Part 20 (1/2)

”He knocks at all doors, strays and roams: Nay hath not so much wit as some stones have, Which in the darkest nights point to their homes By some hid sense their Maker gave: Man is the shuttle, to whose winding quest And pa.s.sage through these looms G.o.d order'd motion, but ordain'd no rest.”

There is great moral force about this; its measure and words put one in mind of the majestic lines of s.h.i.+rley, beginning

”The glories of our earthly state Are shadows, not substantial things.”

c.o.c.k-CROWING.

”Father of lights! what Sunnie seed, What glance of day hast thou confin'd Into this bird? To all the breed This busie Ray thou hast a.s.sign'd; Their magnetisme works all night, And dreams of Paradise and light.

”Their eyes watch for the morning-hue, Their little grain expelling night So s.h.i.+nes and sings, as if it knew The path unto the house of light.

It seems their candle, howe'er done, Was tinn'd and lighted at the sunne.”

This is a conceit, but an exquisite one.

PROVIDENCE.

”Sacred and secret hand!

By whose a.s.sisting, swift command The Angel shewd that holy Well, Which freed poor Hagar from her fears, And turn'd to smiles the begging tears Of yong distressed Ishmael.”

There is something very beautiful and touching in the opening of this on Providence, and in the ”yong distressed Ishmael.”

THE DAWNING.

”Ah! what time wilt thou come? when shall that crie, The Bridegroome's Comming! fill the sky?

Shall it in the Evening run When our words and works are done?

Or will thy all-surprizing light Break at midnight, When either sleep, or some dark pleasure Possesseth mad man without measure?

Or shall these early, fragrant hours Unlock thy bowres?

And with their blush of light descry Thy locks crown'd with eternitie?

Indeed, it is the only time That with thy glory doth best chime; All now are stirring, ev'ry field Full hymns doth yield; The whole Creation shakes off night, And for thy shadow looks the light.”

This last line is full of grandeur and originality.

THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL.

”Lord, when thou didst on _Sinai_ pitch, And s.h.i.+ne from _Paran_, when a firie Law, p.r.o.nounc'd with thunder and thy threats, did thaw Thy People's hearts, when all thy weeds were rich, And Inaccessible for light, Terrour, and might;- How did poore flesh, which after thou didst weare, Then faint and fear!

Thy Chosen flock, like leafs in a high wind, Whisper'd obedience, and their heads inclin'd.”

The idea in the last lines, we may suppose, was suggested by what Isaiah says of the effect produced on Ahaz and the men of Judah, when they heard that Rezin, king of Syria, had joined Israel against them. ”And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, _as the trees of the wood are moved by the winds_.”

HOLY SCRIPTURES.

”Welcome, dear book, soul's Joy and food! The feast Of Spirits; Heav'n extracted lyes in thee.

Thou art life's Charter, The Dove's spotless nest Where souls are hatch'd unto Eternitie.