SONNET. THE GRAVE.

REV. C. STRONG.

PASSING the inclosure where the dead repose,
I saw, in sable weeds, a gentle pair,
Lingering with fond regard at evening's close,
Beside a little grave fresh swelling there.

Silent they stood serene their thoughtful air; There fell no tear, no vain complaint arose; Faith seem'd to prompt the unutterable prayer, And to their view the eternal home disclose.

Next Sabbath brought me where the floweret lay,
Record of high descent the marble bore,
Heir of a noble house, and only stay;

And these words gather'd from the Bible's store"The Lord hath giv'n, the Lord hath ta'en away; His holy name be blessed evermore!"

THE POWER OF FAITH.

LUKE xvii. 5.

REV. W. H. BATHURST.

OH! for a faith that will not shrink,
Though press'd by many a foe,
That will not tremble on the brink

Of poverty or wo;

That will not murmur nor complain
Beneath the chastening rod,
But in the hour of grief and pain
Can lean upon its God!

A faith that shines more bright and clear
When tempests rage without;
That when in danger knows no fear,
In darkness feels no doubt;

That bears, unmoved, the world's dread frown,

Nor heeds its scornful smile;

That sin's wild ocean cannot drown,

Nor its soft arts beguile;

A faith that keeps the narrow way
Till life's last spark is fled,
And with a pure and heavenly ray
Lights up a dying bed.

Lord! give me such a faith as this! And then, whate'er may come,

I taste e'en now the hallow'd bliss Of an eternal home.

THE MARRIAGE VOW.

T.

SPEAK it not lightly! 'tis a holy thing,

A bond enduring through long distant years, When joy o'er thine abode is hovering,

Or when thine eye is wet with bitterest tears; Recorded by an angel's pen on high,

And must be question'd in eternity!

Speak it not lightly! though the young and gay

Are thronging round thee now with tones of mirth ; Let not the holy promise of to-day

Fade with the clouds that with the morn have birth,

But ever bright and sacred may it be

Stored in the treasure-cell of memory.

Life will not prove all sunshine: there will come Dark hours for all! Oh, will ye, when the night

Of sorrow gathers thickly round your home,

Love as ye did, in times when calm and bright Seem'd the sure path ye trod untouch'd by care, And deem'd the future, like the present, fair?

Eyes that now beam with health may yet grow dim, And cheeks of rose forget their early glow, Languor and pain assail each active limb,

And lay perchance some worshipp'd beauty low; Then will ye gaze upon the alter'd brow, And love as fondly, faithfully as now?

Should fortune frown on your defenceless head, Should storms o'ertake your bark on life's dark sea, Fierce tempests rend the sail so gaily spread

When Hope her syren strain sang joyously, Will ye look up, though clouds your sky o'ercast, And say "Together we will 'bide the blast?"

Age with its silvery locks comes stealing on,

And brings the tottering step, the furrow'd cheek, The from which each lustrous gleam is gone, eye

And the pale lip with accents low and weak; Will ye then think upon your life's gay prime, And, smiling, bid love triumph over time?

Speak it not lightly! Oh, beware, beware!

'Tis no vain promise, no unmeaning word; Lo! men and angels list the faith ye swear, And by the High and Holy One 'tis heard. Oh, then, kneel humbly at His altar now,

And pray for strength to keep the "Marriage Vow!"