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VOICE OF A MOMENT.

VOICE OF A MOMENT.

Stay thee, tiny child of time!

Why shouldst thou so swiftly flee? Stay and spend thy early prime, Wooing happiness with me.

"Mortal what hath earth to bring
To allure my rapid wing ?"

See how gaily life is strewn,

Pleasant flowers adorn the way,

From the cottage to the throne
Life is all a holiday!

"Flowers conceal the pointed thornNight o'ertakes the brightest morn."

Hear the swelling voice of fame,
Millions shout the praise of one!
Tarry till I earn a name,

Some immortal deed have done.

"Fame! what is it but a name?
Hast thou not a nobler theme ?"

VOICE OF A MOMENT.

Fortune then let me adore,

Wealth can compass all desire,
Swift to heap Potosis ore

All my eager hopes aspire.
"Wealth is but a name for care,
Toil may win but may not wear."
Lighter joys will I pursue,

Buoyant as the air and free,
Glide the fields of pleasure through
In a ceaseless revelry.

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Deep the pitfall of despair,
Let thy reckless step beware!"

Man, thy moments may not wait,
Waste not thou thy best estate;
Folly spreads her path in guile,
Lures with false and cunning smile;
Gilds her snares with gorgeous glow,
Decks with flowers the path of woe!

Wrest thy spirit from the chain,
Binding these amid the vain,

The inconstant joys of earth-
Few and small and nothing worth,-
Turn and grasp the fadeless prize
Treasured for thee in the skies.

67

American "Friend."

68

PURITY OF THOUGHT.

PURITY OF THOUGHT INDISPENSABLE

TO DIVINE COMMUNION.

Thee we reject, unable to abide

Thy purity, till pure as thou art pure,

Made such by thee, we love thee for that cause

For which we shunn'd and hated thee before.

Then we are free.

Then liberty, like day,

Breaks on the soul, and by a flash from heaven
Fires all the faculties with glorious joy.

A voice is heard that mortal ears hear not
Till thou hast touch'd them; 'tis the voice of song,
A loud hosanna sent from all thy works,

Which he that hears it with a shout repeats,
And adds his rapture to the general praise.
In that blest moment, Nature, throwing wide
Her veil opaque, discloses with a smile

The Author of her beauties, who, retired
Behind His own creation, works unseen
By the impure, and hears His power denied.
Thou art the source and centre of all minds,
Their only point of rest, eternal Word!
From thee departing they are lost, and rove
At random, without honour, hope, or peace.

THE FORGET ME NOT.

From thee is all that soothes the life of man,
His high endeavour, and his glad success,
His strength to suffer, and his will to serve.
But, O thou bounteous Giver of all good,
Thou art, of all thy gifts, thyself the crown!
Give what thou canst, without thee we are poor;
And with thee rich, take what thou wilt

away.

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COWPER.

THE FORGET ME NOT.

In vain I search'd the garden through,

In vain the meadow gay,

For some sweet flower which might to you
A kindly thought convey.

One spake too much of hope and bloom,
For those who know of man the doom;

Another, queen of the parterre,
Thorns on her graceful stem did bear;
A third, alas! seem'd all too frail
For ruder breath than summer gale.

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ON FRIENDSHIP.

I turn'd me thence to where, beneath
The hedgerow's verdant shade,
The lowliest gems of Flora's wreath
Their modest charms display'd.
Lured by its name, one simple flower
From its meek sisterhood I bore,
And bade it hasten to impart

The breathings of a faithful heart,

And plead" Whate'er your future lot,

In weal or woe-Forget me not."

MORAL OF FLOWERS.

ON FRIENDSHIP.

Does earth possess a purer flame
Than under friendship's hallowed name?
Does earth possess a brighter gem
Than what adorns its diadem?

Does earth possess more soothing balm
Our wounds to heal, our fears to calm ?
The pure, the bright, the soothing, blend
To constitute the name of Friend.