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SELECT POETRY

FOR

CHILDREN.

1. THE VISIBLE CREATION.

The God of nature and of grace
In all his works appears;

His goodness through the earth we trace,
His grandeur in the spheres.

Behold this fair and fertile globe,
By Him in wisdom planned;
'Twas He who girded, like a robe,
The ocean round the land.

Lift to the firmament your eye—
Thither His path pursue;
His glory, boundless as the sky,
O'erwhelms the wondering view.

The forests in His strength rejoice ;
Hark! on the evening breeze,
As once of old, Jehovah's voice

Is heard among the trees. [1]

[1] "And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day."- Gen. iii. 8.

Here, on the hills, He feeds his herds,
His flocks in yonder plains;
His praise is warbled by the birds; .
-Oh could we catch their strains,

Mount with the lark, and bear our song
Up to the gates of light![1]
Or, with the nightingale, prolong

Our numbers through the night.

His blessings fall in plenteous showers
Upon the lap of earth,

That teems with foliage, fruit, and flowers,
And rings with infant mirth.

If God hath made this world so fair,
Where sin and death abound;
How beautiful, beyond compare,
Will Paradise be found!

Montgomery.

2. THE VOICE OF SPRING.

I am coming, I am coming!-
Hark! the little bee is humming;
See, the lark is soaring high,
In the bright and sunny sky;
And the gnats are on the wing,
Wheeling round in airy ring.

[1]" The gates of light," a poetical expression for the beams of the rising sun, issuing, as it were, from opening gates. Shakspere writes

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Hark! hark! the lark at heaven's gate sings."

See the yellow catkins[1] cover
All the slender willows over;
And on mossy banks, so green,
Star-like primroses are seen;

And their [2] clustering leaves below
White and purple violets blow.

Hark! the new-born lambs are bleating,
And the cawing rooks are meeting
In the elms-a noisy crowd;
All the birds are singing loud;
And the first white butterfly,
In the sun, goes flitting by.

Look around thee-look around!
Flowers in all the fields abound;
Every little stream is bright;
All the orchard trees are white,
And each small and waving shoot
Promises sweet flowers or fruit.

Turn thine eyes to earth and heaven!
God for thee the Spring has given,
Taught the birds their melodies,

Clothed the earth, and cleared the skies,
For thy pleasure or thy food;-

Pour thy soul in gratitude!

Mary Howitt.

[1] Catkins-blossoms-a botanical term, denoting the imperfect species of flower peculiar to the willow, hazel, and a few other trees, and which is thought somewhat to resemble a cat's tail-hence the name.

[2] Their, &c.-that is, below the leaves of the violets afterwards mentioned.

3. THE FIRST LAMB.

Sportive harbinger [1] of Spring!
Welcome tidings dost thou bring!
Thy short, timid, quivering bleat
Blends, in unison most sweet,
With the wren's melodious note,
As she swells her little throat;
Or the lark, that warbles loud,
Hid beneath the passing cloud;
And the new-awakened song,
Heard the woodland dell along.
'Neath the ancient hawthorn's shade,
Now in peaceful slumber laid,
Round thee springs the daisy fair;
Violets scent the balmy air,
And the primrose clusters spread
A soft pillow for thy head:-
Start not!-'tis a harmless guest-
The partridge stealing from her nest;
Or the bee, whose soothing hum
Tells the crocus flowers are come.
Lambkin, I will be thy friend,
I my cheerful aid will lend,
Thy weak, little feet, to guide
To thy tender mother's side.
Soon those tottering feet will bound
O'er the thyme-besprinkled mound;
Enlivened by the cheering sun,
Soon the jocund race thou'lt run,
Or in the sportive frolic join,

With heart as light and gay as mine.

[1] Harbinger-a forerunner;-the appearance of newborn lambs announces that Spring is coming.

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