VI.

98. THE DEATH OF THE FLOWERS.

1.

HE melancholy' days are come, the saddest of the year,
Of wailing' winds, and naked woods, and meadows brown

and sear.

Heaped in the hollows of the grove, the withered leaves lie dead;
They rustle to the eddying' gust, and to the rabbit's tread.
The robin and the wren are flown, and from the shrub the jay,
And from the wood-top caws* the crow, through all the gloomy day.

2.

Where are the flowers, the fair young flowers, that lately sprung

and stood

In brighter light and softer airs, a beauteous sisterhood?

Alas! they all are in their graves; the gentle race of flowers Are lying in their lowly bed, with the fair and good of ours. The rain is falling where they lie; but the cold November rain Calls not from out the gloomy earth the lovely ones again.

3.

The wind-flower and the violet, they perished long ago,
And the wild-rose and the orchis died amid the summer glow;
But on the hill the golden-rod, and the aster in the wood,
And the yellow sun-flower by the brook, in autumn beauty stood,
Till fell the frost from the clear cold heaven, as falls the plague

on men,

And the brightness of their smile was gone from upland, glade," and glen."

1 Měl' an chŏly, low-spirited; has no superior. In making these unhappy; sad. selections, the authors frankly con. 'Wailing, moaning; grieving fess the serious difficulty they have over; weeping loudly.

experienced in deciding, not what to take, but what to omit that bears the name of William Cullen Bryant. 'Glāde, an open or cleared place in a forest or wood.

4.

And now, when comes the calm, mild day, as still such days

will come,

To call the squirrel' and the bee from out their winter home, When the sound of dropping nuts is heard, though all the trees are still,

And twinkle in the smoky light, the waters of the rill,

The south wind searches for the flowers, whose fragrance late

he bōre,

And sighs to find them in the wood and by the stream no more.

5.

And then I think of one who in her youthful beauty died, The fair, meek blossom that grew up and faded by my side; In the cold, moist earth we laid her, when the forest cast the leaf, And we wept that one so lovely should have a life so brief; Yet not unmeet it was that one, like that young friend of ours, So gentle and so beautiful, should perish with the flowers. WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT.

1

SECTION XXI

I.

99. PERPETUAL ADORATION.

HE turf' shall be my fragrant shrine;"

TE

My temple, Lord, that arch of thine;
My censer's breath the mountain airs,
And silent thoughts my only prayers.

2. My choir shall be the moonlight waves,
When murmuring homeward to their caves;
Or, when the stillness of the sea,

Even more than music, breathes of thee.

3. I'll seek, by day, some glade unknown,
All light and silence, like thy throne;

Squirrel, (skwůr' rel).

• Turf, (tårf).

sacred things are kept; an altar.

• Censer, a vase or pan in which

9 Shrine, a case or box in which incense is burned.

And the pale stars shall be, at night,
The only eyes that watch my rīte.'

4. Thy heaven, on which 'tis bliss to look,
Shall be my pure and shining book,
Where I shall read, in words of flame,
The glories of thy wondrous name.
5. I'll read thy anger in the rack2

That clouds awhile the day-beam's track!
Thy mercy, in the ăzure hue

Of sunny brightness, breaking through.
6. There's nothing bright, above, below,
From flowers that bloom, to stars that glow,
But in its light my soul can see

Some feature of thy Deity!"

7. There's nothing dark, below, above,
But in its gloom I trace thy love;
And meekly wait that moment, when
Thy touch shall turn all bright again.

THOMAS MOORE.

II.

100. SEASONS OF PRAYER..

4

prayer, to prayer!-for the morning breaks,

And earth' in her Maker's smile awākes.

His light is on all below and above,
The light of gladnèss, and life, and love.
Oh, then, on the breath of this early air,"
Send up the incense' of grateful prayer.

1 Rite, the act of performing divine or solemn service, as appointed by law, precept, or custom; a relig ious ceremony or usage.

2

Răck, properly, moisture; damp. ness; hence, thin, flying, broken clouds, or any portion of floating vapor in the sky.

3 De' i ty, divinity; Godhead. Prayer, (prår).

4

5

6

Earth, (8rth), see Note 4, p. 16.
Air, (år), see Note 2, p. 16.
"Incense, the burning of some
sweet-smelling substance, practiced
in the worship of the gods of anti-
quity, and to the true God, under
the Jewish dispensation. It is still
practiced in the Romish Church,
and the term is still in use to express
any act of devotion.

2. To prayer!-for the glorious sun is gone,
And the gathering darkness of night comes on.
Like a curtain from God's kind hand it flows,
To shade the couch where his children repose.
Then kneel, while the watching stars are bright,
And give your last thoughts to the Guardian' of night.
3. To prayer!-for the day that God has blessed
Comes tranquilly on with its welcome rest.

It speaks of creation's early bloom;

It speaks of the Prince who burst the tomb.
Then summon the spirit's exalted' powers,
And devote to Heaven the hallowed hours.

4. There are smiles and tears in the mother's eyes,
For her new-born infant beside her lies.

3

O hour of bliss! when the heart o'erflows

With rapture a mother only knows..

Let it gush forth in words of fervent prayer;
Let it swell up to heaven for her precious care.
5. There are smiles and tears in that gathering band,
Where the heart is pledged with the trembling hand.
What trying thoughts in her bosom swell,
As the bride bids parents and home farewell!
Kneel down by the side of the tearful fair,
And strengthen the perilous hour with prayer.

6. Kneel down by the dying sinner's side,

5

And pray for his soul through Him who died.
Large drops of anguish are thick on his brow,—
Oh, what is earth and its pleasures now!
And what shall assuage' his dark despair,
But the penitent cry of humble prayer?

7. Kneel down at the couch of departing faith,
And hear the last words the believer saith.

He has bidden adieu to his earthly friends;
There is peace in his eye that upward bends
There is peace in his calm, confiding air;

For his last thoughts are God's, his last words prayer. 8. The voice of prayer at the sable' bier!'

A voice to sustain, to soothe, and to cheer.
It commends the spirit to God who gave ;
It lifts the thoughts from the cold, dark grave;
It points to the glōry where he shall reign,
Who whispered, "Thy brother shall rise again."

9. The voice of prayer in the world of bliss!

.

But gladder, purer, than rose from this.

The ransomed shout to their glorious King,

Where no sorrow shades the soul as they sing;
But a sinlèss and joyous song they raise,
And their voice of prayer is eternal praise.

10. Awake! awake! and gird up thy strength,
To join that holy band at length.

To Him who unceasing love displays,

Whom the powers of nature unceasingly praise;
To Him thy heart and thy hours be given ;

For a life of prayer is a life of heaven.

HENRY WARE, JR.

G

III.

101. ADDRESS TO THE DEITY.

OD of my life, and Author of my days,
Permit my feeble voice to lisp thy praise,
And, trembling, take upon a mortal tongue
That hallowed name, to harps of seraphs sung:
Yet here the brightest seraphs could no more
Than vail their faces, tremble, and ǎdóre.
Worms, angels, men, in every different sphere,"
Are equal all; for all are nothing here.

'Prayer, (prår), see Note 2, p. 16.
2 Sable, dark; black.

2 Biēr, a carriage, or a frame for carrying the dead to the grave.

• Sĕraph, an angel of the highest order.

Б

Sphere, (sfer), orb or star; world; station or rank in life.