For sure as the morning follows O man bowed down with labor, O heart oppressed in the toiler's breast Harness me down with your iron bands, Be sure of your curb and rein, For I scorn the strength of your puny hands How I laughed as I lay concealed from sight For many a countless hour, At the childish boast of human might, When I saw an army upon the land, Or waiting the wayward breeze; As he feebly turned the tardy wheel, When I measured the panting courser's speed, The flight of the carrier-dove, As they bore the law a king decreed, Or the lines of impatient love;— I could but think how the world would feel, When I should be bound to the rushing keel, Ha ha ha! they found me at last; They invited me forth at length; And I rushed to my throne with a thunderblast, And laughed in my iron strength. Oh, then ye saw a wondrous change Hurrah! hurrah! the waters o'er The ocean pales wherever I sweep, I carry the wealth of the lord of earth, In the darksome depths of the fathomless mine My tireless arm doth play, Where the rocks ne'er saw the sun's decline, Or the dawn of the glorious day; I bring earth's glittering jewels up And I make the fountain's granite cup I blow the bellows, I forge the steel, I hammer the ore, and turn the wheel And all my doings I put in print On every Saturday eve. I've no muscles to weary, no brains to decay, And soon I intend you may "go and play," For I scorn the strength of your puny hands -GEORGE W. CUTTER. Our grand business is, not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand. The Flax stood in blossom; it had pretty little blue flowers, as delicate as a moth's wings. The sun shone on the Flax, and the rain-clouds moistened it. The rain was just as good for the Flax as it is for little children to be washed and then kissed by their mothers. The children become much prettier, and so did the Flax. "The people say that I look uncommonly well," said the Flax, "and that I'm fine and long, and will make an excellent piece of linen. How happy I am! I'm certainly the happiest of beings. How well off I am! And I may come to something! How the sun gladdens and the rain refreshes me!" |