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A song for the palm-the pine,

And for every tree that grows, From the desolate zone of snows To the zone of the burning line; Hurrah! for the warders proud

Of the mountainside and the vale, That challenge the thundercloud And buffet the stormy gale.

A song for the forest, aisled,
With its Gothic roof sublime,
The solemn temple of Time,
Where man becometh a child,
As he listens the anthem-roll

Of the voiceful winds that call,

In the solitude of his soul,

On the name of the All-in-All.

So long as the rivers flow,

So long as the mountains rise,
May the foliage drink of the skies

And shelter the flowers below;
Hurrah! for the beautiful trees!

Hurrah! for the forest grand,

The pride of His centuries,

The Garden of God's own hand.

-W. H. VENABLE.

WOODMAN, SPARE THAT TREE.

Woodman, spare that tree!
Touch not a single bough!
In youth it sheltered me,
And I'll protect it now.
"Twas my forefather's hand
That placed it near his cot;
There, woodman, let it stand-
Thy axe shall harm it not!

That old familiar tree,

Whose glory and renown
Are spread o'er land and sea-
And wouldst thou hew it down?
Woodman, forbear thy stroke!
Cut not its earth-bound ties;

Oh, spare that aged oak,

Now towering to the skies!

My heart-strings round thee cling,

Close as thy bark, old friend!
Here shall the wild-bird sing,

And still thy branches bend.
Old tree! the storm still brave!
And, woodman, leave the spot:
While I've a hand to save,

Thy axe shall harm it not!

-GEORGE P. MORRIS.

LITTLE BY LITTLE.

"Little by little," an acorn said,
As it slowly sank in its mossy bed;
"I am improving every day,

Hidden deep in the earth away."
Little by little each day it grew,
Little by little it sipped the dew;
Downward it sent out a thread-like root,
Up in the air sprung a tiny shoot.

Day after day, and year after year,

Little by little the leaves appear;

And the slender branches spread far and wide, Till the mighty oak is the forest's pride. "Little by little," said a thoughtful boy, "Moment by moment I'll well employ, Learning a little every day,

And not spending all my time in play; And still this rule in my mind shall dwell— 'Whatever I do, I'll do it well.'

Little by little I'll learn to know

The treasured wisdom of long ago;

And one of these days, perhaps, we'll see
That the world will be the better for me."

And do you not think that this simple plan
Made him a wise and useful man?

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"Help one another," the dewdrop cried,

Seeing another drop close to its side; "This warm south breeze would dry me away, And I should be gone ere noon to-day;

But I'll help you, and you help me,

And we'll make a brook and run to the sea."

"Help one another," a grain of sand

Said to another grain just at hand;
"The wind may carry me over the sea,
And then, O! what will become of me?
But come, my brother, give me your hand;

We'll build a mountain, and there we'll stand."

And so the snowflakes grew to drifts,

The grains of sand to mountains,

The leaves became a pleasant shade,

And dewdrops fed the fountains.

-REV. GEORGE F. HUNTING, in the Parish Visitor.

WHEN ALL WILD THINGS LIE DOWN TO SLEEP.

November woods are bare and still,
November days are clear and bright;
Each noon burns up the morning's chill,
The morning's snow is gone by night;
Each day my steps grow slow, grow light,
As through the woods I reverent creep,
Watching all things "lie down to sleep."

I never knew before what beds,
Fragrant to smell and soft to touch,
The forest sifts, and shapes, and spreads;
I never knew before how much

Of human sound there is in such

Low tones as through the forest sweeps,
When all wild things "lie down to sleep."

Each day I find new coverlids

Tucked in and more sweet eyes shut tight;
Sometimes the viewless mother bids
Her ferns kneel down full in my sight;
I hear their chorus of "good night,"
And half I smile and half I weep,
Listening while they "lie down to sleep."

-HELEN HUNT JACKSON.

NATURE'S SONG.

There is no rhyme that is half so sweet

As the song of the wind in the rippling wheat;
There is no meter that's half so fine

As the lilt of the brook under rock and vine;
And the loveliest lyric I ever heard

Was the wildwood strain of a forest bird.

-MADISON CAWEIN,

THE OAK.

A song to the oak,

The brave old oak,

Who hath ruled in the greenwood long!
Here's health and renown

To his broad, green crown
And his fifty arms so strong!
There's fear in his frown

When the sun goes down
And the fire in the west fades out;
And he showeth his might,

On a wild, stormy night,

When the storms through his branches shout.
Then here's to the oak,

The brave old oak,

Who stands in his pride alone;

And still flourish he,

A hale, green tree,

When a hundred years are gone!

-H. F. CHORLEY,

PART VII. APPROPRIATE SONGS AND SELECTIONS.

MY COUNTRY, 'TIS OF THEE!

My country, 'tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,

Of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrim's pride;
From every mountain side
Let freedom ring.

My native country, thee,
Land of the noble free,

Thy name I love;

I love thy rocks and rills;
Thy woods and templed hills;
My heart with rapture thrills
Like that above.

Let music swell the breeze
And ring from all the trees
Sweet freedom's song;
Let mortal tongues awake,
Let all that breathe partake,
Let rocks their silence break,
The sound prolong.

Our father's God, to Thee,
Author of liberty,

To Thee we sing.

Long may our land be bright
With freedom's holy light,

Protect us by Thy might,

Great God, our King.

THE OLD OAKEN BUCKET.

How dear to this heart are the scenes of my childhood,
When fond recollection presents them to view!
The orchard, the meadow, the deep-tangled wildwood,
And ev'ry loved spot which my infancy knew;
The wide spreading pond, and the mill that stood by it,
The bridge and the rock where the cataract fell;

The cot of my father, the dairy house nigh it,
And e'en the rude bucket that hung in the well.

-SMITH.

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