For the summer-time is faded, And the autumn winds have come. The last ripe hours of my heart, Only waiting till the angels Only waiting till the shadows Of the day's last beam is flown; Tread its pathway to the skies. ANONYMOUS. The Burial of Moses. "And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor; bnt no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day." DEUT. xxxiv: 6. By Nebo's lonely mountain, On this side Jordan's wave, 21* For the angels of God upturned the sod, And laid the dead man there. That was the grandest funeral Comes when the night is done, And the crimson streak on ocean's cheek Grows into the great sun, Noiselessly as the spring-time Her crown of verdure weaves, And all the trees on all the hills Open their thousand leaves,So, without sound of music, Or voice of them that wept, Silently down from the mountain crown The great procession swept. Perchance the bald old eagle, On gray Beth-peor's height, Out of his rocky eyrie, Looked on the wondrous sight. Perchance the lion, stalking, Still shuns the hallowed spot; For beast and bird have seen and heard That which man knoweth not. Lo! when the warrior dieth, His comrades in the war, With arms reversed, and muffled drum, Follow the funeral car. They show the banners taken, They tell his battles won, And after him lead his masterless steed, While peals the minute gun. Amid the noblest of the land Men lay the sage to rest, And give the bard an honored place, And the choir sings, and the organ rings This was the bravest warrior That ever breathed a word; And had he not high honor? To lie in state while angels wait, With stars for tapers tall; And the dark rock pines, like tossing plumes, Over his bier to wave; And God's own hand, in that lonely land, To lay him in the grave,— In that deep grave, without a name, Shall break again,-O wondrous thought! – Before the judgment day; And stand, with glory wrapped around, On the hills he never trod, And speak of the strife that won our life, O lonely tomb in Moab's land! Speak to these curious hearts of ours, God hath his mysteries of grace,— He hides them deep, like the secret sleep Of him he loved so well. CECIL FRANCES ALEXANDER. Milton's Prayer of Patience. I AM old and blind! Men point at me as smitten by God's frown; Yet am I not cast down. I am weak, yet strong: I murmur not that I no longer see; O merciful One! When men are farthest, then art Thou most near; When friends pass by, my weaknesses to shun, Thy chariot I hear. Thy glorious face Is leaning towards me, and its holy light On my bended knee, I recognize Thy purpose, clearly shown; I have naught to fear; This darkness is the shadow of Thy wing; Can come no evil thing. Oh, I seem to stand Trembling, where foot of mortal ne'er hath been, Visions come and go, Shapes of resplendent beauty round me throng; It is nothing now, When Heaven is ripening on my sightless eyes, In a purer clime, My being fills with rapture,—waves of thought Give me now my lyre! I feel the stirrings of a gift divine; ELIZABETH LLOYD HOWELL. Curfew Must not Ring To-night. ENGLAND S Sun was slowly setting o'er the hills so far away, Filling all the land with beauty at the close of one sad day; And the last rays kiss'd the forehead of a man and maiden fair, He with step so slow and weakened, she with sunny, floating hair; He with sad bowed head, and thoughtful, she with lips so cold and white, Struggling to keep back the murmur, "Curfew must not ring to-night." |