And as the Spirit spake, the star of light That Life should give, that with my parting breath I might reclaim the promises of Death. -Good Words, 1860. C. S. J. SONG OF THE HAYMAKERS. THE noontide is hot and our foreheads are brown; Our palms are all shining and hard; Right close is our work with the wain and the fork, And but poor is our daily reward. But there's joy in the sunshine, and mirth in the lark That skims whistling away over head ; Our spirits are light, though our skins may be dark, And there's peace with our meal of brown bread. We dwell in the meadows, we toil on the sward, Then a song and a cheer for the bonnie green stack, For the pitchers and rakers, and merry haymakers, Come forth, gentle ladies-come forth, dainty sirs, Your garments will gather no stain from the burs, Our carpet's more soft for your delicate feet Come forth, noble masters, come forth to the field, Then a song and a cheer for the bonnie green stack, Climbing up to the sun wide and high; For the pitchers and rakers, and merry haymakers, And the beautiful midsummer sky! "Hold fast!" cries the waggoner, loudly and quick, And then comes the hearty "Gee-wo!" While the cunning old team-horses manage to pick A sweet mouthful to munch as they go. The tawny-faced children come round us to play, Till the tiniest one, all outspent with the fun, Old age sitteth down on the haycock's fair crown, And wishes his life, like the grass at his feet, Then a song and a cheer for the bonnie green stack, Climbing up to the sun wide and high; For the pitchers and rakers, and merry haymakers, And the beautiful midsummer sky! ELIZA COOK, 1818 HUMILITY. THE bird that soars on highest wing, When Mary chose the "better part," She meekly sat at Jesus' feet; And Lydia's gently-open'd heart Was made for God's own temple meet. -Fairest and best adorn'd is she The saint that wears heaven's brightest crown, In deepest adoration bends; The weight of glory bows him down, Then most when most his soul ascends; -Nearest the throne itself must be The footstool of Humility. JAMES MONTGOMERY, 1771-1854. BELIEVE IN GOD. "GOD, my brothers, will not leave us, Only Charity can nourish Those whom Charity creates. Believe in God. "You have wrongs by forge and furnace, You have darkness, you have dread; But you work in radiant harness, And your God is overhead. Does not night bring forth the morning? 66 Believe in God. Many, many are the shadows That the dawn of truth reveals; Beautiful on life's broad meadows Is the light the Christian feels. Evil shall give place to goodness, Wrong be dispossess'd by right; Out of old chaotic rudeness God evokes a world of light. Believe in God. "Do ye toil? Oh, freer, firmer, Ye shall grow beneath your toil; Only craven spirits murmur, Lightly rooted in the soil. Through the gloom and through the darkness, Believe in God. "Ye have often read the story And the wrath outran the grace; |