’s prayer receive,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And listen to my plaintive cry:</span><br />
<span class="i0">Thou only canst my wants relieve,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Who art my Father in the sky.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">I have no father here below,</span><br />
<span class="i2">No mother kind to wipe my tears,—</span><br />
<span class="i0">These tender names I never know,</span><br />
<span class="i2">To soothe my grief and quell my fears.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">But Thou wilt be my parent,—nigh</span><br />
<span class="i2">In every hour of deep distress,</span><br />
<span class="i0">And listen to an orphan’s sigh,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And soothe the anguish of my breast.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">For Thou hast promised all I need,</span><br />
<span class="i2">More than a father’s, mother’s care:</span><br />
<span class="i0">Thou wilt the hungry orphan feed,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And always listen to my prayer.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="b18"></a>MORNING.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Dear Lord, another day has come,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And through the hours of night,</span><br />
<span class="i0">In a good bed and quiet home</span><br />
<span class="i2">I’ve slept till morning light.</span><br />
</div>
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 019]</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Then let me give Thee thanks and praise,</span><br />
<span class="i2">For Thou art very good;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Oh, teach my little heart to raise</span><br />
<span class="i2">The prayer that children should.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Keep me this day from faults and sin,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And make me good and mild;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Thy Holy Spirit place within,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Grant grace unto a child.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Help me obey my parents dear,</span><br />
<span class="i2">For they are very kind;</span><br />
<span class="i0">And when the hour of rest draws near,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Another prayer I’ll find.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a19"></a>EVENING.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The day is gone,—the silent night</span><br />
<span class="i2">Invites me to my peaceful bed;</span><br />
<span class="i0">But, Lord, I know that it is right</span><br />
<span class="i2">To thank Thee, ere I rest my head.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">For my good meals and pleasant hours,</span><br />
<span class="i2">That I have had this present day,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Let me exert my infant powers</span><br />
<span class="i2">To praise Thee, nor forget to pray.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Thou art most good. I can’t tell all</span><br />
<span class="i2">That Thou hast ever done for me;</span><br />
<span class="i0">My Shepherd, now on Thee I call,</span><br />
<span class="i2">From dangers still preserve me free.</span><br />
</div>
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 020]</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">If I’ve been naughty on this day,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Oh! make me sorry for my fault;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Do Thou forgive, and teach the way</span><br />
<span class="i2">To follow Jesus as I ought.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">And now I’ll lay me down to rest,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Myself,—my friends,—all safely keep;</span><br />
<span class="i0">May Thy great name be ever blest,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Both when we wake, and when we sleep.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a20"></a>A MOMENT TOO LATE!</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">A moment too late, my beautiful bird,—</span><br />
<span class="i2">A moment too late are you now,</span><br />
<span class="i0">The wind has your soft, downy nest disturbed,—</span><br />
<span class="i2">The nest that you hung on the bough.</span><br />
<span class="i0">A moment too late,—that string in your bill</span><br />
<span class="i2">Would have fastened it firmly and strong;</span><br />
<span class="i0">But see, there it goes rolling over the hill!</span><br />
<span class="i2">Oh! you tarried a moment too long.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">A moment too late,—too late, busy bee,</span><br />
<span class="i2">The honey has dropped from the flower;</span><br />
<span class="i0">No use to creep under the petals to see,—</span><br />
<span class="i2">It stood ready to drop for an hour.</span><br />
<span class="i0">A moment too late,—had you sped on your wing,</span><br />
<span class="i2">The honey would not have been gone;</span><br />
<span class="i0">But see what a very,—a very sad thing,</span><br />
<span class="i2a">’Tis to tarry a moment too long.</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 021]</span></div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a21"></a>A LITTLE SONNET ABOUT LITTLE THINGS.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The little, smoky vapors</span><br />
<span class="i2">Produce the drops of rain;</span><br />
<span class="i0">These little drops commingle,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And form the boundless main.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Then, drops compose the fountains;</span><br />
<span class="i2">And little grains of sand</span><br />
<span class="i0">Compose the mighty mountains,</span><br />
<span class="i2">That high above us stand.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The little atoms, it is said,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Compose the solid earth;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Such truths will show, if rightly read,</span><br />
<span class="i2">What little things are worth.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">For, as the sea of drops is made,</span><br />
<span class="i2">So it is Heaven’s plan,</span><br />
<span class="i0">That atoms should compose the globe,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And actions mark the man.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The little seconds soon pass by,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And leave our time the less;</span><br />
<span class="i0">And on these moments, as they fly,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Hang woe or happiness.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">For, as the present hour is spent,</span><br />
<span class="i2">So must the future be;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Each action lives, in its effect,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Through all eternity.</span><br />
</div>
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 022]</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The little sins and follies,</span><br />
<span class="i2">That lead the soul astray,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Leave stains, that tears of penitence,</span><br />
<span class="i2">May never wash away.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">And little acts of charity,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And little deeds of love,</span><br />
<span class="i0">May make this world a paradise,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Like to that world above.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a22"></a>EXAMINATION.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Before we close our eyes to-night,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Oh, let us each these questions ask!</span><br />
<span class="i0">Have we endeavored to do right,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Nor thought our duty a hard task?</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Have we been gentle, lowly, meek,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And the small voice of conscience heard?</span><br />
<span class="i0">When passion tempted us to speak,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Have we repressed the angry word?</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Have we with cheerful zeal obeyed</span><br />
<span class="i2">What our kind parents bade us do?</span><br />
<span class="i0">And not by word or action said</span><br />
<span class="i2">The thing that was not strictly true?</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">In hard temptation’s troubled hour,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Oh! have we stopped to think and pray,</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 023]</span>
<span class="i0">That God would please to give us power</span><br />
<span class="i2">To chase the naughty thought away?</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Oh, Thou! who seest all my heart,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Do Thou forgive and love me still</span><br />
<span class="i0">And unto me new strength impart,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And make me love and do Thy will.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a23"></a>GOD IS IN HIS HOLY TEMPLE.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">God is in His holy temple;</span><br />
<span class="i2">Thoughts of earth be silent now,</span><br />
<span class="i0">While with reverence we assemble,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And before His presence bow.</span><br />
<span class="i0">He is with us, now and ever,</span><br />
<span class="i2">While we call upon His name,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Aiding every good endeavor,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Guiding every upward aim.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">God is in His holy temple,—</span><br />
<span class="i2">In the pure and humble mind;</span><br />
<span class="i0">In the reverent heart and simple;</span><br />
<span class="i2">In the soul from sense refined.</span><br />
<span class="i0">Then let every low emotion</span><br />
<span class="i2">Banished far and silent be;</span><br />
<span class="i0">And our hearts in pure devotion,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Lord, be temples worthy Thee.</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 024]</span></div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a24"></a>MORNING GLORIES.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">They said, “don’t plant them,” mother; “they’re so common and so poor;”</span><br />
<span class="i0">But of seeds I had no other, so I dropped them by the door;</span><br />
<span class="i0">And they soon were brightly growing, in the rich and teeming soil,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Stretching upward, upward, upward, to reward me for my toil.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">They grew all o’er the casement, and they wreathed around the door,</span><br />
<span class="i0">All about the chamber windows, upward,—upward, ever more;</span><br />
<span class="i0">And each dawn, in glowing beauty, glistening with early dew,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Is the house all wreathed with splendor, every morning bright and new.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">What, if they close at mid-day? ’tis because their work is done,</span><br />
<span class="i0">And they shut their crimson petals from the kisses of the sun;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Teaching every day their lesson to my weary, panting soul,</span><br />
<span class="i0">To be faithful in well doing, stretching upward for the goal,</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Sending out the climbing tendrils, trusting God for strength and power,</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 025]</span>
<span class="i0">To support, and aid, and comfort, in the trying day and hour.</span><br />
<span class="i0">Ne’er spurn the thing that’s common, nor call homely flowers poor,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Each hath a holy mission, like my Glory o’er the door.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a25"></a>HOW BEAUTIFUL THE SETTING SUN.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">How beautiful the setting sun!</span><br />
<span class="i2">The clouds, how bright and gay!</span><br />
<span class="i0">The stars, appearing one by one,</span><br />
<span class="i2">How beautiful are they!</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">And when the moon climbs up the sky,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And sheds her gentle light,</span><br />
<span class="i0">And hangs her crystal lamp on high,</span><br />
<span class="i2">How beautiful is night!</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">And can it be, that I’m possessed</span><br />
<span class="i2">Of something brighter far?</span><br />
<span class="i0">Glows there a light within this breast,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Out-shining every star?</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Yes, should the sun and stars turn pale,</span><br />
<span class="i2">The mountains melt away,</span><br />
<span class="i0">This flame within shall never fail,</span><br />
<span class="i2">But live in endless day.</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 026]</span></div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a26"></a>SUMMER TIME.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">I love to hear the little birds</span><br />
<span class="i2">That carol on the trees;</span><br />
<span class="i0">I love the gentle, murmuring stream;</span><br />
<span class="i2">I love the evening breeze.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">I love to hear the busy hum</span><br />
<span class="i2">Of honey-making bee,</span><br />
<span class="i0">And learn a lesson,—hard to learn,—</span><br />
<span class="i2">Of patient industry.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">I love to think of Him who made</span><br />
<span class="i2">Those pleasant things for me,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Who gave me life, and health, and strength,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And eyes, that I might see.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The child who raises, morn and eve,</span><br />
<span class="i2">In prayer its tiny voice</span><br />
<span class="i0">Who grieves whene’er its parents grieve,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And joys when they rejoice,—</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">In whose bright eyes young genius glows,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Whose heart, without a blot,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Is fresh and pure as summer’s rose,—</span><br />
<span class="i2">That child’s a sunny spot.</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 027]</span></div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a27"></a>LIKE JESUS.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">I want to be like Jesus,</span><br />
<span class="i2">So lowly and so meek;</span><br />
<span class="i0">For no one marked an angry word,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Whoever heard him speak.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">I want to be like Jesus,</span><br />
<span class="i2">So frequently in prayer;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Alone upon the mountain top,</span><br />
<span class="i2">He met his Father there.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">I want to be like Jesus:</span><br />
<span class="i2">I never, never find,</span><br />
<span class="i0">That he, though persecuted, was</span><br />
<span class="i2">To any one unkind.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">I want to be like Jesus,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Engaged in doing good;</span><br />
<span class="i0">So that of me it may be said,</span><br />
<span class="i2">I have done what I could.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="b27"></a>I HAVE A HOME.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">I have a home in which to live,</span><br />
<span class="i2">A bed to rest upon,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Good food to eat, and fire to warm,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And raiment to put on.</span><br />
</div>
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 028]</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Kind parents, full of gentle love,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Brothers and sisters, too,</span><br />
<span class="i0">With many faithful, loving friends,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Who teach me what to do.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">How many little children have</span><br />
<span class="i2">No food, nor clothes to wear,</span><br />
<span class="i0">No house, nor home, nor parents kind,</span><br />
<span class="i2">To guide them by their care.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">For all Thy bounty, O my God,</span><br />
<span class="i2">May I be grateful found,</span><br />
<span class="i0">And ever show my love to Thee,</span><br />
<span class="i2">By loving all around.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a28"></a>GOD.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">God!—What a great and holy name!</span><br />
<span class="i2">Oh! who can speak His worth?</span><br />
<span class="i0">By saints in heaven He is adored,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Obeyed by men on earth</span><br />
<span class="i0">And yet a little child may bend</span><br />
<span class="i0">And say: “My Father and my Friend.”</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The glorious sun, which blazes high,</span><br />
<span class="i2">The moon, more pale and dim,</span><br />
<span class="i0">And all the stars which fill the sky,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Are made and ruled by Him:</span><br />
<span class="i0">And yet a child may ask His care,</span><br />
<span class="i0">And call upon His name in prayer.</span><br />
</div>
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 029]</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">And this large world of ours below,</span><br />
<span class="i2">The waters and the land,</span><br />
<span class="i0">And all the trees and flowers that grow,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Were fashioned by His hand;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Yes,—and He forms our infant race,</span><br />
<span class="i0">And even I may seek His face.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a29"></a>THE BIRD’S NEST.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">There’s a nest in the hedge-row,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Half bid by the leaves,</span><br />
<span class="i0">And the sprays, white with blossom,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Bend o’er it like eaves.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">God gives birds their lodging,</span><br />
<span class="i2">He gives them their food,</span><br />
<span class="i0">And they trust He will give them</span><br />
<span class="i2">Whatever is good.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Ah! when our rich blessings,</span><br />
<span class="i2">My child, we forget;</span><br />
<span class="i0">When for some little trouble</span><br />
<span class="i2">We murmur and fret;</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Hear sweet voices singing</span><br />
<span class="i2">In hedges and trees:</span><br />
<span class="i0">Shall we be less thankful,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Less trustful than these?</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 030]</span></div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a30"></a>THE LARK.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Ah! little lark, I see you there,</span><br />
<span class="i2">So very, very high;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Just like a little, tiny speck</span><br />
<span class="i2">Up in the clear blue sky.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">How good is He, who strengthens thus</span><br />
<span class="i2">Your slight and tender wing,</span><br />
<span class="i0">And teaches such a little throat</span><br />
<span class="i2">So sweet a song to sing.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="b30"></a>EFFORT.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Scorn not the slightest word nor deed,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Nor deem it void of power;</span><br />
<span class="i0">There’s fruit in each wind-wafted seed,</span><br />
<span class="i2">That waits its natal hour.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">A whispered word may touch the heart,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And call it back to life;</span><br />
<span class="i0">A look of love bid sin depart,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And still unholy strife.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">No act falls fruitless; none can tell</span><br />
<span class="i2">How vast its powers may be,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Nor what results, unfolded, dwell</span><br />
<span class="i2">Within it, silently.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Work on,—despair not,—bring thy mite,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Nor care how small it be;</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 031]</span>
<span class="i0">God is with all who serve the right,</span><br />
<span class="i2">The holy, true, and free.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a31"></a>THE SEA SHELL.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">There is found a tiny sea shell,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Half-imbedded in the sand,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Sometimes flashing in the moonlight,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Like a diamond on the strand.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">And from out the winding chambers</span><br />
<span class="i2">That are hid within the shell,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Ever steals a curious music,</span><br />
<span class="i2">That doth never sink nor swell.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">But, like the far-off voice of ocean,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Murmurs forth its monotone,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Holding thus within its bosom</span><br />
<span class="i2">E’er an ocean of its own.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Thus the sea shells ever gather</span><br />
<span class="i2">Little oceans in their breasts,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Which do echo there for ever</span><br />
<span class="i2">Ocean’s hymn, which never rests.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Thus the soul will echo music,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Born in heaven, and not of earth;</span><br />
<span class="i0">And give praises all, for ever,</span><br />
<span class="i2">To the One that gave it birth.</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 032]</span></div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a32"></a>GOD IS GOOD.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Morn amid the mountains,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Lovely solitude,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Gushing streams and fountains,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Murmur, “God is good.”</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Now the glad sun, breaking,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Pours a golden flood;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Deepest vales awaking,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Echo, “God is good.”</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Wake and join the chorus,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Man with soul endued!</span><br />
<span class="i0">He, whose smile is o’er us,</span><br />
<span class="i2">God,—our God,—is good.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="b32"></a>DESPISE NOT SIMPLE THINGS.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Despise not simple things:</span><br />
<span class="i2">The humblest flower that wakes</span><br />
<span class="i0">In early spring, to scent the air</span><br />
<span class="i2">Of woodland brakes,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Should have thy love as well</span><br />
<span class="i2">As blushing parlor rose,</span><br />
<span class="i0">That never felt the perfect breath</span><br />
<span class="i2">Of nature round it close.</span><br />
</div>
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 033]</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Despise not simple things:</span><br />
<span class="i2">The poor demand thy love,</span><br />
<span class="i0">As well as those who in the halls</span><br />
<span class="i2">Of splendor move.</span><br />
<span class="i0">The beggar at thy door</span><br />
<span class="i2">Thou shouldst not e’er despise;</span><br />
<span class="i0">For that may be a noble heart</span><br />
<span class="i2">Which ’neath his tatters lies.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Despise not little things:</span><br />
<span class="i2">An ant can teach of toil;</span><br />
<span class="i0">The buttercup can light the heart</span><br />
<span class="i2">With its own pleasant smile;</span><br />
<span class="i1a">’Tis not from towering heights alone</span><br />
<span class="i2">The noble thought within us springs;</span><br />
<span class="i0">There’s something holy and sublime</span><br />
<span class="i2">In the love of simple things.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a33"></a>THE VIOLET.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">“Oh, mother! mother! only look!</span><br />
<span class="i2">See what I’ve got for thee;</span><br />
<span class="i0">I found it close beside the brook,—</span><br />
<span class="i2">This pretty violet,—see.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">“And father says there will be more</span><br />
<span class="i2">So, mother, when they come,</span><br />
<span class="i0">We’ll pick my little basket full,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And bring them with us home.</span><br />
</div>
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 034]</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">“And, mother,—only listen now!</span><br />
<span class="i2a">’Tis very strange, indeed,—</span><br />
<span class="i0">This pretty flower, with leaves and all,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Was once a little seed.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">“When it was planted in the ground,</span><br />
<span class="i2">The sun shone very bright,</span><br />
<span class="i0">And made the little seed so warm,</span><br />
<span class="i2">It grew with all its might.”</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">“Yes, Charles: the bright sun made it warm,</span><br />
<span class="i2a">’Twas wet with rain and dew;</span><br />
<span class="i0">The leaves came first, and then, ere long,</span><br />
<span class="i2">We found the violet blue.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">“Charley, I think when we are good,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Obedient, and kind,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Good feelings, like the little flowers,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Are growing in the mind.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">“But when we suffer evil thoughts</span><br />
<span class="i2">To grow and flourish there,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Then they are like the noxious weeds,</span><br />
<span class="i2">That choke the flowerets fair.”</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a34"></a>CHILD’S TALENT</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">God intrusts to all</span><br />
<span class="i2">Talents, few or many;</span><br />
<span class="i0">None so young or small,</span><br />
<span class="i2">That they have not any.</span><br />
</div>
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 035]</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Though the great and wise</span><br />
<span class="i2">May have more in number,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Yet my own I prize,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And they must not slumber.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Little drops of rain.</span><br />
<span class="i2">Bring the springing flowers;</span><br />
<span class="i0">And I may attain</span><br />
<span class="i2">Much by little powers.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Every little mite,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Every little measure,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Helps to spread the light,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Helps to swell the treasure.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a35"></a>THE STARS ARE COMING.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">“See, the stars are coming</span><br />
<span class="i2">In the far blue skies;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Mother, look! they brighten;</span><br />
<span class="i2">Are they angels’ eyes?”</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">“No, my child; the lustre</span><br />
<span class="i2">Of the stars is given,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Like the hues of flowers,</span><br />
<span class="i2">By the God of heaven.”</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">“Mother, if I study,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Sure He’ll make me know</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 036]</span>
<span class="i0">Why the stars He kindled,</span><br />
<span class="i2">O’er our earth to glow?”</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">“Child! what God created,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Has a glorious aim;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Thine it is to worship,—</span><br />
<span class="i2">Thine to love His name.”</span><br /></div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a36"></a>THE FLOWERS.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">God might have made the earth bring forth</span><br />
<span class="i2">Enough for great and small,</span><br />
<span class="i0">The oak tree and the cedar tree,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Without a flower at all.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">He might have made enough,—enough</span><br />
<span class="i2">For every want of ours,—</span><br />
<span class="i0">For luxury, medicine, and food,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And yet have made no flowers.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Then wherefore, wherefore were they made,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And dyed with rainbow light,</span><br />
<span class="i0">All fashioned with supremest grace,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Upspringing day and night.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">In fertile valleys, green and low,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And on the mountains high,</span><br />
<span class="i0">And in the silent wilderness,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Where no one passes by.</span><br />
</div>
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 037]</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Our outward life requires them not,—</span><br />
<span class="i2">Then wherefore had they birth?</span><br />
<span class="i0">To minister delight to man,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And beautify the earth.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">To comfort man,—to whisper hope,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Whene’er his faith is dim;</span><br />
<span class="i0">For He, who careth for the flowers,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Will surely care for him.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a37"></a>LITTLE BY LITTLE.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">One step, and then another,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And the longest walk is ended;</span><br />
<span class="i0">One stitch and then another,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And the largest rent is mended</span><br />
<span class="i0">One brick upon another,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And the highest wall is made;</span><br />
<span class="i0">One flake upon another,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And the deepest snow is laid.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">So the little coral workers,</span><br />
<span class="i2">By their slow, but constant, motion,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Have built those pretty islands</span><br />
<span class="i2">In the distant, dark blue ocean;</span><br />
<span class="i0">And the noblest undertakings</span><br />
<span class="i2">Man’s wisdom hath conceived,</span><br />
<span class="i0">By oft-repeated efforts</span><br />
<span class="i2">Have been patiently achieved.</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 038]</span></div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a38"></a>NEVER, MY CHILD, FORGET TO PRAY.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Never, my child, forget to pray,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Whate’er the business of the day;</span><br />
<span class="i0">If happy dreams have blessed thy sleep,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Or startling fears have made thee weep.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">With holy thoughts begin the day,</span><br />
<span class="i0">And ne’er, my child, forget to pray;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Ask Him, by whom the birds are fed,</span><br />
<span class="i0">To give to thee thy daily bread.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">If wealth her bounty should bestow,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Praise Him from whom all blessings flow;</span><br />
<span class="i0">If He, who gave, should take away,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Never, my child, forget to pray.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The time will come, when thou wilt miss</span><br />
<span class="i0">A father’s and a mother’s kiss;</span><br />
<span class="i0">And then, my child, perchance thou’lt see,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Some who, in prayer, ne’er bend the knee;</span><br />
<span class="i0">From such examples turn away,</span><br />
<span class="i0">And ne’er, my child, forget to pray.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="b38"></a>THE CHILD’S PRAYER.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">I am a very little child,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Yet God, who dwells above,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Will hear me, if I rightly pray,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And answer me in love.</span><br />
</div>
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 039]</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Heavenly Father! wilt thou bless</span><br />
<span class="i2">My father and my mother;</span><br />
<span class="i0">And also bless my sister dear;</span><br />
<span class="i2">And bless my baby brother.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Forgive me, if I’ve been to-day</span><br />
<span class="i2">A very naughty child;</span><br />
<span class="i0">And teach me how I may become</span><br />
<span class="i2">A boy both good and mild.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">And keep me out of every ill;</span><br />
<span class="i2">And teach me how to pray,</span><br />
<span class="i0">That I may be a better child</span><br />
<span class="i2">On every coming day.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a39"></a>A CHILD-LIKE SPIRIT.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Father, I know that all my life</span><br />
<span class="i2">Is portioned out for me,</span><br />
<span class="i0">The changes that will surely come,</span><br />
<span class="i2">I do not fear to see;</span><br />
<span class="i0">I ask Thee for a present mind,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Intent on pleasing thee.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">I ask thee for a thoughtful love,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Through constant watching wise,</span><br />
<span class="i0">To meet the glad with joyful smiles,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And wipe the weeping eyes;</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 040]</span>
<span class="i0">A heart at leisure from itself,</span><br />
<span class="i2">To soothe and sympathize.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">I would not have the restless will</span><br />
<span class="i2">That hurries to and fro,</span><br />
<span class="i0">And seeks for some great thing to do,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Or secret thing to know:</span><br />
<span class="i0">I would be treated as a child,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And guided where I go.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Wherever in the world I am,</span><br />
<span class="i2">In whatsoe’er estate,</span><br />
<span class="i0">I have a fellowship with hearts</span><br />
<span class="i2">To keep and cultivate;</span><br />
<span class="i0">A work of lowly love to do,</span><br />
<span class="i2">For Him on whom I wait.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">I ask Thee for the daily strength</span><br />
<span class="i2">To none that ask denied;</span><br />
<span class="i0">A mind to blend with outward life,</span><br />
<span class="i2">While keeping at Thy side;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Content to fill a little space,</span><br />
<span class="i2">If Thou be glorified.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">And if some things I do not ask</span><br />
<span class="i2">In my cup of blessing be,</span><br />
<span class="i0">I’d have my spirit filled the more</span><br />
<span class="i2">With grateful love to Thee,—</span><br />
<span class="i0">More careful not to serve Thee much,</span><br />
<span class="i2">But please Thee perfectly.</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 041]</span></div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a41"></a>LIVE FOR SOMETHING.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Live for something, be not idle,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Look about thee for employ,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Sit not down to useless dreaming,—</span><br />
<span class="i2">Labor is the sweetest joy.</span><br />
<span class="i0">Folded hands are ever weary,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Selfish hearts are never gay,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Life for thee hath many duties,—</span><br />
<span class="i2">Active be, then, whilst thou may.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Scatter blessings in thy pathway!</span><br />
<span class="i2">Gentle words and cheering smiles</span><br />
<span class="i0">Better are than gold and silver,</span><br />
<span class="i2">With their grief-dispelling wiles.</span><br />
<span class="i0">As the pleasant sunshine falleth</span><br />
<span class="i2">Ever on the grateful earth,</span><br />
<span class="i0">So let sympathy and kindness</span><br />
<span class="i2">Gladden well the darkened hearth.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Hearts there are oppressed and weary,—</span><br />
<span class="i2">Drop the tear of sympathy;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Whisper words of hope and comfort;</span><br />
<span class="i2">Give, and thy reward shall be</span><br />
<span class="i0">Joy unto thy soul returning,</span><br />
<span class="i2">From this perfect fountain-head;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Freely, as thou freely givest,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Shall the grateful light be shed.</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 042]</span></div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a42"></a>THE BEAUTIFUL.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The beautiful! the beautiful!</span><br />
<span class="i2">Where do we find it not?</span><br />
<span class="i0">It is an all-pervading grace,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And lighteth every spot.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">It sparkles on the ocean wave,</span><br />
<span class="i2">It glitters in the dew;</span><br />
<span class="i0">We see it in the glorious sky.</span><br />
<span class="i2">And in the floweret’s hue.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">On mountain-top, in valley deep,</span><br />
<span class="i2">We find its presence there;</span><br />
<span class="i0">The beautiful! the beautiful!</span><br />
<span class="i2">It liveth every where.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The glories of the noontide day,</span><br />
<span class="i2">The still and solemn night;</span><br />
<span class="i0">The changing seasons,—all can bring</span><br />
<span class="i2">Their tribute of delight.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">There’s beauty in the child’s first smile;</span><br />
<span class="i2">And in that look of faith,</span><br />
<span class="i0">The Christian’s last on earth, before</span><br />
<span class="i2">His eyes are closed in death.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">And in the beings that we love,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Who have our tenderest care,</span><br />
<span class="i0">The beautiful! the beautiful!</span><br />
<span class="i2">How sweet to trace it there!</span><br />
</div>
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 043]</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1a">’Twas in the glance that God threw o’er</span><br />
<span class="i2">The young created earth;</span><br />
<span class="i0">When He proclaimed it very good,</span><br />
<span class="i2">The beautiful had birth.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Then who shall say this world is dull,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And all to sadness given,</span><br />
<span class="i0">While yet there grows on every side,</span><br />
<span class="i2">The smile that came from heaven?</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">If so much loveliness is sent</span><br />
<span class="i2">To grace our earthly home,</span><br />
<span class="i0">How beautiful! how beautiful!</span><br />
<span class="i2">Will be the world to come.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a43"></a>DON’T KILL THE BIRDS.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Don’t kill the birds!—the little birds,</span><br />
<span class="i2">That sing about your door,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Soon as the joyous spring has come,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And chilling storms are o’er.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The little birds!—how sweet they sing!</span><br />
<span class="i2">Oh! let them joyous live;</span><br />
<span class="i0">And do not seek to take the life</span><br />
<span class="i2">Which you can never give.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Don’t kill the birds!—the pretty birds,</span><br />
<span class="i2">That play among the trees!</span><br />
<span class="i1a">’Twould make the earth a cheerless place,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Should we dispense with these.</span><br />
</div>
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 044]</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Don’t kill the birds!—the happy birds,</span><br />
<span class="i2">That bless the field and grove;</span><br />
<span class="i0">So innocent to look upon,—</span><br />
<span class="i2">They claim our warmest love.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a44"></a>LITTLE ACTS OF KINDNESS.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Little acts of kindness,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Trifling though they are,</span><br />
<span class="i0">How they serve to brighten</span><br />
<span class="i2">This dark world of care!</span><br />
<span class="i0">Little acts of kindness,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Oh, how potent they,</span><br />
<span class="i0">To dispel the shadows</span><br />
<span class="i2">Of life’s cloudy day.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Little acts of kindness,</span><br />
<span class="i2">How they cheer the heart!</span><br />
<span class="i0">What a world of gladness</span><br />
<span class="i2">Will a smile impart!</span><br />
<span class="i0">How a gentle accent</span><br />
<span class="i2">Calms the troubled soul,</span><br />
<span class="i0">When the waves of passion</span><br />
<span class="i2">O’er it wildly roll!</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">You may have around you</span><br />
<span class="i2">Sunshine, if you will,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Or a host of shadows,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Gloomy,—dreary,—chill.</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 045]</span>
<span class="i0">If you want the sunshine,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Smile, though sad at heart;</span><br />
<span class="i0">To the poor and needy</span><br />
<span class="i2">Kindly aid impart.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">To the soul-despairing</span><br />
<span class="i2">Breathe a hopeful word;</span><br />
<span class="i0">From your lips be only</span><br />
<span class="i2">Tones of kindness heard.</span><br />
<span class="i0">Ever give for anger,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Love and tenderness;</span><br />
<span class="i0">And, in blessing others.</span><br />
<span class="i2">You yourself will bless.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Little acts of kindness,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Nothing do they cost;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Yet when they are wanting,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Life’s best charm is lost.</span><br />
<span class="i0">Little acts of kindness,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Richest gems of earth;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Though they seem but trifles,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Priceless is their worth.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i2">* * * * *</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">If wisdom’s ways you wisely seek,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Five things observe with care:—</span><br />
<span class="i0">To whom you speak,—of whom you speak,—</span><br />
<span class="i2">And how,—and when,—and where.</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 046]</span></div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a46"></a>THE BLESSINGS.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Blessed are the poor in spirit,</span><br />
<span class="i2">They the kingdom shall possess,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Rich in faith and heavenly blessings,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Let us ever forward press.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Blessed are the sad and mournful,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Weeping o’er their treasures gone</span><br />
<span class="i0">For the darkness gathered o’er them</span><br />
<span class="i2">Is the harbinger of morn.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Blessed are the meek and lowly,</span><br />
<span class="i2">They the green earth shall inherit;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Full of love, and peace, and gladness,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Fruits of God’s most Holy Spirit.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Blessed they who thirst and hunger;</span><br />
<span class="i2">All their wants shall be supplied;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Never yet have been forsaken</span><br />
<span class="i2">They, who on their God relied.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Blessed they who, loving mercy,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Joy not in another’s pain;</span><br />
<span class="i0">All the mercy shown to others</span><br />
<span class="i2">They shall for themselves obtain.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Blessed are the pure and prayerful,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Seeking God in every place;</span><br />
<span class="i0">They shall in their home eternal</span><br />
<span class="i2">See Him ever face to face.</span><br />
</div>
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 047]</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Blessed are the good peace-makers,</span><br />
<span class="i2">For God’s children they shall be;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Of His glory full partakers,</span><br />
<span class="i2">When from earth their spirits flee.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Blessed ye, when men revile you,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Treat you falsely for My sake;</span><br />
<span class="i0">For the prophets gone before you</span><br />
<span class="i2">Did the self-same treatment take.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Let us then be ever mindful</span><br />
<span class="i2">Of the precepts Christ has given;</span><br />
<span class="i0">So that when this life is over,</span><br />
<span class="i2">We may dwell with Him in heaven.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a47"></a>WHEN FATHER COMES HOME.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">When my father comes home in the evening from work,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Then I will get up on his knee,</span><br />
<span class="i0">And tell him how many nice lessons I learn,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And show him how good I can be.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">He shall hear what number I know how to count;</span><br />
<span class="i2">I’ll tell him what words I can spell;</span><br />
<span class="i0">And if I can learn something new every day,</span><br />
<span class="i2">I hope soon to read very well.</span><br />
</div>
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 048]</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">I’ll repeat to him all the good verses I know,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And tell him how kind we must be,</span><br />
<span class="i0">That we never must hurt little creatures at all:</span><br />
<span class="i2">And he will be glad, and love me.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">I’ll tell him we always must try to please God,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And never be cruel or rude;</span><br />
<span class="i0">For God is the Father of all living things,</span><br />
<span class="i2">He cares for and blesses the good.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a48"></a>HARVEST-FIELD OF TIME</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Children, all of us are gleaners</span><br />
<span class="i2">In the harvest-field of time;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Day by day the grain is ripening</span><br />
<span class="i2">For a sunnier clime.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Whether in the early morning,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Going forth with busy feet,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Or, as weary laborers, resting</span><br />
<span class="i2a">’Mid the noon-day heat;</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Let us strive, with cheerful spirits,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Each our duties to fulfil,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Till the time of harvest,—subject</span><br />
<span class="i2">To the Master’s will.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Let us garner up sweet memories,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Bound with ties of love;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Pleasant thoughts to cheer the pathway</span><br />
<span class="i2">To our home above.</span><br />
</div>
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 049]</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Trusting that these precious gleanings,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Bound with loving hand,</span><br />
<span class="i0">May in golden sheaves be gathered</span><br />
<span class="i2">To the spirit land.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a49"></a>PRAYER.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Watch o’er me, Heavenly Shepherd,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Extend Thy crook of love,</span><br />
<span class="i0">That so no germ of anger</span><br />
<span class="i2">A source of trial prove.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Keep me within Thy pastures,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And feed me from Thy hand;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Let no temptation snare me,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Or tear me from Thy hand.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">May innocence and purity</span><br />
<span class="i2">My clothing ever be,</span><br />
<span class="i0">That though this earth is still my home,</span><br />
<span class="i2">I may walk close to Thee.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="b49"></a>REFLECTIONS.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">We’re just starting into life,—</span><br />
<span class="i0">What shall arm us for its strife?</span><br />
<span class="i2">What shall lead our steps aright?</span><br />
<span class="i2">Whence shall come a guiding light?</span><br />
</div><span class="pagenum">[Pg 050]</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Whence shall come the saving word?</span><br />
<span class="i0">How the voice of God be heard?</span><br />
<span class="i2">Not from sages,—not from books,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Nor twinkling stars, nor babbling brooks.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">These all speak His power and love,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Who rules below, and rules above;</span><br />
<span class="i2">But to know His holy will,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Oft in silence deep and still,</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">We must turn an ear within;</span><br />
<span class="i0">There, midst life’s disturbing din,</span><br />
<span class="i2">The “still, small voice,” in whispers sweet</span><br />
<span class="i2">Shall point our way and guide our feet.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a50"></a>WHAT IS HEAVEN?</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Love is heaven, and heaven is love,</span><br />
<span class="i0">This is all of heaven above;</span><br />
<span class="i0">There no envy, wrath, nor strife,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Mars the bliss of endless life.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">There no anger swells the breast,</span><br />
<span class="i0">There no pride disturbs the rest;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Nor can hatred dwell above,</span><br />
<span class="i0">In that world of perfect love.</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 051]</span></div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a51"></a>THE CHILD’S MONITOR.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The wind blows down the largest tree,</span><br />
<span class="i0">And yet the wind I cannot see.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Playmates far off, that have been kind,</span><br />
<span class="i0">My thought can bring before my mind.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The past, by it, is present brought,</span><br />
<span class="i0">And yet I cannot see my thought.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The charming rose perfumes the air,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Yet I can see no perfume there.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Blithe Robin’s notes,—how sweet! how clear!</span><br />
<span class="i0">From his small bill they reach my ear;</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">And while upon the air they float,</span><br />
<span class="i0">I hear, yet cannot see, a note.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">When I would do what is forbid,</span><br />
<span class="i0">By something in my heart I’m chid;</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">When good I think, then quick and pat,</span><br />
<span class="i0">That something says, “My child, do that.”</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">When I too near the stream would go,</span><br />
<span class="i0">So pleased to see the waters flow,</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">That something says without a sound,</span><br />
<span class="i1">“Take care, dear child, thou mayst be drowned!”</span><br />
</div><span class="pagenum">[Pg 052]</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">And for the poor whene’er I grieve,</span><br />
<span class="i0">That something says, “A penny give.”</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Thus spirits good and ill there be,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Although invisible to me;</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Whate’er I do, they see me still,</span><br />
<span class="i0">But oh, good spirits! guide my will.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a52"></a>GIVE US OUR DAILY BREAD.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">I knew a widow very poor,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Who four small children had;</span><br />
<span class="i0">The eldest was but six years old,</span><br />
<span class="i2">A gentle, modest lad.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">And very hard this widow toiled</span><br />
<span class="i2">To feed her children four:</span><br />
<span class="i0">An honest pride the woman felt,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Though she was very poor.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">To labor she would leave her home,</span><br />
<span class="i2">For children must be fed;</span><br />
<span class="i0">And glad was she when she could buy</span><br />
<span class="i2">A shilling’s worth of bread.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">And this was all the children had,</span><br />
<span class="i2">On any day to eat;</span><br />
<span class="i0">They drank their water, ate their bread,</span><br />
<span class="i2">But never tasted meat.</span><br />
</div>
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 053]</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">One day, when snow was falling fast,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And piercing was the air,</span><br />
<span class="i0">I thought that I would go and see</span><br />
<span class="i2">How these poor children were.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Ere long I reached their cheerless home,</span><br />
<span class="i2a">’Twas searched by every breeze;</span><br />
<span class="i0">When going in, the eldest child</span><br />
<span class="i2">I saw upon his knees.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">I paused, and listened to the boy,—</span><br />
<span class="i2">He never raised his head;</span><br />
<span class="i0">But still went on and said,—“<i>Give us</i></span><br />
<span class="i2"><i>This day our daily bread.</i>”</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">I waited till the child was done,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Still listening as he prayed;</span><br />
<span class="i0">And when he rose, I asked him why</span><br />
<span class="i2">The Lord’s Prayer he had said.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">“Why, sir,” said he, “this morning, when</span><br />
<span class="i2">My mother went away,</span><br />
<span class="i0">She wept because, she said, she had</span><br />
<span class="i2">No bread for us to-day.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">“She said, we children now must starve,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Our father being dead;</span><br />
<span class="i0">And then I told her not to cry,</span><br />
<span class="i2">For I could get some bread.</span><br />
</div>
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 054]</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">“<i>Our Father</i>, sir, the prayer begins,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Which makes me think that <i>He</i>,</span><br />
<span class="i0">As we have got no father here,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Would our kind father be.</span><br />
<span class="i1">“And then, you know, the prayer, sir, too,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Asks God for bread each day;</span><br />
<span class="i0">So, in the corner, sir, I went,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And that’s what made me pray.”</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">I quickly left that wretched room,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And went with fleeting feet;</span><br />
<span class="i0">And very soon was back again</span><br />
<span class="i2">With food enough to eat.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">“<i>I thought God heard me</i>,” said the boy;</span><br />
<span class="i2">I answered with a nod;</span><br />
<span class="i0">I could not speak; but much I thought</span><br />
<span class="i2">Of that child’s <i>faith in God</i>.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a54"></a>TRUE REST.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Sweet is the pleasure</span><br />
<span class="i2">Itself cannot spoil!</span><br />
<span class="i0">Is not true leisure</span><br />
<span class="i2">One with true toil?</span><br />
</div>
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 055]</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Thou, that would taste it,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Still do thy best;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Use it, not waste it,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Else, ’tis no rest.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Wouldst behold beauty</span><br />
<span class="i2">Near thee, all round?</span><br />
<span class="i0">Only hath duty</span><br />
<span class="i2">Such a sight found.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Rest is not quitting</span><br />
<span class="i2">The busy career;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Rest is the fitting</span><br />
<span class="i2">Of self to its sphere.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1a">’Tis the brook’s motion,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Clear without strife,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Fleeing to ocean,</span><br />
<span class="i2">After its life.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Deeper devotion</span><br />
<span class="i2">Nowhere hath knelt,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Fuller emotion</span><br />
<span class="i2">Heart never felt.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1a">’Tis loving and serving,</span><br />
<span class="i2">The highest and best!</span><br />
<span class="i1a">’Tis onward,—unswerving,—</span><br />
<span class="i2">And that is true rest.</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 056]</span></div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a56"></a>ONE BY ONE.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">One by one the sands are flowing,</span><br />
<span class="i2">One by one the moments fall;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Some are coming, some are going,—</span><br />
<span class="i2">Do not strive to grasp them all.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">One by one thy duties wait thee,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Let thy whole strength go to each</span><br />
<span class="i0">Let no future dreams elate thee,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Learn thou first what these can teach</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">One by one (bright gifts from heaven)</span><br />
<span class="i2">Joys are sent thee here below;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Take them readily when given,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Ready, too, to let them go.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">One by one thy griefs shall meet thee.</span><br />
<span class="i2">Do not fear an armed band;</span><br />
<span class="i0">One will fade as others greet thee,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Shadows passing through the land.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Do not look at life’s long sorrow;</span><br />
<span class="i2">See how small each moment’s pain;</span><br />
<span class="i0">God will help thee for to-morrow,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Every day begin again.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Every hour that flits so slowly,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Has its task to do or bear;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Luminous the crown, and holy,</span><br />
<span class="i2">If thou set each gem with care.</span><br />
</div>
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 057]</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Do not linger with regretting,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Or for passing hours despond!</span><br />
<span class="i0">Nor, thy daily toil forgetting,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Look too eagerly beyond.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Hours are golden links, God’s token,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Reaching Heaven; one by one</span><br />
<span class="i0">Take them, lest the chain be broken</span><br />
<span class="i2">Ere the pilgrimage be done.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a57"></a>GOD SEEN IN HIS WORKS.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">There’s not a tint that paints the rose,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Or decks the lily fair,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Or streaks the humblest flower that blows,</span><br />
<span class="i2">But God has placed it there.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">At early dawn, there’s not a gale</span><br />
<span class="i2">Across the landscape driven,</span><br />
<span class="i0">And not a breeze that sweeps the vale,</span><br />
<span class="i2">That is not sent by Heaven.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">There’s not, of grass, a single blade,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Or leaf of loveliest green,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Where heavenly skill is not displayed,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And heavenly wisdom seen.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">There’s not a tempest, dark and dread,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Or storm that rends the air,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Or blast that sweeps the ocean’s bed,</span><br />
<span class="i2">But God’s own voice is there.</span><br />
</div>
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 058]</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Around,—beneath,—below,—above,—</span><br />
<span class="i2">Wherever space extends,</span><br />
<span class="i0">There God displays His boundless love,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And power with mercy blends.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a58"></a>THE LITTLE SUNBEAM.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">A little sunbeam stole</span><br />
<span class="i2">On a summer’s day,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Through a tiny crevice,</span><br />
<span class="i2">To where a sick man lay.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">It played upon the wall,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And upon his table:</span><br />
<span class="i0">With a smile he watched it</span><br />
<span class="i2">As long as he was able.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Much he loved the sunbeam,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Little dancing light;</span><br />
<span class="i0">It told of sunny hours,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Of skies and meadows bright.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Kind words are like sunbeams,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Stealing into hearts;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Scatter them most freely,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Ere light of life departs.</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 059]</span></div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a59"></a>COMPASSION.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Oh! turn that little foot aside,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Nor crush beneath its tread,</span><br />
<span class="i0">The smallest insect of the earth,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Which has from God its bread.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">If He, who made the universe,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Looks down in kindest love,</span><br />
<span class="i0">To shape a humble thing like this,</span><br />
<span class="i2">From His high throne above,</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Thou shouldst not dare, in wantonness,</span><br />
<span class="i2">That creature’s life destroy;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Nor give a pang to any thing</span><br />
<span class="i2">That He has made for joy.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">My child, begin in little things</span><br />
<span class="i2">To act the gentle part;</span><br />
<span class="i0">For God may turn His love away</span><br />
<span class="i2">From the cruel, selfish heart.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="b59"></a>I WILL BE GOOD TO-DAY.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">“I will be good, dear mother,”</span><br />
<span class="i2">I heard a sweet child say,</span><br />
<span class="i1">“I will be good,—now watch me!</span><br />
<span class="i2">I will be good all day.”</span><br />
</div>
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 060]</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">She lifted up her bright young eyes,</span><br />
<span class="i2">With a soft and pleasing smile;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Then a mother’s kiss was on her lips;</span><br />
<span class="i2">So pure and free from guile.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">And when night came, that little one,</span><br />
<span class="i2">In kneeling down to pray,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Said, in a soft and whispering tone,</span><br />
<span class="i2">“Have I been good to-day?”</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Oh, many, many bitter tears</span><br />
<span class="i2a">’Twould save us, did we say,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Like that dear child, with earnest heart,</span><br />
<span class="i2">“I will be good to-day.”</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a60"></a>I’LL DO WHAT I CAN.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">I may, if I have but a mind,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Do good in many ways;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Plenty to do, the young may find,</span><br />
<span class="i2">In these our busy days.</span><br />
<span class="i0">Sad would it be, though young and small,</span><br />
<span class="i0">If I were of no use at all.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">One gentle word that I may speak,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Or one kind loving deed,</span><br />
<span class="i0">May, though a trifle, poor and weak,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Prove like a tiny seed;</span><br />
<span class="i0">And who can tell what good may spring</span><br />
<span class="i0">From such a very little thing?</span><br />
</div>
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 061]</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Then let me try, each day and hour,</span><br />
<span class="i2">To act upon this plan;</span><br />
<span class="i0">What little good is in my power,</span><br />
<span class="i2">To do it while I can:</span><br />
<span class="i0">If to be useful thus I try,</span><br />
<span class="i0">I may do better by and by.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a61"></a>TIME TO ARISE.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Come, little sister, ’tis time to arise,</span><br />
<span class="i0">The sun has arisen to brighten the skies;</span><br />
<span class="i4">Every bird is singing high,—</span><br />
<span class="i4">Birds are glad, and so am I.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Merrily, merrily, those in the tree,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Bluebird and Robin, are singing to me;</span><br />
<span class="i4">Round the window see them fly,—</span><br />
<span class="i4">Birds are glad, and so am I.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Glad little robin, you never can know</span><br />
<span class="i0">Who is the Maker who fashioned you so;</span><br />
<span class="i4">Yet you cannot weep nor sigh,—</span><br />
<span class="i4">Birds are glad, and so am I.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">He who created the birds of the air,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Surely will keep me from trouble and care;</span><br />
<span class="i4">He has taught the birds to fly,—</span><br />
<span class="i4">Birds are glad, and so am I.</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 062]</span></div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a62"></a>DIVINE GUIDANCE.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">O Thou, who hast at Thy command,</span><br />
<span class="i0">The hearts of all men in Thy hand!</span><br />
<span class="i0">Our wayward, erring hearts incline</span><br />
<span class="i0">To know no other will but Thine.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Our wishes, our desires control;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Mould every purpose of the soul;</span><br />
<span class="i0">O’er all may we victorious be,</span><br />
<span class="i0">That stands between ourselves and Thee.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Thrice blest will all our blessings be,</span><br />
<span class="i0">When we can look through them to Thee;</span><br />
<span class="i0">When each glad heart its tribute pays</span><br />
<span class="i0">Of love, and gratitude, and praise.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="b62"></a>INDUSTRY.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Up, be doing, little children:</span><br />
<span class="i2">Up, be doing, while ’tis day;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Do the work the Master gives you,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Do not loiter by the way:</span><br />
<span class="i0">For we all have work before us,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Thou, my child, as well as I;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Let us seek to learn our duty,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And perform it cheerfully.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Be up and doing, little children,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Gentle be, and ever kind;</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 063]</span>
<span class="i0">Helpful to your loving mothers,</span><br />
<span class="i2">E’en their slightest wishes mind.</span><br />
<span class="i0">Let your little playmates love you,</span><br />
<span class="i2">For your care and gentle play;</span><br />
<span class="i0">And the feeble and more wilful,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Help them by your kindly way.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a63"></a>“PRAYER IS THE SOUL’S SINCERE DESIRE.”</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Uttered or unexpressed;</span><br />
<span class="i0">The motion of a hidden fire</span><br />
<span class="i2">That glows within the breast.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Prayer is the burden of a sigh,</span><br />
<span class="i2">The falling of a tear,</span><br />
<span class="i0">The upward glancing of an eye,</span><br />
<span class="i2">When none but God is near.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Prayer is the simplest form of speech</span><br />
<span class="i2">That infant lips can try;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Prayer, the sublimest strains that reach</span><br />
<span class="i2">The Majesty on high.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="b63"></a>ANGRY WORDS.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Angry words! O let them never</span><br />
<span class="i2">From the tongue unbridled slip;</span><br />
<span class="pagenum">[Pg 064]</span>
<span class="i0">May the heart’s best impulse ever</span><br />
<span class="i2">Check them, e’er they soil the lip.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Love is much too pure and holy,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Friendship is too sacred far,</span><br />
<span class="i0">For a moment’s reckless folly</span><br />
<span class="i2">Thus to desolate and mar.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Angry words are lightly spoken,</span><br />
<span class="i2">Bitterest thoughts are rashly stirred;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Brightest links of life are broken</span><br />
<span class="i2">By a single angry word.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h3 class="break"><a name="a64"></a>THE REQUEST.</h3>
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Father, whate’er of earthly bliss</span><br />
<span class="i2">Thy sovereign will denies,</span><br />
<span class="i0">Accepted at Thy throne of grace</span><br />
<span class="i2">Let this petition rise.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Give me a calm, a thankful heart,</span><br />
<span class="i2">From every murmur free;</span><br />
<span class="i0">The blessings of Thy grace impart,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And make me live to Thee.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Let the sweet hope that Thou art mine,</span><br />
<span class="i2">My life and death attend;</span><br />
<span class="i0">Thy presence through my journey shine,</span><br />
<span class="i2">And crown my journey’s end.</span><br />
</div></div>
<h4 class="p4">Transcriber's Note:</h4>
<p>In the index, where two poems were listed on the same page, separate
line entries were made so that each poem could have a unique link.</p>
<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44835 ***</div>
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