The Common Lot.

"The Sun is but a spark of fire, A transient meteor in the sky;

The SOUL, immortal as its Sire,

SHALL NEVER DIE."

43

THE COMMON LOT.

Once, in the flight of ages past,

There lived a man :-and WHO was HE?Mortal! howe'er thy lot be cast,

That man resembled thee.

Unknown the region of his birth,
The land in which he died unknown:
His name hath perish'd from the earth;
This truth survives alone :-
:-

That joy and grief, and hope and fear,
Alternate triumph'd in his breast;
His bliss and woe,-a smile, a tear !
Oblivion hides the rest.

The bounding pulse, the languid limb,
The changing spirits' rise and fall;
We know that these were felt by him,
For these are felt by all.

He suffer'd,

Had friends,

but his pangs are o'er ;

Enjoy'd, but his delights are fled;

his friends are now no more;

And foes, his foes are dead.

He loved, but whom he loved, the grave
Hath lost in its unconscious womb :
O, she was fair!--but nought could save
Her beauty from the tomb.

He saw whatever thou hast seen;
Encounter'd all that troubles thee:
He was whatever thou hast been ;
He is what thou shalt be.

The rolling seasons, day and night,
Sun, moon, and stars, the earth and main,
Erewhile his portion, life and light,
To him exist in vain.

The clouds and sunbeams, o'er his eye
That once their shades and glory threw,
Have left in yonder silent sky
No vestige where they flew.

The annals of the human race,
Their ruins, since the world began,
Of HIм afford no other trace

Than this,-THERE LIVED A MAN !

The Soul's Aspiration.

45

AN EPITAPH.

Art thou a man of honest mould,
With fervent heart, and soul sincere ?
A husband, father, friend?-Behold,
Thy brother slumbers here.

The sun that wakes yon violet's bloom,
Once cheer'd his eye, now dark in death;
The wind that wanders o'er his tomb
Was once his vital breath.

The roving wind shall pass away,
The warming sun forsake the sky;

Thy brother, in that dreadful day,
Shall live and never die.

THE SOUL'S ASPIRATION.

Father of all our mercies, Thou

In whom we move and live,
Hear us, in heaven, Thy dwelling, now,
And answer and forgive.

When bound with sins and trespasses,

From wrath we fain would flee,

Lord, cancel our unrighteousness,
And set the captives free.

When harass'd by ten thousand foes,
Our helplessness we feel;
Oh, give the weary soul repose,
The wounded spirit heal.

When dire temptations gather round,

And threaten or allure,

By storm or calm, in Thee be found A refuge strong and sure.

When age advances, may we grow
In faith, and hope, and love;
And walk in holiness below,
To holiness above.

When earthly joys and cares depart,

Desire and envy cease,

Be Thou the portion of our heart,
In Thee may we have peace.

When flames these elements destroy, And worlds in judgment stand, May we lift up our heads with joy,

And meet at Thy right hand.

Elegy.

James Beattie.

47

ELEGY.

TIRED with the busy crowds, that all the day
Impatient throng where Folly's altars flame,
My languid powers dissolve with quick decay,
'Till genial Sleep repair the sinking frame.

Hail, kind reviver! that canst lull the cares,
And every weary sense compose to rest,
Lighten the oppressive load which anguish bears,

And warm with hope the cold desponding breast.

Touch'd by thy rod, from Power's majestic brow

Drops the gay plume; he pines a lowly clown; And on the cold earth stretch'd, the son of Woe, Quaffs Pleasure's draught, and wears a fancied crown.

When roused by thee, on boundless pinions borne,
Fancy to fairy scenes exults to rove,
Now scales the cliff gay-gleaming on the morn,

Now sad and silent treads the deepening grove;