Prove that, indeed, Thou art

The life-wheel and the heart
Of systems to our little world unknown.

From thee I cannot fly;
Thine all-observing eye

Marks the minutest atom of thy reign;
How far soe'er I go,

Thou all my path wouldst know,
And bring the wanderer to this earth again.

But why should I depart?

'Tis safety where thou art;

And could one favor'd spot thy being hold,
I, poor, and vain, and weak,

That sacred spot would seek,

And dwell within the shelter of thy fold!

A THOUGHT ON THE SEA-SHORE.

BEYOND, beyond that boundless sea,
Above that dome of sky,
Further than thought itself can flee,
Thy dwelling is on high:
Yet dear the awful thought to me,
That thou, my God, art nigh :-

Art nigh, and yet my laboring mind
Feels after thee in vain,

Thee in these works of power to find,
Or to thy seat attain.

Thy messenger, the stormy wind,
Thy path, the trackless main-

These speak of thee with loud acclaim;
They thunder forth thy praise,
The glorious honor of thy name,

The wonders of thy ways:
But thou art not in tempest-flame,
Nor in day's glorious blaze.

We hear thy voice, when thunders roll,
Through the wide fields of air;
The waves obey thy dread control;—
Yet still thou art not there.
Where shall I find him, O my soul,
Who yet is everywhere?

O, not in circling depth, or height,
But in the conscious breast,
Present to faith, though veil'd from sight,
There does his spirit rest.

O come, thou Presence Infinite,

And make thy creature blest.

TO A FRIEND UNDER CALUMNY.

""T is from the Lord," the humbled monarch cried, "Even let him curse." And so he kiss'd the rod, O'erlook'd the injurer, and bow'd to God.

O majesty of meekness, which defied

The impotence of tongues, and calm relied

On him who judgeth righteously! "From men Who are thy sword,”—so pray'd the sufferer then,— "From evil tongues, thy scourge, and men of pride, O Lord, deliver me!" Yet, who can tell,

But those who have endured, how keen the pain That Slander's fangs, tongues set on fire of hell,

And venom'd whispers that inflict a stain,

Can cause the innocent man? But O, 't is great
Meekly to suffer wrong, and feel it causeless hate.

BENEFIT OF TRIALS.

WHEN thou art in thy chamber, and thy knee
Is bow'd in love to the Omnipotent,

And when thy soul before his throne is bent,
Ask not for prosperous things; but pray that he
Will purify thee with the chastisement

Of earthly wo and trouble, which are sent To fit the high soul for eternity.

It is not in the summer tide of life

That the heart hoards its treasures: it is when
The storm is loud, and the rude hurricane
Of sorrow is abroad; when solemn strife,

Such as may move the souls of constant men,
Is struggling in our bosoms,-it is then
The heart collects her stores with wisdom rife.

For sadness teaches us the truth of things

Which had been hid beneath the crown of flowers Which gladness wears; and the few silent hours Of quiet, heavenward thought which sorrow brings, Are better than a life in pleasure's bowers, Drinking the poisonous chalice which she pours, To quench our heavenlier spirits' murmurings.

Seek thou the storms of life; fly not the trial

That binds the conqueror's wreath upon thy brow; And faint not, though the tears of anguish flow, And though upon thy head the angry vial

Of fate be pour'd: but with the conscious glow
Of honorable thought and deed below,

Look to that Power who watch'd thy self-denial.

THE CURSE OF CAIN.

GENESIS IV. 15, 16.

O THE wrath of the Lord is a terrible thing!
Like the tempest that withers the blossoms of spring,
Like the thunder that bursts on the summer's domain,
It fell on the head of the homicide Cain.

And lo! like a deer in the fright of a chase,
With a fire in his heart, and a brand on his face,
He speeds him afar to the desert of Nod-
A vagabond smote by the vengeance of God.

All nature to him has been blasted and bann'd,
For the blood of a brother yet reeks on his hand;
And no vintage has grown, and no fountain has sprung
For cheering his heart, or for cooling his tongue.

The groans of a father his slumber shall start,

And the tears of a mother shall pierce to his heart,
And the kiss of his children shall scorch him like flame,
When he thinks of the curse that hangs over his name.

And the wife of his bosom-the faithful and fair-
Can mix no sweet drop in his cup of despair;
For her tender caress, and her innocent breath,
But stir in his soul the hot embers of wrath.

And his offering may blaze-unregarded by Heaven;
And his spirit may pray—yet remain unforgiven;
And his grave may be closed—but no rest to him bring:
O the wrath of the Lord is a terrible thing!