HAPPINESS. It's no in titles nor in rank; We may be wise, or rich, or great, Nae treasures, nor pleasures, Then let us cheerfu' acquiesce; And even should misfortunes come, PARENTS AND CHILDREN. They gie the wit of age to youth; They mak' us see the naked truth, The real guid and ill. Tho' losses, and crosses, Be lessons right severe, 125 There's wit there, ye'll get there, BURNS. PARENTS AND CHILDREN. OH! sweet as vernal dews that fill When evening-clouds draw thither, So sweet, so heavenly, 'tis to see The children, like the lily-flowers, But leaves the greenest will decay, Yet leaves again will clothe the trees, KNOX. THE BETTER LAND. I HEAR thee speak of the better land; "Not there, not there, my child." THE BETTER LAND. 127 Is it where the feathery palm-trees rise, Bear the rich hues of all glorious things? "Not there, not there, my child." Is it far away in some region old, Where the rivers wander o'er sands of goldWhere the burning rays of the ruby shine, And the diamond lights up the secret mine, And the pearl gleams forth from the coral strand Is it there, sweet mother, that better land? "Not there, not there, my child. "Eye hath not seen it, my gentle boy! MRS. HEMANS. IS THERE NOT A GOD? GOD hath a voice that ever is heard In the peal of the thunder, the chirp of the bird; It comes in the torrent, all rapid and strong, In the streamlet's soft gush as it ripples along; It breathes in the Zephyr, just kissing the bloom; It lives in the rush of the sweeping simoom; God hath a presence, and that ye may see In the storm-cloud of darkness, the rainbow of light; In the waves of the ocean, the furrows of land; In the mountains of granite, the atom of sand; Turn where ye may, from the sky to the sod, Where can ye gaze that ye see not a God? ELIZA COOK. |