Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

78

A COLLOQUY OF BETHLEHEM.

A COLLOQUY OF BETHLEHEM.

And lo the Star, which they saw in the East, went before them; till it came and stood over where the young Child was.

Matt. ii. 9.

O'ER Bethlehem the beauteous Star,
Bright stranger! sheds mysterious ray;
It guides the traveller afar,

It cheers the wanderer's weary way.

FIRST SHEPHERD.

Oh, Shepherd! whence the peerless gem
That burns alone on heaven's brow?

Beams there Judea's diadem

Returns a king or conqueror now?

SECOND SHEPHERD.

No diadem for Judah burns;

No regal sceptre for her kings; From spoil no conqueror returns, No pageantry the herald brings ;

[ocr errors]

It shines, the harbinger of peace,
Israel no more shall weep in blood;

WHEN YON BRIGHT ORB.

It bids dark superstition cease,

And leads the sinner to his God.

FIRST AND SECOND SHEPHERDS.

Star of Redemption! from thy sphere,
A herald Star-thou wanderest lone;
Shine on our path, dispel our fear,
And guide us to the INFANT's throne.

[merged small][ocr errors]

WHEN YON BRIGHT ORB BENEATH THE WEST.

WHEN yon bright orb beneath the west

Descends in shades of even,— When all is hushed in peaceful rest, The soul aspires to regions blest, And finds repose in Heaven.

"Tis then all fleeting joys below,
Awhile to mortals given,—
Seem but the pageant of a show,
The veil that hides a latent wo-

And false, compared with Heaven.

[blocks in formation]

"Tis then all cares and sorrows here,

By which frail man is driven,—
As evening shadows disappear,
And all within is calm and clear
Illumed with rays from Heaven.

Freed from this Earth, my soul would share
The joys to angels given,

In bright celestial mansions, where
Blest virtue beams divinely fair,

The glorious dawn of Heaven.

MAY, 1835.

MONTH of May! I wonder why

Poets ever sang of thee;

Thou art present here, yet I

Naught of May, the charmer, see.

All thy skies are clouded o'er;
Either east winds coldly blow,
Or comes down the feathery store,
Lingering yet, of Winter's snow.

MAY, 1835.

I have looked to see the bright
Sunsets of thy mellow day;
But was glad, by anthracite,
Sitting, to forget 'twas May.

I went forth upon thy First,
Balmy breezes to inhale,

But 'twas raw as Christmas, just;

Lips and cheeks were blue and pale.

Yesterday I strolled to make
Bouquets, as I used to do;
But I got an ague shake,

And a spell of coughing too.

If cold weather, now thy mate,

Takes a hint and will retire,

By July, I calculate,

We may do without a fire.

F

81

82

88

SONG OF THE BIBLE.

SONG OF THE BIBLE.

THE Bible speaks, that has spoken before,
Though men have heard in scorn;
It speaks to-day, as it spake of yore,
To all of Adam born;-

I am speaking yet, I am speaking yet,
As I spake long years ago;

And I bring down light to those that sit

In the shadows of death below.

The powers of Sin, they have leagued with men, To hinder my warning cry;

But in their dismay they have trembled, when My voice was lifted high.

The infidel rose in his zeal, unblest;

False philosophy deemed me a sham;

And its leader wore upon his crest, "Ecrasez l'infame."

To his place has the scoffing infidel gone,
With Shaftesbury and Voltaire;

I am speaking yet,—his wail goes on,—
His wail of anguish-where!

« AnteriorContinuar »