"But thou, dear mother, oft has said,
There is a far-off land,

All blest, where tears are never shed,
Can this be its fair strand ?

It seems a clime of doubt and dread,
Ruled with an icy hand.

"Alone I cross the dreary sea ;

But when thou leav'st the shore,
Mine, mine the holy task shall be,
To guide thee safely o'er :
To pay back through eternity
Thy love's unbounded store."

SUNDAY EVENING.

Bowring.

WELCOME the hour of sweet repose,
The evening of the Sabbath day;
In peace my wearied eyes shall close
When I have tuned my vesper lay,
In humble gratitude to Him

Who wak'd the morning's earliest beam.

In such an hour as this, how sweet,
In the calm solitude of even,

To hold with heaven communion meet-
Meet for a spirit bound to heaven ;
And, in this wilderness beneath,
Pure zephyrs from above to breathe.

It may be that the Eternal Mind

Bends sometimes from his throne of bliss; Where should we then his presence find,

But in an hour so blest as this

An hour of calm tranquillity,

Silent as if to welcome Thee ?

Yes! if the Great Invisible,
Descending from his seat divine,
May deign upon this earth to dwell—
Where shall He find a welcome shrine,
But in the breast of man who bears
His image, and his spirit shares?

Now let the solemn thought pervade
My soul, and let my heart prepare
A throne-Come, veil'd in awful shade,
Spirit of God, that I may dare
Hail thee! nor, like thy prophet, be
Blinded by thy bright majesty.

Then turn my wand'ring thoughts within,

To hold communion, Lord, with thee; And purified from taint of sin,

And earth's pollutions, let me see Thine image-for a moment prove, If not thy majesty, thy love :

That love which over all is shed

Shed on the worthless as the just; Lighting the stars above our head, And waking beauty out of dust;

And rolling in its glorious way
Beyond the furthest comet's ray.

To him alike the living stream
And the dull regions of the grave;
All watched, protected all by Him

Whose eye can see, whose arm can save, In the cold midnight's dangerous gloom, Or the dark prison of the tomb.

Thither we hasten-as the sand

Drops in the hour-glass, never still;
So, gather'd in by death's rude hand,
The storehouse of the grave we fill;
And sleep in peace, as safely kept
As when on earth we smiled or wept.

What is our duty here ?—to tend

From good to better-thence to best;
Grateful to drink life's cup-then bend
Unmurmuring to our bed of rest;
To pluck the flowers that round us blow,
Scattering their fragrance as we go.

And so to live, that when the sun
Of our existence sinks in night,
Memorials sweet of mercies done

May 'shrine our name in memory's light;
And the blest seeds we scatter'd, bloom
A hundred fold in days to come.

FAMILY HARMONY.

Kuar.

OH! sweet as vernal dews that fill
The closing buds on Zion's hill,

When evening clouds draw thither,
So sweet, so heavenly 'tis, to see
The members of one family
Live peacefully together!

The children, like the lily flowers,
On which descend the sun and showers
Their hues of beauty blending-
The parents like the willow boughs,
On which the lovely foliage grows,
Their friendly shade extending.

But leaves the greenest will decay-
And flowers the brightest fade away,
When autumn winds are sweeping;
And be the household e'er so fair,
The hand of death will soon be there,
And turn the scene to weeping.

Yet leaves again will clothe the trees,
And lilies wave beneath the breeze,

When spring comes smiling hither; And friends who parted at the tomb, May yet renew their loveliest bloom,

And meet in heaven together.

STAR OF THE EAST.

Milman.

BRIGHTEST and best of the sons of morning! Dawn on our darkness, and lend us thine aid; Star of the East! the horizon adorning,

Guide where our infant Redeemer is laid!

Cold on his cradle the dew-drops are shining; Low lies his head with the beasts of the stall; Angels adore him in slumber reclining

Maker and Monarch, and Saviour of all!

Say, shall we yield him, in costly devotion,
Odours of Eden, and offerings divine?
Gems of the mountain and pearls of the ocean?
Myrrh from the forest, or gold from the mine?

Vainly we offer each ample oblation

Vainly with gifts would his favour secure ;
Richer by far is the heart's adoration ;
Dearer to God are the prayers of the poor.

Brightest and best of the sons of the morning; Dawn on our darkness, and lend us thine aid; Star of the East! the horizon adorning,

Lead where the infant Redeemer is laid!