But as I, eager, hurried on,
To follow where thy footsteps led,
Lo! dreams and blossoms all were gone,
And thou, false spirit, thou hadst fled!
Yes, as I stretched my eager hand,
To grasp thy rosy, beckoning palm,
I felt a cold breath on my cheek,
And a cold grasp laid on mine arm,
And knew, by the dull stony eyes,
The troubled brow, the long dank hair, By the cold clasp that chilled my veins, That thou hadst fled, and left-Despair!
Then, drooping 'neath that icy breath,
Thy flowers fell withered from my brow; My heart sank 'neath that numbing clasp, And died with them,-what wouldst thou now?
Thou canst not raise those drooping flowers,
And bid them bud and bloom again;
Thou canst not rouse this dull, dead heart,
But to a feeling of its pain.
I turn, and close my weary eyes,
That sicken at thy beauty's glare.
In vain, in vain thy witching wiles;
Then go, and leave me to Despair!
THE Sky and beauteous Earth, in bygone years,
Were one; like one vast circling harmony
They moved together, bounding joyously
Through space, to the sweet music of the spheres.
But all too soon the blissful scene is changed,
Too soon some trivial cause of strife appears,
And Sky, in muttering wrath, Earth bathed in tears,
Sadly move on,-together, yet estranged.
Now, as the strife grows keen, Earth's children fair,
Daughters and mighty sons, in grief and pain
At so unnatural tumult, strive in vain
To stay the tumult.-Then the gentle Air,
Sweetest of all Earth's daughters, softly steals
Between the pair, and, in thus parting, heals
The fatal discord; for, with gentle force
She ever keeps between them; and the loss
Of the long-loved companionship restores
The love that had but slept; and Sky deplores,
In tardy penitence, his thoughtless ire;
While weeping Earth bids her, unto her sire,
Convey her love, her sighs, her misery ;
And, true alike to both, joyfully she
From one to other bears the tale of peace-
Her task of love, which nevermore shall cease.
For, year by year, as Time rolls swiftly by,
They still for ever parted,- from on high
He tells to Earth his grief in gentle showers,
She yields, to comfort him, her fragrant dews, and perfume of her flowers.
YE glorious winds of God! what words can give
Shape to the mighty feelings that are stirred
Within the soul by the wild, rushing breath
Of God's free glorious wind? Exultant pride,
And most intense humility, are blended;
A consciousness of its immortal greatness,
Yet of exceeding littleness, an atom
Amid the war of worlds; a feverish joy,
That longs to burst these mortal chains, and join
The storm's mad revelry.—And then an awe,
That speaks the presence of its Lord, and makes
The soul bow down before Him, stilled, subdued,
By that great awe; and an exceeding peace,
Filleth our hearts, murmuring, "Lo, this is God!"
ONE day there came a storm, a fearful storm,
That swept across our little world of life
With sudden fury ;-when it passed-we looked,
And one was not. Out of our world of light
Into the world of darkness round, one form,
One old familiar face, had passed for ever
In darkness and in silence. Yet methought
That once, amid the tumult, I had heard
One single cry of agony, but one—
Then all was still; not e'en a trace remained
Of that familiar form,-only a void
Where once it used to be,—only a silence
Deep as the grave, where once his voice was wont
To wake the echoes. Men breathed not his name,
Or if, by chance, 'twas heard upon the lips
Of some gay child, a shadow seemed to fall
Upon the brows of those who stood around,
And the child's face grew pale at the dread silence
That met his heedless word. Yet, but for that,
All seemed the same, for still the world moved on,
And still men laughed and talked, and children played,
The sun shone brightly, breezes danced around :
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