He steers the winged boat, and shifts the sails,
Conquers the flood, and manages the gales.

Such is the soul that leaves his mortal land,
Fearless when the great Master gives command.
Death is the storm; she smiles to hear it roar,
And bids the tempest waft her from the shore;
Then with a skilful helm she sweeps the seas,
And manages the raging storm with ease.
Her faith can govern death: she spreads her wings
Wide to the wind, and as she sails she sings,
And loses by degrees the sight of mortal things.
As the shores lessen, so her joys arise,
The waves roll gentler, and the tempest dies:
Now vast eternity fills all her sight;

She floats on the broad deep with infinite delight, The seas for ever calm, the skies for ever bright.

1083. ETERNITY. Living for

Watts.

So live that when the mighty caravan,
Which halts one night-time in the vale of death,
Shall strike its white tents for the morning march,
Thou shalt mount onward to the eternal hills,
Thy foot unwearied, and thy strength renew'd
Like the strong eagle's, for the upward flight.

1084. ETERNITY. Premonitions of

AND as the better spirit, when she doth bear
A scorn of death, doth show she cannot die;
So when the wicked soul death's face doth fear,
Even then she proves her own eternity.

Davies.

'Tis the Divinity that stirs within us, 'Tis Heaven itself that points out an hereafter, And intimates eternity to man.—Addison.

1085. ETERNITY. Responsibility for

ETERNITY! Eternity!

That boundless, soundless, tideless sea,
Of mysteries the mystery,
What is eternity to me?

Infinite bliss or misery,

Woe past, woe present, woe to be;
The fulness of felicity;
These are eternity to me.

Two voices from eternity!

A voice from heaven comes down to me,
A voice from hell breaks dolefully,
'Life, death, O man! are offer'd thee.'

The abyss is moved, even wrath cries Flee!'
The height expands, and love cries, 'See

ETERNITY! thou pleasing, dreadful thought!
Through what variety of untried being,

Through what new scenes and changes must we pass?
The wide, th' unbounded prospect lies before me;
But shadows, clouds, and darkness rest upon it.
Addison.

1088. EVANESCENCE. Emblem of

SEE yonder cloud along the west
In gay, fantastic splendour dress'd;
Fancy's bright visions charm the eye,
Sweet fairy bowers in prospect lie,
And blooming fields smile from the sky,
Deck'd in the hues of even;

But short its evanescent stay,
Its brilliant masses fade away,
The breeze floats off its visions gay,
And clears the face of heaven.

Thus to fond man does Life's fair scene
Delusive spread its cheerful green;
Before his path shine pleasure's bowers,
Each smiling field seems drest in flowers,
Hope leads him on, and shows his hours

For peace and pleasure given.
But one by one his hopes decay,
Each flattering vision fades away,
Each cheering scene charms to betray,
And nought remains but heaven.
Esther C. Beecher.

1089. EVANESCENT. Clinging to the

ALL that's bright must fade

The brightest still the fleetest ; All that's sweet was made

But to be lost when sweetest.

Stars that shine and fall;

The flower that drops in springing; These, alas! are types of all

To which our hearts are clinging.

Who would seek or prize

Delights that end in aching?

I COME to Thee to-night,

In my lone closet, where no eye can see,

And dare to crave communion high with Thee, Father of love and light!

Softly the moonbeams shine

On the still branches of the shadowy trees, While all sweet sounds of evening on the breeze

Steal through the slumbering vine.

Thou gavest the calm repose

That rests on all, -the air, the birds, the flowers, The human spirit in its weary hours,

Now, at the bright day's close.

'Tis nature's time for prayer;
The silent praises of the glorious sky,
And the earth's orisons profound and high,
To Heaven their breathings bear.

With them my soul would bend

In humble reverence at Thy holy throne,
Trusting the merits of Thy Son alone
Thy sceptre to extend.

If I this day have striven

With Thy blest Spirit, or have bow'd the knee To aught of earth in weak idolatry,

I pray to be forgiven.

If I have turn'd away

From grief or suffering which I might relieve,
Careless the cup of water e'en to give,
Forgive me, Lord, I pray.

And teach ine how to feel

My sinful wanderings with a deeper smart ; And more of mercy and of grace impart, My sinfulness to heal.

Not for myself alone

Would I these blessings of Thy love implore; But for each penitent the wide world o'er, Whom Thou hast call'd Thine own.

And now, O Father, take

The heart I cast with humble faith on Thee, And cleanse its depths from each impurity, For my Redeemer's sake!

1095. EVENING. Retirement of

THEN is the time

For those whom wisdom and whom nature charm,

To steal themselves from the degenerate crowd,
And soar above this little scene of things;
To tread low-thoughted vice beneath their feet,
To soothe the throbbing passions into peace;
And woo lone quiet in her silent walks.-Thomson.

1096. EVENING. Thanks for

FATHER of heaven and earth!
I bless Thee for the night,
The soft, still night!

The holy pause of care and mirth,
Of sound and light!

Now far in glade and dell,
Flower-cup, and bud, and bell

Have shut around the sleeping woodlark's nest;
The bee's long murmuring toils are done,

And I, the o'erwearied one,

Bless Thee, O God, O Father of the oppress'd! With my last waking thought,

In the still night!

Yes, ere I sink to rest

By the fire's dying light,

Thou Lord of earth and heaven!
I bless Thee, who hast given

Unto life's fainting travellers the night,
The soft, still, holy night-Mrs Hemans.

1097. EVIL. Abstain from

WITH caution taste the sweet Circæan cup;
He that sips often, at last drinks it up.
Habits are soon assumed; but when they strive
To strip them off 'tis being flay'd alive.
Call'd to the temple of impure delight,
He that abstains, and he alone, does right.
If a wish wander that way, call it home;
He cannot long be safe whose wishes roam.
But if you pass the threshold, you are caught;
Die then, if power Almighty save you not.
There hardening by degrees, till double steel'd,
Take leave of nature's God, and God reveal'd;
Then laugh at all you trembled at before,
And, joining the free-thinkers' brutal roar,
Swallow the two grand nostrums they dispense,
The Scripture lies, and blasphemy is sense.
If clemency revolted by abuse

Be damnable, then damn'd without excuse.
Some dream that they can silence, when they will,
The storm of passion, and say, 'Peace, be still :'
But, 'Thus far and no farther,' when address'd
To the wild wave, or wilder human breast,
Implies authority that never can,

That never ought to be the lot of man.-Cowper.

1098. EVIL. Compensation of

PAIN and sin are convicts, and toil in their fetters for good;

The weapons of evil are turned against itself fighting

under better banners:

The leech delighteth in stinging, and the wicked loveth to do harm,

But the wise Physician of the universe useth that ill tendency for health.

Verily, from others' griefs are gendered sympathy

and kindness;

Patience, humility, and faith spring not seldom from thine own;

An enemy, humbled by his own sorrows, cannot be far from thy forgiveness,

A friend, who hath tasted of calamity, shall fan the dying incense of thy love:

And for thyself, is it a small thing so to learn thy frailty,

That from an aching bone thou savest the whole body?

The furnace of affliction may be fierce, but if it refineth thy soul,

The good of one meek thought shall outweigh years of torment. -Tupper.

In paths unknown we hear the feet
Of fear before and guilt behind;
We pluck the wayside fruit, and eat
Ashes and dust beneath its golden rind.

From age to age descends uncheck'd
The sad bequest of sire to son,

The body's taint, the mind's defect,—
Through every web of life the dark threads run.
Oh! why, and whither? God knows all;
I only know that He is good,
And that whatever may befall,

Or here or there, must be the best that could.
Between the dreadful cherubim

A Father's face I still discern,
As Moses look'd of old on Him,
And saw His glory into goodness turn.
For He is merciful as just;

And so, by faith correcting sight,

I bow before His will, and trust, Howe'er they seem, He doeth all things right. Whittier.

1102. EVIL: limited.

EVIL is limited. One cannot form
A scheme for universal evil.-Bailey.

1103. EVIL. Uprooting

A SPROUT of evil, ere it has struck root,
With thumb and finger one up-pulls:
To start it, when grown up and full of fruit,
Requires a mighty yoke of bulls.

Oriental, tr. by W. R. Alger.

1104. EVIL: works good.

THE clouds, which rise with thunder, slake
Our thirsty souls with rain,

The blow most dreaded falls to break
From off our limbs a chain;
And wrongs of man to man but make
The love of God more plain,
As through the shadowy lens of even
The eye looks farthest into heaven
On gleams of star and depths of blue,
The glaring sunshine never knew.- Whittier.

1105. EVIL REPORTS.

THEY say-ah! well, suppose they do,
But can they prove this story true?
Suspicions may arise from nought
But malice, envy, want of thought;
Why count yourself among the 'they'
Who whisper what they dare not say?

They say but why the tale rehearse,
And help to make the matter worse?
No good can possibly accrue
From telling what may be untrue;
And is it not a nobler plan

To speak of all the best you can?

They say well, if it should be so,
Why need you tell the tale of woe?
Will it the bitter wrong redress,
Or make one pang of sorrow less?
Will it the erring one restore,
Henceforth to 'go and sin no more'?

They say-oh! pause and look within:
See how thy heart inclines to sin;
Watch, lest in dark temptation's hour,
Thou, too, shouldst sink beneath its power.
Pity the frail, weep o'er their fall,

But speak of good, or not at all.

1106. EVILS. Anticipating

SOME of your hurts you have cured,

And the sharpest you still have survived, But what torments of grief you endured From evils which never arrived!

From the French, tr. by Emerson.

1107. EVILS. Imaginary

LET to-morrow take care of to-morrow,—
Leave things of the future to fate;
What's the use to anticipate sorrow?—
Life's troubles come never too late!
If to hope overmuch be an error,

'Tis one that the wise have preferr'd; And how often have hearts been in terror Of evils that never occurr'd.

Have faith, and thy faith shall sustain theePermit not suspicion and care

With invisible bonds to enchain thee,

But bear what God gives thee to bear.
By His Spirit supported and gladden'd,
Be ne'er by forebodings deterr'd;

But think how oft hearts have been sadden'd
By fear of what never occurr'd.

Let to-morrow take care of to-morrow:
Short and dark as our life may appear,
We may make it still darker by sorrow,-
Still shorter by folly and fear!
Half our troubles are half our invention,
And often from blessings conferr'd
Have we shrunk, in the wild apprehension

Of evils that never occurr'd.—Charles Swain.

A fault doth never with remorse
Our minds so deeply move,
As when another's guiltless life
Our error doth reprove.-Brandon.
For as the light

Not only serves to show but render us
Mutually profitable; so our lives,

In acts exemplary, not only win
Ourselves good names, but do to others give
Matter for virtuous deeds, by which we live.
Chapman.

On the smooth expanse of crystal lakes,
The sinking stone at first a circle makes:
The trembling surface, by the motion stirr'd,
Spreads in a second circle, then a third;
Wide, and more wide, the floating rings advance,
Fill all the watʼry plain, and to the margin dance.
Pope.

1110. EXAMPLE. Influence of

STILL shines the light of holy lives
Like star-beams over doubt;

Each sainted memory, Christ-like, drives
Some dark possession out.