VIOLETS. "The wayside violet, That shines unseen, and were it not For its sweet breath, would be forgot." NDER the green hedges, after the snow, There do the dear little violets grow, heads Under the hawthorn in soft mossy beds. Sweet as the roses, and blue as the sky, Down there do the dear little violets lie, Hiding their heads where they scarce may be seen; By the leaves you may know where the violet hath been. THE SKY-LARK. 59 THE SKY-LARK. ETHEREAL minstrel! pilgrim of the sky! Dost thou despise the earth, where cares abound; Both with thy nest, upon the dewy ground? To the last point of vision, and beyond, Mount, daring warbler! that love-prompted strain, Thrills not the less the bosom of the plain; Leave to the nightingale the shady wood; Type of the wise, who soar-but never roam, F BIRD of the wilderness, Blithesome and cumberless, Light be thy matin o'er moorland and lea! Bless'd is thy dwelling-place! O, to abide in the desert with thee! Wild is thy lay and loud, Love gives it energy, love gave it birth. 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 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! Bless'd is thy dwelling-place! O, to abide in the desert with thee! ON GLADNESS IN SPRING. IN the opening of the Spring, when all Nature begins to recover herself, the same animal pleasure which makes the birds sing, and the whole brute creation rejoice, rises very sensibly in the heart of man. I would have my readers endeavour to moralize this natural pleasure of the soul, and to improve this vernal delight, as Milton calls it, into a Christian virtue. When we find ourselves inspired with this pleasing THE REVIVING INFLUENCE OF SPRING. 61 instinct, this secret satisfaction and complacency, arising from the beauties of the creation, let us consider to whom we stand indebted for all these entertainments of sense, and who it is that thus opens His hand and fills the world with good. The apostle instructs us to take advantage of our present temper of mind, to graft upon it such a religious exercise as is particularly conformable to it, by that precept which advises those who are sad to pray, and those who are merry to sing psalms. The cheerfulness of heart which springs up in us from the survey of Nature's works, is an admirable preparation for gratitude. The mind has gone a great way towards praise and thanksgiving that is filled with such a secret gladness. A grateful reflection on the Supreme Cause who produces it, sanctifies it in the soul, and gives it its proper value. Such a habitual disposition of mind consecrates every field and wood, turns an ordinary walk into a morning or evening sacrifice, and will improve those transient gleams of joy, which naturally brighten up and refresh the soul on such occasions, into an inviolable and perpetual state of bliss and happiness. THE REVIVING INFLUENCE OF SPRING. FAIR is the face of Spring, When rural songs and odours wake the morn, HYMN FOR MARCH. "He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.” St. Matthew viii. 26. THE billows swell, the winds are high, Out of the depths to Thee I call, My fears are great, my strength is small. O Lord, the pilot's part perform, And guide and guard me through the storm ; Defend me from each threatening ill, Amidst the roaring of the sea My soul still hangs her hopes on Thee; Dangers of every shape and name Though tempest-tossed, and half a wreck; 1 |