LINES WRITTEN DURING AFFLICTION. 119

The wealth of the ocean lies fathoms below
The surface that sparkles above.

Be kind to thy father, once fearless and bold,
Be kind to thy mother, so near;

Be kind to thy brother, nor show thy heart cold,
Be kind to thy sister, a sister so dear.

Lines written during Affliction.

"The laughter of the young and gay,

Was all too glad and loud."

HUSH! hush! my thoughts are resting on a changeless world of bliss,

Oh come not with the voice of mirth, to lure me back to this;

'Tis true, we've much of sadness in our weary sojourn here,

That fades, and leaves no deeper trace than childhood's reckless tear;

But there are woes that scathe the soul, till all its bloom is o'er,

A deadly blight we feel but once, that once for

evermore.

120 LINES WRITTEN DURING AFFLICTION.

Oh then, how sweet on Fancy's wing to cleave that bright domain !

The loved and the redeemed are there,-why lure me back again?

The cadences of gladness to your hearts may yet be dear,

They have no melody for mine; all, all is desert

here;

The sunshine still is bright to you, the moonlight and the flowers:

To me, they tell a harrowing tale of dear departed hours.

I would not cull Hope's blossoms now; they seem of deadly bloom,

And, can I love the sunshine, when it smiles upon the tomb?

When on one little hallowed spot its joyous beams are thrown,

That sacred turf, the all of earth I now may call

my own;

For there my joys are sepulchred, my hopes are buried there,

Yet with that holy earth are linked high thoughts, that mock despair.

LINES WRITTEN DURING AFFLICTION. 121

Unfaltering Faith, that whispers of a purer sphere than this,

Where spirits that are parted here, may mingle into bliss;

Deep trust that all our sinless hopes, which death forbids to bloom,

May ripen 'neath the cloudless sky that dawns beyond the tomb;

Conviction firm, that things of time were never yet designed

To quench the vast and deathless thirst of an immortal mind.

Then hush! my thoughts are resting on a changeless world of bliss ;

There is no voice of gladness now can lure me back to this;

I look to thee, Redeemer; oh, be every crime for

given,

And take thy weary captive to thy Paradise in Heaven!

Or, teach my heart resignedly to say, "Thy will be done,"

And calmly wait thy summons home, thou Just and

Holy One;

Thou mayst have spoiled my cherished hopes to let my spirit see

That happiness is only found, great God, in serving Thee.

Praise.

"Oh Lord, I know that in very faithfulness Thou hast afflicted me."

FOR what shall I praise Thee, my God and my King! For what blessings the tribute of gratitude bring? Shall I praise Thee for pleasure, for health, or for ease?

For the spring of delight, or the sunshine of peace?

Shall I praise Thee for flowers that bloomed on my breast,

For joys in perspective, or pleasures possessed? For the spirits that heightened my days of delight, And the slumbers that sat on my pillow by night?

For this should I praise Thee; but, if only for this, I should leave half untold the donation of bliss.

HOPE FOR THE BEST.

123

I thank Thee for sorrow, for sickness, for care;
For the thorns I have gathered, the anguish I bear.

For nights of anxiety, watchings, and tears,
A present of pain, a perspective of fears.

I praise Thee, I bless Thee, my King and my God,
For the good and the evil thy hand hath bestowed.

The flowers were sweet, but their fragrance is flown;

They yielded no fruit, they are withered and gone; The thorn, it was poignant, but precious to me: 'Twas the message of mercy,-it led me to Thee.

Bope for the Best.

BY C. SWAIN.

OH! why should we ever be shading
Moments of parting with pain?

Though the rose we have cherished be fading,
Time will bring roses again.