THE UNSEEN.

201

THE UNSEEN.

THE wind blows down the largest tree,
And yet the wind I cannot see.
Playmates far off, that have been kind,
My thought can bring before my mind;
The past by it is present brought,
And yet I cannot see my thought.
The charming rose perfumes the air,
Yet I can see no perfumes there.

Blithe robin's notes- how sweet, how clear,

From his small bill they reach my ear!
And whilst upon the air they float,
I hear, yet cannot see a note.
When I would do what is forbid,
By something in my heart I'm chid;
When good I think, then quick and pat
The something says, "My child, do that."
When I too near the stream would go,
So pleased to see the waters flow,
That something says, without a sound,
"Take care, dear child! you may be drowned."

And for the poor whene'er I grieve,

That something says, "A penny give."

Thus spirits good and ill there be,

Although invisible to me:
Whate'er I do, they see me still.

Then, O good Spirits! guide my will.

ADELAIDE TAYLOR.

202

IMMORTALITY.

ETERNITY.

How long sometimes a day appears!
And weeks, how long are they!
Months move as slow as if the years
Would never pass away.

But even years are fleeting by,
And soon must all be gone;
For day by day, as minutes fly,

Eternity comes on.

Days, months, and years must have an end :
Eternity has none !

"T will always have as long to spend
As when it first begun.

Great God! although we cannot tell
How such a thing can be,

We humbly pray that we may dwell
That long, long time with thee.

IMMORTALITY.

YON butterfly, whose airy form

Flits o'er the garden-wall,

JANE TAYLOR.

IMMORTALITY.

Was once a little crawling worm,
And could not fly at all.

The little worm was then enclosed

Within a shell-like case, And there it quietly reposed Until its change took place.

And now on red and purple wings
It roves, as free as air,
Visiting all the lovely things

That make the earth so fair.

And weif humbly we behave,
And do the will of God,

And strive to follow, to our grave,
The paths the saints have trod —

Shall find a change more glorious far
Than that which came to light,
When, bursting through its prison bar,
The butterfly took flight.

Through Christ, who reigns above the skies,
To us it will be given

Aloft on angels' wings to rise,

And taste the joys of heaven.

203

SONGS FROM THE GERMAN.

204

THE STARS.

THE STARS

"STARS, that on your wondrous way Travel through the evening sky, Is there nothing you can say

To a child so small as I?

66

Child, as truly as we roll

Through the dark and distant sky,
You have an immortal soul,

Born to live when we shall die :
Suns and planets pass away,

Spirits never can decay.

"When, some thousand years at most,

All their little time have spent,

One by one our sparkling host

Shall forsake the firmament,

We shall from our glory fall;

You must live beyond us all.

"Yes, and God, who bade us roll,
God, who hung us in the sky,
Stoops to watch an infant's soul,
With a condescending eye,
And esteems it dearer far,
More in value than a star!

A CHRISTMAS HYMN.

"O then, while your breath is given,

Pour it out in fervent prayer,

And beseech the God of Heaven
To receive your spirit there;

As a living star to blaze
Ever to your Saviour's praise."

205

HYMNS FOR INFANT MINDS.

A CHRISTMAS HYMN.

It was the calm and silent night!

Seven hundred years and fifty-three
Had Rome been growing up to might,
And now was queen of land and sea!
No sound was heard of clashing wars,
Peace brooded o'er the hushed domain;
Apollo, Pallas, Jove, and Mars

Held undisturbed their ancient reign,-
In the solemn midnight,
Centuries ago!

"T was in the calm and silent night!
The senator of haughty Rome
Impatient urged his chariot's flight,
From lordly revel rolling home.
Triumphal arches, gleaming, swell

His breast with thoughts of boundless sway: