Oh! how when my sister is summoned away,
Shall I pass the slow hours of the long dreaded day?
The songs we had sung will seem tuneless to me,
My walks will be sad, unpartaken by thee;
I shall miss thy kind smile when my pillow I leave,
I shall miss thy soft voice in the silence of eve;
Our parents their child may in patience resign,
Their trial is surely less bitter than mine.
Yet let me not thus the Almighty arraign,
Who graciously gives me a balm for my pain;
I feel when our many dear ties I recall,
That the service of God was the dearest of all:
Our way to his house on the Sabbath we took,
Together we studied the truth of his book;
And we owned when the paths of proud science we trod,
That all knowledge was poor to the knowledge of God.
Thy faith in thy last waning moments is shown,
Nor dost thou, my sister, enjoy it alone;
Thy tender companion from life's early breath,
May be not, alas, thy companion in death;
But her spirit with thine shall still fondly unite,
And the glories of heaven shall oft break on her sight;
When her thoughts from earth's perils and sorrows arise
To her dear twin-born sister who lives in the skies.
Go when the morning shineth,
Go when the noon is bright,
Go when the eve declineth,
Go in the hush of night;
Go with pure mind and feeling,
Fling earthly thoughts away,
And in thy chamber kneeling,
Do thou in secret pray.
Remember all who love thee,
All who are loved by thee;
Pray, too, for those who hate thee,
If any such there be;
Then for thyself in meekness,
A blessing humbly claim,
And link with each petition
Thy great Redeemer's name.
Or, if 'tis e'er denied thee,
In solitude to pray,
Should holy thoughts come o'er thee,
When friends are round thy way;
E'en then the silent breathing
Of thy spirit raised above,
Will reach His throne of glory
Who is mercy, truth, and love.
Oh, not a joy or blessing
Can we with His compare;
The power that he has given us
To pour our souls in prayer;
Whene'er thou pin'st in sadness,
Before his footstool fall,
And remember in thy gladness,
His grace who gave thee all.
"THOU'RT GANE AWA, MARY."
Thou'rt gane awa, thou'rt gane awa,
Thou'rt gane awa from me, Mary!
No hand thy upward flight could stay,
Or bind thy spirit free, Mary!
I thought thee faithful, kind, and true,
From pride and falsehood free, Mary; But till this hour I never knew
How dear thou wast to me, Mary.
In this sad world, with gloom replete,
Once lighted by thy smile, Mary!
A moment might thy presence sweet,
My weary way beguile, Mary.
I'd ask thee in that hour of woe,
That sealed my fate severe, Mary;
What comfort could thy spirit know,
What hope forbade thy fear, Mary?
Oh, say what potent spell was thine,
That could the foe disarm, Mary;
And tell me whence the joy divine,
That gave e'en death a charm, Mary?
A spotless life, a guileless mind,
Thou said'st were not thy claim, Mary;
But ere thy lips their life resigned
They breathed a Saviour's name, Mary!
Oh, that some ray of life would shine
On my bewildered mind, Mary;
Oh, that some feeble hope were mine,
The path of bliss to find, Mary!
My willing feet the way would climb,
Thy glorious flight to trace, Mary;
And leave the fading scenes of time
For Heaven, thy resting place, Mary!
I LOVE thee, Twilight; as thy shadows roll,
The calm of evening steals upon my soul,
Sublimely tender, solemnly serene,
Still as the hour, enchanting as the scene.
I love thee, Twilight! for thy gleams impart
Their dear, their dying influence to my heart.
When o'er the harp of thought thy passing wind
Awakens all the music of the mind,
And joy and sorrow, as the spirit burns,
And hope and memory sweep the chords by turns ;
While contemplation, on seraphic wings,
Mounts with the flame of sacrifice, and sings.
Twilight! I love thee; let thy glooms increase
Till every feeling, every pulse is peace;
Slow from the sky the light of day declines,
Clearer within the dawn of glory shines,
Revealing in the hour of Nature's rest,
A world of wonders in the poet's breast:
Deeper, O Twilight! then thy shadows roll,
An awful vision open on my soul.
|