A little spring had lost its way amid the grass and fern,

A passing stranger scooped a well, where weary men might turn;

He walled it in, and hung with care a ladle at the

brink;

He thought not of the deed he did, but judged that toil might drink.

He passed again, and lo! the well, by summers never dried,

Had cooled ten thousand parching tongues, and saved a life beside.

A dreamer dropped a random thought; 't was old, and yet 't was new ;

A simple fancy of the brain, but strong in being

true.

It shone upon a genial mind, and, lo! its light

became

A lamp of life, a beacon ray, a monitory flame : The thought was small; its issue great; a watchfire on the hill;

It sheds its radiance far adown, and cheers the valley still.

A nameless man, amid a crowd that thronged the daily mart,

Let fall a word of hope and love, unstudied, from the heart,—

A whisper on the tumult thrown,—a transitory breath,

It raised a brother from the dust; it saved a soul from death.

O germ! O fount! O word of love! O thought at random cast!

Ye were but little at the first, but mighty at the last!

I LAY IN SORROW, DEEP DISTRESSED.

I lay in sorrow, deep distress'd;

My grief a proud man heard;
His looks were cold, he gave me gold,
But not a kindly word.

My sorrow pass'd,—I paid him back
The gold he gave to me;

Then stood erect and spoke my thanks,

And bless'd his Charity.

I lay in want, in grief and pain:

A

poor man pass'd my way;
He bound my head, he gave me bread,

He watch'd me night and day.
How shall I pay him back again,
For all he did to me?

Oh, gold is great, but greater far
Is heavenly Sympathy !

Aubrey Thomas De Vere.
1814.

THE DARK ANGEL.

Count each affliction, whether light or grave,
God's messenger sent down to thee. Do thou
With courtesy receive him: rise and bow;
And, ere his shadow pass thy threshold, crave
Permission first his heavenly feet to lave;
Then lay before him all thou hast; allow
No cloud of passion to usurp thy brow
Or mar thy hospitality; no wave
Of mortal tumult to obliterate

Thy soul's marmoreal* calmness. Grief should be
Like joy, majestic, equable, sedate,

Confirming, cleansing, raising, making free: Strong to consume small troubles; to commend Great thoughts, grave thoughts, thoughts lasting to the end.

Frederic William Faber.

1814-1863.

COME TO JESUS.

Souls of men, why will ye scatter
Like a crowd of frightened sheep?-
Foolish hearts! why will ye wander
From a love so true and deep?—

* Like marble.

Was there ever kindest shepherd
Half so gentle, half so sweet,
As the Saviour who would have us
Come and gather round His feet ?—

It is God: His love looks mighty,
But is mightier than it seems!
'Tis our Father; and His fondness
Goes far out beyond our dreams.

There's a wideness in God's mercy,
Like the wideness of the sea;
There's a kindness in His justice,
Which is more than liberty.

There is no place where earth's sorrows Are more felt than up in heaven; There is no place where earth's failings Have such kindly judgment given.

There is welcome for the sinner,
And more graces for the good;
There is mercy with the Saviour;
There is healing in His blood.

There is grace enough for thousands
Of new worlds as great as this;
There is room for fresh creations

In that upper home of bliss.

For the love of God is broader

Than the measures of man's mind; And the Heart of the Eternal

Is most wonderfully kind.

But we make His love too narrow
By false limits of our own;
And we magnify His strictness
With a zeal He will not own.

There is plentiful redemption

In the blood that has been shed;
There is joy for all the members
In the sorrows of the Head.

'T is not all we owe to Jesus;
It is something more than all ;
Greater good because of evil,

Larger mercy through the fall.

Pining souls! come nearer Jesus;
And, oh come, not doubting thus,
But with faith that trusts more bravely
His vast tenderness for us.

If our love were but more simple,
We should take Him at His word;
And our lives would be all sunshine
In the sweetness of our Lord.