We bless the flowers, expanded all,' We bless the leaves that never fall, And trembling say,-« In Eden thus The Tree of Life may flower for us!»> When round thy cherubs, smiling calm Those cherubs with their smiling eyes, When on the shrine of God were laid First-fruits of all most good and fair, That ever grew in Eden's shade, Thine was the holiest offering there! Hope and her sister, Faith, were given But as our guides to yonder sky; Soon as they reach the verge of heaven, Lost in that blaze of bliss, they die.' But long as Love, almighty Love, Shall on his throne of thrones abide, Thou shalt, oh! Charity, dwell above, Smiling for ever by his side. OH FAIR! OH PUREST! SAINT AUGUSTINE TO HIS SISTER.3 On fair! oh purest! be thou the dove Oh fair! oh purest! be like this dove. Oh fair! oh purest! be like the dove. No. II. ANGEL OF CHARITY. ANGEL of Charity, who from above 1. And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims, and palm-trees, and open flowers. King, vi, 29. 2. When the passover of the tabernacles was revealed to the great lawgiver in the mount, then the cherubic images which appeared in that structure were no longer surrounded by flames; for the tabernacle was a type of the dispensation of mercy, by which Jehovah confirmed his gracious covenant to redeem mankind.-Observations on the Palm. In St Augustine's treatise upon the advantages of a solitary life, addressed to his sister, there is the following fanciful passage, from which the thought of this song was taken:- Te, soror, nunquam nolo esse securam, sed timere, semperque tuam fragilitatem habere suspectam, ad instar pavida columbæ frequentare rivos aquarum et quasi in speculo accipitris cernere supervolantis effigiem et cavere. Rivi aquarum sententiæ sunt scripturarum, quæ de limpidissimo sapientiæ fonte profluentes, etc. etc.-De Vit. Eremit. ad Sororem. BEHOLD THE SUN. BEHOLD the sun, how bright From yonder cast he springs, As if the soul of life and light Were breathing from his wings: So bright the gospel broke Upon the souls of men ; So fresh the dreaming world awoke In truth's full radiance then! Before yon sun arose, Stars cluster'd through the skyBut oh how dim, how pale were those, To his one burning eye! So truth lent many a ray, To bless the Pagan's nightBut, Lord, how weak, how cold were they, To thy one glorious light! LORD, WHO SHALL BEAR THAT DAY? LORD, who shall bear that day, so dread, so splendid, When through the world thy awful call hath sounded« Wake, oh ye dead, to judgment wake, ye dead!»3 And from the clouds, by seraph eyes surrounded, The Saviour shall put forth his radiant head;4 While earth and heaven before him pass away-S Who, mighty God, oh who shall bear that day? Then Faith shall fail, and holy Hope shall die, One lost in certainty, and one in joy.-PRIOR And the Angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth, lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by Him that liveth for ever and ever, that there should be time no longer.-Rev. 1, 5,6. 3 Awake, ye dead, and come to judgment.. They shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of Heaven. -and all the angels with him.-Matt. xxiv, 30, and xxv, 31. 5. From his face the earth and the heaven fled away.»—Rev. 11. 11. When, with a glance, the eternal Judge shall sever Earth's evil spirits from the pure and bright, And say to those, « Depart from me for ever!» To these, « Come, dwell with me in endless light!»1 When each and all in silence take their wayWho, mighty God, oh who shall bear that day? OH! TEACH ME TO LOVE THEE. On! teach me to love thee, to feel what thou art, Like some pure temple that shines apart, Reserved for thy worship alone! In joy and in sorrow, through praise and through blame, Oh still let me, living and dying the same, In thy service bloom and decayLike some lone altar, whose votive flame In holiness wasteth away! Though born in this desert, and doom'd by my birth, Like some rude dial, that, fix'd on earth, Still looks for its light from the sky! Yet died he not as men who sink, LIKE MORNING, WHEN HER EARLY BREEZE. LIKE morning, when her early breeze Thy grace can send its breathings o'er So sleeps the soul, till thou, O Lord, WEEP, CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. Air-STEVENSON. WEEP, weep for him, the man of God 2 A chief, to God and her so true. Remember ye his parting gaze, His farewell song by Jordan's tide, He saw the promised land—and died!5 1. And before Him shall be gathered all nations, and He shall separate them one from another. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you,» etc. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, etc. . And these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal.-Matt. xxv, 32 et seq. And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab.-Deut. xxxiv, 8. 3. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab; but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. . -1bid. ver. 6. 4 My doctrines shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew. - Moses' Song. 5 I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.-Ver. 5. COME, YE DISCONSOLATE. Air-German. COME, ye disconsolate, where'er you languish, Joy of the desolate, light of the straying, Hope, when all others die, fadeless and pure, Here speaks the Comforter, in God's name saying<< Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot cure.»> Go, ask the infidel, what boon he brings us, What charm for aching hearts he can reveal, Sweet as that heavenly promise Hope sings us<< Earth has no sorrow that God cannot heal.» AWAKE, ARISE, THY LIGHT IS COME. Air-STEVENSON. AWAKE, arise, thy light is come;" The nations, that before outshone thee, As he was going to embrace Eleazer and Joshua, and was still discoursing with them, a cloud stood over him on the sudden, and he disappeared in a certain valley, although he wrote in the Holy Books, that he died, which was done out of fear, lest they should venture to say that, because of his extraordinary virtue, he went to God.-Josephus, book iv, chap. viii. 2 « Arise, shine: for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.-Isaiah, Ix. 43 Arise-the Gentiles, to thy ray, From every nook of earth shall cluster; And kings and princes haste to pay Their homage to thy rising lustre.' Lift up thine eyes around, and see, O'er foreign fields, o'er farthest waters, Thy exiled sons return to thee, To thee return thy home-sick daughters." And camels rich, from Midian's tents, To fill thy air, and sparkle o'er thee.3 See who are these that, like a cloud,4 Are gathering from all earth's dominions! Like doves, long absent, when allow'd Homeward to shoot their trembling pinions. Surely the isles shall wait for me,5 The ships of Tarshish round will hover, To bring thy sons across the sea, And waft their gold and silver over. And Lebanon, thy pomp shall grace-6 And make the ground I tread on glorious. No more shall discord haunt thy ways, 7 And thou shalt name thy walls, Salvation. The sun no more shall make thee bright,8 Nor moon shall lend her lustre to thee; But God Himself shall be thy Light, And flash eternal glory through thee. Thy sun shall never more go down; Thy days of mourning all are ended. 9 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. » —Isaiah, Is. Lift up thine eyes round about and see; all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from afar, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.-Ib. 3 The multitude of camels shall cover thee; the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and incense.-Ib. 4. Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?-lb. 3 Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish, first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them.-lb. The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee; the fir-tree, the pine-tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary, and I will make the place of my feet glorious.-lb. 7 Violence shall no more be beard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls, Salvation, and thy gates, Praise.-Ib. Tby sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee; but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.—Ib. Thy sun shall no more go down; for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended, » — Ib. My own, elect, and righteous Land! THERE IS A BLEAK DESERT. THERE is a bleak Desert, where daylight grows weary What may that Desert be? 'Tis Life, cheerless Life, where the few joys that come 'Tis Man, hapless Man, through this life tempted on There is a bright Fountain, through that Desert stealing, To pure lips alone its refreshment revealing What may that Fountain be? 'Tis Truth, holy Truth, that, like springs under ground, 'T is Faith, humble Faith, who hath learn'd that, where'er Her wand stoops to worship, the Truth must be there. SINCE FIRST THY WORD. Air- NICHOLAS FREEMAN. heart, SINCE first thy word awaked my Hath from her chains arisen. I live for, now and ever. HARK! 'T IS THE BREEZE. HARK! 't is the breeze of twilight calling Thy people also shall be all righteous; they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands. Isaiah, Ix. * In singing, the following line had better be adopted— Can but by the gifted of heaven be found. 3. And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison, and his chains fell off from his hands,»—Acts, xii, 7. Go forth to the Mount-bring the olive-branch home,' WHERE IS YOUR DWELLING, YE SAINTED? In the presence of God's mighty Champion, grow pale Air-HASSE. WHERE is your dwelling, ye sainted? dare Or hope to dwell with you there? Sages who, ev'n in exploring Nature through all her bright ways, Went, like the seraphs, adoring, And veil'd your eyes in the blazeMartyrs, who left for our reaping Truths you had sown in your bloodSinners, whom long years of weeping Chasten'd from evil to good Maidens who, like the young Crescent, Bright souls, to dwell with you there? HOW LIGHTLY MOUNTS THE MUSE'S WING. Air-ANONYMOUS. How lightly mounts the Muse's wing, Whose theme is in the skies- Though Love his wreathed lyre may tune, Round which Devotion ties Oh never had Judah an hour of such mirth! Go forth to the Mount-bring the olive-branch home, And rejoice, for the day of our Freedom is come! Bring myrtle and palm-bring the boughs of each tree That is worthy to wave o'er the tents of the Free.4 From that day, when the footsteps of Israel shone, With a light not their own, through the Jordan's deep tide, Whose waters shrunk back as the Ark glided on-5 IS IT NOT SWEET TO THINK, HEREAFTER. Is it not sweet to think, hereafter, To those she long hath mourn'd for here? Eyes, this world can ne'er restore, When wearily we wander, asking Of earth and heaven, where are they Blest, and thinking bliss would stay! Pointing to the eternal home, 1. And that they should publish and proclaim In all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive. branches, etc. etc.-Neh. viii, 15. 2. For since the days of Joshua the son of Nan, unto that day. had not the children of Israel done so; and there was very great gladness.-Ib. 17. 3. Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon." -Josh. x, 12. Fetch olive-branches and pine-branches, and myrtle branches, and palm-branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths. Neh. viii, 15. 5. And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground.-Josh. iii, 17. THIS PRODUCTION IS, WITH THE WARMEST ADMIRATION OF HER MUSICAL TALENTS, INSCRIBED, BY HER VERY OBLIGED AND FAITHFUL SERVANT, T. M. ADVERTISEMENT. IN thus connecting together a series of songs by a thread of poetical narrative, the object has been to combine Recitation with Music, so as to enable a greater number of persons to take a share in the performance, by enlisting, as readers, those who may not feel themselves competent as singers. The Island of Zia, where the scene is laid, was called by the ancients Ceos, and was the birth-place of Simonides, Bacchylides, and other eminent persons. An account of its present state may be found in the Travels of Dr Clarke, who says, that « it appeared to him to be the best cultivated of any of the Grecian Isles.»-Vol. vi, p. 174. EVENINGS IN GREECE. FIRST EVENING. THE SKY IS BRIGHT. « The sky is bright-the breeze is fair, To Greece we give our shining blades, « The moon is in the heavens above, And the wind is on the foaming sea- To Greece we give our shining blades, Thus sung they from the bark, that now Where still the farewell beacons burn, Of parents in their wintry hourThe love of maidens, and the pride Of the young, happy, blushing bride, Whose nuptial wreath has not yet died— All, all are in that precious bark, Which now, alas! no more is seenThough every eye still turns to mark The moonlight spot where it hath been! |