THE SKYLARK. BIRD of the wilderness, Blithesome and cumberless, Light be thy matin o'er moorland and lea! Emblem of happiness! Bless'd is thy dwelling-place! O, to abide in the desert with thee! Wild is thy lay and loud, Far in the downy cloud ; Love gives it energy, love gave it birth. Where on thy dewy wing, Where art thou journeying? Thy lay is in Heaven, thy love is on earth. O'er fell and fountain sheen, O'er moor and mountain green, O'er the red streamer that heralds the day; Over the cloudlet dim, Over the rainbow's rim, Musical cherub, hie, hie thee away! Then when the gloaming comes, Low in the heather blooms,' Sweet will thy welcome and bed of love be! Emblem of happiness! Bless'd is thy dwelling-place! O, to abide in the desert with thee! GREATNESS OF DEITY. "How great are his signs, and how mighty are his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation." I MARKED the Spring, as she passed along, While she stole in peace o'er the green earth's breast, And their breath went forth to the scented sky; I looked upon Summer;-the golden sun The scene was changed. It was Autumn's hour: Was stirred by the sound of the rising floods; I stood by the Ocean; its waters rolled Where the blue waves danced round a thousand isles; The ships went forth on the trackless seas, Their prows rushed on 'midst the parted foam; The mountain arose with its lofty brow, While its shadow lay sleeping in vales below; The mist, like a garland of glory lay Where its proud heights soared in the air away; The eagle was there on his tireless wing, And his shriek went up like an offering; And he seemed, in his sunward flight, to raise A chant of thanksgiving-a hymn of praise! I looked on the arch of the midnight skies; All sounds lay hushed in that brooding spell- And the wild-bird dreamed sweet on his downy nest. I stood where the deep'ning tempest passed; And hath MAN the power, with his pride and his skill, To rouse all nature with storms at will? Hath he power to colour the summer cloud To allay the tempest when the hills are bowed? |