And in the hush that followed the prayer Was heard the old clock on the stair'For ever-never! Never-for ever!' All are scattered now and fled; Some are married, some are dead; And when I ask with throbs of pain, 'Ah! when shall they all meet again?' As in the days long since gone by, The ancient timepiece makes reply'For ever-never! Never-for ever!' Never here, for ever there, Where all parting, pain, and care, 'For ever-never! Never-for ever!' HYMN OF THE HEBREW MAID. WHEN Israel, of the Lord beloved, An awful guide in smoke and flame.2 There rose the choral hymn of praise, Forsaken Israel wanders lone; Our fathers would not know Thy ways, But present still, though now unseen! To temper the deceitful ray. 1 Land of bondage, Egypt. 2 An awful guide in smoke and flame. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light; to go by day and night' (Exodus xiii. 21). 3 Portents, tokens or signs of God's presence. And, oh when stoops on Judah's path, Our harps we left by Babel's streams,' And mute are timbrel, trump, and horn. The flesh of rams, I will not prize; 1 Our harps we left by Babel's streams. Referring to the captivity of the Jews in Babylon. See Psalm cxxxvii. 2 Censer, a vessel in which incense is burned. 3 Thou hast said. See Isaiah i. 11, and Psalm li. 16, 17. THE COTTER'S SATURDAY NIGHT. (ROBERT BURNS.) Robert Burns-the national poet of Scotland-was born in Ayrshire in 1759. His father was poor, and could only give a scanty education to his children. The poet worked on a farm, taken by himself and his brother, till 1786, when, having thoughts of leaving his native country, he published a volume of poems. This at once made him famous, and changed the whole course of his life. He was welcomed and flattered by the highest society in Edinburgh. A second edition of his poems brought him 500l., with which he took the farm of Ellisland, in Dumfriesshire, and settled there. He died in Dumfries in 1796, in his thirty-eighth year. His writings chiefly consist of short poems and songs, which are known and read wherever the English language is spoken. THE cheerfu' supper done, wi' serious face, 1 They round the ingle 1 form a circle wide; The sire turns o'er, wi' patriarchal2 grace, The big ha' Bible-ance his father's pride; His bonnet reverently is laid aside, His lyart haffets 3 wearing thin and bare; Those strains that once did sweet in Zion glide, He wales a portion with judicious care; 4 And 'Let us worship God!' he says, with solemn air. They chant their artless notes in simple guise, 1 Ingle, fireplace. 2 Patriarchal, fatherly. 3 Lyart haffets, the gray locks of hair, becoming thin, were exposing to view the sides of his head. 4 Wales, selects. Or noble Elgin beats the heavenward flame, Compared with these, Italian trills are tame : The priest-like father reads the sacred page, With Amalek's ungracious progeny; 1 Or other holy seers that tune the sacred lyre. Then, kneeling down to heaven's Eternal King, That thus they all shall meet in future days; No more to sigh, or shed the bitter tear; Together hymning their Creator's praise, In such society-yet still more dear; While circling time moves round in an eternal sphere. From scenes like these old Scotia's grandeur springs, That makes her loved at home, revered abroad : 1 Amalek's ungracious progeny. The Amalekites attacked the Israelites soon after the latter crossed the Red Sea. 2 Royal Bard, King David (2 Sam. xii. 16). 3 Seraphic, angelic. |