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A REMONSTRANCE.

He can recall the lost, the dead,
Or give us nobler in their stead.

Of earthly friends,-who finds them true
May boast a happy lot;

But happier still, life's journey through,
Is he who needs them not:

TO A FRIEND WHO COMPLAINED TO THE AUTHOR THAT 66 HE WAS ALL ALONE."

A. A. WATTS.

O, SAY not thou art all alone
Upon this wide, cold-hearted earth;
Sigh not o'er joys for ever flown,-
The vacant chair, the silent hearth:
Why should the world's unholy mirth
Upon thy quiet dreams intrude,
To scare those shapes of heavenly birth
That people oft thy solitude?

Though many a fervent hope of youth
Hath passed, and scarcely left a trace;
Though earth-born love, its tears and truth,
No longer in thy heart have place;
Nor time, nor grief can e'er efface

The brighter hopes that now are thine,—
The fadeless love, all-pitying grace,
That makes thy darkest hours divine!

Not all alone; for thou canst hold.

Communion sweet with saint and

And gather gems, of price untold,

sage,

From many a consecrated page: Youth's dreams, the golden lights of age, The poet's lore, are still thine own; Then, while such themes thy thoughts engage, O, how canst thou be all alone!

Not all alone; the lark's rich note,

As, mounting up to heaven, she sings;
The thousand silver sounds that float
Above, below, on morning's wings;
The softer murmurs twilight brings,-
The cricket's chirp, cicada's glee;
All earth, that lyre of myriad strings,
Is jubilant with life for thee!

Not all alone; the whispering trees,
The rippling brook, the starry sky,

QUIET FROM GOD.

229

Have each peculiar harmonies

To soothe, subdue, and sanctify:
The low, sweet breath of evening's sigh,
For thee hath oft a friendly tone,
To lift thy grateful thoughts on high,
And say, thou art not all alone!

Not all alone; a watchful Eye,

That notes the wandering sparrow's fall, A saving Hand, is ever nigh,

A gracious Power attends thy call; When sadness holds the heart in thrall, Oft is His tenderest mercy shown; Seek then the balm vouchsafed to all, And thou canst never be alone!

QUIET FROM GOD.

SACRED OFFERING.

"If he giveth quiet, who can make trouble?"-Job xxxiv. 29.

QUIET from God! It cometh not to still
The vast and high aspirings of the soul,-
The deep emotions which the spirit fill,
And speed its purpose onward to the goal;

It dims not youth's bright eye,
Bends not joy's lofty brow,
No guiltless ecstasy

Need in its presence bow.

It comes not in a sullen form, to place
Life's greatest good in an inglorious rest;
Through a dull, beaten track its way to trace,
And to lethargic slumber lull the breast:
Action may be its sphere,

Mountain paths, — boundless fields; O'er billows its career:

This is the power it yields ;

To sojourn in the world, and yet apart;
To dwell with God, yet still with man to feel;
To bear about for ever in the heart

The gladness which His Spirit doth reveal;
Not to deem evil gone

From every earthly scene;

To see the storm come on,

But feel his shield between.

It giveth not a strength to human kind

To leave all suffering powerless at its feet, But keeps within the temple of the mind, A golden altar, and a mercy-seat,

A spiritual ark,

Bearing the peace of God,

QUIET FROM GOD.

231

Above the waters dark,

And o'er the desert's sod.

How beautiful within our souls to keep
This treasure, the All-merciful hath given;
To feel, when we awake, and when we sleep,
Its incense round us, like a breeze from heaven!
Quiet at heart and home,

Where the heart's joys begin;

Quiet where'er we roam,

Quiet around, within.

Who shall make trouble? Not the evil minds
Which like a shadow o'er creation lower.
The spirit peace hath so attuned finds
There feelings that may own the Calmer's power.
What may she not confer,

E'en where she must condemn ?

They take not peace from her;

She may speak peace to them.

What shall make trouble? Not an adverse fate, Not chilly poverty, nor worldly care;

They who are tending to a better state

Want but that peace to make them feel they are.

Care o'er life's little day

The tempest-cloud may roll;

Peace o'er its eve will play,

The moonlight of the soul.