120

ADDRESS OF ADAM AND EVE.

There is betwixt that smile that we aspire to,
That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin,
More
pangs

and fears than wars or women have: And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer, Never to hope again.

SHAKSPERE.

ADDRESS OF ADAM AND EVE TO THE DEITY.

THESE are Thy glorious works, Parent of good!
Almighty, Thine this universal frame,
Thus wond'rous fair, — Thyself how wond'rous,

then !
Unspeakable, who sitt'st above these heavens,
To us invisible, or dimly seen
In these Thy lowest works; yet these declare
Thy goodness beyond thought, and power divine.
Speak ye who best can tell, ye sons of light,
Angels; for ye behold Him, and with songs
And choral symphonies, day without night,
Circle His throne rejoicing. Ye in heaven,
On earth, join, all ye creatures, to extol
Him first, Him last, Him midst, and without end.
Fairest of stars, last in the train of night,
If better thou belong not to the dawn,
Sure pledge of day, that crown'st the smiling

morn

With thy bright circlet, praise Him in thy sphere,
While day arises, that sweet hour of prime.
Thou sun, of this great worl] both eye and soul,

ADDRESS OF ADAM AND EVE.

121

Acknowledge Him the greater, sound His praise In thy eternal course, both when thou climb’st, And when high noon hast gain’d, and when thon

fall'st. Moon, that now meet'st the orient sun, now fly'st ; With the fix'd stars, fix'd in their orb that flies; And ye five other wand'ring fires, that move In mystic dance, not without song resound His praise, who out of darkness call’d up light. Air and ye elements, the eldest birth Of nature's womb, that in quaternion run Perpetual circle, multiform, and mix And nourish all things, let your ceaseless change Vary to our great Maker still new praise. Ye mists and exhalations, that now rise From hill or steaming lake, dusky or grey, Till the sun paint your fleecy skirts with gold, In honour to the woods' great Author rise, Whether to deck with clouds the uncolour'd sky, Or wet the thirsty earth with falling showers ; Rising or falling, still advance His praise. His praise, ye winds, that from four quarters

blow, Breathe soft or loud; and wave your tops, ye

pines, With ev'ry plant, in sign of worship wave. Fountains, and

ye

that warble as ye flow, Melodious murmurs warbling, tune His praise. Join voices all, ye living souls; ye birds, That singing up to heaven's gate ascend, Bear on your wings and in your notes His praise ;

122

UNSEEN WATCHERS.

Ye that in waters glide, and ye that walk
The earth, and stately tread or lowly creep,
Witness if I be silent, morn or e’en,
To hill or valley, fountain or fresh shade,
Made vocal by my song, and taught His praise.
Hail, universal Lord ! be bounteous still
To give us only good; and if the night
Have gather'd aught of evil, or conceald,
Disperse it, as now light dispels the dark.

MILTON.

do softly

UNSEEN WATCHERS.
Is there a spot in memory's shrine

More dear than all the rest,
Sure 'tis where those we loved, no more

By sin or grief oppress'd,
Beneath the daisied turf awhile in

peace sleep, And flowers, dissolved in tears of dew, alone sweet

vigils keep.
Thither at rosy morning tide,

Thither at sultry noon,
But chiefly when the evening sky

Waits for the summer moon,
When all is still, and not a leaf doth quiver in the

grove, Thither, by paths unknown to us, sweet fancy

UNSEEN WATCHERS.

123

We may not trace with mortal

eye The path of trackless thought, Nor ken how time and space to it

Are but as things of nought ; We only know it is a boon by God to mortals

given, That they, while pilgrims here on earth, might

reach in thought e’en heaven.

A sudden pause, a word, a look,

Mid those whom Death hath left us,
Summons, unbid, to instant view,

Friends of whom he hath reft us ;
Then by-gone scenes we trace again, and days live

o'er again In tearful pleasure, though the soul shrinks from

the pleasing pain.

Once more we mark the well-known form

To which go oft we've clung,
Fancy we hear, as once we heard,

Sweet accents from that tongue
Now mute in death ; but like a dream, anon, at

sudden wave Of Fancy's magic rod they pass, and sink into the

grave.

Lo! we are standing on the mound

Which hides the once-loved head-
Hush ! beating heart, 'tis holy ground,

The chambers of the dead.

124

THE MISERIES OF LIFE.

Be still, vain thoughts; look up, my soul, to

heaven ; why wilt thou weep? Not flowers alone, but angels, here their solemn

vigil keep.
They are above thee, and around

Through all the silent air ;
In life, unseen, they scan thy path,

Thy way most secret share.
In death, when mortal frame returns back to its

native earth, Still are they nigh to welcome thee to an immor

tal birth.

ANON.

THE MISERIES OF LIFE.

Ah, little think the gay licentious crowd,
Whom pleasure, power, and affluence surround, -
They who their thoughtless hours in giddy mirth,
And wanton, often cruel, riot waste ;
Ah, little think they, while they dance along,
How

many feel this very moment death,
And all the sad variety of pain ;
How many sink in the devouring flood,
Or more devouring flame; how many bleed,
By shameful variance between man and man;
How many pine in want and dungeon-glooms,
Shut from the common air, and common use
Of their own limbs; how many drink the cup
Of baleful grief, or eat the bitter bread